Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
FLAC files remain one of the best ways to enjoy music in the car because they balance high-quality sound with convenience and wide compatibility. While high-resolution streaming has become more common, drivers who store and play FLAC files locally still benefit from consistent quality and control over their music library. What Makes FLAC Different From MP3 and WAV?FLAC Read more
Pioneer and car audio go together like coffee and cream or a hot dog with ketchup — classic pairings that make sense. On that note, we are going to take a look at one of their NEX-Series double-DIN multimedia receivers in this spotlight. Let’s check out the DMH-W3050NEX. Pioneer DMH-W3050NEX Platform For most of us, describing a multimedia receiver as a double-DIN solution Read more
Though there are dozens, if not hundreds, of marine source unit options on the market, very few are designed with audio performance as their primary consideration. To this end, the Hertz Capri H100 features support for modern high-resolution audio file playback and premium Bluetooth streaming connectivity. Combined with a large color display, this is the marine source to Read more
We’re back with the second Sound Check article. This time, we have a 2023 Nissan Rogue Platinum to audition with our suite of reference audio tracks. Once again, the purpose of the Sound Check articles is to help educate consumers about how to listen to music critically so they understand what’s considered good and what aspects of an audio system are weak. Introducing the 2023 Read more
If you’re looking for the best performance from your car audio system, the limitations of Bluetooth sound quality might be holding you back. Even if you’re streaming lossless or high-res files from Tidal or audio files stored directly on your phone, wireless connections to a car audio source unit are often optimized for bandwidth, not audio quality. Let’s make some simple Read more
(This article was updated in November 2023.)With the rise in popularity of digital media files over the last decade, car audio enthusiasts are more likely to carry a USB drive than a stack of compact discs. When it comes to organizing all those MP3, WMA, AAC and FLAC files, most manufacturers suggest that you don’t put all the songs in one folder. Read on to find out Read more
I was recently rewatching the YouTube video from GoldenSound about how he tested the quality of the MQA file format by uploading several test tones and part of a song to Tidal. His results showed without any shadow of a doubt that the MQA format didn’t meet many of the claims made by the company. This article isn’t about MQA, thankfully.I’ve often wondered about the quality Read more
When you see the same conversations about a product dozens of times, it becomes very easy to recognize a pattern. Unfortunately, one topic in the car audio industry that has cemented itself in stone is the quality and reliability of Android and other cheap car radios. Having worked for one of the Japanese head unit manufacturers, I can tell you that developing a radio platform Read more
Quite a while back, I took a scientific look at the difference between a recording stored in a WAV format and what is thrown away with a lossy format like MP3. During some recent research in preparation for an upcoming Test Drive Review, I got to thinking about a different way to show how other audio formats compare. Let’s look at WAV, FLAC and MP3 file formats, then throw in a Read more
