Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
Every few months, I learn something that, had I put some effort into thinking about it, would have been obvious. For example, my friend Andy created a Facebook post a while back, asking why people thought amplifiers needed fuses. They will tell you it’s to protect the amp from damage. That’s not incorrect. However, the scenario where fuses are necessary is very different from Read more
Have you ever measured or tested something and not fully believed the results? A while back, I wrote an article that looked at the different options for wiring a pair of dual voice coil subwoofers to a single amplifier. The options are to wire the voice coils in each subwoofer in series the woofers in parallel, or wire the coils in parallel and the subwoofers in series. The Read more
You may want to know these 10 car audio terms if you’re headed to a store to shop for audio equipment. You’ll likely get what you want using everyday slang and accepted terminology. So invest a few minutes in educating yourself to sound as though you know what you’re talking about. No? OK, then, at least have a laugh with us! 1. Subwoofer Enclosure Unless you’re having an Read more
Since the 1980s, car audio enthusiasts have been using large-value capacitors to improve the performance of their car audio systems. Aside from people believing that distortion damages speakers, few topics are as misunderstood as the benefit of adding a high-quality capacitor to your car stereo. So, let’s take a look at what a capacitor is, how it works and how it can be of Read more
If you’re into the SPL (sound pressure level) side of the car audio industry, you should be acutely aware of the need to deliver every amp of current and the most possible voltage to your amplifiers. The more power you can feed an amp, the more power it’s likely to be able to send to your subwoofers. We also know that every connection to a battery should have a protection Read more
If you’re talking with car audio enthusiasts, mention of the word decibel instantly fires up a conversation of how loudly an audio system will play. But that’s just one of the ways we use decibels to compare levels in audio systems. This article will dive deep into the options to express values using decibel scaling. What Is a Decibel? Forget everything you think you know Read more
So, as a longtime car audio guy, I have peers and friends who cover every conceivable genre of car audio enthusiasm. I have friends who are installers, own and run stores, work at distributors and at manufacturers. I have tweaky friends that think high-end interconnects and low-efficiency wideband drivers are the way to go for sound quality. I also have a ton of friends who are Read more
Whether you’re a die-hard sound quality fanatic or want your stereo system to reproduce your music at concert-level volumes, custom door panels are a popular upgrade. So we reached out to some of the best fabricators in the car audio industry and asked them to share samples of their work. From subtle and beautifully integrated to loud, over-the-top creations, here are some of 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
For car audio enthusiasts who’ve invested time studying the Thiele/Small parameters of speakers and subwoofers, you’ll know there is a specification called Xmax. This variable, typically expressed in millimeters or inches, is intended to describe the one-way excursion capability of the driver. Put another way, it’s the distance the cone can move forward or rearward from its Read more
When it comes to choosing the right car audio amplifier for your subwoofers, one thing most consumers overlook is an examination of the efficiency specifications. Efficiency describes how much of the power drawn from the vehicle’s electrical system is converted into power to drive a speaker. Low-efficiency amplifiers waste this power as heat. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Read more
A long, long time ago, someone had the great idea to have a car stereo competition to see who had the best-sounding mobile audio system. The concept of these events wasn’t really intended to decide who had the best car audio equipment or installation, but to drive clients to retail stores, hoping that they’d spend money on upgrades. These contests grew in popularity after a Read more
