Before talking about the relevance of installing a capacitor for a subwoofer in a vehicle, you should ask the car enthusiast a question - why do they install such equipment in their cars? The answer is obvious: to enjoy the maximum possible sound of your favorite compositions, which are added with additional “juiciness” by playing them in a very limited space.
It would seem, what is needed for this? Buy a good radio, amplifier and speakers. But, as practice shows, this set may not be enough to achieve the planned result. Why?
How to connect
To understand how to connect a capacitor to an amplifier, it is enough to have a general knowledge of electrical engineering and physics. The electrical circuit for connecting a capacitor to an amplifier is not particularly complicated and can be assembled by any user who is familiar with the basics of electrical safety and has basic skills in handling tools for installing electrical circuits.
The drive is connected in parallel to the audio amplifier and the car battery, strictly observing the polarity: the positive terminal of the capacitor should be connected to the positive terminal of the battery, and the negative terminal to the vehicle ground, i.e. with negative contact.
The length of the wires from the capacitor to the connection points should not exceed 50 cm.
Before carrying out work, prepare the necessary supplies:
First you need to charge the capacitor, for which you need to assemble a temporary circuit as follows:
After charging, disassemble the temporary circuit, save the toggle switch and light bulb for future use, and then begin installing the drive into the system:
The tightening force of nuts and bolts must be controlled, according to the calculation table, otherwise undertightened fasteners will cause increased resistance and sparking, and overtightened ones can cause deformation and destruction of electrical circuit elements. Twisting of wires is also prohibited.
The installed drive has a positive effect not only on the quality of low-frequency reproduction by the subwoofer, but also on the entire electrical system of the car:
It should be noted that simply adding an electrolytic storage device to the electrical system of a car will not necessarily be a panacea if the car’s electrical components do not meet the appropriate requirements: wires and cables must be copper and have a cross-section designed to carry high currents, terminals and lugs must be gold-plated ( where possible) or tinned. A powerful battery should be installed in the car's electrical system.
Source
Purpose
Capacitor for subwoofer
First, let’s find out what the purpose of this element of the acoustic system is. Below we provide detailed information:
Let us note right away that it is capable of significantly improving the parameters of the amplifier used, and therefore is a very important chain in the entire car audio system. Note
It all comes down to the fact that modern low-frequency or bass drivers consume significant current at times and, thus, even the most powerful battery is not able to provide them with constant power.
Note. It all comes down to the fact that modern low-frequency or bass drivers consume significant current at times and, thus, even the most powerful battery is not able to provide them with constant power.
- Why does the subwoofer consume so much current, maybe the wires laid to it are too thick? It turns out that this is not the case at all. No matter how thick the wires and cables are, they undoubtedly have resistance, which at a certain moment causes current surges and a drop in its power;
- Experts advise not to forget about the work of additional consumers, which also does not have a positive effect on the functioning of the amplifier. We are talking, for example, about an air conditioner that operates in the hot season and can consume up to 30 percent of the generator’s energy. All this leads to the fact that when playing powerful bass, unwanted sound distortion occurs, explained by the inability of the battery to provide the desired tempo;
- In these cases, the best option that works 100% is a good, high-quality woofer capacitor. This element is nothing more than a high-capacity electrolytic.
Note. The capacitor must be connected in parallel to the amplifier's power supply circuit.
The right capacitor for a subwoofer has low internal resistance. This is necessary so that the pulse current flows to the amplifier instantly. In this way, all possible failures are completely eliminated or minimized to the extreme.
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Interesting. It is noteworthy that the capacitor is charged at the same champion speed and, like a pioneer, is always ready to again give out the necessary portion for the bass player.
How to connect a drive to a subwoofer
A storage device, storage capacitor or capacitor is an electrical element consisting of two electrodes (plates) separated by insulating material. This device has the property of accumulating electrical energy and delivering it to the consumer. The amount of energy that the element can accumulate depends on the area of the electrodes. This parameter is called the capacitance of the capacitor. In high-quality automotive audio systems, a large-capacity electrical device is connected parallel to the amplifier's power terminals. Why you need a drive and how to connect a capacitor to a subwoofer is the topic of this article.
Disk storage
Features of choosing a capacitor for a car subwoofer
How to connect storage devices and drives to a computer
It is a further development of docking stations, but with more advanced capabilities. There are already several alternatives for connection: USB or eSATA. Among the special advantages are the connection of any drive independently of the others and support for RAID arrays of several levels. To do this, there is a configurator on the rear panel. A nice addition is the presence of a fan and special ventilation holes in the front and rear parts of the case, which cool the drives during operation. There are models for two or more drives. They are very popular in video surveillance systems, where there is a constant need to write tens of gigabytes of data at high speed and protect them from failures.
Many people use such storage on several hard drives, as they are very convenient for storing a media library. If necessary, you can activate a high-performance disk array of two drives (RAID 0), or so-called “mirroring” (RAID 1).
How to connect a storage capacitor to a subwoofer
Car enthusiasts often ask why an additional power supply system is needed. A car subwoofer, when playing a low-frequency signal at peak power, consumes a current that no battery can provide. To the ear, this is perceived as “dips” in the sound, and if the high current consumption is constant, then the sound becomes “booming.” The electrical capacitance performs the function of accumulating charge, which is transferred to the power circuit of the low-frequency amplifier.
This method of powering the amplifier, even in inexpensive systems, significantly improves the sound quality. High-power speaker systems require a lot of energy, so without a storage unit the sound will be of low quality. This is especially noticeable at night, when the number of electricity consumers in the car increases. The battery “sags”, the headlights begin to blink, and the clear bass sound becomes “blurry” and unpleasant to the ear. Often, a drop in the amplifier supply voltage leads to clipping, that is, to a two-way limitation of the signal amplitude. This phenomenon can damage the speakers.
The energy-storing device in the power circuit has low internal resistance, so it quickly releases the stored energy and precisely at the moment when the amplifier does not have enough energy for normal operation. Connecting the device to the amplifier must be carried out according to certain rules.
Subwoofer: which speaker to choose?
Before you begin arranging an audio system in a car, as well as installing a subwoofer, you need to think about what speakers will be used, since they are an important element and also determine the sound quality. Cars use different speakers, but, as practice shows, the best size is 11-12 inches. Higher values may not only not fit into the car, but will also distort the audio signal.
Speaker power may vary. There is no general principle for choosing it, but it is worth paying attention to this indicator of the amplifier. In dynamics, the power should be higher. If this rule is not followed, then at high volumes the sound may be distorted.
Installing a capacitor for a subwoofer
The connection diagram for the subwoofer drive is very simple and can be implemented independently. The connecting wires can be clamped under the power terminal screw or an adapter block can be used for this purpose. In order to avoid the influence of connecting cables on the discharge of the device, it should be placed as close as possible to the low-frequency amplifier. The length of the connecting wires should not exceed 30-40 cm. All power wires running from the battery to the device and further to the amplifier must have a large cross-section to prevent energy loss. Copper-clad steel wires cannot be used for this purpose. The cables must be multi-core and made of pure copper.
Do you need an amplifier for a sub?
Subs sold in stores today are usually equipped with built-in amplifiers, but if there is no amplifier, then it will need to be installed additionally. Using an amplifier is important when installing and connecting a passive subwoofer to a car radio. Such a sub is a low-frequency speaker, which is usually installed in a wooden case, which improves the acoustic characteristics of the device. And this, in turn, makes it possible to obtain the most powerful low frequencies at the output.
According to many experts, it is better to use a separate amplifier than one built into a subwoofer. If we talk about active subwoofers, then such devices have their advantages - you can easily connect it directly to the radio in your car, and the quality of playback of the tracks will be quite high (the author of the video is the Kak-To-Tak channel).
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Installation and connection diagram of the storage capacitor to the subwoofer
Energy storage capacitors used in car subwoofers must have a capacity of 1 to 3 farads or more. In fact, some unscrupulous manufacturers produce products where the actual capacity is very different from the one indicated on the product body. Therefore, on forums you can often find complaints that installing an additional device did not produce any results. This is due to the fact that a counterfeit product was purchased. Therefore, the energy block for the amplifier should be purchased only in specialized stores. Very often, ionistors or super capacitors are sold in automotive markets as analogues of large-capacity capacitors.
Ionistors use porous plates that allow them to store a very large amount of energy, so the capacity of such devices is tens and hundreds of farads. Moreover, the voltage at which ionistors can operate without damage does not exceed 10 volts. The disadvantage of ionistors is their high internal resistance.
The perfect combination
Pioneer car radio connection diagram
As mentioned above, car audio has the right to be called that if it involves a trio (sub, amplifier and capacitor). Let's try to figure out which combination can be called ideal.
Woofer Mystery MJB 12, amplifier Sony XM-504Z and capacitor Stinger SPC111
A powerful trio that delivers perfect sound. At the same time, everything is in a budget option and you don’t have to pay extra.
Selection of amplifier, subwoofer and capacitor
Woofer Specifications
| Mystery Corps MJB 12 | High quality MDF |
| Diffuser | High quality chrome plated injection molding |
| Suspension | Butyl rubber |
| Magnet/magnetic system - weight | 40 oz/80 oz |
| Voice coil | 2" aluminum, covered with cardboard |
| Case dimensions, mm | 450/418/367 |
| Peak power, W | 250-500 |
| approximate cost | 4-5 thousand rubles |
Specifications of the Sony XM 504Z amplifier
| Dimensions, mm | 350/233/55 |
| Peak power, Ohm/W | 4/100 – 2/125 – 1/250 |
| Channels, number | 4/3 |
| Power supply | MOSFET transistors |
| approximate price | 3-4 thousand rubles |
Technical characteristics of the Stinger 111 capacitor
| Capacitance, farad | 1 |
| Voltage range, V | 16-20 |
| Internal resistance, mOhm/Hz | 1,5/120 |
| Voltmeter | Has digital/LED display red/3 segments/auto power off and on |
| Diameter, mm | 75 |
| Height, mm | 250 |
| Case color | grey |
How to properly connect a subwoofer drive
Connecting a capacitor to an amplifier and subwoofer can be done when installing the entire sound system of a car or to an already working device. To separate the power circuit of the amplifier running on the amplifier from other consumers of electricity, a directly connected diode is placed between the positive of the battery and the energy storage unit. If you need to install the device on an already working set of equipment, then before starting work you should completely turn off the entire power system. It is believed that the capacity of the device is selected at the rate of 1 farad per kilowatt of power. A product of this capacity is the most common. For all amplifiers with lower power, a 1 farad drive is also suitable. Installation of the drive for the subwoofer is carried out using the mounting hardware that is included with the drive.
Top 5 devices of 2021
Based on consumer reviews, the 5 best capacitors for a subwoofer have been selected, showing good results and a long service life. These include products from well-known brands, suitable for use by both novice and experienced car audio engineers.
Kicx flc 1.5
pros
- good equipment
- contacts for ring terminals
- reverse polarity protection
- charge level indication
Minuses
- weight, dimensions
- capacity is only 1.5F
- low operating voltage margin
From 2339 ₽
The main advantage of this capacitor is its complete ease of installation. Convenient complete brackets and a reliable contact group are provided. The product shows excellent service life thanks to electronic protection and a special mesh.
MD.Lab PC-E1.0
pros
- 1F capacity with small measurement error
- compact aluminum housing
- built-in voltmeter
Minuses
- no reverse polarity protection
- small margin for maximum voltage
- poor equipment (only capacitor)
From 2240 ₽
This drive can only provide 18 V pulse voltage. If this is enough, the device will appeal to experienced audio system designers. The capacitor can operate at temperatures from -40 to 60 degrees Celsius and has low leakage currents.
ACV CAP-5.0F
pros
- overload protection
- protection against incorrect activation
- amplifier integration option
- possibility of connecting several series-connected load units
- advanced electronic parameter control system
- indicator light and built-in voltmeter
Minuses
- dimensions
- low pulse voltage value
- own connection diagram
- awkward terminal blocks
From 3875 ₽
The most complete control of voltage and operating parameters available today, as well as the possibility of direct control from the amplifier are two striking features that distinguish this capacitor model. It will appeal to users who want to create a truly powerful system. A capacity of 5F is enough for acoustics of 5 kW.
