Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
We’re back to bust another car audio myth wide open. This article will discuss the myth that DVC subwoofers can handle more power than a single voice coil driver. After some research, it’s clear that consumers seem to think dual voice coil (DVC) subwoofers have the equivalent of two separate voice coil assemblies, allowing them to handle twice as much power as an SVC design. Read more
A Over the decades, a question that’s come up thousands of times asks about the source of engine noise or alternator whine in car stereo systems. From the 1970s through today, every professional amplifier or signal processor installation finished with a test for unwanted noises. The cause of this whining or buzzing was often simple; however, technicians might have to spend Read more
We had the opportunity to check out Sony’s Mobile ES monoblock XM-1ES, four-channel XM-4ES and five-channel XM-5ES amplifiers in 2022. All three amps performed well on the test bench and in our listening room. For 2023, Sony has introduced two new amplifiers: the eight-channel XM-8ES and the six-channel XM-6ES. Let’s dive into the XM-8ES in this BestCarAudio.com Test Drive Read more
At least once a week, someone comments on social media or in a forum that you can’t hear low-frequency distortion from subwoofers or amplifiers. We have no idea where this myth came from. However, if you understand what distortion is and how it works, you’ll know this myth is utter and complete nonsense. Yes, we know we’ve challenged the status quo. Don’t worry; we can always Read more
In the minds of most car audio enthusiasts, the only thing that matters when it comes to subwoofer amplifiers is how much power they make. Subwoofer amplifier quality is essential for those who want the bass frequencies in their audio systems to sound accurate and musical. Our friends at Rockford Fosgate in Tempe, Arizona, sent up one of their T500-1bdCP 500-watt monoblock amps Read more
The single most crucial upgrade a person can make to their car audio system is to incorporate a properly configured equalizer. Whether you have a radio and two speakers or a high-end four-way system with active crossovers, ensuring that the system’s frequency response is accurate remains the most important consideration concerning quality. Let’s examine how a car audio Read more
Without investing in an understanding of the technologies that improve speaker performance by reducing distortion, choosing one driver over another based on features and specifications alone can be challenging. The 12-inch Rockford Fosgate T1D212 and T1D412 are good examples of premium subwoofers laden with modern tech that outshine competing products. Let’s take a deep dive Read more
Amsssssss Part Two of our series on the difference between car audio amplifiers will look at the topic of noise. Every amplifier, from every brand and at every price point, adds a little bit of noise to the audio signal that passes through it. Whether that noise is an issue depends on the amplifier’s design and the speakers you’re using. Let’s take a close look at noise and Read more
If you read our recent Sound Check article on the 2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, you know that a subwoofer system upgrade is a great way to improve a factory-installed stereo system. Dozens of car audio companies offer subwoofer solutions explicitly designed to work with factory-installed radios and amplifiers. That said, the upgrade process isn’t always straightforward in Read more
In our never-ending efforts to create great content, we devised a plan a while back to share listening tips for specific tracks with our readers. Our plan at the time was to explain what to listen for in different songs to evaluate the performance and capabilities of an audio system. After some research and experiments, we’ve come up with a twist on this plan that we think Read more
Every genre of car audio enthusiast looks at amplifier performance differently. The SQ guys worry about distortion and noise. The bass heads focus on power. The keyboard commandos and know-it-alls talk about slew rate or something equally irrelevant. Despite all this, an audio system's frequency response matters the most regarding the perception of quality. The folks at KICKER Read more
We’ve recently seen a resurfacing of keyboard commandos who claim that the ability to hear the differences between the amplifiers is hogwash. Those who have been around the car audio scene for a while often bring up Richard Clark’s famous $10,000 Amplifier Challenge to support their hypothesis that all amplifiers sound the same. If true, why do companies offer different Read more
