Thread: Mini Amp. What do you think?

Decent little amp. Read quite a bit about them but have yet to install one. I think they fit our market perfectly

they are probably more powerful than an average headunit too. I think there is something here that us car-mod folks really need to take a closer look at.

From the site for AMP3:

It delivers up to 2x25W into 4 ohms. The footprint is only 25 x 75 mm and the height is 22 mm.
Excellent sound!
Single 12V supply Operation (max 14.7V). Stabilized power not required.
Works very well of a 12V battery
Typically 0.05% THD+N @ 2x13W 4Ω, 14.5V
2x25W @ 4Ω, 10% THD+N
2x14W @ 8Ω, 10.0% THD+N
High Efficiency:
88% @ 13.5W 8Ω
81% @ 25W 4Ω
Dynamic Range = 100dB
High power supply rejection ratio
Over-current protection shutdown
Over-temperature protection shutdown
Turn-on and Turn-off pop suppression
Perfect companion for a portable CD/MD/MP3 player

I just emailed the guy at the site asking about bridging channels and he told me that he is currently designing a new amp that can handle 4 channels at around 100W/channel with a 1ohm resistance (I think it works down though when you get to 4 phms to about 25W again). He also told me that he is coming out with two new versions on AMP 3! So im looking forward to this .

Here is what e said:

AMP3 is limited to 14.5V supply and about 5A current
peak, which translates to about 25W per channel. Two
amps in parallell cn then deliver about 10 A peak.

The new amp can handle about 26V and 10A per
channel. That is equivalent to around 100W per
channel, with either 12V / 1 ohm or 24V / 4 ohms.
Also, its possible to parallell these channels, so there
are lots of different ways to go. The board size is
about 160 x 50 mm.

Both these amps have internally bridged outputs so you
can not "bridge them again".

AMP3 is built with small SMT components, while the
new model uses hole mount components throughout.

I even have two new versions of AMP3 coming soon, with
even smaller footprint than the first one. Specs / components/
schematics are the same as the original AMP3.

So you have some choices......

If you want small, energy-efficient, and high sound quality, this is a very good way to go about it. Don't consider AMP3 to be a low-cost option unless you already have tools and skills for working with SMDs. There is good reason that some folks sell preassembled AMP3s for $85-$100 each.

hmm thats a good question... I actually emailed Jan (the man in charge) about bridging channels. Anyway here is a little something from what he said:

With 12V and 4 ohms, the limit is about 25W.
To get more power from 12V one has to either lower
the impedance, i.e. 2 ohms, by using tw 4 ohms in parallell,
or use a SMPS that increases the voltage. (Large
car amps have an internal voltage boosting).

so it looks to me like the only thing holding back higher watts is voltage...

So i think 25watts is about the highest sustainable wattage.

Originally Posted by IC-C30

that's the info i found at the website too, so not realy helping. that's still the maximum output. and we all know that's the one thing that doesn't matter. keep us posted if you get any more information on this, i'd say!

edit: i just found the answer to my own question

"AMP3: tipically 0.05% THD+N @ 2x13W 4Ohm, 14.5 volt"

but another question that raises my mind: what's the dampeningfactor?

Ha good find I can't believe i didn't see that myself . lol
Thats a good question though.... What is the damping factor of most amps though? I never really payed any attention to that when looking for other amps... how big of an effect can it have on the average amp?

BTW it is damping not dampening lol. Dampening means to soak or make wet something.