What’s the purpose of coils and capacitor
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=30802
Printed Date: May 04, 2024 at 4:33 PM
Topic: What’s the purpose of coils and capacitor
Posted By: sachmosis
Subject: What’s the purpose of coils and capacitor
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:22 PM
My boyfriend is trying to hook up the speakers in my car - (for maximum bass output) and I am, as usual, butting into his whole project thinking that I can help. I tried to read to him the pages on this site that explain low pass, high pass and band pass filters - but they don't make much sense to either one of us. What is the purpose of a coil and a capacitor? He's got a Realistic 3 way electronic crossover, 2 200 watt 3 way Infinity's (3 1/4") in the front, 2 200 watt Pioneer's (6 3/4") in the back, 2 300 DB Crossfires (bridged, in a no-portholes box 2 1/2' by 1 1/2') pushed by a Blaupunkt 230 watt stereo, and a 600 watt Rockford Fosgate amp. The way he had it hooked up before it was BANGING! Is there another way to connect this, though, that would reduce damage to the speakers or maybe even sound better as far as the high's and midrange go? Because although he thought it was great, I thought that there was not enough of the higher sounds. It was ALL bass. I don't think that makes for the optimum listening experience. If anyone has any suggestions or comments, please let me know.
Replies:
Posted By: kickerstang
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:30 PM
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
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what!?!?! you want some??
Posted By: sachmosis
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:31 PM
barstow, california
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:35 PM
Capacitors and coils are use to build passive crossover networks. These connect between an amplifier output and speakers, and are designed to absorb sound in certain frequency bands and only let certain sound get through to the speaker it is connected to. Electronic crossovers are much more efficient but do the same thing, only on the pre-amp (or line-level) side of the amp. By directing certain sound frequencies to amplifiers dedicated to certain speakers, they make sure only the correct sonds get to the correct speaker. For a subwoofer, there is no need for a passive crossover after an amplifier if the electronic crossover is set up properly. Normally, an electronic crossover is most commonly used to direct only bass frequencies to a dedicated subwoofer amp. This is a "low pass" filter (meaning only low frequencies are passed through) and one built into an amplifier does the same thing. The high frequencies are sent to a seperate amplifier for the "main" mids and tweets (the "high pass" section.) Usually in common usage, a coaxial or component set will include a passive crossover of some sort to keep the correct frequencies going to the tweeter. Did this help or make it more confusing? ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: sachmosis
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:35 PM
why?
Posted By: kfr01
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:39 PM
Well, as I understand it (kinda a noobie myself)... a capacitor is used to filter out low frequency sounds (bass) and a coil is used to filter out high frequency sounds (highs). His electronic crossover, since it sounds like he only has one amp and it is used solely for the subs, probably only serves the purpose of filtering out the highs going to the subs. Some capacitors (bass blockers - you can order them from crutchfield - will take the bass off your 3-1/4 and 6-3/4 inch speakers, something you DEFINITELY want to do. They will make better use of the power given to them if they don't have to work at producing the lows. Also 3-1/4 inch speaker given a full-bandwidth single I've ever heard will bottom out (distort) like crazy and sound like crap. The best option is buying a 4-channel amp for the mids/highs and using the electronic crossover to filter the frequencies appropriately. Also, remember to turn off the loudness, bass boost, or whatever other crap that might be used to jack up the bass on the head unit. kfr
Posted By: sachmosis
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:44 PM
sorry - the why? was to Kickerstang's question. Yeah, it made things a little clearer. But how would you incorporate all of the stuff that I said he had into making the best set-up for listening to? Where there is a lot of bass, but where you can still hear the mid-range and highs even at lower volume?
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:55 PM
Is one of your amps a four-channel amp? ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: sachmosis
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:57 PM
ok, that was helpful. thank you!
Posted By: sachmosis
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 2:58 PM
we have one amp - a sub woofer amp. a 2 channel 600 watt rockford fosgate.
Posted By: DYohn
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 3:04 PM
OK, then you only have one choice. The subs should be connected to the amplifier with either the low-pass filter activated on the amp, or the electronic crossover used as a low-pass filter feeding the amp. The other speakers must be run off the speaker outputs from your head unit and the crossover will have no effect on them. This kind of setup is the most common in car audio and it also tends to be very bass-heavy. If you want to get a bit more out of your main speakers, then using a passive crossover (like the "bass blocker" suggested above) can help, especially on your 3.5" set. But nothing will really help in a setup like this short of upgrading your main speakers and ruinning an amplifier for them. You say you have a "230 watt Blaupunkt stereo." I assume you mean you have a Blau head unit that is rated at 230 watts? Which model? ------------- Support the12volt.com
Posted By: sachmosis
Date Posted: April 21, 2004 at 3:11 PM
well, actually, he just left so I can't ask him, and I have no clue. I've just been typing in all of the information as he's been relaying it to me. but I do understand what you mean. I think your last suggestion would be the best solution - upgrading the speakers and running an amp to them. he's always coming across speakers and amps from all of his friends, so it shouldn't be too difficult to acquire some. thanks!
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