JT Clark-

If I have something, I probably would have told you already, man.

Actually it is just smart shopping. You can get very high powered car audio equipment in car parts shops for a mere fraction of what the thieving audio retailers would charge and that goes for both home and car audio retailers. Car audio has a different market dynamic than home audio because you can get off-brands for very low prices at non-traditional outlets like car parts stores. Ignoring this or pretending it is a bad idea is just acting the fool. Amplifiers are devices or circuits that increase the amplitude of the signal fed into them. The plain fact of the matter, is that the aim of every high fidelity amplifier designer is to create a product that has no effect whatsoever on the signal fed into it, other than to increase its amplitude and prepare it to be sent to a speaker.

Right now, I am seeking a cost effective solutions. I think the power input can be modified to accept AC power from wall outlet directly, but I am not sure if this can be done. Any experienced electricians around here know how to do this?

Tekdredger-

Thanks for the link!!

Smart shopping would tell you to get an amp from parts express (for example) and put the savings into the sub and its enclosure (or just save it). That would be a much better investment as the difference between amplifiers is much smaller than that of speakers.

Sorry I misunderstood your equipment. It sounded like you already had something. I only hear of this if someone already has their equipment and wants to get double use out of it. No need to get snippy.

Another possible way to go is a large 12V sealed lead acid (SLA) battery and a trickle charger. This method also has it's drawbacks. And NEVER use a regular car battery indoors! They release gasses that can be explosive!

If you don't yet have a car amp I'm not sure I would persue this project either. One of the reasons car stereo amps are cheaper is they don't use a big 120V mains transformer/power supply. It's just not electrically efficient nor cost effective to convert AC to 12VDC to supply an amp that converts the power again. And no, the amp can not be easily modified to accept the 120VAC directly. You see, inside the amp the 12V power coming in is fed to a converter circuit that pumps-up the voltage to something like +/-25V or more depending on the power rating on the amp. If you are really determined to do this the best way would be to build a bipolar DC power supply so you could bypass the DC-DC converter and feed the amplifier circuits directly. This would give you a circuit architecture most like a typical home amplifier. But this would be a pretty advanced DIY project and if you aren't up to the task yourself getting someone else to build it for you shoots the budget again.

Using a bench power supply like I linked for you will work and is probably the cheapest (but not really cheap) way to go. Car amps draw tremendous amounts of current and you have to use a very large unit so you don't strangle the amplifier.

So like I said, unless you already have something you are trying to utilize I wouldn't go out and buy anything to go in this direction. You would be better off looking for a used amp designed for home use.

Yes, I certainly know this. However, I have too much drivers need to power up and I am running out of amps right now. That’s why I need some cheap alternatives. Hope you understand.

I didn’t get snippy with you. I am just little tired of hearing someone who says car amps don’t perform well in certain environment for loads of reasons and not listing any of them to support his claim.

Tekdredger-

If I have a 400 W amp, how many amperes do I need for the power supply? Thanks for the info.

if you plan on pursuing the car amp thing,then on the amp you intend to use, check the fuse rating on the amp itself, that will tell you the max amperage you will need. if for some reason the amp is not idiot proof(no fuse) check the manual or web site for the specs.if you plan on running multi-amps add the value together,but if you can isolate the power supply (no hum) then you still need to follow car audio rules,caps heavy gauge power and ground wire, don't forget a remote wire which you may or may not have to rig yourself because you won't have a car stereo to trigger and i don't even know if a power supply would have one and i also don't know if a home stereo trigger would work.i just would not do this whole project.but it's a hobby to most,addiction to others.have fun, hope you don't damage anything.by the way the dry cell battery could work but if you have the trickle charger on while playing...dc hum.........

So you DO have an amp already? What brand and model? This would help determine current needs since just the power rating can be deceiving.

damn a $100 car amp delivering 1000wts is just what i need. why didnt i think of that idea?... why hasnt everyone else?

wow,my 900(rms) watt alpine cost over $700!
for my truck,stays in my truck!
hook a brother up curegeorg.

oh, i was LOOKING for one to run all my gear from. do you think i could use a car amp as a backup generator for the house? i could probably run the whole neighborhood if i wired it up correctly.