Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
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
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
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
