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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DejaWiz" data-source="post: 5543484" data-attributes="member: 569941">A capacitor places more of a strain on a system than anything else.  When it's charging, it's a load.  Add in an amplifier, and now you have multiple loads.After 1 time constant of charging, the capacitor is at approx 63% voltage.  In a 13.8V system, this is 8.7V.After 1 time constant of discharging, the capacitor is at approx 37% voltage.  In the same 13.8V system, that is a mere 5.1V.While the amplifier is trying to do it's job, thus drawing current, so is the capacitor when trying to constantly charge while constantly being discharged.  Voltage to the amplifier is diminished because of this.  The circuit must equalize based on a constant power source and the number of loads present and the individual demands of each of those loads.Think of it in terms of static electricity....When you walk across a carpet in socks in the right atmospheric conditions, you are building a charge.  Touch a door handle and this charge suddenly goes away.  You and the door handle are loads on the power source.  After 1 Time Constant (walking the distance of 1 foot in second, for this example), you have built a bit of a charge.  When you touch a door handle, you might not feel or see the spark, but this doesn't mean you're not discharged... you are!After 5 time constants (walking 5 feet in 5 seconds), you have built up a much larger charge.  Touch the door handle and you can now feel (and likely see) the resulting spark from the near-instantaneous discharge.Now, tie a wire around the door handle and hold on to it.  Walk the same 5 feet in 5 seconds across the carpet (power source).  Your body doesn't build the same charge because the wire is constantly discharging you to the door handle.  Your body is TRYING to build the charge, but, this will never happen since the constant load of the door handle (amplifier load) is present in addition to the constant load of your body (capacitance charge) to the constant power source (the carpet while you are walking across it).  Because of this, the voltage is much lower when measured at the door handle and the body since you are acting as an additional load when charging, pulling voltage away from door handle as the door handle is pulling voltage away from you.  The only thing that stays constant is the power generated from the carpet... and that now has to be equalized between both loads.I know this likely isn't the best example stated in the best words, but I just wanted to try and explain it in terms that 999,999 out of 1,000,000 people have experienced for themselves as best I could in a relatively short amount of time.</blockquote>

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