higher power class T for outdoor home theatre

[draizinbrew]

I have a little movie theater set up in my back yard; 8 foot screen against the house, digital projector, inexpensive (+/- $250) outdoor stereo speakers claiming 89db effeciency mounted on either side of the screen about 9 feet up, buried speaker cable, etc.

It was my intention to use a modified Sonic Impact T amp to drive the speakers. In practice, in the open air of my yard, with 20 or so rowdy friends over to watch a film, to have the audio at a decent volume the amp would be cranked to nearly its limits. It clipped badly, especially as the battery drained. about 2/3 of the way through the movie it became unlistenable.

I like the idea of a battery powered calss T amplifier; its simple, small, portable. Are there any units available that can push more watts without clipping?

Thanks,
-Chad

[renfrow]

If you don't mind an extension cord, you could try a Motorola dcp501. It's a 5.1 channel home theatre receiver that is class D. Search in the home theatre receivers area of eBay for 'motorola dcp501'. There is also a message in this forum regarding it: Motorola DCP501.

Tom.

[Xspunge]

Sounds like you were using AA batteries for your amp if you couldn't make it through a movie.

You don't want to run a Sonic t amp if you are using it for your outdoor theater. The volume level wouldn't go high enough due to it being outdoors, especially with lower sensitivity speakers that are 89db. What batteries were you using with your T Amp? If you were using a Sealed Lead Acid type you can listen for hours on end and it won't clip until you reach the max wattage.

There are other amps, check out www.41hz.com the Amp 6, the Amp 6 Basic, the Amp 32 and Amp32PS are all very good and put out a few more watts than the Sonic T- Amp. The Amp 6 is rated at 25watts max while the Sonic is rated at 15watts max.

All of those are 2 Channel amps. Don't know how many channels are on your outdoor home theater system, but Jan does have some 4 channel amps.

Most of them can be run off battery power, and I would suggest Sealed Lead Acid being the cheapest, easiest to deal with large capacity batteries that are somewhat portable.

I have a Li-Ion battery pack that I made that I have to use a voltage regulator with that works great. Much smaller, lighter, but a bit more expensive. If you have any more questions about batteries just post em and someone will help you out. I have pics of the battery if you would like to see them just ask.

Or you could forego the smaller amps and go with the above suggestion of the Motorola Amp.