Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
In late September, I got a call from a friend asking if I had any connections to purchase some new fuse holders for his car. The car is a fourth-generation Toyota Supra with a single-turbo kit and an AEM stand-alone engine management system. Unfortunately, it seems the fuse holders that fed the dual Walbro 255 lph fuel pumps had failed, leaving my friend stranded on the side of Read more
For years audiophiles claimed that signal processing was counterproductive and that they wanted the purest, most straightforward signal path from the source unit to their speakers. This philosophy applies as much to those interested in home audio as it does to those who enjoy music in their cars. However, the reality is, we don’t live, work or drive in an anechoic chamber. As Read more
When it comes to lighting the road in front of your car or truck at night, most enthusiasts focus on light intensity instead of headlight bulb color. It’s straightforward to see the difference between yellowish light produced by incandescent halogen bulbs and the white/blue output of HID or LED bulbs. The science behind these light sources is interestingly similar to what Read more
If you follow any of the high-end home audio magazines or social media groups, you know that interconnect cables and the stories around them are an entire industry. You can choose from 3-foot coaxial cables at prices from under $5 to well over $20,000 for some of the most bespoke, story-laden offerings. Some of these creations even have batteries built into them to provide a DC Read more
We were recently at an event that was hosting a mobile audio system SPL competition. If you aren’t familiar with this sort of thing, it’s a contest to see who has the loudest stereo. We aren’t talking about cranking the dial on the factory radio. Instead, some of these folks build steel and concrete reinforced subwoofer enclosures and feed tens of thousands of watts to their Read more
Range is the critical factor in the quality and performance of a remote car starter or security system. That’s the distance between you and your vehicle when you’re sending a lock, unlock or remote start command, or are hoping to receive a security notification. If you aren’t close enough, or the convenience system doesn’t have enough power, signals may not reach the vehicle or Read more
When it comes to expressing the quality of an audio system component, the amount of distortion it adds to a signal is the defining factor. In this article, we’ll talk about how much distortion each part of an audio system adds – so that you can target your budget for the greatest benefit. We’ll rank four categories of audio equipment based on the amount of distortion they add Read more
A while back, we took a quick look at how alternating current (AC) signals in our car audio systems work. While the amount of work done by an AC voltage source can be the same as that of a direct current (DC) source, the changes in current flow direction add complications. In this article, we’ll dive a little deeper into AC signals and explain why a fixed-value resistor can’t Read more
If you’re upgrading the sound system in your car or truck, adding a subwoofer system is typically the first upgrade. From there, new speakers and an amplifier to power them are next. And most consumers should consider adding a digital signal processor to achieve the most realistic listening experience possible. Unfortunately, one item that is occasionally overlooked in creating Read more
