From what I've seen around the net, 1 Farad / 500w amplifier seems to be the suggested mating, but I'm wondering if anyone else has any better info on this. I'm looking to run a set of Elemental Designs Nine.1 and Nine.2 amplifiers and I'd like to make sure that I am giving them the power they deserve.

Of course, if I'm going about this the wrong way & should be looking into other power options for this, please feel free to chime in.

TIA

 

Capacitors are good for one thing: Paperweights.

Its a band aid fix and a shitty band aid at that. Best upgrades are battery and alternator. Good deep cycle gel-cell with a high amp per hour rating...people are most familiar with Optima.

As far as alternators go...this is my first honda and alternators seem to not be as plentiful as with American vehicles, so I have no idea as far as sourcing an alternator. Ive done a brief search on the matter and found limited results.

Battery/alternator and upgrading all wiring in between is the best approach to achieving optimal 'reliable' performance from an audio system.

Now if your system only draws 20 amps of current, upgrading the battery/alt. would be a waste of time and money, etc.

 

Thanks, actually I've been finding a bit more info as well. It looks like the "Big 3 Upgrade" is actually a better beginning path for me to take, especially considering the max draw on the amps (130 amps max on the Nine.1 and 49 amps max on the Nine.2).

 

These are pretty hefty statements, and you may want to reconsider them. Search may or may not turn up the old threads, but do a search for my MacGyver modifry capacitor power. This was argued back and forth, but from the tests run at the time (our thanks to modifry for taking the time), disregarding caps altogether is a bad idea.

In a nutshell, caps DO have a place in the audio world. Batteries were not designed to provide huge spikes of current in such short periods of time. Granted, we spent a lot of back and forth determining the pulse times for bass notes versus what batteries or caps could handle, and frankly I can't remember offhand what we decided.

For the typical system (100W-200W), caps probably aren't going to do much for you, but to say they're worthless is incorrect.

 

You're right, not worthless for sure, but it's always a better idea to spend the money on better power cabling than a cap. I think my overall conclusion was that you could gain a dB or so in output with a cap installed, not enough to be readily listnenable, but enough to make the difference between first and second place at a sound-off.

 

Denso makes a 170 amp direct bolt on replacement alternator for S2000's. I was going to get it...but ended up not needing it and I'm using near 2000 watts of power. I don't think capacitors are all they're hyped up to be...I've had high wattage systems with and without...not much difference.

 

I couldn't agree more! I've seen caps make a difference in many car audio setups. If you don't think they can make a difference then you need to go back to school. They aren't going to fix every problem and depending on the system you may be better off with a new alternator but in most cases a good Deep cycle battery and a cap is all you'll need.

 

Exactly.. No matter how good your battery is it will not deliver quick power to supplement current loss (when bass is hitting hardest the most) fast enough.. so they do serve a purpose..

It is recomended that you use 1 farad for every 1000watts RMS...

But like everyone else has mentioned.. adding a capacitior to a system with a crappy battery, toothpick cables, stock alternator etc would be a waste of time..
When you start playing with power over 1000RMS these primary changes should be done first, then a Capacitor to supplement the power system..

 

Check out the ESR and ESL ratings of most car audio caps and you'll see why their junk. If the cap your looking at doesnt even list those ratings do you even have to ask...straight pile of dung.

Sure, if you have a 100 amp alternator and good battery and your amp is only drawing 30 amps of current at most, the cap might actually help during a heavy, brief bass note...and I use the word 'might' loosely.

For his application a cap would be utterly worthless, because they are raging, steaming piles of rhinoceros shat.

He shouldnt waste his time or money on a cap.

The news of this Denso alternator sounds great...if its true.

 

[QUOTE=Ishift@9,May 13 2005, 07:35 PM] Check out the ESR and ESL ratings of most car audio caps and you'll see why their junk.