Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
One thing common to every car audio subwoofer enclosure is that they need to connect to the subwoofer amplifier. Most subwoofer enclosures include a terminal cup or something similar to facilitate easy connection to the subwoofers. Let’s look at subwoofer enclosure speaker wire connection options. Guess What? Ohm’s Law If you’re serious about car audio, Ohm’s law should be Read more
If we could send just one message to car audio enthusiasts, it would be to stop talking about wattage ratings. These numbers are irrelevant and often misleading in the context of quality, performance and value. Leave the reference to watts out if you want to sound intelligent when discussing car audio upgrades. What Are Watts? The SI Unit watt is used to measure power. One Read more
As we continue our series on headlight bulb upgrades, it’s time to discuss electrical interference. Just as in the previous article on spectral content, this is an issue that very few retailers or manufacturers check for or discuss. While these considerations don’t affect the performance of your lighting system, they can significantly affect the performance of your vehicle’s Read more
Car audio upgrades are much more complex than setting up speakers in your living room. They are, unless all you have in the system is a set of coaxial speakers in your doors. Your installer has to consider crossover slopes and alignments if you have front and rear speakers and a subwoofer. They must also understand how the settings interact at the crossover frequency. Let’s Read more
If there’s one thing that’s challenging for car audio manufacturers and retailers, it’s explaining the sonic benefits of higher-quality products. Based on our research, many consumers correlate the word “better” with more power production from an amplifier, more power handling from a speaker, or more features from a source unit. While these statements are often accurate, they Read more
Rockford Fosgate, a brand synonymous with Harley-Davidson amplifier, speaker and subwoofer upgrades, has just introduced its PMX-HD14 multimedia infotainment system. If you have a 2014 and newer Street Glide or Ultra, or 2015 and newer Road Glide, this might be the perfect way to make your entire stereo system sound better. Best of all, it’s got a unique trick up its sleeve. Read more
How much does it cost to install a car audio amplifier? What a great question! How many channels does the amplifier have? What kind of speakers are being powered by the amp? What source unit are you using? How difficult is it to run power wiring to the battery? As you can see, there’s no “one size fits all” answer to this question. Let’s discuss the bare necessities and the Read more
A short while ago, we published an article examining the resistance of different wire-to-wire electrical connection methods. We tested everything from twisting the wires to soldering, crimp connections, and even some popular connections for residential applications. Aside from the solder sleeve connection’s performance, nothing surprised us. Let’s dig into what worked, what Read more
We really like the engineering behind Tesla vehicles. But sometimes the execution is not as good as the design. People have been complaining about the panel gaps in Tesla vehicles for years. But it also was the best choice in the EV market. Consumers were willing to put up with small niggles for engineering prowess. No doubt about it, Toyota knows how to make a reliable Read more
It should go without saying that a car stereo system designed around multiple amplifier channels and a DSP is the easiest way to get great sound in your vehicle. The technician working on your vehicle has complete control over the output level, sound arrival time and the frequency response of each speaker in the system. The result should be a sound system that is as optimized Read more
We’ve talked at length about how car audio line output converters work and have even compared a few to see which sound best. We skipped over a discussion on whether a car audio amplifier upgrade needs a line-output converter. Let’s dive in! What Does a Line Output Converter Do? A high-quality line output converter serves three purposes. First and foremost, it can reduce the Read more
It’s been more than a year since we first got our hands on the amazing Sony Mobile ES XAV-9500ES multimedia receiver for a detailed Test Drive Review. Our takeaway from that testing experience was that Sony had pulled out all the stops when developing this radio: It sounds stunning, measures superbly on the test bench, and, as we would confirm after an extended period of Read more
