Fully DC-Powered Home Audio System


I’ve been experimenting with battery-powering various pieces of my audio system for the last 6 months. It started with front end gear such as sources and preamps and I got good results. Due to poor in-wall wiring which greatly limits current delivery to my amplifiers (and the lack of time to run new wiring), I was compelled to try my hand at battery powering my speaker amplifiers. These were the last components to be powered by batteries, effectively making my system 100% DC-powered, off-grid.

What I have noticed with battery power is that the sound is very organic and natural which makes certain musical pieces like cello and piano works sound wonderful. With faster paced music that has lots of “dynamic slam,” the music seems a bit tamed. A tad boring.

It seems that battery power has a sonic signature. I’m wondering if it is just an intrinsic quality of “battery sound,” or if the “dynamic slam” can be improved upon. A few ideas that have crossed my mind include using larger batteries or incorporating large capacitors somehow.

Really I think what I am asking is how do you make battery powered gear have the slam and authority of good AC-powered gear while maintaining the naturalness and off-grid benefits that batteries offer?

Thanks!
128x128mkgus

Showing 2 responses by mkgus

Quick update: The “restricted dynamics” I refer to above has been improved upon with a change in my preamp. I believe I had an impedence mismatch which made things sound “off.”
I did do some math for the wire gauge. The run from the 12V battery to the amplifier is only 3 feet. Originally I ran 8 gauge but it sounded a bit strange (psychological?) I’ve got 12 gauge hooked up now. What’s your rule of thumb for an acceptable voltage drop as a percentage? The amps are rated for about 400 watts RMS but I doubt I push them that hard. 
400 watts is 33A at 12V. Three feet of 12 gauge is a 2.62% voltage drop. 

I wonder if anyone is using a Tesla power wall for audio. I hope so. 

People have different reasons for using batteries but the main one I see is getting off the dirty grid power and feeding pure, clean DC to your components. It’s quite noticeable as a layer of hash and digital glare is removed. Although the cost appears to be a more laid back, less dynamic presentation. A cost I hope can be mitigated. Maybe it can’t.