Hi there,
I was hoping someone would be kind enough to give me some advise. I'm looking for a cheap 12v amp I can use at home but also make up a lead to run it from a 12v cigarette lighter socket in my camper van and be able to connect up to a 12v battery pack to use at festivals. So basically I want to make budget a 12v sound system that as as loud and efficient as possible.
I've been looking at T class amps because of their high efficiency and some run off 12v power supplies. They seem to be able to do a realistic 10-12w rms at 4ohm. My plan was to make up a speaker box with the highest sensitivity 4ohm drivers I could find for reasonable coast that will play down to lowish frequency to try and get as much sound from the amp as possible.
I have been looking at the SMSL sa-36a pro and the plus (blue-tooth would be nice but not essential) The problem is I've been looking on this forum to get feedback about these amps and it's just confused me as I have very little knowledge on the subject. People were posting about all the different chips they came with and which were best or popped speakers and so on. They also said the older one had a better chip but you can't get that now although sellers still list them as having them. I now have no idea what to buy as I'm completely out of my depth.
If someone would be able to post up a link to somewhere I can buy an amp that would best suit my needs I'd greatly appreciate it. I live in the UK so UK ebay or British sellers only please.
Many thanks, Olly.
I was hoping someone would be kind enough to give me some advise. I'm looking for a cheap 12v amp I can use at home but also make up a lead to run it from a 12v cigarette lighter socket in my camper van and be able to connect up to a 12v battery pack to use at festivals. So basically I want to make budget a 12v sound system that as as loud and efficient as possible.
I've been looking at T class amps because of their high efficiency and some run off 12v power supplies. They seem to be able to do a realistic 10-12w rms at 4ohm. My plan was to make up a speaker box with the highest sensitivity 4ohm drivers I could find for reasonable coast that will play down to lowish frequency to try and get as much sound from the amp as possible.
I have been looking at the SMSL sa-36a pro and the plus (blue-tooth would be nice but not essential) The problem is I've been looking on this forum to get feedback about these amps and it's just confused me as I have very little knowledge on the subject. People were posting about all the different chips they came with and which were best or popped speakers and so on. They also said the older one had a better chip but you can't get that now although sellers still list them as having them. I now have no idea what to buy as I'm completely out of my depth.
If someone would be able to post up a link to somewhere I can buy an amp that would best suit my needs I'd greatly appreciate it. I live in the UK so UK ebay or British sellers only please.
Many thanks, Olly.
You've already choosen several good stats, i.e. lower impedance (4 Ohm) and high sensitivity of the speaker.
I'd suggest you use a DC-DC converter to reach 24V because that gives you a lot more options (and power). A TDA7498 amp is a good idea then, it gets you realistic ~80W/ch. TPA3116D2 boards (stereo or mono bridged) alre also a good option.
I'd suggest you use a DC-DC converter to reach 24V because that gives you a lot more options (and power). A TDA7498 amp is a good idea then, it gets you realistic ~80W/ch. TPA3116D2 boards (stereo or mono bridged) alre also a good option.
Thanks for your reply ICG.
I was looking more at fully built amplifiers as my experience of building them is nonexistent at the moment but I'd like to learn. Would a DC-DC converter use much power so drain the battery quicker? Would I be better off forgetting about the 12v cigarette lighter lead and just make it battery powered using a higher voltage battery to higher power amp?
I was looking more at fully built amplifiers as my experience of building them is nonexistent at the moment but I'd like to learn. Would a DC-DC converter use much power so drain the battery quicker? Would I be better off forgetting about the 12v cigarette lighter lead and just make it battery powered using a higher voltage battery to higher power amp?
That would be an option, yes. You have to modify it though, it will become too hot otherwise because it got no air circulation and the heatsink isn't connected to the enclosure to dissipate the heat. Practically all small-enclosure-amps have the same problem btw.
Just leave the 'lid' off does not help (enough) at high power, the heatsink is too small. The best way to get an effective cooling is to drill holes on the left side exactly on the position of the heatsink and mount a mini-fan there (unfortunately on the outside as there isn't enough room in the enclosure) and similar holes on the right to let the air out again (or vice versa). That creates a cooling tunnel which works much more effective. Or make a hole on the top shell (again, exactly at the position of the heatsink), mount the fan there and again holes on both sides to let the air out, the former solution is better though because the much better non-diverted airflow.
Just leave the 'lid' off does not help (enough) at high power, the heatsink is too small. The best way to get an effective cooling is to drill holes on the left side exactly on the position of the heatsink and mount a mini-fan there (unfortunately on the outside as there isn't enough room in the enclosure) and similar holes on the right to let the air out again (or vice versa). That creates a cooling tunnel which works much more effective. Or make a hole on the top shell (again, exactly at the position of the heatsink), mount the fan there and again holes on both sides to let the air out, the former solution is better though because the much better non-diverted airflow.
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