Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
If you’re looking for the best performance from your car audio system, the limitations of Bluetooth sound quality might be holding you back. Even if you’re streaming lossless or high-res files from Tidal or audio files stored directly on your phone, wireless connections to a car audio source unit are often optimized for bandwidth, not audio quality. Let’s make some simple Read more
The final article in our series on understanding high-end car audio systems moves away from the need for accurate system design, integration, configuration and calibration to discuss audio product quality. If you’ve been a long-time reader of the articles at BestCarAudio.com, you know that we put a significant emphasis on identifying car audio products that perform well. Read more
The third article in our series on understanding high-end car audio systems delves into the fascinating world of imaging. In essence, imaging is the ability of an audio system to recreate the precise location of a performer or instrument on a soundstage. While not all recordings excel in this aspect, some are genuinely awe-inspiring. Let’s explore this captivating facet of Read more
We recently witnessed a discussion on social media in which someone said that two 16 AWG wires could do the same work as a single 8 AWG wire. Unfortunately, the American Wire Gauge standard for stranded conductors isn’t intuitive in helping determine how multiple conductors can pass current. So let’s get geeky and do the math on how much current different-sized or multiple Read more
We’re back with the second of four articles discussing the listening experience of truly high-end car audio systems. In our first article, we discussed the importance of accurate frequency response. This second article will discuss the soundstage, provide a definition for it and explain why it's crucial to recreating a recording accurately. What Is a Car Audio Soundstage? We Read more
Every speaker, be it a tweeter, midrange driver, woofer or subwoofer, will have a sensitivity rating. Sensitivity ratings attempt to describe how much sound a speaker will produce for a given amount of power from an amplifier. There’s a common misconception that more efficiency is better. Longtime readers of BestCarAudio.com won’t be surprised to learn that multiple standards Read more
Shopping for a new car, pickup truck or SUV is impossible without being bombarded with information about ADAS technology. Advanced driver assistance systems are designed to help prevent accidents. These can be as simple as backup cameras and parking sensors or as advanced as lane keep assist and forward collision prevention systems. The latter can partially take control of your Read more
In the 1980s, most car stereo shops had charts in the install bays that showed what size power wire should be used with different amplifiers. Some charts were based on current and cable length, while others suggested amplifier power ratings and lengths. In all cases, an essential piece of information was missing. Today, we’ll sort that out. Let’s consider why we need large Read more
We were recently talking with the owner of a motorcycle audio manufacturer. He mentioned that consumers seem to struggle with the concept that relatively small motorcycle speakers cannot produce large amounts of bass. In this context, a small speaker is something you’d find in the fairing or saddlebag on a motorcycle. By comparison, a large speaker would be an 8- or 10-inch Read more
