Tweeters are small speakers with a small cone that produce the high end of audio frequencies. They’re most effective when pointed directly at the listener.
Most are restricted to a set frequency range, such as 3 to 20kHz, though this varies depending on the speaker’s constraints. Human hearing has a frequency range of roughly 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
Why Should I Secure My Car Tweeter With a Capacitor
Tweeters should not deliver bass frequencies because they are not built for that. This is why we have bass blockers which are what we call high-pass filters. These devices prevent low frequencies from damaging your tweeters.
To prevent the tweeter from blowing out, it is recommended that you build your own bass blocker tweeter protection circuit using a capacitor. To protect your car’s tweeter from low bass frequencies at high volume levels, you can use a standard electrical capacitor.
Without it, bass that would typically be delivered to a subwoofer will be sent to it, ruining the voice coil in seconds.
Once this happens, it will never sound the same again, and it will always crackle or produce a harsh-sounding treble that will eventually harm your ears. Only if you don’t have an inline crossover box dividing the frequencies should you be concerned about protecting a car tweeter.
If you’re connecting it directly to the car audio or an external amplifier, it’s best to add a capacitor to the car tweeter as soon as workable. This can also apply to other sorts of similar speakers, such as horns, or to any driver that operates at a frequency higher than 10 KHz.
Step-by-Step on How to Add Capacitor to Your Car Tweeter
In a tweeter, a capacitor is required to block any signal frequency that is lower than what the tweeter can process.
Below are some procedures you may take to install a capacitor to your tweeter on your own to prevent it from blowing.
1. When dealing with wires as a non-professional, the first thing to remember is to be extremely cautious. Although you will not be shocked or injured, you may inadvertently damage the wire from the source; therefore, carefully detach the wire before connecting it to the capacitor.
2. Connect one leg of the capacitor to the tweeter’s + positive terminal, then use a solder iron to apply a dab of solder to lock the connection against future movement. Only one cap needs to be placed on the positive terminal. If you use one for both connections, the high frequencies will be fully filtered off, and no sound will come out of the tweeter. So don’t try it thinking the tweeter will be more protected; it won’t.
3. Solder the connection of the positive speaker wire to the other leg of the cap.
4. Solder the negative speaker wire to the – terminal on the tweeter.
5. Connect the other end of the speaker wire straight to the midrange driver at the bottom of your door card and reinstall your tweeter.
How to Select a Car Tweeter Capacitor
If you intend to connect your tweeter(s) directly to the car radio, a tweeter capacitor should be installed as soon as convenient. This prevents the tweeters from blowing out at excessive intensity or generating harsh-sounding treble that could harm your hearing.
Now that you know what a tweeter capacitor accomplishes, you’ll want to make sure the one you purchase has the following critical properties.
- Capacitor value for tweeters: Capacitance is another term for the tweeter capacitor value. Capacitance is a measurement of a capacitor’s capacity to block bass frequencies. Variable capacitors have different capacitance. They use Farad (F) as the unit of measurement, but tweeter capacitors are commonly measured in micro-Farad (UF). A 20 UF capacitor, for example, is a 20 microfarad capacitor. The cap rating should, ideally, correspond to the frequency range that needs to be blocked off.
- Capacitor polarity vs. non-polarity: A polarized capacitor is a type of capacitor with implicit polarity, meaning it has both positive and negative leads and may only be connected in one direction. Polarized capacitors are typically electrolytic and have a small (+) symbol on one of the positive leads and a (-) sign on the negative lead.
- Construction and design: Ceramic capacitors are commonly used because of their compact construction, however their capacitance values are quite low, making them unsuitable for tweeter capacitors. Aluminum capacitors are also commonly used in audio applications, however their high dissipation factor might result in severe overheating. As a result, when selecting a capacitor for your tweeter, it’s critical to think about the material.
Capacitors are made from a variety of materials, including aluminum, ceramic, and film, to meet the specific requirements of your tweeters.
Due to their exceptional qualities, film capacitors are the most popular choice for capacitors. These capacitors are also less expensive, more stable, and have a longer service life.
Best Capacitor for Tweeter
If you’ve already decided on tweeters for your system, you’ll need to think about a capacitor to protect them.
The goal of the tweeters is to replicate high frequencies, and in order to do so, it’s crucial to restrict the quantity of bass or eliminate other factors that could interfere with high-frequency reproduction.
A capacitor will also shield your system from applications that use too much power at low frequencies. Furthermore, a capacitor aids in the creation of a balance between the midrange and tweeter responses.
Choosing the best tweeter capacitor is still a challenge. The capacitors listed below are the best for producing high-quality tweeter sounds.
Electrolytic Capacitor
An electrolytic capacitor is a polarized capacitor with an anode or positive plate consisting of a metal that has been anodized to generate an insulating oxide layer. This oxide layer serves as the capacitor’s dielectric.
Film Capacitor
These are Electrical capacitors using an insulating plastic film as the dielectric, and sometimes paper as the electrode carrier. They are known as film capacitors.
Bass Blocker Capacitor Chart
The bass blocker capacitor chart will be presented using the 4-ohms and 8-ohms resistance tweeter:
| Frequency in Hz | Capacitor Value for 4-ohms | Capacitor Value for 8-ohms |
| 800 | 70uf | 35uf |
| 1000 | 50uf | 25uf |
| 1500 | 40uf | 20uf |
| 2000 | 25uf | 13uf |
| 5000 | 20uf | 10uf |
| 8000 | 8uf | 4uf |
| 10000 | 5uf | 2.5uf |
Conclusion
Because a capacitor is critical for a car tweeter’s effective operation and to prevent it from blowing out, you must exercise extreme caution while installing a capacitor on your own. As a result, you must select the optimum capacitor for your car’s tweeter.
