Ultimate Car Audio Guide
11-30-2010
#1
Ultimate Car Audio Guide Okay, so I'm tired of replying to all the car audio threads...
Here comes the guide
Sound system on your Christmas list?
Looking to get some good sound out of your car’s system?
Looking to upgrade your stock system car audio system?
Here’s a generic guide to get you started.
Head Unit
Head unit may be THE most important and obvious upgrade in your audio system.
Stock head units for most cars (even with upgraded sound system) may only produce about 10watts of RMS power to your speakers, if that.
A lot of older cars also do not have any AUX or USB input for your iPod or MP3 player, some factory units may provide a Bluetooth interface with their audio equipment, but it’s still not as versatile as an aftermarket HU.
Choosing a decent Head unit is not hard, almost all Head unit’s built in amplifier are pretty much the same, about 50~60watt peak power, and about 15~20watt RMS.
It all comes down to what features you want on your headunit.
Here are some of the things you might want to consider:
Bluetooth
HD Radio?
XM Radio?
CD only?
Digital only?
Plays DVDs?
Navigation?
Amount of preouts? (how many amps do you want?)
Which one to choose?
The most obvious brands would be some of the higher end brands such as Pioneer, Kenwood, and Alpine
I would try to stay away from lower end brands that you can buy at your local Walmart, such as Dual, JVC , Jensen, and Clarion (however, some people who have these brands may tell you that they are good)
The best bang for the buck would be the Sony Xplod brand. What? Did I say sony? Yes. Sony may make horrible speakers for car audio, but their head units are really great for their cost.
They even have a brand new digital line of head units where you don’t use CDs, and can fit your entire iPod or MP3 player INSIDE the deck. Yes, inside.
How do I install my Head unit?
The best bet, is to have your local car audio store do it for you professionally, so you don’t break clips and scratch up your interior.
However, if you insist on doing it yourself, you will need the following materials:
- DIN Kit (preferably metra)
- Wiring harness (Vehicle specific)
- Wire Crimper
- Butt connectors
Here comes the guide
Sound system on your Christmas list?
Looking to get some good sound out of your car’s system?
Looking to upgrade your stock system car audio system?
Here’s a generic guide to get you started.
Head Unit
Head unit may be THE most important and obvious upgrade in your audio system.
Stock head units for most cars (even with upgraded sound system) may only produce about 10watts of RMS power to your speakers, if that.
A lot of older cars also do not have any AUX or USB input for your iPod or MP3 player, some factory units may provide a Bluetooth interface with their audio equipment, but it’s still not as versatile as an aftermarket HU.
Choosing a decent Head unit is not hard, almost all Head unit’s built in amplifier are pretty much the same, about 50~60watt peak power, and about 15~20watt RMS.
It all comes down to what features you want on your headunit.
Here are some of the things you might want to consider:
Bluetooth
HD Radio?
XM Radio?
CD only?
Digital only?
Plays DVDs?
Navigation?
Amount of preouts? (how many amps do you want?)
Which one to choose?
The most obvious brands would be some of the higher end brands such as Pioneer, Kenwood, and Alpine
I would try to stay away from lower end brands that you can buy at your local Walmart, such as Dual, JVC , Jensen, and Clarion (however, some people who have these brands may tell you that they are good)
The best bang for the buck would be the Sony Xplod brand. What? Did I say sony? Yes. Sony may make horrible speakers for car audio, but their head units are really great for their cost.
They even have a brand new digital line of head units where you don’t use CDs, and can fit your entire iPod or MP3 player INSIDE the deck. Yes, inside.
How do I install my Head unit?
The best bet, is to have your local car audio store do it for you professionally, so you don’t break clips and scratch up your interior.
However, if you insist on doing it yourself, you will need the following materials:
- DIN Kit (preferably metra)
- Wiring harness (Vehicle specific)
- Wire Crimper
- Butt connectors
Last edited by Kennykid2002; 11-30-2010 at 01:35 PM.
11-30-2010
#2
Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
Speakers and subwoofers
So, you want better sound quality,
The easiest way to achieve better sound quality is upgrading your stock speakers.
So how do you choose a good speaker?
That mainly depends on what kind of music you listen to.
If you like rock, or instrumental music, or vocal, you may want a speaker that can differentiate all the instruments clearly, and voices clearly
If you like hip hop/RnB which is more so all around music, you might want speakers that have heavier bass, and louder sound.
3 way? 2 way? 1 way?
Each speaker is separated into its own woofer
The more “ways” the clearer the differentiation of sound
Components vs Coaxial?
Components have separate tweeters that can be mounted wherever you like, preferably pointed towards the passengers
Coaxials (or full range) are just speakers with the tweeter dome in the center of the speaker.
You will get the best quality and depth in your music from components because you mount where you want the tweeters, but if you don’t have a mounting place, Coaxials aren’t bad.
Best brands?
Here are a list of really good speakers, it’s really a matter of preference, some people like some over the other, I will add more to the list if more are suggested
Alpine
CDT Audio
Polk
Kicker
Infinity
JL Audio
MB Quartz
Memphis
HiFonics
There is no absolute "Best", because what is "best"? "Best" is a speculative word.
What's best for Bob, may not be the best for Bill
Your best bet is to head down to a local car audio store and play around with all the models they have, then go to a different stores and test other models.
Preferably a store that has it's own secluded listening room. Where a salesman isnt breathing down your neck
What size speakers should I get?
The most common size for all cars, especially civics, are 6.5”
Refer to www.metraonline.com for exact reference.
How do I install a speaker?
Typical installation includes
Harness adapter (Vehicle specific)
Wire Crimp
Speaker bracket
Minor mods (drilling, cutting) of door panel
The installation starts with removing the plastic door panel, then removing stock speaker and installing the aftermarket speaker, very direct and easy
Important note about speakers:
Any speaker can handle a lower output than it is capable of.
There is a minute chance of damaging your speakers from underpowering them
Speakers mainly get damaged from dirt/dust/water/over powering, and clipping.
A 300watt speaker can handle a 100watt amp with no problems, however, a 100watt speaker should not be combined with a 300 watt amp.
Subwoofer
So you want some bass out of your system
Do you want bass that’s not very overpowering?
Or do you want one that your neighbors from 3 blocks away can hear?
Sealed vs ported vs bandpass enclosures
Sealed boxes – Provides very tight and responsive bass
Ported – Provides loud, forceful bass
Bandpass – Maximum loudness
With subwoofers, STAY away from generic brands, and those you can get at bestbuy, these include pioneers, alpines, infinity.
The best subwoofers are ones you’ve probably never heard of.
Including :
Ascendant Audio
DB Audio
FI Audio
JL Audio
Memphis
HiFonics
MTX
Kicker
Orion
What size do I need? Do I Need 2 subs?
Size all depends on how much room you have to work with, and what kind of audio system you want
Size, If you want subs that compliment your music, but not overpower them, I would go with 8~10”
If you want louder music, for RnB/Hip hop, I would go with 12~15”
Depending on your trunk size, if you can manage to fit 2 subs in there, with plenty of room left, definitely get 2 subs for best sound quality
If you’re limited on space, 1 sub may suffice. If you choose to go 1 sub route, you may want a larger subwoofer size to compensate for the sound loss.
How do I install a sub?
You need a amplifier hooked up in order to install a sub.
So, you want better sound quality,
The easiest way to achieve better sound quality is upgrading your stock speakers.
So how do you choose a good speaker?
That mainly depends on what kind of music you listen to.
If you like rock, or instrumental music, or vocal, you may want a speaker that can differentiate all the instruments clearly, and voices clearly
If you like hip hop/RnB which is more so all around music, you might want speakers that have heavier bass, and louder sound.
3 way? 2 way? 1 way?
Each speaker is separated into its own woofer
The more “ways” the clearer the differentiation of sound
Components vs Coaxial?
Components have separate tweeters that can be mounted wherever you like, preferably pointed towards the passengers
Coaxials (or full range) are just speakers with the tweeter dome in the center of the speaker.
You will get the best quality and depth in your music from components because you mount where you want the tweeters, but if you don’t have a mounting place, Coaxials aren’t bad.
Best brands?
Here are a list of really good speakers, it’s really a matter of preference, some people like some over the other, I will add more to the list if more are suggested
Alpine
CDT Audio
Polk
Kicker
Infinity
JL Audio
MB Quartz
Memphis
HiFonics
There is no absolute "Best", because what is "best"? "Best" is a speculative word.
What's best for Bob, may not be the best for Bill
Your best bet is to head down to a local car audio store and play around with all the models they have, then go to a different stores and test other models.
Preferably a store that has it's own secluded listening room. Where a salesman isnt breathing down your neck
What size speakers should I get?
The most common size for all cars, especially civics, are 6.5”
Refer to www.metraonline.com for exact reference.
How do I install a speaker?
Typical installation includes
Harness adapter (Vehicle specific)
Wire Crimp
Speaker bracket
Minor mods (drilling, cutting) of door panel
The installation starts with removing the plastic door panel, then removing stock speaker and installing the aftermarket speaker, very direct and easy
Important note about speakers:
Any speaker can handle a lower output than it is capable of.
There is a minute chance of damaging your speakers from underpowering them
Speakers mainly get damaged from dirt/dust/water/over powering, and clipping.
A 300watt speaker can handle a 100watt amp with no problems, however, a 100watt speaker should not be combined with a 300 watt amp.
Subwoofer
So you want some bass out of your system
Do you want bass that’s not very overpowering?
Or do you want one that your neighbors from 3 blocks away can hear?
Sealed vs ported vs bandpass enclosures
Sealed boxes – Provides very tight and responsive bass
Ported – Provides loud, forceful bass
Bandpass – Maximum loudness
With subwoofers, STAY away from generic brands, and those you can get at bestbuy, these include pioneers, alpines, infinity.
The best subwoofers are ones you’ve probably never heard of.
Including :
Ascendant Audio
DB Audio
FI Audio
JL Audio
Memphis
HiFonics
MTX
Kicker
Orion
What size do I need? Do I Need 2 subs?
Size all depends on how much room you have to work with, and what kind of audio system you want
Size, If you want subs that compliment your music, but not overpower them, I would go with 8~10”
If you want louder music, for RnB/Hip hop, I would go with 12~15”
Depending on your trunk size, if you can manage to fit 2 subs in there, with plenty of room left, definitely get 2 subs for best sound quality
If you’re limited on space, 1 sub may suffice. If you choose to go 1 sub route, you may want a larger subwoofer size to compensate for the sound loss.
How do I install a sub?
You need a amplifier hooked up in order to install a sub.
Last edited by Kennykid2002; 12-01-2010 at 12:08 AM.
11-30-2010
#3
Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
Amplifiers
Why do I need an amp?
Class A/B? Class D? What?
There is huge debates on which is better that you can find all over the web, however, i will give you the jist of it
Class A/B - Clearer, sharper, and more responsive tunes, Digital signals, more power draw, less chance to distort
Class D - Deeper louder tunes, Analog signals, slower response, less power draw, can be tuned to really low Hz
Choosing an amp
1 Channel? 2 Channel? 3 Channel? 4 Channel? +?
Each “Channel” produces a signal for 1 speaker
Obviously 1 channel will power 1 speaker, most likely…a subwoofer
2 Channel will power 2 speakers, and can be bridged into 1 channel for a subwoofer
Odd channel amps like 3, or 5 channel will have an even number of channel for speakers, and 1 separate channel for a dedicated subwoofer. Odd channel amps are typically not very effective for subs, and typically more expensive.
How many amps do I need?
Typically, a budget system would use a 4 channel amp to power 4 speakers, and a separate amp to power the subwoofer.
However, it is completely up to you.
Depending on your preouts of the Head Unit, you may have a 2 channel amp dedicated to front 6.5” speakers, a 2 channel amp dedicated to rear 6x9 speakers, and a mono amp to power your subwoofer.
Or you can have a 5 channel amp to power everything.
The benefits of more amps, is the sound quality is much more enhanced.
The downfall of having a lot of amps is the power draw on your battery, and the heat created by the many amps.
What brands should I look for?
Looking for a amplifier brand is the same as looking for a subwoofer brand, go for those that are high in quality, not the ones you can pick up at a local bestbuy.
How do I install an amp?
You need a wire crimp
Amp wiring kit/multi amp wiring kit (distribution block optional)
I would recommend getting amp installed by a professional if you do not know how to drill through your firewall, or remove panels in your car
Hook up power wire from battery to amp
Hook up RCA from amp to preout from HU
Hook up Remote wire from HU to amp
Hook up Ground wire from chassis to ground on amp
Crossovers
What are crossovers?
Why do I need one?
Crossovers help determine which woofer of your speakers get which signal, they send the correct signals to the correct woofer, so your tweeters wont be playing low bass notes while your woofer wont play high notes that are meant for the tweeters.
You do not absolutely need crossovers, unless you are a true audiophile that loves classical music and love to hear nothing but clear crisp sound, and your car has ample amount of sound deadening.
Passive vs Active crossovers
Basically it is what it says it is
Passive - set it and forget it
Active - ability to fine tune it, and tweek it as needed
Why do I need an amp?
Originally Posted by ”Crutchfield”
Better sound quality — Adding an amplifier gives you a clean power source that can drive your speakers without straining. Unlike an amplifier built into an in-dash stereo, an external power amp isn't limited by the space available — it can be designed without compromises. That means your music will sound cleaner and more defined at all volume levels.
Power for upgraded speakers — A factory system or an in-dash receiver may not do justice to your upgraded speakers. If you're adding high-quality aftermarket speakers or component systems to your vehicle, they may require more power for peak performance than your existing in-dash receiver can provide.
Powering a subwoofer — Subwoofers require significantly more power than a brand-name or factory in-dash receiver can provide. A separate amp is a necessity.
Power for upgraded speakers — A factory system or an in-dash receiver may not do justice to your upgraded speakers. If you're adding high-quality aftermarket speakers or component systems to your vehicle, they may require more power for peak performance than your existing in-dash receiver can provide.
Powering a subwoofer — Subwoofers require significantly more power than a brand-name or factory in-dash receiver can provide. A separate amp is a necessity.
There is huge debates on which is better that you can find all over the web, however, i will give you the jist of it
Class A/B - Clearer, sharper, and more responsive tunes, Digital signals, more power draw, less chance to distort
Class D - Deeper louder tunes, Analog signals, slower response, less power draw, can be tuned to really low Hz
Choosing an amp
1 Channel? 2 Channel? 3 Channel? 4 Channel? +?
Each “Channel” produces a signal for 1 speaker
Obviously 1 channel will power 1 speaker, most likely…a subwoofer
2 Channel will power 2 speakers, and can be bridged into 1 channel for a subwoofer
Odd channel amps like 3, or 5 channel will have an even number of channel for speakers, and 1 separate channel for a dedicated subwoofer. Odd channel amps are typically not very effective for subs, and typically more expensive.
How many amps do I need?
Typically, a budget system would use a 4 channel amp to power 4 speakers, and a separate amp to power the subwoofer.
However, it is completely up to you.
Depending on your preouts of the Head Unit, you may have a 2 channel amp dedicated to front 6.5” speakers, a 2 channel amp dedicated to rear 6x9 speakers, and a mono amp to power your subwoofer.
Or you can have a 5 channel amp to power everything.
The benefits of more amps, is the sound quality is much more enhanced.
The downfall of having a lot of amps is the power draw on your battery, and the heat created by the many amps.
What brands should I look for?
Looking for a amplifier brand is the same as looking for a subwoofer brand, go for those that are high in quality, not the ones you can pick up at a local bestbuy.
How do I install an amp?
You need a wire crimp
Amp wiring kit/multi amp wiring kit (distribution block optional)
I would recommend getting amp installed by a professional if you do not know how to drill through your firewall, or remove panels in your car
Hook up power wire from battery to amp
Hook up RCA from amp to preout from HU
Hook up Remote wire from HU to amp
Hook up Ground wire from chassis to ground on amp
Crossovers
What are crossovers?
Why do I need one?
Crossovers help determine which woofer of your speakers get which signal, they send the correct signals to the correct woofer, so your tweeters wont be playing low bass notes while your woofer wont play high notes that are meant for the tweeters.
You do not absolutely need crossovers, unless you are a true audiophile that loves classical music and love to hear nothing but clear crisp sound, and your car has ample amount of sound deadening.
Passive vs Active crossovers
Basically it is what it says it is
Passive - set it and forget it
Active - ability to fine tune it, and tweek it as needed
Last edited by Kennykid2002; 12-01-2010 at 12:54 AM.
11-30-2010
#4
Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
Bass blockers
What are these? Do I need them?
Bass blockers are almost the same as crossovers, they are even sometimes called "Low pass filters, or High pass filters"
Either way, they do what they say they do...."Block bass"
Now why would you want to block bass?
Perhaps you didn't know that all speakers dont have unlimited life. They will eventually blow themselves from so much excursion from the bass produced in speakers. (excluding subs)
And also, increasing the volume will distort the standard speakers to a point where it is no longer music
Adding a bass blocker to your speakers will prevent certain (mainly lower) frequencies reaching your speakers, prolonging the life of your speakers, and enhancing the sound reproduction of midrange and tweeters.
Bass blockers are recommended if you have a subwoofer in your system.
Speaker Baffles:
Need them?
Depending on your installation, you either get them or you dont.
Speaker baffles will protect your speakers against dust and water.
Also keep the noise from bouncing around your door panels, increasing depth in music
Sound deadening:
Need them?
I would definately invest on a good sound deadening material if you have the budget, it is well worth the money.
Popular brands are:
Second Skin < -- I highly recommend this
Dynomat
Fat Mat
Equalizers:
Unless you are a professional audiophile, you dont need these in your system
Car Electrical:
-Battery
I would recommend upgrading to a higher capacity, and possibly deep cycle battery depending on the load you plan to put into your vehicle
-Alternator
As your demand for power increases, especially in civics, your 70amp stock alternator will not cut it.
If you are putting 2 or more amps in your vehicle, you may want to up to a high output alternator
-Big 3 upgrade
Definitely worth the investment, even if you do not upgrade your power wire from alternator to battery, upgrading all the factory ground wiring will definitely do you some good.
-Distribution block
Not absolutely necessary, but looks cool, and helps distributing power a little
-Capacitor
Definitely worth it if you can find one for cheap.
What caps do, is they "store" energy from the battery for when your subwoofer demands high output, it will drain from the capacitor instead of the battery, helps with lights dimming
General rule of thumb is 1farad per 1000watts
-Power cells
This is up for much debate, these (namely kinetic batteries) are not meant to be replacement starter batteries for your cars, power cells act as a capacitor and backup battery (a secondary battery)
This will reduce the draw of power from your main battery, and allow your system to draw mainly the power from the power cell.
Conclusions and final thoughts:
There is never any best brand or best system. Sure, one my be louder, or deeper, but it is all speculative.
I can't tell you that you should get a specific brand and model unit, because you may not like what I like.
We can only give you recommendations based on what we've experienced with the products.
Simple tip: Do your research before buying, take your time
Like everything else, car audio is the same
Either you cheap out and hope it lasts long enough with moderate satisfaction, or go all out and let it last as long as it does with huge satisfactions.
There is a wealth of information regarding speakers and other material on:
www.Crutchfield.com
www.RealmOfExcursion.com
www.MetraOnline.com
As always, if this helped you, please rep and redistribute.
However, do not redistribute claiming the guide as your own, give proper credits.
Thank you for your time
What are these? Do I need them?
Bass blockers are almost the same as crossovers, they are even sometimes called "Low pass filters, or High pass filters"
Either way, they do what they say they do...."Block bass"
Now why would you want to block bass?
Perhaps you didn't know that all speakers dont have unlimited life. They will eventually blow themselves from so much excursion from the bass produced in speakers. (excluding subs)
And also, increasing the volume will distort the standard speakers to a point where it is no longer music
Adding a bass blocker to your speakers will prevent certain (mainly lower) frequencies reaching your speakers, prolonging the life of your speakers, and enhancing the sound reproduction of midrange and tweeters.
Bass blockers are recommended if you have a subwoofer in your system.
Speaker Baffles:
Need them?
Depending on your installation, you either get them or you dont.
Speaker baffles will protect your speakers against dust and water.
Also keep the noise from bouncing around your door panels, increasing depth in music
Sound deadening:
Need them?
I would definately invest on a good sound deadening material if you have the budget, it is well worth the money.
Popular brands are:
Second Skin < -- I highly recommend this
Dynomat
Fat Mat
Equalizers:
Unless you are a professional audiophile, you dont need these in your system
Car Electrical:
-Battery
I would recommend upgrading to a higher capacity, and possibly deep cycle battery depending on the load you plan to put into your vehicle
-Alternator
As your demand for power increases, especially in civics, your 70amp stock alternator will not cut it.
If you are putting 2 or more amps in your vehicle, you may want to up to a high output alternator
-Big 3 upgrade
Definitely worth the investment, even if you do not upgrade your power wire from alternator to battery, upgrading all the factory ground wiring will definitely do you some good.
-Distribution block
Not absolutely necessary, but looks cool, and helps distributing power a little
-Capacitor
Definitely worth it if you can find one for cheap.
What caps do, is they "store" energy from the battery for when your subwoofer demands high output, it will drain from the capacitor instead of the battery, helps with lights dimming
General rule of thumb is 1farad per 1000watts
-Power cells
This is up for much debate, these (namely kinetic batteries) are not meant to be replacement starter batteries for your cars, power cells act as a capacitor and backup battery (a secondary battery)
This will reduce the draw of power from your main battery, and allow your system to draw mainly the power from the power cell.
Conclusions and final thoughts:
There is never any best brand or best system. Sure, one my be louder, or deeper, but it is all speculative.
I can't tell you that you should get a specific brand and model unit, because you may not like what I like.
We can only give you recommendations based on what we've experienced with the products.
Simple tip: Do your research before buying, take your time
Like everything else, car audio is the same
Either you cheap out and hope it lasts long enough with moderate satisfaction, or go all out and let it last as long as it does with huge satisfactions.
There is a wealth of information regarding speakers and other material on:
www.Crutchfield.com
www.RealmOfExcursion.com
www.MetraOnline.com
As always, if this helped you, please rep and redistribute.
However, do not redistribute claiming the guide as your own, give proper credits.
Thank you for your time
Last edited by Kennykid2002; 12-01-2010 at 02:17 AM.
11-30-2010
#6
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Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
I like the fact my Pioneer Premier has a front USB port (that I use to plug my smartphones charger into, or my girlfriends ipod cable into n charge it)... also it has a ipod connection cable in the glove box (from the rear of the deck) that I can have my itouch connected to). Also it has a front facing aux connection I can throw into my phones headphone jack and have surround sound phone calls, using speaker phone- which cuts down on my road noise the person on the other end hears.
12-01-2010
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you've been making great posts for awhile. i was waiting for the right time to rep ya. i don't give out rep lightly these days. mainly due to the points it gives. i only give it when it's really, really, really.....REALLY...REALLY... worth it.
05-11-2011
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Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
Really nice post buddy, you deserve more than 1 rep.. but i can only give one 
so here goes your 1+rep...but wait! i still don't know how can i give rep to someone i tried to search it but couldn't find it.. will somebody help me out with rep thingy? plz?
so here goes your 1+rep...but wait! i still don't know how can i give rep to someone i tried to search it but couldn't find it.. will somebody help me out with rep thingy? plz?
09-20-2011
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Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
how are you. I have a few questions that I hope you can help me with. I recently bought an 06 civic lx. My last car had satellite radio and I fell in love with it. My question is.. Is there ANY way i can get satellite radio and hook it up to the stock radio in my car? There is an AUX button and I did not know if I could wire it up to that or something. Someone told me that it was not possible with the lx?
09-20-2011
#14
Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
The AUX feature on stock radios are for a 6 disk CD changer I believe.
I don't think you can hook up Satellite radio to it.
I think there are other alternatives though, I would check with a local bestbuy or car audio store.
I'm not familiar with satellite radios
I don't think you can hook up Satellite radio to it.
I think there are other alternatives though, I would check with a local bestbuy or car audio store.
I'm not familiar with satellite radios
07-29-2012
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I disagree on the cap section. Check out this post from another forum explaining how capacitors are useless and can actually drop voltage.
Quote is from Cam2xrunner:
Quote:
"After studying a little history on large 1 Farad capacitors in car audio, you'd be amazed that they even sell at all. How useful are they? What do they really do? Will a Cap 'improve' my sound quality? Will it Prevent my lights from dimming? Will it audibly affect my audio system in any way?
Before you get the truth to any of the above questions, chances are, you've probably spent $100 or more on one of these devices. However, let's study a little history regarding this issue.
A long time ago, in a land far away, 2 elves...Ok, Richard Clark & Wayne Harris (Carsound magazine and the inventor of DB Drag, respectively) separately came up with a solution to preventing their lights from dimming.
WHO WERE THESE GUYZ?
As you may know, Richard Clark is one of the founders of autosound2000 Tech Briefs, Carsound magazine, and a published author of the industry of mobile electronics. In SQ competitions, he posted a record of 1234 1st place finishes, and only ended up NOT 1st in his first event. I've heard that he had minor system problems, but judging by his record, he must have corrected it. (evidently, he needed a Capacitor )
Wayne Harris was previously a leader at Rockford Fosgate in their development. Later, in his free time, he created the organization we call DB DRAG. Wayne was the first SQ World Champion from the organization we know as IASCA (International AutoSound Challenge Association).
Both of these gurus are both legends, and considered the leading experts in the field. During their competition days, both guyz came up with a way to assist in the prevention of voltage drops. In SQ competitions, the look of your system is actually more important than the sound, and having your lights NOT dim under high playing levels is a competitive advantage.
As you may know, amplifiers are made up a bank of little capacitors, resistors, etc. What has been common engineering knowledge is that capacitors store energy, and more or bigger ones assist in balancing the power supply.
Wayne came up with the idea of putting several dozen 'little' (approx 100uF) capacitors on a circuit board to 'extend' the power supplies storage. At about the same time, or shortly afterward, Richard came up with the idea of one huge mondo capacitor (I believe it was 800,000uF or 0.8F) to do the job.
Eventually, Richard won. The large cylindrical tubes won over the complicated 48 caps strapped to a circuit board. However, what did this really accomplish? Let's start here:
WHAT IS A CAPACITOR?
Basically, capacitors are an energy storage device. Large, 1 Farad or more
capacitors store energy (electrons) between their plates. Capacitors differ
from batteries because batteries store energy in the form of chemical
energy--and rely on acid and lead plates, as the place of storage. For a more detailed
description of a capacitor, go here:
http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm
Then on the right hand side, scroll down to CAPACITOR. Keep in mind the use
of capacitors in an audio system.
WHY DO PEOPLE BUY CAPACITORS?
The number 1 reason would have to be because their lights dim when their
system is playing HARD. In car audio, we are told that a capacitor is
designed to prevent the voltage drop associated with your lights dimming.
The number2 reason is that it is rumored to 'improve' sound quality or
'stiffen' the power supply/source.
WHY DO MY LIGHTS DIM?
Headlights brightness is in direct proportion to the source voltage. For
instance, if your car is running, system voltage is ~12.5 -14.4 VOLTS. Your
lights will be much brighter than when your car is turned off--where battery
voltage is ~12V. Most car alternators put out between 75 to 120 amps of
current. When this current draw threshold of the charging system is
exceeded, system voltage will drop as power demands are now shared by the
alternator and the storage devices (battery & cap). We are using battery
reserves beyond this point until the demand lessens
When playing your system really hard. Your lights dim because your
alternator can't keep up it's charging voltage (around 13.5V) and therefore,
demand exceeds output. When this happens, your electronic devices are
dipping into the power storage of the battery. Since the battery stores
power at ~ 12-12.5V, there is a 1.3 to 1.8V drop in voltage available. This
in turn is why your lights dim down.
HOW MUCH POWER DOES A CAPACITOR STORE?
1 Farad = 100 joules or 100W/second
850cca battery = ~2,200,000 farads
For storage purposes, you'd need ~2,200 1 Farad capacitors to equal the energy of your battery.
Due to its impedence (ESR & ESL), a cap's energy is only 50% available. What's worse, is that in order for a 1 Farad cap to discharge, first the alternator output must have maxed out, and the voltage must have dropped around 1.5 volts. But I thought a cap was supposed to prevent that (voltage drop)!!!!!????? Yep, you got the point.
IF A BATTERY = 2,200 CAPS, THEN WHY BUY A (PUNY) CAP?
My question exactly. Marketing is the reason why people buy caps. In many cases, upgrading wiring will help your system get the maximum transfer of current. Once that has been reached, adding a capacitor may have a minor effect on your system. 50W over the course of a second is not a lot of power considering an amplifier may draw 2000W to put out 1400 watts. Let's look at the situation from a resources standpoint.
Alternator 80 amps
Car accessories (minus stereo) 40 amps
A large Car Audio system (DRAWS ) ~200 amps AT FULL OUTPUT
In this case, you have 240 amps of draw, but only 80 amps of current from the alternator. In your case, you need 160 amps x 12 volts or or let's say 1920 watts of energy. Since a cap stores 50W, how much of a difference do you think it's going to make? A cap is basically a peashooter. W+e need a Howitzer cannon here, to do the job well.
Also, Once a cap is discharged, where does it get it's power from? The alternator, which is already overloaded. Once a cap is discharged, it's worthless. Like SWEZ says, ・.The cap already shot its wad, an does limp til recharged・ I知 not so certain I will allow him to babysit my kids, but you get the drift. (I never said it quiet like that... and oh...I'm great with kids!)
SO, WHAT IS A CAPACITOR GOOD FOR?
1. Audio Jewelry- impress chicks with large cylindrical shiny thingy
2. Extra weight in winter time
3. A very POOR... BUT expensive distribution block
4. A projectile in the event of a crash
5. Rolling pin--for cooking purposes
6. A neat thing to tell your friend, "..Hey man, lick the top of this..
Please do not try # 6. New hairstyles are always refreshing, but if you are wearing railroad tracks across your teeth, you might have one big filling after it痴 over.
HOW CAN CAPACITORS IMPROVE SOUND QUALITY?
They can't. Sound quality is not dependant upon the presence of large bulky 1 Farad capacitors. How many 1 Farad Capacitors do you think the Boston Pops, Aerosmith, or Snoop dog use in the recording studio?
IN A NUTSHELL.......
When Richard, our fearless inventor, became World renown for winning every competition under the sun, people began copying what he did. Soon, every 'serious' competitor had a 'stiffening' capacitor--not to be confused with the 'loosening' capacitor.
WHY?
In the late 80s, people began sticking out their tongue when dunking the basketball because Michael Jordan did. Did sticking out your tongue improve your dunking ability? Same here with adding a capacitor to your electrical system.
STILL A GLUTTON FOR MORE PUNISHMENT?
Here's the Original Cap Debate.
http://www.carsound.com/ubb/Archives...-1-000307.html
Phoenix Gold's marketing guru had just posted information on how their Powercore (basically the Alumapro CAP15 in a Phoenix shell) had both stabilized their voltage and improved the sound quality. Richard called him on it (all in another post) and the marketing geek was unable to quantify any of the conditions that resulted in the voltage being HELD at 14.2V and the 'improved' sound quality.
Please do not read every stinking post as valid. There are a lot of people that have had the efficacy of capacitors inbred to their minds, and were not (and still not) convinced in the futility of a 1 Farad storage device.
In a final note, Richard relayed a quote regarding battcaps ( www.battcap.net ) as, "..The audio industry is the only place i know of where you can publish specs that show your product is useless and still be able to sell them------and whats worse is that technically ignorant people will argue against the math!!!!!!!..............RC.." when referring to the product. This also relates to most digital readout capacitors, and I wish my Archie Bunker skills could have said it better myself. "
Quote is from Cam2xrunner:
Quote:
"After studying a little history on large 1 Farad capacitors in car audio, you'd be amazed that they even sell at all. How useful are they? What do they really do? Will a Cap 'improve' my sound quality? Will it Prevent my lights from dimming? Will it audibly affect my audio system in any way?
Before you get the truth to any of the above questions, chances are, you've probably spent $100 or more on one of these devices. However, let's study a little history regarding this issue.
A long time ago, in a land far away, 2 elves...Ok, Richard Clark & Wayne Harris (Carsound magazine and the inventor of DB Drag, respectively) separately came up with a solution to preventing their lights from dimming.
WHO WERE THESE GUYZ?
As you may know, Richard Clark is one of the founders of autosound2000 Tech Briefs, Carsound magazine, and a published author of the industry of mobile electronics. In SQ competitions, he posted a record of 1234 1st place finishes, and only ended up NOT 1st in his first event. I've heard that he had minor system problems, but judging by his record, he must have corrected it. (evidently, he needed a Capacitor )
Wayne Harris was previously a leader at Rockford Fosgate in their development. Later, in his free time, he created the organization we call DB DRAG. Wayne was the first SQ World Champion from the organization we know as IASCA (International AutoSound Challenge Association).
Both of these gurus are both legends, and considered the leading experts in the field. During their competition days, both guyz came up with a way to assist in the prevention of voltage drops. In SQ competitions, the look of your system is actually more important than the sound, and having your lights NOT dim under high playing levels is a competitive advantage.
As you may know, amplifiers are made up a bank of little capacitors, resistors, etc. What has been common engineering knowledge is that capacitors store energy, and more or bigger ones assist in balancing the power supply.
Wayne came up with the idea of putting several dozen 'little' (approx 100uF) capacitors on a circuit board to 'extend' the power supplies storage. At about the same time, or shortly afterward, Richard came up with the idea of one huge mondo capacitor (I believe it was 800,000uF or 0.8F) to do the job.
Eventually, Richard won. The large cylindrical tubes won over the complicated 48 caps strapped to a circuit board. However, what did this really accomplish? Let's start here:
WHAT IS A CAPACITOR?
Basically, capacitors are an energy storage device. Large, 1 Farad or more
capacitors store energy (electrons) between their plates. Capacitors differ
from batteries because batteries store energy in the form of chemical
energy--and rely on acid and lead plates, as the place of storage. For a more detailed
description of a capacitor, go here:
http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/caraudio.htm
Then on the right hand side, scroll down to CAPACITOR. Keep in mind the use
of capacitors in an audio system.
WHY DO PEOPLE BUY CAPACITORS?
The number 1 reason would have to be because their lights dim when their
system is playing HARD. In car audio, we are told that a capacitor is
designed to prevent the voltage drop associated with your lights dimming.
The number2 reason is that it is rumored to 'improve' sound quality or
'stiffen' the power supply/source.
WHY DO MY LIGHTS DIM?
Headlights brightness is in direct proportion to the source voltage. For
instance, if your car is running, system voltage is ~12.5 -14.4 VOLTS. Your
lights will be much brighter than when your car is turned off--where battery
voltage is ~12V. Most car alternators put out between 75 to 120 amps of
current. When this current draw threshold of the charging system is
exceeded, system voltage will drop as power demands are now shared by the
alternator and the storage devices (battery & cap). We are using battery
reserves beyond this point until the demand lessens
When playing your system really hard. Your lights dim because your
alternator can't keep up it's charging voltage (around 13.5V) and therefore,
demand exceeds output. When this happens, your electronic devices are
dipping into the power storage of the battery. Since the battery stores
power at ~ 12-12.5V, there is a 1.3 to 1.8V drop in voltage available. This
in turn is why your lights dim down.
HOW MUCH POWER DOES A CAPACITOR STORE?
1 Farad = 100 joules or 100W/second
850cca battery = ~2,200,000 farads
For storage purposes, you'd need ~2,200 1 Farad capacitors to equal the energy of your battery.
Due to its impedence (ESR & ESL), a cap's energy is only 50% available. What's worse, is that in order for a 1 Farad cap to discharge, first the alternator output must have maxed out, and the voltage must have dropped around 1.5 volts. But I thought a cap was supposed to prevent that (voltage drop)!!!!!????? Yep, you got the point.
IF A BATTERY = 2,200 CAPS, THEN WHY BUY A (PUNY) CAP?
My question exactly. Marketing is the reason why people buy caps. In many cases, upgrading wiring will help your system get the maximum transfer of current. Once that has been reached, adding a capacitor may have a minor effect on your system. 50W over the course of a second is not a lot of power considering an amplifier may draw 2000W to put out 1400 watts. Let's look at the situation from a resources standpoint.
Alternator 80 amps
Car accessories (minus stereo) 40 amps
A large Car Audio system (DRAWS ) ~200 amps AT FULL OUTPUT
In this case, you have 240 amps of draw, but only 80 amps of current from the alternator. In your case, you need 160 amps x 12 volts or or let's say 1920 watts of energy. Since a cap stores 50W, how much of a difference do you think it's going to make? A cap is basically a peashooter. W+e need a Howitzer cannon here, to do the job well.
Also, Once a cap is discharged, where does it get it's power from? The alternator, which is already overloaded. Once a cap is discharged, it's worthless. Like SWEZ says, ・.The cap already shot its wad, an does limp til recharged・ I知 not so certain I will allow him to babysit my kids, but you get the drift. (I never said it quiet like that... and oh...I'm great with kids!)
SO, WHAT IS A CAPACITOR GOOD FOR?
1. Audio Jewelry- impress chicks with large cylindrical shiny thingy
2. Extra weight in winter time
3. A very POOR... BUT expensive distribution block
4. A projectile in the event of a crash
5. Rolling pin--for cooking purposes
6. A neat thing to tell your friend, "..Hey man, lick the top of this..
Please do not try # 6. New hairstyles are always refreshing, but if you are wearing railroad tracks across your teeth, you might have one big filling after it痴 over.
HOW CAN CAPACITORS IMPROVE SOUND QUALITY?
They can't. Sound quality is not dependant upon the presence of large bulky 1 Farad capacitors. How many 1 Farad Capacitors do you think the Boston Pops, Aerosmith, or Snoop dog use in the recording studio?
IN A NUTSHELL.......
When Richard, our fearless inventor, became World renown for winning every competition under the sun, people began copying what he did. Soon, every 'serious' competitor had a 'stiffening' capacitor--not to be confused with the 'loosening' capacitor.
WHY?
In the late 80s, people began sticking out their tongue when dunking the basketball because Michael Jordan did. Did sticking out your tongue improve your dunking ability? Same here with adding a capacitor to your electrical system.
STILL A GLUTTON FOR MORE PUNISHMENT?
Here's the Original Cap Debate.
http://www.carsound.com/ubb/Archives...-1-000307.html
Phoenix Gold's marketing guru had just posted information on how their Powercore (basically the Alumapro CAP15 in a Phoenix shell) had both stabilized their voltage and improved the sound quality. Richard called him on it (all in another post) and the marketing geek was unable to quantify any of the conditions that resulted in the voltage being HELD at 14.2V and the 'improved' sound quality.
Please do not read every stinking post as valid. There are a lot of people that have had the efficacy of capacitors inbred to their minds, and were not (and still not) convinced in the futility of a 1 Farad storage device.
In a final note, Richard relayed a quote regarding battcaps ( www.battcap.net ) as, "..The audio industry is the only place i know of where you can publish specs that show your product is useless and still be able to sell them------and whats worse is that technically ignorant people will argue against the math!!!!!!!..............RC.." when referring to the product. This also relates to most digital readout capacitors, and I wish my Archie Bunker skills could have said it better myself. "
07-30-2012
#16
Re: Ultimate Car Audio Guide
Good read.
There is a reason why I kept the capacitor section bare.
There is a lot of debate whether a Cap actually produces any negligible results.
Therefore, I advise. If you can get it for cheap, go for it.
I myself, do not use a cap, and will not use one.
There is a reason why I kept the capacitor section bare.
There is a lot of debate whether a Cap actually produces any negligible results.
Therefore, I advise. If you can get it for cheap, go for it.
I myself, do not use a cap, and will not use one.
10-11-2015
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Thanks for taking the time to write that up. I can see the need to help folks with explanations of some basic concepts and terms. I do have some commentary:
First, it is important to define what you mean by "300 watt amp". If you have a 6 channel amp at 50 watts per channel, that's 300 watts but only 50 per channel and perfectly fine for a 100 watt speaker.
Second, for amplifiers, it is important to understand the difference between RMS ("root mean square", or the average over a period of time) and maximum or peak. The maximum or peak watt rating is junk and essentially meaningless for practical use.Any amplifier can generate a maximum amount of distorted wattage for a brief peak, but doing it over a longer period of time is what counts. The maximum rating is just a numbers game and should not be considered other than to make a joke. The other very important factor is the distortion level. A cheap amp will have its watts rated at a higher distortion level, such as 1%. A quality amp will have a much lower distortion level, for example .001% THD, or total harmonic distortion.
Thirdly, you could connect a 100 watt amplifier channel to a 50 watt speaker and it would work just fine. The problem is that you have the potential to over power the speaker at higher volumes. So, yes, as a rule of thumb, you want your speaker wattage to be the same as or more than the amp wattage, but I wouldn't get too hung up on this for most systems.
More detail is warranted here. Damaging speakers by under powering them only happens one way: A weak amplifier that is operated at a high volume will clip. Clipping is when the audio signal from the amplifier, which is represented by a sine wave on an oscilloscope, is literally is literally clipped off at the peak of the sine wave. This results in a continual, or spiked, signal reaching the speaker which can cause it to fail. It's the clipping that will blow a speaker. If your amp is weak and you turn it up loud, it's more likely to clip and damage the speakers. An under powered amp on its own does not damage speakers.
For the person who seeks a sonically accurate speaker system, yes, I agree with this. For the person looking for a system that "hits" (I hate that term), it makes no difference. When the trunk, license plate, or other part of the car is rattling, you can forget about any kind of sonically accurate stereo system. Throw out fidelity. At that point your typical 12" Boss or Pioneer woofer is going to work just fine: It's going to be loud, which is all the owner requires.
In your discussion of equalizers, you state that they're generally not needed unless you're an audiophile. This implies that most people are not audiophiles. If that's the case, then most people don't need an expensive subwoofer.
Crossovers help determine which woofer of your speakers get which signal, they send the correct signals to the correct woofer, so your tweeters wont be playing low bass notes while your woofer wont play high notes that are meant for the tweeters.
You do not absolutely need crossovers, unless you are a true audiophile that loves classical music and love to hear nothing but clear crisp sound, and your car has ample amount of sound deadening.
Passive vs Active crossovers
Basically it is what it says it is
Passive - set it and forget it
Active - ability to fine tune it, and tweek it as needed First, many modern car stereos and amplifiers have crossovers built into them. Long gone are the days when you needed an XM-3 crossover between the head unit and the amplifiers.
Second, a crossover does this: It gets the lows to the subs, and the mid-bass and highs to other speakers.
Low pass is the frequency at which the low frequencies pass downstream (to the amp, then the speaker). High pass is the frequency at which the other frequencies pass to the amp and then the speakers.
For example a head unit might have a low pass crossover frequency of 80, 100, or 120 hz. (hertz). This means that sound at that level and lower will pass on.
I completely disagree that, "You do not absolutely need crossovers, unless you are a true audiophile." A crossover, simple or basic, active or passive, should be used in any stereo system unless it's a clock radio. There is no reason that one should not design a system that attempts to get just the right frequencies to the correct speaker drivers.
A passive crossover does not require a power source. Your typical 6.5 "component" or coaxial door or deck speakers use passive crossovers. An active crossover requires a power source, such as the one built in to many head units, or an old school Clarion XM-3 crossover.
Subwoofers are no less prone to wearing out than any other kind of speaker. Given enough age, any speaker will likely fail. Subwoofers, due to the extreme amount of excursion they make, are probably more prone to breaking, especially when their materials are old and brittle. Ask me how I know.
I would argue the opposite.
An audiophile would prefer NOT to have an equalizer for at least two reasons: First, this is an added component in the signal path, and this means added distortion and decreased voltage in the (analog) circuit. Second, there is no need to adjust or color the sound because all of the components ideally are reproducing the sound perfectly accurately as it was recorded and intended to be heard. Adding an EQ only detracts from what the artist, recording engineer, and producer intended to be heard.
The non-audiophile might prefer an equalizer which is simply an expanded treble and bass control. If treble and bass controls are good, why not have 8 or 12 or 24 of them all up and down the whole frequency spectrum? Again, many modern head units have this built in to them anyhow. Also, the person who is primarily concerned that their subs "hit" would certainly want to push the 63hz band all the way to +12 to help the license plate rattle.
I would argue that this is overkill. A 70 amp alternator is fine for 99.999% of people. We have the equation watts = volts * amps. This means that if you have electrical accessories like a stereo system consuming 1000 watts, then at the car's 13.8 volt electrical system requires 72 amps of power, or just a bit more than the alternator can supply. At that point the battery starts to discharge.
But who is driving around on a daily basis with their audio amplifiers running at full throttle to produce 1000 watts of sound for such a continuous period of time that the car battery would become drained? Not most people. For those competing in SPL contests, sure, they could use a bigger alternator and added deep cycle batteries. This is not 99.999% of people, however.
Good quality car audio amplifiers capable of delivering 75*6 watts RMS would be more than capable of delivering a great sound stage, sonic clarity, and powering 4 full range speakers and a subwoofer or two. Even this 450 watt amplifier or amplifiers are not going to be running full tilt for much of their life.
Second, for amplifiers, it is important to understand the difference between RMS ("root mean square", or the average over a period of time) and maximum or peak. The maximum or peak watt rating is junk and essentially meaningless for practical use.Any amplifier can generate a maximum amount of distorted wattage for a brief peak, but doing it over a longer period of time is what counts. The maximum rating is just a numbers game and should not be considered other than to make a joke. The other very important factor is the distortion level. A cheap amp will have its watts rated at a higher distortion level, such as 1%. A quality amp will have a much lower distortion level, for example .001% THD, or total harmonic distortion.
Thirdly, you could connect a 100 watt amplifier channel to a 50 watt speaker and it would work just fine. The problem is that you have the potential to over power the speaker at higher volumes. So, yes, as a rule of thumb, you want your speaker wattage to be the same as or more than the amp wattage, but I wouldn't get too hung up on this for most systems.
In your discussion of equalizers, you state that they're generally not needed unless you're an audiophile. This implies that most people are not audiophiles. If that's the case, then most people don't need an expensive subwoofer.
Crossovers help determine which woofer of your speakers get which signal, they send the correct signals to the correct woofer, so your tweeters wont be playing low bass notes while your woofer wont play high notes that are meant for the tweeters.
You do not absolutely need crossovers, unless you are a true audiophile that loves classical music and love to hear nothing but clear crisp sound, and your car has ample amount of sound deadening.
Passive vs Active crossovers
Basically it is what it says it is
Passive - set it and forget it
Active - ability to fine tune it, and tweek it as needed
Second, a crossover does this: It gets the lows to the subs, and the mid-bass and highs to other speakers.
Low pass is the frequency at which the low frequencies pass downstream (to the amp, then the speaker). High pass is the frequency at which the other frequencies pass to the amp and then the speakers.
For example a head unit might have a low pass crossover frequency of 80, 100, or 120 hz. (hertz). This means that sound at that level and lower will pass on.
I completely disagree that, "You do not absolutely need crossovers, unless you are a true audiophile." A crossover, simple or basic, active or passive, should be used in any stereo system unless it's a clock radio. There is no reason that one should not design a system that attempts to get just the right frequencies to the correct speaker drivers.
A passive crossover does not require a power source. Your typical 6.5 "component" or coaxial door or deck speakers use passive crossovers. An active crossover requires a power source, such as the one built in to many head units, or an old school Clarion XM-3 crossover.
An audiophile would prefer NOT to have an equalizer for at least two reasons: First, this is an added component in the signal path, and this means added distortion and decreased voltage in the (analog) circuit. Second, there is no need to adjust or color the sound because all of the components ideally are reproducing the sound perfectly accurately as it was recorded and intended to be heard. Adding an EQ only detracts from what the artist, recording engineer, and producer intended to be heard.
The non-audiophile might prefer an equalizer which is simply an expanded treble and bass control. If treble and bass controls are good, why not have 8 or 12 or 24 of them all up and down the whole frequency spectrum? Again, many modern head units have this built in to them anyhow. Also, the person who is primarily concerned that their subs "hit" would certainly want to push the 63hz band all the way to +12 to help the license plate rattle.
But who is driving around on a daily basis with their audio amplifiers running at full throttle to produce 1000 watts of sound for such a continuous period of time that the car battery would become drained? Not most people. For those competing in SPL contests, sure, they could use a bigger alternator and added deep cycle batteries. This is not 99.999% of people, however.
Good quality car audio amplifiers capable of delivering 75*6 watts RMS would be more than capable of delivering a great sound stage, sonic clarity, and powering 4 full range speakers and a subwoofer or two. Even this 450 watt amplifier or amplifiers are not going to be running full tilt for much of their life.
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