unregulated car amplifiers

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alaisneo

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 9:35 AM / IP Logged

I heard that a regulated amp cant be as loud as a unregulated. How is that possible? If it is. Is it the more volts you put in the more it puts out? If so then how many watts can you get per volt? Im getting a ppi 600 watt and they told me it can be just a loud as my power acoustik 3000d...im having a hard time understanding this.

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KPierson

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 10:33 AM / IP Logged

In theory it can't be, in real life applicaiton it can be.

In an unregulated amp the more voltage you put it, the more wattage you will get out.

In a regulated amp the amp will put out the same amount of power (past a certain point) regardless of the actual voltage.

What does that mean in a car? Not much, really, unless you make substantial charging system modifications to allow the amp to always play at or near max voltage.

So, in theory a regulated amp could never be louder then an unregulated amp because in an unregulated amp you can increase the voltage for more power. In application, it will depend on one amp verses another amp - if you have a 1000wrms regulated amp vs a 50wrms unregulated amp you won't actually be able to increase the voltage enough to out power the 1000wrms regulated amp.

Kevin Pierson

haemphyst

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 11:32 AM / IP Logged

More marketing BS...

There are SO many technical answers involved with this question, I'll try to hit the highlights...

1: Regulated power supplies put out the SAME power, no matter what the input voltage is. Their efficiency slightly improves with higher voltage, as they don't pull as much current - less current = less wasted heat. The reverse of this is the LOSS of efficiency with lower voltage.

2: You don't get watts per volt. You get watts per amp. That answer cannot be given, as we have no idea what your load is. The lower the connected impedance, the more watts per amp.

3: They are probably not TOO far off with that claim. The PA is a swap-o-rama piece of gear, and "outrageous" is short on it's meaning when describing the TRUE power capabilities of that amp. (Truth be known the PPI isn't what it used to be, either, but still more honestly rated...) Into the same LOAD, it will likely be as loud, or slightly quieter, but by how much? If it is less than ±3dB, you won't be able to hear the difference either way. 3dB louder requires twice the power, conversely, half the power will require half the power. What this means is if your PA makes 1000 watts, and your PPI makes 600 watts, that is less than half the power difference, so the PPI will not be noticeably quieter.

It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

alaisneo

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Joined: May 18, 2009

Location: New York, United States

Posted: May 27, 2009 at 11:40 AM / IP Logged

so for every volt of power how many watts do you get?

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alaisneo

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Joined: May 18, 2009

Location: New York, United States

Posted: May 27, 2009 at 11:48 AM / IP Logged

alaisneo wrote:

so for every volt of power how many watts do you get?

Ok so the more amps I have the more watts?...what is an amp as far as that goes?...How would you measure that?

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KPierson

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 12:06 PM / IP Logged

37.8

it all depends on too many factors. You would need to contact the manufacturer of a specific amp you are looking in to and see if they can provide you with a power vs input voltage graph for their amp. I've personally never seen one.

Kevin Pierson

DYohn

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 12:41 PM / IP Logged

KPierson wrote:

37.8

I was going to guess 42.

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KPierson

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 1:42 PM / IP Logged

DYohn wrote:

KPierson wrote:

37.8

I was going to guess 42.

It does equal 42 if you round the efficiency numbers. If you do your calculations with 6 decimal precision (that's how I roll) you end up with the lower number of 37.8.

Kevin Pierson

KPierson

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 1:47 PM / IP Logged

alaisneo wrote:

so for every volt of power how many watts do you get?

Ok so the more amps I have the more watts?...what is an amp as far as that goes?...How would you measure that?

Roughly, the equation is:

V * I = P

However, that equation doesn't necesarrily hold true because your amplifier isn't 100% efficient. Also, the efficiency may change at any given voltage. So, basically, you can't calculate it out to the accuracy that you are trying to calculate it out to. Contact the manufacturer and ask for an output power vs. input voltage graph - if they are a reputable manufacture they will give it to you. If they can't supply that information find another company to purchase from.

Kevin Pierson

haemphyst

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Posted: May 27, 2009 at 6:10 PM / IP Logged

haemphyst wrote:

3dB louder requires twice the power, conversely, half the power will require half the power. What this means is if your PA makes 1000 watts, and your PPI makes 600 watts, that is less than half the power difference, so the PPI will not be noticeably quieter.

What the hell was I thinking?? unregulated car amplifiers -- posted image.

What I meant to say was this:

Conversely, 3dB quieter will require half the power.

DYohn wrote:

KPierson wrote:

37.8

I was going to guess 42.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

However... as I said, you cannot answer that with a solid number. First, you DON'T GET WATTS PER VOLT! You get watts per amp. I already said that. Then, I see that you are asking what an amp is? Dude...

For one amplifier rated for X watts, you might (AS ONLY AN EXAMPLE) get 12 watts per volt, but on another amplifer, rated for 4 times the output power, you will get 24 watts per volt. Another amplifier, rated the same power as the second example might get 20 watts per volt, based on the topology of the amplifier, i.e. Class A vs. Class A/B vs. Class D.

You are asking about, and looking at, it the wrong way. Think about it... No matter WHAT the amplifier's output is rated, the input voltage is ALWAYS 12 volts, right? Which part of the equation must change? The input current, right? Additionally, the current input demands will go up if you put a lower impedance on any given amplifier, right?

It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

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