recently on Facebook some friends of mine were debating which was better, Heart FM or Kiss 100. I said Radio 2 was the way forward and was made to feel very old...

James, this is - asaik - powered by 18V, but should work well enough on 12V as the one I'm planning to use - JBLs - are also 18V and seemed to be ok on the car battery. However, there's no guarantee on this! On 12V, they won't be as loud as they are on a full supply.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... K:MEWAX:IT Pretty neat? But a gamble... The only ones I know use 12V DC are various systems by 'Creative'. They are also decent quality.

I can't find any useful info on t'net on the 2 systems you already have, so you're on your own there as to suitability. What I would suggest is chucking them into your car and powering them from the mains just to see what they sound like - power output and sound quality. If they pass this test, then you can explore how to make them work off 12V.

I still don't know where you are getting the 8V from - is it written somewhere or have you measured it (the actual trannie says 8.5V AC...)

You also need to think of where they are going to fit - the sub-woofer might have to go in the boot! If so, test this location first to check it's ok sound-wise. I have seen some 'flatter' models, so there's a chance they might squeeze under the front seat - that will make yer arse rumble...

"I said Radio 2 was the way forward..."

***shuffle***

ive had that problem, ever since working in an assembling factory (it was only a week luckily) i was blazed with radio 2, since then ive loved it, shame wogen isnt doing the breakfast shows anymore, ill go back to my rocking char now

da i havent test it with the multimeter, yet, however, it says 8v on the tran so my geuss is it is!

so your saying i should by pass the tran and put the car battery straight up its arse via the "8v" lead..?

i may buy that link you have provided me, they look quite good, will email to see if theyd consider posting

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo!

It says 8.5V on the trannie, but that is AC. After rectification, this will almost certainly change - it could go up or down depending on the type of rectification used and whether the trannie has a centre-tap (don't ask me to explain further - as I probably won't be able to...)

So, the only two practical ways to determine what DC voltage your amp ACTUALLY needs is to (1) read what it says beside the 'DC in' socket - does it say anything? No? Weird... Or (2) switch it on and CAREFULLY measure the voltage across the two wires of the large blue capacitor. Select the 20V DC setting on your meter. Don't worry about polarity - the meter will give you the correct voltage, with a '-' in front of it if you got them the wrong way around. You could also try measuring if there's a voltage across the DC socket when it's plugged into t'mains.

I don't actually understand why this speaker of yours has both a mains input AND a DC socket? Weird...

Yes, the Philips item looks pretty nifty. I just did a search on fleabay for PC Speakers using a Chichester postcode and looking at 'closest first'. Hindhead ain't far away - and you have a car! I doubt he'd want to be bothered posting it, and it would cost you at least a tenner extra if he did. Don't forget it's (afaik) 18V input, so not ideal for car use. Possibly worth a gamble if you got it for less than a tenner, but I wouldn't like to pay more on a 'chance'...

Had a reply to some Qs on that Philips set above. "This has a transformer which is 16 volt 2500mA.
The main base unit measures 7 3/4 inches x 7 3/4 inches and the depth of the base unit is 10.5 inches. The depth of the small speakers is 4 inches deep and 4 1/4 inches high."

If it's 16V, then it should be pretty much ideal for car use. (I'm sure I read on t'net it was 18V, tho'...

ahh well, DA your a star, thank you for all your help, im going to buy that philips set me thinks

thanks a million mate

Don't come crying to me if...

nope, i wont!!

from what youve said it should work, if it doesnt then ill make it work