Get a power supply that delivers at least 50A and between 13.8 and 14.5V and use a good dry-cell battery as buffer.
Do not use a 12-12.5V power supply since it won't be able to keep the battery "filled", you need over-voltage to do that and a good dry-cell battery already measures 13+V idle!

 

If you're just testing to see if things work, I would have thought that an old car battery would do fine.

Then use a cheap peak-detecting charger to keep it up after use.

Won't give you the 14+V of an alternator, but it will show you if things work, and it's a cheaper option.

 

will any of this options under voltage the components if pushed hard,ideally should the power supply be able to cover the max amperage of the system?

 

Shouldn't do. My option is basically the same as listening to a car parked in a parking lot, without the engine running.

Mind you, having a decent testing battery wouldn't hurt (ie low internal resistance). Cheaper batteries aren't as robust under load, and your op voltage would be lower. Also wouldn't hurt to do a sealed battery if you're moving it around, and a deep cycle battery if you don't plan to be too dilligent about recharging.

If you wanted to get really fancy, you could do a 4-cell lithium pack, like Porsche is starting to offer as an option for non-winter operation. Requires a different style of charger, but much less voltage sag (4 cells is probably 12.8V under most loads), and a heck of a lot lighter to move around.

 

If you're just looking for turn-on and ability to play (ie, minimal volume) then using the 12 volt rail from an old computer power supply will work just fine.

Some of them even give you up to 20 amps!

And you probably have one kicking around your house right now.. if not.. one of your friends will...

 

OK, if i go with the computer power supply and connect all the 12v leads, will the amps of each section combine and add up for a max amp rating?

 

20 amp power supply will be fine. i've found them on ebay for $50, it was actually a 25amp. Been using it for about a year, under heavy and light loads(for long hours) so durability seems to be good. It just looks like a small silver box, i plan to get another one soon.

 

thanks for the reply but that does not answer my question.

 

yes one of those pyramid ones will do fine, ive run a deck, 2 amps, sub, speakers off it. of course you won't get up to the full potential power of each item, but for testing it works great

 

If you need full power, buy a used Iota DLS power supply off ebay. You can get up to 90 amps at 14.2 volts for the same price as one of those Pyramids.

 

those iota power supples sure look like they would do the trick,saw the specs and their top 12v unit puts out 90 amps at 13.5 volts which is a lot and would cost around 200 +,so my reasoning was that i saw some used computer power supply on eBay with 4 12v leads at 25 amps each so i thought i could get 100amps current if combine them, is this true?
would this work?

 

can any one else comment on this,if combine the leads of the computer power supply i can get max amp rating,for example if it has three 12v leads at 20a each that would give me 60 amps max?
thanks for he help so far

 

You can use PC supplies, though some need a load on the 5v line to work right. You can tie PS together. Many people use three PC supply and use the 5v rail in series for 15v, then turn them down a hair or they sag that much to 14.5 or so. Some PS put out more at 5v or work better. Hit google there are pages on doing that. I made one need to put the switch in it, was going to run just the HU off it. I have a 10A tenna I test with that I rebuilt, this works ideal as it shuts down if something shorts and usually 10A is not enough to damage things much. Then have a 30A I run with it for more power and another 30A I have not installed yet....I just built a load no time to power test amps much yet.

A 10a will run stuff for you, get a sealed battery or even a jumper pack. But you can't run high volume for long. If you want to run a whole car system full on you will need a huge PS minimum 60A or something....like the guys use to power cars at shows. They are expensive, I managed to find mine used so far. The cheap pyramid have been recommended to me, sure get one on ebay if its a better deal. If you want to run a huge amp hard get out your wallet you need a lot of power. In my car I clamped my kicker 700.5 at 74A peak clipping the subs but not the highs....that is only 420rms on subs and 4x70rms highs, car running.