Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
The confusion around setting amplifier gains baffles a significant number of car audio enthusiasts. I can’t even count the number of systems I’ve heard that are plagued with tons of background noise or hiss when music isn’t playing. Unfortunately, those same people also seem to be pretty hard on their gear and have replaced many subwoofers, speakers and tweeters. So let’s have Read more
It’s time we start putting together the information from a selection of the articles I’ve created to help sound quality enthusiasts get the most from their car audio systems. In this article, we will discuss why it might be best to choose a low-power, high-quality Class AB amplifier to power your tweeters. We’ll look at this from both a noise and distortion perspective, as well Read more
Quite a while back, I took a scientific look at the difference between a recording stored in a WAV format and what is thrown away with a lossy format like MP3. During some recent research in preparation for an upcoming Test Drive Review, I got to thinking about a different way to show how other audio formats compare. Let’s look at WAV, FLAC and MP3 file formats, then throw in a Read more
Not long ago, I wrote an article about fuses in car audio systems and some of the steps I took at a previous employer to test them. In part of that testing, I also dissected a few circuit breakers to learn how they worked and whether they were a good option as an overcurrent protection device in a car audio system. Immediately upon opening one, I was turned off. I remain so to Read more
If you’ve been around the car audio industry for as long as I have, you know Rockford Fosgate started in 1973 with the introduction of its first car audio amplifier. Through the ’80s and ’90s, the brand grew at an exponential rate, adding subwoofers, speakers and more amplifiers that deliver fantastic performance to car audio fanatics who want their music clear and loud. The Read more
So, as a longtime car audio guy, I have peers and friends who cover every conceivable genre of car audio enthusiasm. I have friends who are installers, own and run stores, work at distributors and at manufacturers. I have tweaky friends that think high-end interconnects and low-efficiency wideband drivers are the way to go for sound quality. I also have a ton of friends who are Read more
I remember being at a car audio trade show about a decade ago where I overheard a conversation between a manufacturer rep and a customer about why a set of tweeters didn’t sound good on a particular amplifier. A few weeks later, I did some research on that amp to begin learning about what might have produced the customer perception. The amp in question uses a Class D output Read more
Years ago, I was the product development manager for one of the big car audio wiring and accessory companies. This background provided me with a unique opportunity to test power distribution and overcurrent protection solutions in my lab before we brought a product to market. Though I’m not formally educated as an engineer, I did my best to apply logic and a genuinely Read more
Whether you’re a die-hard sound quality fanatic or want your stereo system to reproduce your music at concert-level volumes, custom door panels are a popular upgrade. So we reached out to some of the best fabricators in the car audio industry and asked them to share samples of their work. From subtle and beautifully integrated to loud, over-the-top creations, here are some of Read more
