Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
Many new cars, trucks and SUVs come with small speakers in the dash that accompany a larger woofer in the door. These small speakers, often called “middlers,” are tasked with handling frequencies from a few hundred hertz to the upper limits of human hearing. For over a decade, we’ve seen car audio system upgrades replacing the door and dash speakers with a component set that Read more
We’re now into our fourth speaker in our series about understanding speaker quality. For this article, we will analyze the performance of an old-school premium speaker, the MB Quart PWE-160. If you were into car audio in the ’80s and ’90s, then the MB Quart brand was a name you’d know well. This brand was famous for its performance in car audio competitions. So let’s see how Read more
Though factory-installed audio systems have greatly improved over the last few decades, they can’t hold a candle to even a modest aftermarket car stereo system unless you’ve got a premium vehicle. This statement is especially true in terms of subwoofers and bass performance. Most factory-installed subwoofer systems are better described as woofers. It’s rare that they play loud Read more
Expert installation technicians in the car audio industry are fortunate to have several options to simulate speaker and subwoofer response in different applications. Whether it’s modeling a bass reflex enclosure for a pair of 12-inch subwoofers or ensuring that an A-pillar speaker pod is large enough for a 4-inch midrange, computer simulations are crucial to delivering car Read more
Every few months, I learn something that, had I put some effort into thinking about it, would have been obvious. For example, my friend Andy created a Facebook post a while back, asking why people thought amplifiers needed fuses. They will tell you it’s to protect the amp from damage. That’s not incorrect. However, the scenario where fuses are necessary is very different from Read more
While almost all new cars and trucks come with a backup camera, upgrading an older vehicle with this simple technology can prevent accidents and serious injuries. Let’s look at the technologies available and explain what you need to know when shopping for a backup camera upgrade. Backup and Parking Cameras One of the most popular and beneficial safety upgrades you can make to Read more
It’s with great sadness that we share the news that car audio industry legend Larry Frederick passed away on March 2, 2023. Larry is best known for his work at Phoenix Gold, where he was the director of product development. Larry shared his experience and talent with Alpine USA, Elettromedia, Diamond Audio and Cerwin-Vega! Mobile. Most recently, Larry was president of Cicada Read more
Every now and then, I get into hot water for recommending, or more commonly, for not suggesting, a particular brand of car audio equipment. The same has happened over the years with retailers near me. However, I can say with confidence that in every case, there’s a solid reason why I stand behind and recommend specific solutions and why others aren’t even remotely on my radar Read more
Dozens of articles here on BestCarAudio.com explain the concept of audio component distortion. More specifically, harmonic and intermodulation distortion represent the addition of unwanted information to an audio signal because of non-linearities in an electronic circuit or mechanical system like a speaker. Ask anyone who’s heard a genuinely high-end sound system and they’ll Read more
Dual voice coil subwoofers exist to provide installers with three options to connect the driver to an amplifier. The coils can be wired in series or parallel to double or half the impedance of a single coil. Alternatively, each coil can be connected to separate amplifier channels to add power from non-bridgeable configurations. A question that often arises is, what happens if Read more
Have you ever measured or tested something and not fully believed the results? A while back, I wrote an article that looked at the different options for wiring a pair of dual voice coil subwoofers to a single amplifier. The options are to wire the voice coils in each subwoofer in series the woofers in parallel, or wire the coils in parallel and the subwoofers in series. The Read more
I purchased a pair of MTX 6.5-inch woofers around 1992 or 1993, and they were installed in my 1991 Mazda 323 hatchback as midbass and rear-fill drivers. Later, they migrated to a set of “home speakers” with an Audax tweeter, though I don’t think I spent much time listening to them after I finished building them. Unfortunately, those speaker enclosures were thrown out after they Read more
