I have 2 10" pioneer champions in a ported box in my jeep. Used 4ga wire for power and ground. They sound awesome. I wasn't looking to break glass or anything. They hit very hard and the sound is very clear. And I only have 400 into my audio system.

 

Care to share what you have in mind? I'm also wanting to upgrade my audio, now that I'm done with exterior mods.

 

Wrong!

 

That pioneer amp only puts out 600Wrms max if you are lucky at 2ohms. If you have a stock 80 amp or above alternator, you really don't have much to worry about. If you have bad light dimming then do the big 3 by upgrading your wiring and it should be fine. If you have an older battery then might be a good idea to get a new one. If you still have light dimming (I highly doubt it) then try getting a 2nd battery or get a HO alt. For the amp in question you really do not need all of that, but yes it is always a good idea to upgrade your electrical if you can afford it as like other hobbies you will probably want to upgrade in the future and you will have some room to grow possibly.

Capacitors are a band aid, they will not help out. If you want to help out or solve a electrical problem the right way get a High output alternator and or Battery/batteries and get the proper wiring, big 3 etc..

Yes some of the "show cars" you see on TV does have the pretty light up capacitors for looks, but they also have the electrical to back it up as well with plenty of batts and HO alts..

I also have been into car audio for awhile now, I took a break from it though.

Other High quality brands that have "budget line subs" and is 10X better than pioneer is Audioque, Sundown Audio, SSA, Incriminator Audio, RE, Cadence, etc.. All these brands have subs for around $100-$150 in the budget lines they offer btw.


If you want to stick with mainstream brands, Other Mainstream brands that are better than Pioneer IMO are Memphis, Soundstream, RF etc..
I guess that RE is pretty much mainstream now though, it used to not be.

 

I think capacitors are a bit shrouded in mystery, so not a lot of people think they work. Its very easy to have it set up wrong and not work at all. Capacitors block DC current so you can't actually put them in line with your positive power source or it won't work...they aren't batteries They need to have a good connection to the battery negative (or otherwise very good chassis ground) and need to have the positive post simply attached to the 12V power cable from the battery going to the amp. Closer to the amp the better. Basically all a capacitor will do is store electric potential until the available potential at its terminals begins to drop (ie large load on the electrical system, like a deep subwoofer hit) and the capacitor will begin to drain its stored energy in effort to maintain voltage. When demand decreases and terminal voltage returns to normal, the capacitor also recharges.

 

Simply put, a solid state or electrolytic capacitor, used inline with an external amplifier, in a car audio aplication, is nothing more than a voltage sabilizer. The the electrical signal coming from your electrical system (alternator) wether stock or aftermarket highoutput has constant fluxuations, making it what I call a dirty signal, with verrying degrees depending on the electrial system. Some are BAD, some are not noticable.

A Cap, takes said dirty signal with its votage peaks and vallies, looks like /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\, and stabilizes it to the ouput voltage (digital ones are adjustable for use in higher voltage systems) as designed. This makes the signal presented to the amp go from /\/\/\/\/, to -------------. A cleaned up signal that is more constatnt. The result, a clearer signal to the amp means a more efficent amp and a clearer output from said amp. Which equates the single, and overall goal, purpose of a cap: better sound quality and definition.

THEY SERVER A PURPOSE!!!! It is just a specific one, they are not "novice material" and are not worthless.

 

I am running this system with the standard alternator.

 

Thats not saying much! Its based on the peak capable amp draw of the amplifiers that madates going high output for the alternator. Grated, the factory alternator output is rated and the demands in stock form, so in theory, any added electroics would mandate an aftermarket alt. But on a low demand stereo, voltage drop would be minimal making it not quite a nessecity to upgrade. But again, any aftermarket external amplification will benifit in an HO alt. in the form of decreased voltage drop, which is the number 1 killer of amps.