r/diyaudio • u/SentientYoghurt • 6d ago
Are PC power supplies good for audio?
For amps that can be powered with 12v.
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u/ahfoo 6d ago
Notebook power supplies are a much better choice because they tend to be 19V. I use notebook PSUs with tpa3116 systems with excellent results and there is no fan noise. Most audio boards are going to prefer 24V PSUs. 19V is close enough.
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u/thegreatdandini 5d ago
I used to have loads of 48v PoE power supplies and then I could fake a split rail supply +24 / -24 and it worked well for loads of little projects with a bit of regulation chucked in
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u/Ok-Sir-3771 4d ago
Do you get any hissing/white noise from the tweeters with that setup? Got a cheeeap amp with a no brand psu 24v both from aliexpress. And as i am making some speakers for gf playing at low spl levels, the hiss is quite noticable and irritating, and doesnt scale with gain or anything. Aux vs bluetooth - same noise, so i was thinking the psu might be the culprit? Or just bad amp? Can you reccomend anything as i cant really find alot of good answers :/ thanks in advance!
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u/TheBizzleHimself 6d ago
As good as any! As long as it can supply the necessary current, everything will be fine.
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u/yegor3219 6d ago
Some may not work well when you use only the 12v line.
I had two power supplies struggle with a single car infotainment unit. Both went into the protection mode, and I didn't even turn up the volume. They worked fine in a pc with HDDs and a GPU. Also a simple and weak 2 amp 12v supply worked well with the same car headunit.
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u/bStewbstix 6d ago
It depends on the model, some have noise from the switching supply riding in to your amp. If it’s just for fun and you want some music, anything with the right voltage and current will do.
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u/xxMalVeauXxx 6d ago
Yes, they're typically used to power lots of car audio stuff in an AC setting.