"Mark Zarella" seesigfile wrote:



I keep seeing that amps give out a bit more umph if they get 14
volts rather then 12 volts. How does one go about insuring that the
amp gets 14 volts all the time?

A high quality alternator will be the best way to assure it. But it doesn't
matter anyway. You won't hear the difference.

Practically any stock alternator delivers 14+ volts when the car is being
driven. Most do this as well when the car is idling. If your lights dim on
peaks then voltage is dropping; but as Mark says the sound quality generally
doesn't change.

A high quality alternator will be the best way to assure it. But it
doesn't
matter anyway. You won't hear the difference.

Practically any stock alternator delivers 14+ volts when the car is being
driven. Most do this as well when the car is idling.

The reason I said "high quality" is because most stock alternators can't
maintain this output voltage under heavy demands.

I would go a step further and point out that Bosch - the standard
alternator in most German cars - qualifies as a "high quality"
alternator, but by design is usually set to max out at about 13.8 volts,
with 13.4V at idle being typical. In general, the European carmakers put
higher quality batteries in their vehicles and charge them at a lower
voltage, more reasonable rate for better battery service life, unlike
domestic and Asian vehicles that use really cheap batteries for the most
part but charge them at higher voltage. This is of course a
generalization and may also be a little dated but in the 80's and 90's
that was more often the case than not.

JD

Mark Zarella wrote:

A high quality alternator will be the best way to assure it. But it


doesn't


matter anyway. You won't hear the difference.


Practically any stock alternator delivers 14+ volts when the car is being
driven. Most do this as well when the car is idling.



The reason I said "high quality" is because most stock alternators can't
maintain this output voltage under heavy demands.