Having a stereo without a head unit?

[TerryD]

I sold a friend a cheap 75x4 app that he did this with in his Toyota truggy. It's a pretty neat set up and would good. You can plug anything with a 1/8" stereo port into it.

I considered something similar, but I like having the radio prob of it and a lot of places we go don't have cell service to use something like I(heart)radio or Pandora.

 

[mikekoala]

Just installed one of these Lepai mini-amps in the glove box. I wanted something hidden and that I didn't care about if it got ripped off. Volume is OK, but I went with a crappy pair of outdoor speakers also.

The one issue I had was that my alternator (and/or regulator) is not very consistent. I get anywhere from 10.9 to 13.7+ volts depending on the RPMs which would cause the Lepai to cut out - safety protection I guess? I purchased a step-down regulator to deal with that. Here's the setup so far:

12v feed to 3A fuse
DC 8-22v to 1-15v adjustable step-down regulator
USB Adapter 8-20V 12V to 5V/1A DC
NFC/BlueTooth Receiver
Lepai 2020A Amp
Outdoor Speakers


***** update 12-28-2013 *****

So, I got everything hooked up today. The step-down regulator seemed to do it's job. The USB line was able to power the Bluetooth receiver, but there was considerable buzz/hum from the speakers. I'm assuming a ground issue somewhere, but not sure how to start isolating. Will try a "ground loop isolator or in-line noise filter.