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#1
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
I need to install some capacitors to serve as bass blockers for door
speakers in my car. Since my car is parked outside a lot, it seems like it may not be a good idea to use electrolytic capacitors, but instead use something like ceramic or mylar which don't have a paste that could dry up in the heat. Can anyone help me determine whether this would work? Or must capacitors in this role be electrolytic? |
#2
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
wrote in message ups.com... I need to install some capacitors to serve as bass blockers for door speakers in my car. Since my car is parked outside a lot, it seems like it may not be a good idea to use electrolytic capacitors, but instead use something like ceramic or mylar which don't have a paste that could dry up in the heat. Can anyone help me determine whether this would work? Or must capacitors in this role be electrolytic? I've seen electolytic (must be nonpolar or bipolar) bass blockers work in car doors for years here in Central Florida with no adverse effects. I've installed for 27 years and do not recall a time where it looked like bass blockers were heat damaged. |
#3
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
Thanks, ok I'll just go with electrolytics. I'm in central FL as well.
:-) |
#4
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
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#5
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
Check out partsexpress.com, they should have a variety of bass blockers for sale. This should offer you a wider selection and invol -- John |
#6
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
On Nov 14, 7:36 am, wrote:
Since my car is parked outside a lot, it seems like it may not be a good idea to use electrolytic capacitors, but instead use something like ceramic or mylar which don't have a paste that could dry up in the heat. I used to work in the industry in *south* Florida...no problems on my end with the heat and electrolytics, either. Can anyone help me determine whether this would work? Or must capacitors in this role be electrolytic? I have to wonder why you're just going to use just capacitors? A capacitor alone has a 6dB/octave roll-off--which is pretty darn gradual. This means that you're going to have to choose a pretty high -3dB (crossover) point to give your speakers the protection they need. Of course, how high the point has to be depends upon the size of the speaker and the amount of power your amp is churning out--the more power you apply to the speaker, the higher the crossover point is going to have to be. I would strongly encourage you to consider using a "second-order" (12db/octave) or even a third-order (18dB/octave) filter instead. Using a higher-order filter means that you'll be attenuating potentially damaging low frequencies much more rapdily, which means that you'll be able to choose a lower -3dB point and/or apply more power without damaging your drivers. There's also something to be said about the quality of the sound you get when using a higher-ordered filter. Some "golden-eared tweaks" might argue that the lesser degree of phase shift encountered with lower-ordered filters leads to a more "pure" (whatever that means) sound, but this is *highly* debateable. In a typical install, you're actually likely to do more damage, in my experience, using 6dB/octave crossovers to your soundstage due to there being less of a clear "boundary" between the frequencies reproduced by your separates up front...but this is rather esoteric stuff that the "average Joe" doesn't care much about. :-) You also didn't mention what kind of speakers these are...are they separates (discrete tweeter and woofer) or are they coaxials? Adding a capacitor (or any passive crossover for that matter) inline with a coaxial that doesn't have discrete inputs is going to muck with the crossover point of the tweeter. It's been a long time since I've built a passive XO network, so I don't remember the precise effect or the degree thereof, but it's something worth looking into to make sure you don't do the wrong thing. In a nutshell, go with a good (mylar capacitor, air-core coil) second-order (12dB/octave) filter--I think you'll be better off. -dan |
#7
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
On Nov 14, 11:09 am, "D.Kreft" wrote:
In a nutshell, go with a good (mylar capacitor, air-core coil) second-order (12dB/octave) filter--I think you'll be better off. Just had a flashback to "the day"...both air-core coils and mylar caps are likely going to be difficult to find for a high pass filter of any reasonable low frequency (90Hz - 150Hz or so), and the use of a mylar or other more "exotic" cap isn't going to benefit you too much on a midrange speaker--the benefits of using air-cores and mylars are typically best realized on tweeters. For a midrange driver, a non-polarized electrolytic cap and an iron core coil will do just fine. They'll also be cheaper and smaller than their equivalent air-core/mylar counterparts. Sorry about that. -dan |
#9
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
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#10
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
On Nov 15, 6:16 am, (GregS) wrote:
Bass blockers are a poor substitute for active crossovers. The bass blocker increases driving impedance causing the resonant peak of the midrange to further increase. Well, if he's poor, then the "poor" solution may be his only option at present. :-) But yeah, nothing beats an electronic crossover...you should be able to pick one up for about $150 or so. I once bought an L.A. Sound crossover for my mom's car for $99. It produced a noticeable detrimental impact on the brightness of the tweeters (substandard electronics), but at least she never fried her midrange speakers. :-) -dan |
#11
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
D.Kreft wrote:
On Nov 15, 6:16 am, (GregS) wrote: Bass blockers are a poor substitute for active crossovers. The bass blocker increases driving impedance causing the resonant peak of the midrange to further increase. Well, if he's poor, then the "poor" solution may be his only option at present. :-) But yeah, nothing beats an electronic crossover...you should be able to pick one up for about $150 or so. I once bought an L.A. Sound crossover for my mom's car for $99. It produced a noticeable detrimental impact on the brightness of the tweeters (substandard electronics), but at least she never fried her midrange speakers. :-) The other downside to an active crossover isn't just the expense of the unit itself, of course, but the added expense of needing more amp channels... |
#12
Posted to rec.audio.car
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Bass Blockers - Type of capacitor to use?
In article .com, "D.Kreft" wrote:
On Nov 15, 6:16 am, (GregS) wrote: Bass blockers are a poor substitute for active crossovers. The bass blocker increases driving impedance causing the resonant peak of the midrange to further increase. Well, if he's poor, then the "poor" solution may be his only option at present. :-) But yeah, nothing beats an electronic crossover...you should be able to pick one up for about $150 or so. I once bought an L.A. Sound crossover for my mom's car for $99. It produced a noticeable detrimental impact on the brightness of the tweeters (substandard electronics), but at least she never fried her midrange speakers. :-) Crossovers seem to be included basically free with most newer power amps. I made a crossover for my truck. I made a second or third order crossover at 120 hz for the door speakers using AD712 opamps. Have never blown them out, and they are OEM. greg |
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