Hi guys i have just put in 2 Pioneer 12's in my tl, they are run by a 300 watt Kenwood amp ( its a good Japanese old school one ). I am wondering if need a capacitor for the amp. Because I have noticed that people usually put caps if they have powerful amps. Is it necessary in my case? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

A cap is a waste. They do have specific purposes in certain installs, but IMO, they are a complete waste, especially when you can get small batts for the same price or cheaper.

That being said, with only 300w, you should be more than fine on stock electrical. The way to find out is to hook everything up, then grab a Digital Multimeter, and check the voltage at the amp when you're playing it. You shouldn't drop below 13.5-14v (I hate going below 14v myself). If you do, you should consider upgrading your electrical. An alternator is the real solution, but normally you can get away with just a battery, as long as you give the alt time to recharge the batt.

 

Thanks man, ill definitely check it out. And by Digital Multimeter you mean a Voltmeter right?

 

DMM (Digital Multimeter) can read more things than just voltage. They're more adaptable, but yes, any voltmeter should work, as long as it's accurate. I just found out today that the voltmeter in my car reads about .1v low. Just something to keep in mind...

 

You shouldn't need a cap for 300W but they do have use in larger draw systems

 

Nope not for that little of rms. But if u do want a cap get a big farad one like 50 then it's pretty much a battery.

 

300watts is definitely below the threshold of needing a cap. If you ever do upgrade your system, you should look into upgrading your alternator first then getting a cap.

 

Alright thank you guys, that was very helpful, and no i doubt that i will not be upgrading my alternator. Im not really into bone trembling systems or competition audio, i just like nice clean bass, lol i know im not going to achieve that with mid grade Pioneer but i will upgrade once i gather up some funds.
On a side note: I have tried buying a couple of Audiobahn 10's from a guy on the blackmarket, the sale went sour, but nevertheless, would you guys recommend the brand overall? Because right now that is what i am looking at buying.

 

I've got 2 boston acoustic g1 10" subs. Need .5 cubes each. One has a slight prick on the surround but nothing that would affect the performance or longevity. They are more for sound quality but still get some good bass. Also they have the impedance selector. You can make them 8 4 or 2 ohm subs with a fuse selector on the voice coil they are dual voice coils also. Pm me if interested

 

Fixed. They're actually more used in competition SQ systems to filter any ground noise out. In high current draw applications like competition SPL installs, batteries are used more because of their cost vs reserve advantage over a cap. Caps don't have the reserve capacity that a battery does, and that's why they're not used. Or I should say the smaller ones don't. You can get massive caps that could be equivalent to a big battery, but the cost would be exponentially higher.

 

Audiobahn is a good brand, their comp series is much better than their flame series though. All my interior speakers are Audiobahn competition and they sound great even without an amp which I haven't hooked up yet

 

I have 12" audiobahn flame series...1100 RMS each and a 2/12" (i think) foam surround for a LOT of excursion. These speakers pound and never feel like they can't handle the 1500 watts RMS I'm giving them with my Brutus AMP.

I actually recently installed a line driver that's audiobahn too and it does the job. Good brand for a good price in my opinion.

 

Hi guys, i appreciate all your help big time, lol and im glad that you gave Audiobahn good reviews. Today i bought 2 12's (not sure about the model number), an amp (model #a4400e) and a crossover (model ax303). I bought all of that from a buddy of mine for a $100 (IMO its a wicked deal). However one thing thats kind of annoying is that i cant find any info on the amp. All i know is that its 4x50 rms and 4x100peak. So i sent an e-mail to Audiobahn tech dep, hopefully they will enlighten me lol!

 

A4400E - 280w x 2 @ 2ohms stereo 50w x 4 @ 4ohms stero 200w x 2 @ 2ohms ...

That's all I could find. Must be an older model but at 100 bucks...you really can't go wrong.

Are the speakers dual voice coils? If so you might be able to run them at 2 ohms to get your 200 watts out of the amp. If not, use the amp for your inside speakers and go for a Class D amp for your subs.

 

^ No way man, thanks a lot. You actually made my day lol. Ive been googling the model number but nothing useful came up, just random auctions. I tried e-mailing tech@audiobahn.com, but for some reason my e-mails have been delivered back to me (perhaps something wrong with their system)!

 

BTW, interims of the subs, i don't really know much yet either. Ill need to take them out of the enclosure and run the model number as well.

 

Got a pic? If they have an aluminum flame thingy on them they are probably AW1206T (if I remember right...they're the ones I have). They THUMP HARD!

Lol..no problem man...I'm a good googler...although sometimes it's not obvious and my eyes are just fishing for information that's useful.

 

sounds like a pretty good deal for a budget system good snag

 

Thanks man, lol now i have another dilemma. The subs are enclosed in an Audiobahn enclosure, thing is i tried unscrewing them via trim ring, but no dice, the trim ring is glued to the enclosure for reasons i cant understand. However the way that it was glued looks like a factory job, or in other words its too clean. I cant take the damn subs out, and i need to know the specs. I was thinking of posting pics, to see if you guys would be able to decipher them like (rockstar143) suggested, but Audiobahn cones are all very similar, lol is i dont know!

 

Dude...with all the knowledge on this forum, I bet someone would be able to name them based on the enclosure or the sub themselves. The ring looks "glued" on is probably a cover that pops off to reveal the screws that hold the sub in. Look for a little ridge somewhere on it to put a screwdriver in and pry off.

I'm guessing but I think I'm probably close.

 

Yea man, i hear you. Ive learned so much about my car, other models, sound, performance and the list goes on. And i know that somebody would probably be able to tell me what the subs are, but i decided to hook em up regardless. Prior to that i have done a little bit of research (knowing only 1 thing; that the subs are about 8-10 yrs old) checked around on the net and found subs that look identical to mine, they were 550 rms each, dual voice coil and are run at 4ohm but could be bridged to 2ohm. Well all said and done i decided to hook them up with the 2 channel Kenwood amp that i mentioned in my first post. The subs got power...vibrated...gave a lil bass but only when i put my head in the trunk lol. I was quite upset, because this type of thing always happens to me. So after shitting some bricks for 10 mins i decided to visit my mechanic. He told me that if the subs are vibrating and giving some bass, then its already a good sign. He told me to hook up the Audiobahn amp and it should be fine, because audio equipment doesn't always match, he also mentioned some technical details, but thats rocket science for me, so yea.
Well i did hook the ab amp, and let me tell you how my garage was shaking lol.

BTW i want to say thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge with me (the audio noob) lol.

 

Glad you're satisfied. Come back whenever you want or need anymore help.

 

Big 3 >>>>> capacitor

 

I'm sure the AB amp gets the job done...but what about selling the kenwood on ebay...and take the funds and use them to pick up a hifonics amp. The brutus older model can be had for pretty cheap and it's got oodles of power and is 1 ohm stable. Plus, then you could use your 4 channel for interior speakers. Also, read up on how to wire your speakers to put a 2 ohm load on the amp. That would technically double your output and maybe put you at the level you'd be happy with.

Unless of you're happy now...which would be good too!

 

Yea, when i gather up some funds, ill go to my mechanic to clean up the wiring and install the crossover as well. Interims of the interior speakers, i will have to wait till spring since a decent set of speakers could set me back a ton of cash, and speakers i don't really want to buy used. A lot of people on this forum stress that speakers must be heard in person and that you should test at least 3-5 different brands etc. I agree with that %100. Right now i have a set of brand new MTX 3 ways, i liked how they sounded but they wont fit because of the mounting depth, and i really truly don't want a custom look. So closer to spring time ill sell the mtx's and see what else i can get. Btw i checked out some Hifonics amps and it does seem like a very legible option for me.

 

Hifonics are good cheap amps mang

 

Big 3 + Optima Yellow + Caps FTW

 

You can probably make it fit. I actually have a hifonics mid in the door up front and that thing has a major magnet. Nothing a dremel and some plywood couldn't fix. Still looks factory though as the door panel fits over it, no problem.

 

Chris, I really don't see why you're standing behind caps so much. To judge the quality of something, I'm going to look where it is most abused: the competition lanes. The best example of a cap's "value" can be illustrated by looking at Street class cars in DB Drag, where they're allowed unlimited capacitance, but only 1 (or 2 in the case of Street C) batt(s) (sizes range per Street class). Yet, you don't see anyone in any Street car running 1000 farads of capacitance, or even 1 farad of a cap. There's simply no need for them with the types of batteries that are out right now. You wanna look at Ground pounding cars? Look at Steve Meade (cult culture Icon) or Tommy KOB McKinney. Both of whom have cars that can play daily well into the 150+ db range (Tommy's can go into the 160, I'm sure) and neither are using caps. Both guys run XS Power batts. There's a reason I stand behind the products I do. They work, pure and simple, in the competition lanes or in daily driven ground pounding systems with huge electrical draw. They have companies behind them that back up the products they sell, should something go wrong.

 

Oh, and why do I even read these threads? There's Chris again, pushing YT's and caps...

 

At least I don't have Team YellowTop in my signature

You go off your experience, I go off mine. Caps have played an integral part in my last like 5 systems

 

I'm proud to be on Team XS. To be on the same list as some of the loudest guys on the planet is pretty impressive, if you ask me.

As for our experiences, I'd love to compare them sometime this summer. Maybe get an OH/PA meet that actually happens going this year? Although my summer is quickly filling with comps from IL/WI to NY and PA.

 

Gotta go with Matt on this one. My last system was pushing two Arc Audio XXKs with an ORT and the Big 3 with absolutely no dimming, even when pushing the heaviest load. To each their own, I suppose, but I just don't see any real merit when the Big 3 is run.

 

do your headlights dim when the bass hits? If so, caps may help. That's just been from my own experience.