Capacitor installation.

[S1n1sta]

Just like a capacitor a car's battery is a storage device and nothing more. While it is true a cap can discharge that stored energy more quickly than a typical battery due to lower internal resistance at the end of the day it is no more than energy storage and nothing more. If you are somehow under the mistaken impression that a car's battery is actually supplying that energy then you're more foolish than the other respondants to this thread whom you are calling foolish. Where, then, did that energy contained within the battery and/or capacitor originate? I'll leave it to you to figure that out.

I was never under that impression. The cap releases small quantities of stored energy to your amp when needed. I didn't think it was necessary to explain such a simple notion.

Tightly regulated power supplies are great for test bench applications; however, musical program material typically has both loud and soft passages... In fact the thing that makes music so interesting, as opposed to listening to pure sine waves, is the transient peaks and dips. Dips are not a problem --- but the transient peaks take instant power, not regulated rails. This is why a Stiffening Capacitor can improve the Peak response of an audio system.

David navone

Lets not argue with the experts?

 

[stuckinok 5,000+ posts]

iam 25% dumber by reading through this thread......i guess my system isnt loud unless i have Cap installed..i ll just throw away the G31 Yellow Top i have in my trunk and become Best Buys #1 Listening Customer.....

Why the **** am i even posting in this thread!!!!!!

 

[S1n1sta]

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iam 25% dumber by reading through this thread......i guess my system isnt loud unless i have Cap installed..i ll just throw away the G31 Yellow Top i have in my trunk and become Best Buys #1 Listening Customer.....

Maybe if you werent 25% dumber than the rest of us you would realize that a cap is merely meant to help deliver a steady current to your amp.

Keyword: "HELP"

A cap is not gonna solve any problems or really improve performance. It's merely there for the one or 2 times your amp needs more power than it is getting. Like a really loud bass note or a sound competition.

If your current never drops below that point, GOOD FOR YOU!!! DONT GET A CAP!!!

But if you havent spent hundreds on getting a new alternator and battery, a cap can really help. Although it is very limited and shortlived help, it does work.

Just dont be fooled by advertising. Around here I have never seen a cap advertised, i had to import one from jhb. I bet you americans have all kinds of corporations advertising how awesome caps are and try to sell them to you at rediculous prices. Truth is, a cap is a very simple thing that you find in lots of everyday items, and should come cheap. If you are charged more than $50 for a 1 farad cap, I would also be telling people not to buy them.

By the way, what are your prices for caps around there?

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

By the way, what are your prices for caps around there?

$75-$150 is the typical price range for a 1F capacitor, once a pretty label and shiny terminals have been put on it.

On the surplus market, I've seen them for under $20.

 

[TBlaar]

I thank everyone who posted a valuable reply in this thread.

Kaezoo, if only you had posted that first nice long reply, then i would have been pleased. This is what I was looking for. Thanks.

Also, a big part for buying the cap was because it looks nice.

we all like 'nice' in our systems as well. Not all of us go for pure SPL. and **** the looks...

so, my questions have been answered.

i asked if the cap could have been damaged by not pre-charging it, and also, i asked whether it will help with the power cuts.

seeing this was the amp, no the cap didn't help.

and it was not damaged by not pre-charging it.

we will now be removing the capacitor, and try to get our friends to lick the top...

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

$75-$150 is the typical price range for a 1F capacitor, once a pretty label and shiny terminals have been put on it.
On the surplus market, I've seen them for under $20.

And unfortunately if you begin to look into the 'fancy-shmancy' models that have digital voltage displays, integrated distribution blocks, flashing LEDs, etc etc etc average retail pricing climbs even higher than that stateside. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[KaeZoo 10+ year member]

Why the **** am i even posting in this thread!!!!!!

Okay, I give up. Why the **** are you even posting in this thread, when you have nothing to add?

 

[stuckinok 5,000+ posts]

Okay, I give up. Why the **** are you even posting in this thread, when you have nothing to add?

look buddy all i was trying to say is that a cap doesnt do anything in some systems..... a cap is like putting a small band aid on a huge open wound.....if you stay small in power and use little amps and subs then you know what? a 1f cap will work ....but the way some of you dumbos are putting your words is stupid..your giving qoutes from people that did lab test in perfect enviorments...i mean i could go online and do copy and paste all day to make myself feel smart....i ve used caps in my past and it work when i had a small 600w system but now when i started running a 2000+ RMS system a cap is the last thing on my list to help power that amp... caps might work for you but they dont in my situation i needed to do a big3, then a alternator upgrade then a batt in the trunk not go to wal-mart and buy a 50 buck cap.... this is all from experience not what i read on the internet

 

[stuckinok 5,000+ posts]

^^^^^sorry got a little excited there iam cool now and ill stay out of this thread

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

David navone

Lets not argue with the experts?

The amp still has to process the transient and the power supply has to provide the power to the output stage. Some amps are better at this than others. Having large filter caps in the power will have a bigger effect on transient response than a stiffening cap. Only if you have an amp with a good design and construction will a cap make a difference other than to give the amp a relatively steady supply of current while the alt gets itself together.

Nobody with a system as loud as mine is going to listen to it at full volume all the time, so youre not gonna need a cap then. But now and again , you are going to want to put it that loud to show friends or other car audio enthusiasts, or for sound competitions. That's when a cap comes in.

Don't know how loud your system is, but all the really loud systems that I know of forego the cap in favor of batteries for comps and a big alt and batteries for daily driving. A quality low ESR battery will actually do the same thing as a cap and has a much higher reserve capacity.

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

A cap is not gonna solve any problems or really improve performance. It's merely there for the one or 2 times your amp needs more power than it is getting. Like a really loud bass note or a sound competition.

Hmmm how interesting...then how come competitors use batterys and not caps? Are they totally wrong? They should throw away their batteries right away //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif
Caps are the EASY way out. Even if its just for short burps, it will STILL hurt your charging system in the long run...theres no telling when it will fail...