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Mar 30, 2011 12:48:53 GMT
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The problem with amping straight off an Ipod/Mp3 player jack is that you're limited in volume by how loud the Ipod will go. IIRC the older Ipods aren't too bad, but the new ones are curse word as the EU brought in max volume laws to stop people going deaf. Matt Mine's an old greyscale 3rd Gen (retro ;D), but there is still a definite difference between the output through the headphone jack and the dock. It wasn't too bad when I used it through a tape converter.
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Mar 30, 2011 13:30:54 GMT
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I'm not after massive power but it seems that the engine noise would drown out one of those mini amps. Alternatively I could get a head unit with an Aux input and mount it out of sight - I'm keen to keep things looking "period" in the car. How about this: Rear aux-in (RCA) so all cabling is out of the way and probably the cheapest modern headunit that doesn't look offensive. Combine with one of these or these for ipod charging, rather than the usual bulky car chargers.
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Last Edit: Mar 30, 2011 13:35:43 GMT by Paul H
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Mar 30, 2011 18:06:48 GMT
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So, I looked at these cheap mini amps on eBay. I bought one of those to put inside my Dewalt site radio to take input from an MP3 player. Can't remember who it came from but it was about £8 with postage. They're about 5 to 8 watts max I would say, but do the job you want them to easy enough. More volts = more watts so 14.4v better to 12v if you want to run it from batteries for a little bit extra. I left the volume set to about half way and then controlled it from my MP3 player which works fine and is easier than fiddling.
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Mar 30, 2011 20:24:48 GMT
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I've had my name mentioned so I suppose I should reply! I've had a few of the cheap ebay amps - several models that all looked quite different and they all used the same 7w per channel amp chip.
They are ok for what you pay but fall far short of what they promise. Buying a well worn old 2 channel cheapie "proper" amp for about the same money is probably a better option. Old Boss Sound or one of those purple "MOSFET" amps that fade to pink from the late 90's are a solid 45 or so watts per channel (they claim a lot more) and are usually beer tokens and work spot on.
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Mar 30, 2011 20:57:31 GMT
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Thanks for all the replies and advice! I decided to take a punt on an old '80s Kenwood amp which was advertised as "untested" as it was missing the plug to power it up. It was about £13 inc. postage so I haven't lost much if I have to break out the soldering iron. It's 75W per channel so that will be plenty... if it works. ;D
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I thought I'd update this with what I went for in the end. I bought an old Kenwood KAC-820 amp (1988 vintage) which was advertised as not working and missing the plug. At £3.99 plus postage, I figured I'd take a chance. ^ Forgive the blurry phone cam shots. This amp is one solid chunk of aluminium. Good job it's solid as it was just wrapped in a sheet of bubble wrap and sent to me! It survived though. I downloaded the owner's manual and the service manual - I couldn't find a power lead anywhere so I thought I'd figure out what pins do what and make up a loom. ^ Please excuse the choc blocks. Those are definitely temporary as I just wanted to hook it all up and see if it worked! ^ Hooked the amp up to a battery, stuck some cheapo shelf speakers onto it, and put my iPod though it using a 3.5mm to RCA lead. It works! It'll be a fair while before I put it in the car, I've got loads more pressing things to do and I'm still enjoying the exhaust noise. I'll get some better speakers which won't get blown apart and make a proper wiring loom up. Thanks again for all the advice, I'm a car audio noob. ;D
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...That amp is as old as me! Glad you got it sorted.
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