cap?

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 7:50 am

Anyone know or can reccomend a good cap? Does PG have good caps or are there better ones. This is something that I want to purchase. I wish I could afford a powercore cuz it would eliminate a cap and my two distro blocks but oh well. So yea reccomend and link me to please

and maybe say why its good

I have a x200.4 and x1200.1 if you cared.

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 8:15 am

i dont know that 1 brand is better than another, wait and see what other members come back with- i use a titanium 1.0, but that doesnt mean its any better than any other brand,

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:04 am

Watch for these. This auction has ended, but these units are the cat's ass. Way over the top, @ 58 farads, from an engineering aspect. The one pictured looks good too, better if it was cleaned up. Pricing is probably less than a bling, bling 1 farad unit from any of the audio manufacturers.

They're are recommended by a very knowledgable and experienced audiophile.

Maxwell Cap

HH

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 12:03 pm

wow that is insane! 58 Farad? Is that just too much? I am sorry but that thing doesn't look one bit attractive. Sorry I had to say it. Looks ugly but if it will do justice i may get it. but 58? wow. Any other suggestions?

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 2:18 pm

58 farads is way more than required, but it won't harm your electrical system.

Remember, a cap is to help protect the car, not the audio system. The cap will provide instantaneous power when the audio system demands it. If the cap wasn't there, the car's power system would TRY to satisfy the demand, but it wasn't intended to operate under these circumstances. The cap reduces the stress on your car's electrical system (alternator, regulator and battery). If you don't like how it looks, hide it. You wanted suggestions, you got one. A ton more bang for the buck using these...

HH

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:03 pm

HoseHead wrote:58 farads is way more than required, but it won't harm your electrical system.

Remember, a cap is to help protect the car, not the audio system. The cap will provide instantaneous power when the audio system demands it. If the cap wasn't there, the car's power system would TRY to satisfy the demand, but it wasn't intended to operate under these circumstances. The cap reduces the stress on your car's electrical system (alternator, regulator and battery). If you don't like how it looks, hide it. You wanted suggestions, you got one. A ton more bang for the buck using these...

HH

The ESR rating on that Maxwell capacitor is higher than say, the PG PowerCore units. Not sure how large the difference makes, but I do know that how fast a cap can discharge has importance.

Also, I may be wrong here but I think a capacitor will actually end up putting MORE stress on your electrical system if it can't keep up. That is, if your electrical system cannot provide instant current demand on it's own, a capacitor will actually end up straining your system more than without one because once the cap discharges, it will try to recharge... by drawing additional current.

Caps seem to be great for filtering dirty A/C signals, though.

Post by **stipud** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:35 pm

fuzzysnuggleduck wrote:Caps seem to be great for filtering dirty A/C signals, though.

No, dirty DC signals.

A D/C signal in a car gets A/C "ripple", because your alternator has numerous AC generating windings. These produce A/C in small phase increments. The regulator diode then chops the top off of the AC wave and makes "DC" current with it. However, there are still some A/C signal remnants after this whole process. That is what a capacitor helps filter.

Post by **fuzzysnuggleduck** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 3:38 pm

stipud wrote:
fuzzysnuggleduck wrote:Caps seem to be great for filtering dirty A/C signals, though.
No, dirty DC signals.

A D/C signal in a car gets A/C "ripple", because your alternator has numerous AC generating windings. These produce A/C in small phase increments. The regulator diode then chops the top off of the AC wave and makes "DC" current with it. However, there are still some A/C signal remnants after this whole process. That is what a capacitor helps filter.

D'oh. I think I meant to say that, but now I don't even know

Mackenzie · Post by **Mackenzie** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:06 pm

You dont need a cap. Unless you want a nice pretty led display.

blake · Post by **blake** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:43 pm

So how do you know if you need a cap or not?

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:44 pm

U serious? I think I deff need one especially if I am going to be using the dual power on the x200.4 and I was going to have power into one side of the x1200.1 and then a cap on the other side as stipud suggested one time I think i read. Then I think it would not only make it sound better but also help out with my electrical system. My alt is not that good i dont think. but also the pretty display is gunna look sweet too

blake · Post by **blake** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:45 pm

I'm going to be running two amps,does that justify a cap?

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:50 pm

I thought it depends on the wattage. You are supposed to have 1 farad for every 1000 watts so I figured id need it. Even right now with only my ti 400.2 and rsd600.1 I think I need a cap.... so I couldn't imagine running my x200.4 and x1200.1 without one.

deathcloud · Post by **deathcloud** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:04 pm

and is it possible to have a 1 farad cap to run my x1200.1 in one side of the power side and then also the other side of my x200.4 or should I just worry about having the cap on the x1200.1? Thanks

Mackenzie · Post by **Mackenzie** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:12 pm

A cap is not an electrical issue fixer at all. It is a filter, nothing more, nothing less. I love how people keep thinking caps are the solution to their electrical needs

Run 0 guage split down to 4 guage for the amps. Optima yellow battery. Maybe even upgrade your alt as a last resort, but you shouldnt need to get a new alt, as this is not a high powered system by any means.

blake · Post by **blake** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:17 pm

I don't have any electrical problems,i was just wondering if i need to use one with my install.I'm using a RSd500.4 and a RSd600.1.

Mackenzie · Post by **Mackenzie** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:19 pm

blake wrote:I don't have any electrical problems,i was just wondering if i need to use one with my install.I'm using a RSd500.4 and a RSd600.1.

No, you dont need one. No one needs one.. Just properly provide your system with the sufficient wiring, and ect, and you will be fine.

blake · Post by **blake** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:29 pm

Great thanks for the info..

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 6:44 pm

i never used caps in the past, i had gm vehicles, which usually meant it was pretty inexpensive to upgrade to a h/o alternator; now in my audi A4 it came stock with a 150 bosch alternator-when you add all my fusing together im at 280 amp( vw337 posted, that as long as ur not 200 percent over ur alt. amperage then ur usually ok, now, my DMM always seems to read 14.3-13.8, untill the subs hit, then i go back and fourth between 13.1-13.9; and i also use a redtop otima battery, 1/0 gauge coming off the battery to the back where i have a stinger small gel battery, then 4 gauge goes into fuse holders, out of fuse holders to the amps, except on my rsd1200.1, the 4 gauge goes to a titanium cap, then the 4 gauge goes out of the cap and to the amp- i have listened, usually a few hours, to my system with/without the a single farad cap, and i believe it sounds better with it, and i notice i usually never go below 12.9, then rapidly i go back upto 13.8-14.1, this is just what ive experienced, i think it works for me b/c my electrical system, is up to running a ti600.2(active on tweets), a ti500.4(2 sets of 6.5) , then rsd1200.1 for 2 10rsdc-sorry didnt mena to make this thread soolong, but wanted to explain what has worked for me, all trial and error(b/c i noticed the slightest more clarity out of my subs with a 1.0 cap, i would not be opposed to a 1/2 farad cap for the 2 amps i use for mids/highs

PaulD · Post by **PaulD** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:53 pm

That cap would absolutely blow for car audio, literally. The connectors are on a seperate PC board, you can be assured the ESR is so high as to make it useless. The worst part is that it's only rated at 15V, I will GARAUNTEE you that cap won't last a month in a car.

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Sat Nov 15, 2008 10:33 pm

ru talking about the ti cap in my car? if so, its rated at 20-25v, if i remember, or its the cap from the ebay posts in this thread at begining??

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 1:37 am

You don't need a cap because mackenzie said so and mackenzie knows everything about everything because he's a smart guy and we are dumbasses.

His avatar is a fond likeness though. Lips never stop, but nothing comes out.

nico boom · Post by **nico boom** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:20 am

If you still would like to use a cap [after all this

], I would go for a German brand; BRAX.
This is what I use to get a clean signal from my powersupply.
Brax uses a special procedure to weld the connection-points to the rolled-up foil inside on a lot of points, making an extreme low impedance.
It's called the" king of caps"

on this side of the pond.

thedeal7235 · Post by **thedeal7235** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 6:44 am

nico, those 2 in 2gether look pretty sharp in black

Post by **stipud** » Sun Nov 16, 2008 9:59 am

blake wrote:I don't have any electrical problems,i was just wondering if i need to use one with my install.I'm using a RSd500.4 and a RSd600.1.

A cap is a great addition to any install where the electrical system is already good enough to sustain input power at the amps. A 1 farad cap offers nearly 20 dB of A/C ripple rejection, meaning you get a clean D/C voltage input into the amp. This means your power supply is less stressed to produce the necessary power, and will translate into an audible improvement in SQ, assuming you have a good enough system to demonstrate it.

Capacitors should not be used as a bandaid for an insufficient charging system. If you drag your alternator down, the cap would discharge in a fraction of a second, and then present a load on your system along with the amp. At this point the cap would only be a parasitic drag, and would not offer any D/C filtering.

Capacitors are electric filters, not batteries.