Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
We just escaped from one of the most confusing car audio conversations ever. In a social media group dedicated to measuring the harmonic distortion characteristics of amplifiers, a member challenged the importance or validity of the topic. We can’t imagine having that much spare time. OK, well, maybe that’s appropriate in a flat earth group. Anyway, let’s talk about a few Read more
When looking at the options for frequency response correction for audio systems, your installer has two choices: graphic or parametric equalizers. Both types of equalizers perform the same task in helping to smooth the peaks and dips in what you hear from your audio system. However, the two equalizer types deliver the same results in very different ways. Let’s take a deep look Read more
We had the opportunity to check out Sony’s Mobile ES monoblock XM-1ES, four-channel XM-4ES and five-channel XM-5ES amplifiers in 2022. All three amps performed well on the test bench and in our listening room. For 2023, Sony has introduced two new amplifiers: the eight-channel XM-8ES and the six-channel XM-6ES. Let’s dive into the XM-8ES in this BestCarAudio.com Test Drive Read more
You’d think that the Sony product development team would deserve a break after releasing no less than nine new Mobile ES speakers and subwoofers over the past few years. While they might deserve it, they kept up the momentum by redesigning their popular GS-Series speakers. This Product Spotlight will examine Sony’s new XS-162GS component and XS-160GS coaxial 6.5-inch (16-cm) Read more
The single most crucial upgrade a person can make to their car audio system is to incorporate a properly configured equalizer. Whether you have a radio and two speakers or a high-end four-way system with active crossovers, ensuring that the system’s frequency response is accurate remains the most important consideration concerning quality. Let’s examine how a car audio Read more
We aren’t sure where or when things went wrong with the basshead crowd, but there’s a serious misunderstanding about how to build a loud stereo system. We’ve lost track of how many of these vehicles we’ve heard that sound utterly atrocious. No, we aren’t talking about the fact there’s 30 or 40 dB too much bass. That’s fine, given the goals. The issue is how horrific the midbass Read more
AmsssssssPart Two of our series on the difference between car audio amplifiers will look at the topic of noise. Every amplifier, from every brand and at every price point, adds a little bit of noise to the audio signal that passes through it. Whether that noise is an issue depends on the amplifier’s design and the speakers you’re using. Let’s take a close look at noise and Read more
Over the past few years, I’ve been fortunate to review the T4652-S and T3652-S Power Series component sets from Rockford Fosgate. The company’s thorough understanding of how speakers work led them to include technologies that allowed these speakers to outperform so-called audiophile products from some of the top boutique brands. I have a set of the more affordable Power Series Read more
Welcome to our third Question of the Month article. This time, let’s look at the answer to “What speakers should I use for a specific music type?” The theory that speaker selection is related to a specific kind of music is nothing new. While there are some considerations in system calibration, a good speaker is a good speaker. Allow us to explain. The Mechanics of Music Music Read more
