Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
With the increasing performance and features of factory-installed infotainment and audio systems, many of my friends have asked whether we still need aftermarket audio systems. I was recently in California on business and rented a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro SS for my drive from Long Beach to Modesto and back to San Francisco. Having spent about 12 hours in the car over the week, I Read more
Whether the sound system in your car or truck is bone stock or upgraded with premium amplifiers, speakers and subwoofers, the system’s maximum volume may not directly coincide with turning the knob up all the way. The short and sweet of why this happens is something called gain overlap. This conscious and deliberate design decision ensures that any signal source can be played Read more
We recently talked about how window tint darkness specifications work and how some films are great at blocking heat. This article discusses the relationship between darkness and heat rejection. In the southern states, many people choose to have their windows tinted to help keep their vehicles cooler on hot summer days. Heat-rejecting window tint is big business, and this Read more
We’ve talked about car audio amplifier features and specifications at great length, but up to this point, we haven’t discussed how a car audio amplifier works. In this article, we’ll provide a simple overview of how the power supply in your mobile amplifier can take the 12 volts supplied by your electrical system and convert it into a much higher voltage to drive your Read more
As we slowly approach the end of our latest Understanding Specifications series, we want to take a look at car audio amplifier distortion ratings and explain what they mean. We should make it clear: No matter how or good or bad a piece of audio equipment is, every audio component adds some amount of distortion to the signal. The amount and type of distortion those audio Read more
Unlike buying and setting up a basic home audio system, having a new amplifier and speakers installed in your car or truck requires proper setup and tuning. At home, you can adjust the placement of the speakers and how much they are toed in to affect the focus of the soundstage and the bass response. In a car, your installer needs to mount the amplifier, wire it, then adjust Read more
A few weeks ago, we published an article that explained how window tint darkness specifications work. In this article, we are going to talk about window tint heat rejection and explain what the Total Solar Energy Rejected (TSER) rating and various infrared energy rejection numbers that film manufacturers publish really mean. Before we get started, let’s take a look at the Read more
We’re back in the lab and working on a few more articles about amplifier specifications in order to wrap up this series. This time, we’re going to talk about the amplifier stereo separation specification. In a nutshell, the stereo separation, or crosstalk, number tells us how much of an audio signal leaks from one channel of an amplifier to the other. Of course, for the number Read more
If you are in your late 40s or older, then you likely grew up with a turntable or tape player in your home as a way of listening to store-bought music. Between 1982 and 1983, the compact disc entered the market and forever changed the way music was stored and transported. In this article, we are going to look at how digital audio works and dispel some of the myths around the Read more
