capacitor

my question was how do capacitors help your sound system and when do u know when to get one? and hook it up to your system

Cap's help by having ready voltage in case there's a sudden "dip" in voltage, lke when a sub hits. Cap's are more for style than function. They look cool 'n' all with their little voltmeters n such, but with a long, extended bass note the cap is going to peter out because it can only hold so much charge. You never need a cap...The best thing to do is upgrade the wiring, even maximum overkill is OK.. The wisest thing to do is upgrade the charging system. Installing a higher amp alternator is only half the job. Bigger wiring to the starter and battery are really the only right way to do an alternator swap, since you are increasing the capable output.

caps do nothing to increase SPL ... maybe a little for dynamics in an SQ car

Like corning said caps are used for the short quick low bass where the amp temporarily draws extra current off the system to produce the bass and then go back up. But like Paul said caps are mostly useless the best thing to do is get a high output alt., upgrade the power and ground wires coming off your battery, and get a bigger better battery like an optima red, yellow, or blue top. And depending on the size of your system it might be a good idea to get a second battery and hook it parallel to your main battery to supply plenty of power. If you have a cap you can possibly end up doing more damage than good.

I remember when caps first came out ...... EVERYONE had to have them. The next year, all the heavy hitters in SPL took them out of their vehicles. And then they added all the voltmeters and what not ... prettied them up. Companies still felt they were on a goldmine, and they continue to sell them - even though they do little to nothing.

One of my uncles friends made a good point about them, in an spl comp there useless since they usually only work above 12v. In sound competitions you cant run an engine its only battery energy. So when you dont have the car running there is nothing to recharge them, also when your riding around not all people ride around all the time at full volume. Also in this aspect when your engine is running at 2000+ rpm the alternator is making enough power to keep the power level up.

the big three, and a deep cycle battery are a good upgrade, and a HO alternator would do things a cap cant do.