so i have 2 amps 1 for the front speakers and 1 for my 12 inch sub. and of course there is two power cable. and i have no capictator(however you spell it) is it fine to hook up 2 power cable to 1 battery?? sorry if this is a stupid question.. dont want to mess anything up. thanks

 

Yes, go ahead and connect the two power cables, it is the best way to do it anyway, [one power cable for high-pass amp(s) and one power cable for low-pass amp(s), both cables need their own fuse, and don't forget the use the proper gauge cable. 94

 

you can get what's called a fuse distribution block to clean things up. run one wire from the batt. to the fuse block, then 2 wires come out of that and go to the individual amps. much more convenient.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phateless &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you can get what's called a fuse distribution block to clean things up. run one wire from the batt. to the fuse block, then 2 wires come out of that and go to the individual amps. much more convenient.</TD></TR></TABLE> How does that clean things up, all you are doing is adding a whole shitload more connections between the batt. and amp, and another fuse, and you have to find a spot to mount the distribution block, that's not convenient, he's better off spending that money on Dynamat, [or the like] at least that would help. 94

 

is it really better to have 2 wires running side by side from the battery all the way back? that would annoy me. besides, fuse blocks are like $20 tops

 

Yes it is better if for no other reasons then to eliminate all the extra connections, and the problem of "electricity takes the coarse of least resistance" when you crank up the volume the sub amp needs a lot of current and it will draw what it needs from the closest point if the high-pass amps caps in it's power supply is closer then the batt./alt. it will draw down those caps, the symptom for this is a distorted high-pass when the sub hits, high-pass amp is "starved" for current when the subs hit.
Try it, if you are using a distribution block, listen to your fave tune, run a power lead from the batt. directly to the high-pass amp, [can be run outside the car temporarily] and listen again, if you can't tell the diff. you have a tin ear.
I have done this more then a few times for customers that come in looking for better SQ, [looking to upgrade to a better high-pass speaker] We get rid of distribution box, wire the amps power directly, and as long as the speakers are not damaged a noticeable improvement in SQ for both high-pass and low pass can be gained. 94

 

no ****. i had no idea, but that makes perfect sense. wow, i'll have to pass this along to my friends. would an aftermarket capacitor help with this problem while using a fuse block, or would this always be the case that seperate wires are better?

 

Yes a cap will help out alot. But fcm stands corrected. It depends on your set up most of the time and your charging system

 

Yes a cap will help, but you can't bend the rule "electricity takes the course of least resistance", even if you add a cap two power leads is better, cap will "stiffen" power for sub amp only. 94

 

got it. makes sense.

 

Interesting. Never heard that before but it makes sense.

 

I just talked to someone who knows all about car audio and he shot this idea down. "If that were true, most installs wouldn't work." Apparently amps have diodes to prevent this kind of thing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LudemanDan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just talked to someone who knows all about car audio and he shot this idea down. "If that were true, most installs wouldn't work." Apparently amps have diodes to prevent this kind of thing. </TD></TR></TABLE> Whatever, I have been installing car audio for a little over 30 years, [probably before he was born] and having him say something like that tells me he does not know all about car audio. 94