Thread: 600W speaker box

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So last night I lucked into an awesome score through the local Freecycle. I thought I was just going to pick up some car speakers that I thought I could use for the haunt somehow. Turns out I got a Audiobahn Bandpass Subwoofer box. It looks like it's got 10" or 12" speakers and is rated for 600W. And the best part is I got it for free! Sweeeeet!! There's an amplifier (Kenwood I think) already mounted to the back so I just have to figure out some sort of 12V power supply and how to get the audio to it and I'm all set! I figure I'll run the thunder track for the thunder/lightning through it to really get the neighbourhood rumbling - even vibrate the house windows!

It's going to be awesome!

Hector


PS... just 5 more days to get your haunt photos in for the 2012 Haunted Canada Calendar - so for any Canadian haunters reading this don't miss out!! Full details on my website.

I'll post some photos later as I get it set up by here's one so you can see what it looks like. Any advice on how to best power it and get my audio running would be appreciated. Thanks.

Congrats on the freebie! As to your question of powering it. The best option (using the car audio amp) is a deep cycle marine battery, or a decent automotive battery of around 800-1000 CCA (cold cranking amps). You could use a smaller battery of 550-650 CCA, but it won't last the full evening without a helping hand.

Alternatively, with a smaller battery. You could supplement the power with a automotive battery charger that has an engine start setting of 60 amps or more. To assist with handling the deep transient notes. Though, I'd certainly consider putting a 100-140 cfm cooling fan on it if you decide to go that route as the engine start setting is not made for continuous duty. Therefore, additional cooling is a necessity.

Either route is much more cost effective than purchasing (even used) a DC power supply that will be capable of delivering 60 amps continuously (or greater depending on the efficiency of the amplifier).

Now, to my actual recommended course of action. Sell the amplifier, and get a 300 or 500 watt B.A.S.H. amplifier from Parts Express to power your rig. It's much more suited to the task, with no jerry rigging a temporary power supply just to make it work. Not to mention much safer. Did I mention cheap too? The 300w, which is very suited to the task is about $115, and the 500w is $189. I'd imagine you could nearly trade even if you sold the Kenwood in favor of the 300w model. Take a look for yourself and see what you think.

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards...sh+amp&x=0&y=0

Thanks for the advise Raven's Hollow! That sounds like a good (and safe!) option. I'll probably fire it up with a battery/charger just to see if it works and not blown out. Then I can either sell the amp like you suggest or sell the whole thing and get something that would be easier to set up. We'll see. Since I got it for free nothing lost either way.

You're very welcome! Happy to be of service sir.