Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
When it comes to car audio subwoofer enclosures, the two most popular options are sealed or vented. As far as which design is best for your vehicle, let’s see if we can clear up some misconceptions and stereotypes. As often happens, some trade-offs accompany each decision. Consider this article the master reference for choosing the right subwoofer enclosure solution for your Read more
It’s time we start putting together the information from a selection of the articles I’ve created to help sound quality enthusiasts get the most from their car audio systems. In this article, we will discuss why it might be best to choose a low-power, high-quality Class AB amplifier to power your tweeters. We’ll look at this from both a noise and distortion perspective, as well Read more
No doubt about it, the small CUV, or compact utility vehicle, has replaced the compact car on American roads as the entry-level vehicle of choice. VW has the Tiguan model, but they wanted to engineer something that came in smaller at a slightly better price point. The 2022 VW Taos does not disappoint. You’d be hard-pressed to see the exterior differences, but you can get a cute Read more
Not long ago, I wrote an article about fuses in car audio systems and some of the steps I took at a previous employer to test them. In part of that testing, I also dissected a few circuit breakers to learn how they worked and whether they were a good option as an overcurrent protection device in a car audio system. Immediately upon opening one, I was turned off. I remain so to Read more
If you’ve been around the car audio industry for as long as I have, you know Rockford Fosgate started in 1973 with the introduction of its first car audio amplifier. Through the ’80s and ’90s, the brand grew at an exponential rate, adding subwoofers, speakers and more amplifiers that deliver fantastic performance to car audio fanatics who want their music clear and loud. The Read more
I remember being at a car audio trade show about a decade ago where I overheard a conversation between a manufacturer rep and a customer about why a set of tweeters didn’t sound good on a particular amplifier. A few weeks later, I did some research on that amp to begin learning about what might have produced the customer perception. The amp in question uses a Class D output Read more
If you’ve been into car audio for as long as I have, you’ve likely had a memorable experience with a Rockford Fosgate subwoofer. I vividly remember being in one of the Korbon Trading (the Canadian distributor of Rockford Fosgate in the ’80s) Blastro vans. This GMC Safari had four 18-inch Punch subwoofers powered by a pair of Power 1000 amplifiers. It was the first time a car Read more
I vividly remember the day I walked into work at a local car stereo shop, and the owner had mounted a 3-foot long Coustic AMP-560 amplifier to the front of the sales counter. Back then, bigger was indeed better. I think, at the time, we referred to that amp as a surfboard or maybe a skateboard – hard to remember; it was more than 30 years ago. We also had one of the Read more
Ah, the oh-so-complex world of amplifier sensitivity control configuration. One would think that there would be a scientific process that would ensure that an amplifier could be set perfectly every time. But in reality, many criteria affect where a sensitivity control is adjusted. The topic of gain overlap pertains equally to source units as amplifiers. What is it? Why do we Read more
