Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
If you want your car stereo to sound good and play loudly, purchasing good speakers to keep up with your subwoofers is very important. It’s easy to produce a lot of bass in a car or truck nowadays. Subwoofers with impressive output abilities are available from many brands, and high-power amplifiers are more affordable than ever. With that said, if you want to hear vocals and 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
I often see people on Facebook Marketplace, eBay, Craigslist or Kijiji (in Canada) selling the passive crossover networks that came with their car audio component speaker sets. In most cases, these people have likely opted for an active system installation that uses a DSP and four dedicated amplifier channels to power their speaker system. An issue that many do-it-yourself car 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
There’s no getting around the fact that choosing the right speakers to upgrade your car audio system is a challenge. First, you need to visit a reputable mobile enhancement retailer. Then it would help if you auditioned speakers that are right for your vehicle under controlled conditions. Many enthusiasts don’t realize that the “best” speaker option depends a lot on the power 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
Since I first reviewed an ARC Audio amplifier back in 2004, I knew there was something different about this company. It only took a few reviews to recognize the pattern, and frankly, I’ve been spoiled by every opportunity to audition one of their amps ever since. Call it clarity, transparency or neutrality; all of ARC Audio’s amps have offered as invisible a sonic signature as Read more
I spend a massively disproportionate amount of time reading posts on Facebook and Reddit about car audio topics. One thing I see again and again are comments from novice consumers talking about “buying 300-watt speakers” or something similar. Unfortunately, quantifying a speaker’s quality or performance capability based on how much power it can handle is like choosing a car Read more
If you’ve been around the car audio or vehicle accessory industry for any amount of time, you’ve likely run across a 12-volt relay. A relay is a simple device designed to switch a typically high-current load with a low-current signal. Relays are used in everything from headlight and auxiliary lighting upgrades to power trunk and door lock solenoid installations. Relays can also Read more
When it to comes to value, five-channel car audio amplifiers are a great solution for upgrading the stereo system in your vehicle. Aside from reducing the time it takes to install, five-channel amplifiers minimize installation complexity and the cost associated with signal, power and ground connections compared to running multiple amplifiers. Sony’s Mobile ES Series XM-5ES Read more
