Solar Powered Audio

Can a system like this, considering local power company subsidies, cost more than a $7000 Isoclean system? I don't know, but it makes for an intriguing thought. Frankly,one would think Southern California would be ideal for solar energy, but virtually no one installs such a system.

I have a battery(12v) int amp(sonic impact t amp), a Dynavector D-75 12V phono stage, a Technics Sl-10 battery powered TT. All can run off of seperate SLA(sealed lead acid) batteries, and charged with a trickle charger or Solar battery charger. There are 12V cd players and DACS available too. Wellborne Labs has a tube preamp that is battery powered. Much simpler and cheaper than a bunch of solar panels to power AC equipment. Get off the Grid! Let em turn off the power and we'll still have sweet music by candlelight or solar powered lights, or tubes!

I disagree entirely with Aball; I think if you DIY it with well-researched high quality parts, it should work out well, but synergy is of course, as always, an issue.

07-10-06: Jalanc42069
I have a battery(12v) int amp(sonic impact t amp), a Dynavector D-75 12V phono stage, a Technics Sl-10 battery powered TT. All can run off of seperate SLA(sealed lead acid) batteries, and charged with a trickle charger or Solar battery charger. There are 12V cd players and DACS available too. Wellborne Labs has a tube preamp that is battery powered. Much simpler and cheaper than a bunch of solar panels to power AC equipment. Get off the Grid! Let em turn off the power and we'll still have sweet music by candlelight or solar powered lights, or tubes!
Jalanc42069 (Threads | Answers)

Well, if you're charging your batteries with a trickle charger, then you're not off the grid.

Also, I personally believe that all the batteries required to power battery powered gear creates a rather fugly installation. It'd be a cleaner to run wire from batteries in an attic or crawlspace, wouldn't it? And then you'd really be off the grid.

Anyhow, this is more of a rhetorical question intended to spur some discussion on the topic, although I thought there'd be at least one deep-pockets audiophile in one of the sunshine states to have tried this.

Tom Lyons, Audiogon user name TWL, has been completely off of the grid for years, check out some of his posts for the practical applications of the theory.