Vintage suitcase project amp recommendation please. | Stereophile.com

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May 16, 2014 - 3:18pm

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amathew

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Vintage suitcase project amp recommendation please.

Hi. I am starting a vintage boomcase project. I picked up a pair of Yamaha A635A bookshelf speakers. 8 ohms. Suggested amplifier power: min 10 watts max 140 watts. I will be working with two 8 inch woofers, two 4.5inch midrange and two 1inch tweeters.

I am wonder what type of Class D I should use. I was thinking 2x50 watt but wasn't sure. Also for power source...better with 24v or 12v? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

May 17, 2014 - 12:06pm

#2

commsysman

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Project

It sounds like you should have at least 30 watts per channel or so.

I would go with the highest voltage I can, because it takes at least 40 volts from the power supply to deliver that much power to 8 ohm speakers.

40 volts DC will limit you to a 40 volt peak-to-peak maximum output waveform, which is 14 Volts RMS.

14 volts RMS applied to an 8 ohm speaker only produces 24 watts of power, so that would be your maximum peak output power with a 40 volt DC supply.

Large automotive amplifiers use a DC-to-DC converter to convert 13 volts to + and - 40 volts or more to get an effective 80 volt or higher power supply, which then can give a lot more power.