Amp draw of stereo amp

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Oscarpop

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As we hopefully prepare to move to liveaboards , we are looking at changin our boat stereo for a better one. Not louder . I don't need loud, but something comparible with my home system; arcam separates and a set of quad speakers.

I have had a good chat with some people who sell marine hifi , and hey suggest jl speakers and an amp. However I would like to know the draw of the average say 600w a, running off 12v? As we have a sail boat, I don't want a huge draw, and apparently class d amps are low power consumption.

All help greatly appreciated.
 
Oscarpop said:
As we hopefully prepare to move to liveaboards , we are looking at changin our boat stereo for a better one. Not louder . I don't need loud, but something comparible with my home system; arcam separates and a set of quad speakers.

I have had a good chat with some people who sell marine hifi , and hey suggest jl speakers and an amp. However I would like to know the draw of the average say 600w a, running off 12v? As we have a sail boat, I don't want a huge draw, and apparently class d amps are low power consumption.

All help greatly appreciated.
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My Fusion amp draws 2A if that helps.
 
Current drawn by any amp is directly proportional to the actual sound level being delivered. Plus of course a little residual current. Usually not so much as to worry about. As said 600 watts is something like 50 amps at 12v but in actual use you will average around 50 milliwatts of audio power. Which does indicate that unless you wish to entertainb the whole marina you won't need that sort of power.
It is the loud speakers that really make the difference in both sound pressure for given power and frequency band width. Unfortunately often speakers are made to handle high power and so sacrifice sensitivity (efficiency) for power handling capablity.
Secretly i always wanted to be a hi fi salesman. The more you charge them for the product the more they believe they are getting their money's worth while never actually being able to tell the difference. good lcuk olewill
 
Many thanks.

2amps is not a great deal. However, it may need to be bypassed on long offshore passages where we are trying to conserve power.

Re the speakers and amp. I know that my arcam amp that I paid about a grand for ten years ago made a huge difference of the sound coma pared to a £200 sony amp that it was replacing.

Similarly , the speakers , interconnects and cable made a huge difference to my ear.

I wonder how much compromise you have to make on a boat for the simple fact that it is made of fiberglass and not bricks and mortar. Also that it is boat shaped.
 
fergycool said:
What about going the ClassT amp route? Low power but high quality sound.

I power a pair of Kef in ceiling speakers (ki160) with a Muse M50. It's never going to wake the dead but the sound is lovely. The prices are always going up but still way cheaper than traditional amps.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MUSE-M50-...i-Silver-/251390503139?_trksid=p2054897.l5670
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+1
I have one of these, plenty loud enough for a boat and draws very little power.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lepai-Tri..._HomeAudioHiFi_Amplifiers&hash=item5d48632e40
 
I put a car stereo in my boat, and was quite amazed how much power it would draw from a 12V battery if it was on most of the day. Enough to not have any navigation lights come nightfall. . . . I went back to a battery powered radio in the end. I have a rechargeable bluetooth waterproof speaker for this year, linked to my phone.
 
ronsurf said:
I put a car stereo in my boat, and was quite amazed how much power it would draw from a 12V battery if it was on most of the day. Enough to not have any navigation lights come nightfall. . . . I went back to a battery powered radio in the end. I have a rechargeable bluetooth waterproof speaker for this year, linked to my phone.
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It can certainly add up. I've a degen 1103 plugged into the 12v though a little ebay dc/dc converter and a class t amp, leave it on all day drawing very little.
 
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