Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
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
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
Dual voice coil subwoofers exist to provide installers with three options to connect the driver to an amplifier. The coils can be wired in series or parallel to double or half the impedance of a single coil. Alternatively, each coil can be connected to separate amplifier channels to add power from non-bridgeable configurations. A question that often arises is, what happens if Read more
Have you ever measured or tested something and not fully believed the results? A while back, I wrote an article that looked at the different options for wiring a pair of dual voice coil subwoofers to a single amplifier. The options are to wire the voice coils in each subwoofer in series the woofers in parallel, or wire the coils in parallel and the subwoofers in series. The Read more
Efficiency is defined as the ratio of the power or work consumed by a system compared to the work done by that system. In the car audio industry, we typically talk about efficiency in the context of amplifiers. The best amplifiers consume only a little more power than they provide to a speaker or subwoofer. Low-quality solutions consume extra power and convert that into heat. I Read more
Car audio questions on social media blow my mind. Do these speakers sound good? Does this amp make enough power? What radio is the best? Where should I install my tweeters? I see these questions asked in Facebook groups and on Reddit dozens of times a day. In 99% of the cases, my instinct is to suggest that the person asking the question go to a car stereo shop to get an expert Read more
When it comes to ensuring that your car audio amplifier is making the most power possible, nothing is more important than properly sized, high-quality power wire. Can an amplifier produce 2,000 watts of power if fed with 4 AWG wire? What factors affect the size and quality of wire needed for an audio system? There’s a lot of confusion around wiring, so let’s look at some Read more
One phrase that is repeated time and time again during the installation troubleshooting process is that an amplifier ground is “good” because there’s only 1 ohm of resistance. If you’re a fan of the laws of physics, hearing this phrase should be met with an instant wince or cringe. Everything related to designing, installing and calibrating car audio systems has a foundation in Read more
Unless you have formal education in how alternating current waveforms interact with capacitors and inductors, it’s not illogical to assume that passive crossovers waste power from your car audio amplifier. These passive devices reduce the amplifier’s power production rather than converting it into heat. Let’s bust this myth about passive crossovers wasting amplifier power. How Read more
While few of us want a wall of subwoofers in our daily driver, there’s no denying that a stereo system with solid bass reproduction is a lot of fun. We’ve looked at the importance of proper equalization when it comes to subwoofer systems in the past. So, what about the bass boost control that’s found on almost all car audio subwoofer amplifiers? Does it improve system Read more
The most important part of creating a high-end car audio system is having a high-quality, properly calibrated digital signal processor as part of the system. Of course, you could choose the best or most expensive speakers and have them installed in extravagant panels or pods. Still, the factory stereo in an entry-level SUV might sound more realistic without proper system Read more
Last week I offered three people advice on how the physics and science behind car audio concepts work. In all three cases, these people refused to accept my scientific explanations as fact and chose to argue with me. Baffling. Science Is Simple Seemingly unbeknownst to many car audio enthusiasts and amateur installers, the laws of physics are pretty set in stone when it comes Read more
