HiCap..acity Car batteries ? Safe?

Posted by: johno on 31 March 2002

I had an e-mail from a guy recently that was using two car batteries to power his pre amp!

It would be unregulated unlike a Hicap.. but using 4 (2 in series) would make a nice Hicap replacement...
As the amp takes 24v has anyone tried this?

Comments?

John
Shore

Posted on: 31 March 2002 by Steve B

I've read before that batteries are very noisy.

I've always wondered though if this could be solved by using smoothing capacitors and voltage regulator(s) as in a conventional supply.

Steve B

Posted on: 01 April 2002 by Andrew L. Weekes

Here's a comparison of my AndySNAPS vs a battery with a 100mA load.

The flat trace is the SNAPS, the sloping trace the battery. The battery is quieter at high frequencies (bear in mind though this was a resistive load, not a varying dynamic one).

The problem is the LF is the hardest to remove, requiring gargantuan capacitors that have low impedance at low frequencies. The HF noise though is easy to filter, as is done, AFAIK, in every Naim active circuit, with a small RC network.

Elegant, compact and simple.

I have discrete regulators in which the noise floor is indistinguishable from my measurement apparatus!

Posted on: 02 April 2002 by johno

Anyway way that was a fun period, but the Hicap won over because it did sound better than the batteries.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that I have 2 HiCaps so 4 batteries in the house is not needed... good thread though..

John
Shore