Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
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
Matthew Crouch of Shelbyville, Kentucky, owns the ultra-clean 1991 Toyota Hilux you see above. Matthew is one of the installers at Xtreme Autosound & Marine in Louisville. I called the store and spoke with owner Tony Zagata and jack-of-all-trades Michael Humphrey, who helps with sales, installations and social media. I learned that Matthew is a huge Toyota fan, and his dad Read more
Though I’ve written it a dozen times across many articles, it’s always worth repeating: The most critical component in any audio system is the speakers. You may have invested thousands of dollars into a source unit, a digital signal processor and premium amplifiers, but without precision-engineered speakers, all of that quality is wasted. The car audio fanatics at Rockford 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
A few months ago, I had the privilege of reviewing the Sony XAV-AX4000 multimedia receiver. I was impressed by the incredibly intuitive and responsive interface, complete feature set and snappy performance. However, Sony has a big brother to this radio called the XAV-AX6000. The basic platform is the same as the previous model, but Sony has included several sought-after 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
