Capacitors....Interesting discussion!

[cdog]

Since Cap's add more resistance and are not a power supply source, they are actually a negative. Less volts end up going to the amplifer as a result when using a cap. The higher the farad's the greater the resistance.
Next time I have the boat on the water i'll have to try and bypass the cap and see it sounds diff.

[mickeyfinn]

Since Cap's add more resistance and are not a power supply source, they are actually a negative. Less volts end up going to the amplifer as a result when using a cap. The higher the farad's the greater the resistance.
The resistance is a little higher and it is a power draw. The theory behind the caps is that during "normal" play you don't have enough load for this little extra to matter. When the "heavy" load hits the cap provides a microsecond of stored energy and rides you through the rough spots. This would work well if you :
1. actually need it.
2. Have enough cap to ride you through the rough spot. This is the biggest problem. The caps on the market that people use don't provide enough stored energy to get you through the rough spots. Bass usually lasts longer than the microsecond or two that the cap can provide. Once the cap is discharged it is now an additional load to the system and can put more strain on a system that is already overloaded. This amplifies the "clipping" effect.
3. Just like the bling bling factor.
Other than that they are a waste of money unless you want to put enough of them in your trunk to affect the fuel economy of your vehicle. I haven't done the math but I would almost bet that if you actually put enough caps in the system to ride through the highest 2% of the current draw in order to ride through the rough spots the recharging current would make draw the system below what is needed for "normal power". So if you wanted to run the enough caps to work you would have to upgrade your charging system to recharge the capacitors, at which time your charging system is probably big enough to handle the peaks.

[Tom Brown]

Once the cap is discharged it is now an additional load to the system and can put more strain on a system that is already overloaded. This amplifies the "clipping" effect.
If it does, I've never been able to measure it.
Have you scoped a car's electrical system with an amp driving hard while substituting a cap in and out? If the cap is substantial enough, you will see smoothing in the system voltage.
You can tell a sleight difference of adding a cap with some amps. I believe that a properly designed amp will have enough headroom on the supply rails that it shouldn't need additional external capacitance. If it needed it, they should have engineered that capacitance right into the amp.
I have a few caps that I've fooled around with in different systems but stopped using them in the mid 90s (just as they were getting popular). They didn't seem to make any difference on the systems I was installing at the time.

[phebus]

I like capacitors so much, that I'm giving one away. If interested look at the thread in the Sandbar. It is the garage sale thread, and it is a efx 1.0 farad capacitor.

[riverroyal]

my system is getting one next week,every time i use my trim it makes a snapping sound through the speakers,very annoying,,magic is doing the install while its getting serviced

[Havasu Hangin']

my system is getting one next week,every time i use my trim it makes a snapping sound through the speakers,very annoying,,magic is doing the install while its getting serviced
Tell Magic to stop being so lazy and isolate the stereo power/ground from the rest of the boat.
Installing a cap as a noise suppessor is like putting a band-aid on yer leg after the surgeon cut you foot off because he didn't want to take the time to remove your sock to fix a hangnail.

[h2oski2fast]

my system is getting one next week,every time i use my trim it makes a snapping sound through the speakers,very annoying,,magic is doing the install while its getting serviced
That cap is for filtering the A/C noise the comes off the pulsing of the switch when it's pushed and released.

[riverroyal]

i need it right?im not a good stereo guy

[h2oski2fast]

I haven't done the math but I would almost bet that if you actually put enough caps in the system to ride through the highest 2% of the current draw in order to ride through the rough spots the recharging current would make draw the system below what is needed for "normal power". So if you wanted to run the enough caps to work you would have to upgrade your charging system to recharge the capacitors, at which time your charging system is probably big enough to handle the peaks.
They already put the number of caps needed to handle a moderate system in vehicles from the factory, they are also called batteries.

[h2oski2fast]

That cap is for filtering the A/C noise the comes off the pulsing of the switch when it's pushed and released.
Like HH said, have them relocate the power and grounds for the stereo. Another cause would be the gains are too high on the amplifiers, thus they are amplifying the noise that is being induced into the power cabling of the amp (in a round about way, it's a bit more complicated then that).