Electrical for 12kw

[Yadaddy]

I'm planning my first big system using alphard audio gear.

I was thinking to run about 20kw. But I've heard from a lot of people that I should start smaller but be able to upgrade.

So now my current plans are 2 db418s on 2 alphard 4ks. And I'm not quite sure what I'm going to be doing with mids and highs power wise. But we'll just assume 4kw that's exaggerated by far but that's what we'll assume. This will be going in a 1996 tahoe. So at this point I'm sure I'll be looking for dual alternators from who is my biggest question. Assuming each Alt is in the 300 amp range. And this being a daily driver not a demo vehicle. 1-2 hours play time a day with small breaks between songs. How many battery's would I need to keep my voltage drop from being too significant. With battery's I would either use the crescendo hpl120 unless somebody could educate me as to why I should use xs power instead and what battery's I should use from them. And after all that if I am going to need another alternator I'm fine with that too.

[Skullz]

Plan on having more than you need for your system, as it supplies everything it requires to run. It would be best to just get all your alts in the first shot to get up and running and a smaller battery bank to start, and as time goes on you can add to what you have and grow the system to get to the final point of where you want to be, cause the up front costs of huge systems can deplete a bank account very quickly.

[notorious97200]

That is a lot of power for daily !

You won't use all of it everytime, but you need a strong electrical for sure.

Be sure to get the biggest and baddest alternators you can fit under the hood.

Then batts.

If you have a deal on Crescendo batts, ok. I don't work for no battery brand ! Get the ones you can afford, and you will need a lot of them.

You can try lithium batteries : they'll save you space and weight in your car. A battery bank full of group 31 batteries is huge & heavy !!

[Yadaddy]

Yeah. i think what ill do is buy one alternator biggest i can find. about 3 batterys. get one woofer one amp and some mids and highs. and then start saving for my triple to quad alt bracket. that way every time i get in my car i have a reminder of why i need to keep saving lol. and then after i get everything in whether i take 3 or 4 alternators is still undecided. but then i can keep adding batterys as necessary to control voltage drop. seem like a good plan?

[Clownrock95]

dc recommends

• 1 upgraded battery under the hood
• 3 extra 800ci battery in the rear
• Minimum of two 0 awg ran from the front battery to the rear battery
• All 0 awg power and ground inputs on amp must have 0 awg ran to them for a total of 6 runs into the amp
• 2 Upgraded aftermarket alternators
• Dash mounted voltage meter

so theres a place to start

[RooTxBeeR]

Seems like a good idea, just letting you know. You want a real 10k watt system, expect to spend over 10,000

[magillaru]

Get an alt that best fits your needs and vehicle (will you mostly play at idle or driving and what rpm does your vehicle idle at will determine what alt you should get). If you just get the biggest alt you can fit under the hood (depending on what alt that is), it may not meet your needs.

[Yadaddy]

Thanks for the help thats a really good idea to start from. and i think at idle speeds are most likely what ill be. i was looking at dc alts because they have up to quad brackets ready to order i think thats pretty awesome. but i do plan to spend 15k+. this isnt all gonna happen at once my goal is to be finished this time next year. im having a lot of trouble deciding whether or not i should just buy a car and wall it with 4 15s and a drivers side port on about 6k. would be a lot cheaper but at the same time. im just not sure im ready for a wall. i definitely dont have the craftsmanship to build one on my own knowledge right now.