Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
Two factors limit how loudly a car stereo system can play: how much power you have to drive the speakers in the system, and the maximum output capabilities of those speakers. We see a lot of amateur and poorly executed audio system installations that play good and loud when the volume on the radio is barely over a quarter of its maximum output capability. What does this mean in Read more
Though best known for their amplifiers and signal processors, the transducer design team at ARC Audio in Modesto, California, doesn’t slouch. A few weeks back, they sent me one of their new X2 10D4v2 10-inch subwoofers to put through its paces in the BestCarAudio.com lab. So let’s see what this affordable 200-watt subwoofer can deliver! ARC Audio X2 10D4v2 Features The X2 Read more
Soon after I entered the car audio industry in 1988, the shop I worked for purchased the Term-CAD enclosure design software for our DOS-based computer. I used to spend hours entering specs from the Rockford Fosgate, Kicker, MTX, Pioneer and Alpine subs we carried and would simulate hundreds of vented, bandpass and isobaric designs to learn how enclosure volume and tuning Read more
When it comes to subwoofer amplifiers from Rockford Fosgate, a few models stand out in the annals of car audio history: the Power 1000, the Power T15kW and the T2500-1bdCP. The latter is currently the flagship of the Power Series and is the most powerful subwoofer amplifier available from our friends in Tempe, Arizona. It’s a workhorse capable of impressive performance, so Read more
There are two schools of thought when designing a custom car audio installation: The solutions can be designed to stand out and highlight the upgrades, or they can be designed to blend with the rest of the vehicle. While I appreciate both styles, installations that blend with the cosmetic cues already in the vehicle are my preference. It’s challenging to make something Read more
As much fun as it is to test premium amplifiers and subwoofers every month, savvy car audio enthusiasts know there’s big business in high-performance solutions at more affordable price points. Our friends in Tempe, Arizona, have divided their products into good, better and best offerings to deliver solutions everyone can afford. In this Test Drive Review, we’ll check out the Read more
I recently had a discussion with several industry peers on Facebook about the correlation between audio component measurements and how that translates into subjective listening evaluations. Respectfully, I’m always astonished by the number of people who think distortion measurements don’t directly correlate to perceived product quality. The Science of Car Audio Component Read more
Few upgrades make a more noticeable change or add more fun to your car audio system than adding a subwoofer system. The car audio fanatics at Rockford Fosgate have made it easy to choose a performance level with their P1, P2 and P3 dual 12-inch 2X12 Loaded Punch Series subwoofer enclosures. Let’s dig into what makes these bass upgrades deliver some of the best bang for the buck Read more
If there’s a single marketing statement that makes my eye twitch, it’s one that claims a specific subwoofer will “work” in a small enclosure. Contrary to many marketing claims, enclosure volume is directly proportional to low-frequency extension and sound quality. Let’s look at the math and how these tiny enclosures ruin the performance of your subwoofer. The Backstory on Read more
Somewhere around ninth grade, most high school students in North America learn about Ohm’s law in science class. Despite repeated efforts and claims to debunk the laws of physics, Ohm’s law remains a constant that car audio enthusiasts and professionals deal with every day. On a related subject, I see questions about speaker and amplifier wire sizing all the time. To help Read more
You’d think it’d be easy to choose an amplifier of a specific power rating to work with a 500-watt subwoofer. In reality, we need to consider several factors, particularly performance and reliability. Let’s take a detailed look at the complexity of choosing the perfect amplifier for your car audio subwoofer system. The Myth and Mystery of Car Audio Amplifier Power Read more
Rockford Fosgate has cemented itself as the undisputed leader in Harley-Davidson motorcycle audio system upgrades in the past few years. They offer dozens of direct bolt-in speaker and amplifier kits for all the popular touring bike models. In this spotlight, we will look at the HD14RGST-STAGE3 aftermarket audio system for 2014 and newer Street Glide and 2015 and up Road Glide Read more
