What?
Power capacitors are used to provide the power stages with enough energy for dynamic bass signals. All Mundorf Mpower capacitors are high-quality German products. They are made with state-of-the-art technologies such as laser-welding and 12-point winding contacts for extremely low internal resistance and minimum inductance. These are the parameters that determine how quickly a capacitor can deliver its stored energy, and alongside capacitance they are the most important specifications. We stock capacitors with a capacitance of 1.0 (approx. 1 farad per 1,000 watts of music output) and 68,000uF headcap. We recommend a 1 farad Mundorf Mpower capacitor for each amplifier and a headcap each for the source (head unit) and other related equipment in the chain (head unit processors, equalizers, electronic crossovers etc.). Sharing a capacitor for multiple amplifiers is possible but the best results are obtained with a dedicated capacitor as close as possible to each amplifier. Hi-End caps for a Mid-End to Hi-End system.
Why?
Before you run out there and buy just any capacitor for your car audio, you should first determine the best power wire to use for your system. Apart from the debate over the best type of power cable available in the market, most experienced car audio installers and enthusiast will agree that the most important factor in selecting power wire is to use the proper size. Wire is generally rated in size by American Wire Gauge, abbreviated AWG, or commonly just “gauge”. To determine the correct wire size for your application, you should first determine the maximum current flow through the cable (looking at the amplifier's fuse is a relatively simple and conservative way to do this). Then determine the length of the cable that you will use, and consult the following chart:
Length of run (in ft) 4-7 7-10 10-13 13-16 16-19 19-22 22-28
Current 0-20A 14 12 12 10 10 8 8 8
20-35A 12 10 8 8 6 6 6 4
35-50A 10 8 8 6 6 4 4 4
50-65A 8 8 6 4 4 4 4 2
65-85A 6 6 4 4 2 2 2 0
85-105A 6 6 4 2 2 2 2 0
105-125A 4 4 4 2 2 0 0 0
125-150A 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 00
Apart from thickness, you should also consider the installation demands: will you need to run the wire around corners or through doors or into the engine compartment? These sorts of problems in the car audio application require some special care in cable selection. You will want to have cable that is flexible; it should have thick insulation as well, and not melt at high temperatures. You don't want to install wire that is rigid and prone to cracks and cuts, or else the results could literally lead to fire.
A Note of Caution!
Due to the high prices of copper, good power cables are becoming very rare these days and many retailers are resorting to buying undergauged wires from unscrupulous suppliers. For example their 4 gauge power wire was closer to 6 or sometimes even 8 gauge! As copper prices continued to climb, some have started using copper clad aluminum wire (CCA). That means aluminum wires that are plated with copper. Even worst, they may undergauge the wires so basically an undergauged 4 gauge CCA wire is performing closer to a 9 to 10 gauge copper cable. These “cheater” power cables are all over the market. At Audio Creations, we insist in using only true AWG gauge wires for our Mundorf capacitors and all your equipment.
Mundorf 1 Farad MPower capacitor
Listening Impression:
Adding a headcap to the head unit was an eye opening experience. Imaging and staging became more pinpoint. It became more musical as the playback became less thin, fragile and brittle. With the head unit, external crossovers, external equalizers, processors and other equipment spiced up and performing with utmost stability with the addition of 1-2 Mundorf headcap, the system becomes more willing to be played loud with less strain, fatigue and harshness.
Here are some user comments:
“I never expected the Mundorf capacitor to make so much difference to the sound" – Chew
“Please keep another unit of the headcap for me before you run out of them" – anonymous
“I have got to poison my friends and customers to add the Mundorf capacitors in their system, the difference is so obvious" – Derek
“I can’t afford them, but I’m buying them anyway after listening to Kit’s car" – Ray
“I passed my Mundorf headcap to a friend and he installed it in his Waja by just plug-and-play to the original harness and wow, the improvement was phenomenal" – Francis
"Do you mind shipping another set of Mundorf 1farad and headcap to me. They are really worth every cent. I am moving my Helix 33,000uF to my alternator where it is meant to be" - RG
