Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
We’ve recently seen a resurfacing of keyboard commandos who claim that the ability to hear the differences between the amplifiers is hogwash. Those who have been around the car audio scene for a while often bring up Richard Clark’s famous $10,000 Amplifier Challenge to support their hypothesis that all amplifiers sound the same. If true, why do companies offer different Read more
There will always be debates about whether a Class D amplifier can sound as good as a Class AB. We’ve proven that it all depends on who designs the amplifier. We also see mumblings about single-ended amps versus full-bridge designs. STMicroelectronics created a different and unexpected way to deliver efficient power. These amplifiers are categorized Class SB and Class SBI. 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
A while back, I published an article that compared a high-quality Class-D amplifier with a low-quality “internet-brand” Class AB amp to prove a point about topology not being the deciding factor in performance and accuracy. The contrast in their performance was shocking, with the Class-D amp besting the AB in every way. An amateur YouTuber made a video breaking down 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
I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen enthusiasts and folks in the car audio industry claim that Class AB amplifiers are better for high-frequency (as opposed to subwoofer) duties than a Class D design. I recently had a chance to put a popular new Class AB amp through its paces on the BestCarAudio.com Test Bench, and the results were surprising. Let’s make a quality 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
While it’s fun to play with flagship products like Audison Thesis amplifiers and speakers, the reality is that there’s a lot more business done at the opposite end of the financial spectrum. The latest generation of the SR line from Audison gives car audio enthusiasts an affordable upgrade option that is laden with the features found in much more expensive solutions. For this Read more
It seems like everything to do with car audio installations has something to do with managing voltages. For starters, your electrical system needs to produce enough voltage to keep your radio and amplifier going. And amplifiers need to increase the voltage to drive speakers. When adding an amplifier to a factory-installed audio system, your installer will need to measure the Read more
