Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
Over the last few years, Sony’s multimedia receivers have become increasingly popular. As more units have sold, retailers have asked for iDatalink Maestro integration, USB-C support and powerful sound customization. With Sony’s new XAV-AX4000, those requests and more have been fulfilled. Let’s look at what this sleek and impressive car audio source unit offers. Clean Cosmetics Read more
Historically, Bluetooth and the words “sound quality” haven’t mixed well. The folks at Audison in Italy have decided it’s time to provide the car audio world with a solution that sounds good and offers something not seen before in this segment: support for hi-res audio transfer. Audison doesn’t just make this claim, but they have the full support of the Japan Audio Society. Read more
If you've been into high-end car audio for as long as I have, then you have fond memories of source car audio source units like the famed CDX-C90 from the late ’90s. While the RSX-GS9 media receiver is an amazing option, consumers have been craving a multimedia solution with CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration. Thankfully, the Sony product development team heard Read more
The very first car alarm I ever saw was installed on my neighbor’s C3 Corvette. A small key switch had been installed in the fender with a cast aluminum cover. If he wanted to “secure” the vehicle, he’d lift the cover, insert a tubular lock key and give it a turn. Fast forward four decades, and now we have high-speed data communication systems that can talk to the computers in Read more
In the fall of 2018, Focal introduced the latest generation of its Utopia speaker solutions at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Wayne Smedile from Paragon Sales & Marketing knew right away that their dealers needed to experience these new flagship drivers to appreciate their clarity and realism. So he ordered a 2018 Tesla Model X the next weekend and put a plan in motion to have Read more
It’s a tricky time to be shopping the in the used car market. Prices are so high, it’s as if depreciation doesn’t exist. The trend will eventually correct itself, but now we have some reasonably savvy used car shoppers saying to themselves, “What if I just buy an inexpensive new car? That way I have a strong warranty and no worries for years.” For those who’ve ever been Read more
When it comes to floating-face or T-style radios, there are more options than ever. The Sony XAV-AX8100 combines all the most sought-after features with an 8.95-inch screen that will look perfect in your dash. Whether it’s staying connected with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone integration or having support for all your favorite digital media files to entertain you on Read more
There’s no denying that pickup trucks are some of the most popular vehicles on the road. Not only are they typically more durable than a car, but they also can haul almost anything you want in the bed or on a trailer. The popularity of these vehicles makes them prime candidates for audio system upgrades. Specialty car stereo shops from across North America have shared their Read more
Adding a remote starter to your car or truck is a great way to improve comfort on a cold winter morning or a hot summer afternoon. Giving the vehicle a few minutes to warm up allows the heater or air conditioning to start doing its thing. Picking the perfect remote starter is easy if you have the correct information. The team here at BestCarAudio.com has put together this Read more
We can’t count the number of times we’ve heard people say that listening to music over Bluetooth A2DP doesn’t sound as good as if you played a WAV file directly from a USB memory stick. So we fired up the Sony XAV-AX7000 multimedia receiver that we reviewed in late 2020 and made a series of tests to take a look at this. The results might surprise you. Testing Bluetooth Audio Read more
There’s a strange car audio myth that claims you can’t mix different brands of source units, speakers, amplifiers, subwoofers and signal processors in the same audio system. While it might be fun for a distributor, sales representative or employee at a car audio retailer to do a one-brand build, chances are you’ll want to pick and choose from the different brands at the store Read more
Car audio sound deadening has been a popular upgrade to improve the comfort of your vehicle and enhance audio system performance since the early ’90s. The original concept of sound deadening was to make cars and trucks quieter and more comfortable by limiting the ability for noise outside the vehicle to get into the cabin. Car audio enthusiasts realized that having their Read more
