Quick amplifier question
 

Hi All,

I have a question regarding amp specs. I noticed many manufacturers have different power outputs at different voltages, for example

RMS @ 14.4V w/ 2ohm load is 800W
RMS @ 12.5V w/ 2 ohm load is 350W

what does the voltage mean? is this input voltage, gain or what?

Thanks!

input voltage from your battery.

Mark

Makes sense, thanks

Another newb trying to learn here!

How do you get up past 12V? More batteries? Different alternator?

I'm clueless.

The max voltage of your system is determined by your charging system I believe. In my mind, you would have to have a potential greater than your battery in order to charge it so say a 16V battery, a 16V or greater alternator? I could just be speaking out of my ass though.

the average charging system is around 14.4 volts. depending on your idle you could get a little more which depends on how your alternator is setup. just remember that voltage is the force that carries current, so the higher the voltage the higher the amperage as well

or maybe i`m just speaking out of my ass too!!

There seem to be a lot of asses potentially speaking in this thread.

Wrong.

Voltage is determined by whatever is supplying the power, in this case the alternator.

Every alternator has a voltage regulator, this is why you can get alts that put out more voltage.

The components (lights, stereo ect) are what determine the amperage draw. Each component will draw however much amperage it needs to fulfill its duty. So it is current draw that varies and not voltage.

When the supply (alternator) cant supply enough current(amperes) to the components then we see voltage drop. What voltage drop is, essentially, is that the electrical components will start to feed off of a different lower voltage source (the battery) instead of the alternator and thus get around 12-12.5 volts.

This could be an analogy to volts and amps:
Voltage: Speed limit on a highway
Amperes: Number of cars on said highway.

To add to this, for the same given amplifier power output, a higher input (battery/alt) voltage will result in a lower current draw cause V X A = power (watts).

please also keep in mind that your car's electrical components, including all the lights, ecu, motors, etc..., all are designed for a max voltage of probably 15-16volts. If you try to run your alternator at higher than stock voltage by altering the vreg (voltage regulator), you may have a lot of expensive repairs to make. Make your life simple, get a high output alternator, and extra batteries if you need to...will give you more than enough to blow your brains out!!!