Hifi question

[barry2017]

I've built myself a home entertainment system that plays Spotify and my MP3 collection, built behind a touch panel LCD and a Viglen MPC I had knocking around doing nowt.

It's great. I've always fancied a jukebox, and I've got an old clock case that it will all live inside. But now, I need to ask a question of the audiophiles amongst you (I don't know why, but I have a picture of a skip in my mind right now).

What can you suggest for a little amp? It needs to be cheap, physically small and not terribly powerful, powering no more than a pair of little speakers on the boat. It also needs to be very power efficient, and if it ran from 12v that would be a bonus too.

 

[Easy_Rider]

By your description there are plenty of PC speakers that'll do the job. I got these 3 years ago which I got for games/music and they are very powerfull!

I think the 230v transformer plug convert to 12v so you could cut it off? I'll have to check though.

 

[showtime]

i have to admit i'm loving the Harman Kardon Soundsticks the mrs got me for christmas

available online for around £90 nowadays

just looked on the power supply & the powered sub (the heart of the system) has a 16v dc input

 

[ferrus]

I don't know much about this kind of hifi, but one thing worth considering is that amp power is only part of the story; speaker sensitivity and load also determine power output/volume. If you can find some speakers with a 'sensitivity' of 90db or above, and an easy-to-drive impedance (6-8 ohm), you'll be able to get away with a much less powerful amp.
(..and they'll give you a more lively, dynamic sound.)

Beware though, small speakers aren't necessarily more sensitive, -often quite the opposite..

 

[drcarlos]

As it's only one sourse, has a built in volume control and needs to run from 12v why not use an automotove amp from someone like alpine?

Carl.

 

[legrandefromage]

I wouldnt bother with PC speakers as they all sound terrible up against 'proper' stuff.

With your 12v system, a reasonable quality car audio amplifier will do 9they do draw alot of current though...) with a passive pre-amplifier (they require no power).

I do have a few quality bits lying around (of course) but I've also wanted to try these little fellers just for a laugh:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HiFi-Stereo-Ampli ... 4723wt_939

efficient speakers (as mentioned) make the amplifier do less work so efficiency ratings of 89db or more mean at 1 watt of input information, they will emit 89db or more (most people with their gazzillion watt amps & speakers will use around 5 ~ 20 watts for the average house party).

Any of the old Pioneer 'CS' speakers from the '80's are very efficient and are often sought after for low power valve applications. Their paper drivers are very light and with a few tweaks to the crossovers can sound very tasty.