Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
As you may know, the product development team at Sony has been busy over the last few years creating an entirely new line of premium car audio products. Their efforts have rewarded the industry with the amazing XAV-9500ES multimedia receiver, as well as six speaker solutions, three amplifiers and three subwoofer offerings. In this Test Drive Review, we’ll inspect and evaluate Read more
Matthew Crouch of Shelbyville, Kentucky, owns the ultra-clean 1991 Toyota Hilux you see above. Matthew is one of the installers at Xtreme Autosound & Marine in Louisville. I called the store and spoke with owner Tony Zagata and jack-of-all-trades Michael Humphrey, who helps with sales, installations and social media. I learned that Matthew is a huge Toyota fan, and his dad Read more
A few months ago, I had the privilege of reviewing the Sony XAV-AX4000 multimedia receiver. I was impressed by the incredibly intuitive and responsive interface, complete feature set and snappy performance. However, Sony has a big brother to this radio called the XAV-AX6000. The basic platform is the same as the previous model, but Sony has included several sought-after Read more
A demo vehicle is one of the best tools available to demonstrate the audio and convenience upgrade options for a car or truck. The team at KarTele Mobile Electronics in Waterbury, Connecticut, purchased this 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee with plans to outfit it with a premium audio system, a radar detector, window tint and paint protection to show off the solutions they offer to 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
When it comes to choosing a radio upgrade for your car or truck, you’ll find hundreds of options. At the bottom of the market are inexpensive radios of dubious reliability, with difficult-to-see displays and questionable performance. Then there are the name-brand products that go through years of design and months of testing to ensure that they do what you want, how you want 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
If you’ve been paying attention to the car audio industry over the last two years, you know Sony has been steadily rolling out its new flagship-level Mobile ES equipment. I’ve already been blessed with the outstanding performance from the XAV-9500ES digital media receiver and the impressive XS-W104ES 10-inch subwoofer. Now it’s time to check out one of their new Mobile ES Read more
If it seems as though you’re seeing several Sony Mobile ES products crossing the BestCarAudio.com Test Drive Review bench, you aren’t mistaken. The Sony team is justifiably proud of what they have created, and we’re honored to get the chance to check out the fruits of their labor. We’ve reviewed their flagship source unit, subwoofers and monoblock amp, and now it’s time for a Read more
