Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
The 2023 Ford Raptor R is a certified beast. The specifications are incredible. The 5.2-liter supercharged V8 is pilfered from the Mustang GT500, cranking out 700 horsepower and 640 lb.-ft. of torque.And it sounds incredible. That was the first thing I was nervous about, living in a community within close proximity to my neighbors. I know how rowdy the Mustang can be, and I Read more
How much does it cost to install a car audio amplifier? What a great question! How many channels does the amplifier have? What kind of speakers are being powered by the amp? What source unit are you using? How difficult is it to run power wiring to the battery? As you can see, there’s no “one size fits all” answer to this question. Let’s discuss the bare necessities and the Read more
A short while ago, we published an article examining the resistance of different wire-to-wire electrical connection methods. We tested everything from twisting the wires to soldering, crimp connections, and even some popular connections for residential applications. Aside from the solder sleeve connection’s performance, nothing surprised us. Let’s dig into what worked, what Read more
We really like the engineering behind Tesla vehicles. But sometimes the execution is not as good as the design. People have been complaining about the panel gaps in Tesla vehicles for years. But it also was the best choice in the EV market. Consumers were willing to put up with small niggles for engineering prowess.No doubt about it, Toyota knows how to make a reliable Read more
There’s a common belief that an audio system with more subwoofers will produce more bass. This statement can be 100% true or completely false. Why might it be false? A subwoofer’s output depends heavily on enclosure design. Let’s look at two examples where the output of one subwoofer is more than two. The Most Bass for Your Dollar If you spend any time searching the countless Read more
A while back, we looked at how adding stuffing to a sealed enclosure affects its performance. It was clear from our measurements that the addition of Dacron lowered the system’s Qtc (Total Q). The original theory was that adding stuffing made the enclosure seem larger and let the driver play louder at low frequencies. Let’s revisit this test and add several acoustic Read more
It should go without saying that a car stereo system designed around multiple amplifier channels and a DSP is the easiest way to get great sound in your vehicle. The technician working on your vehicle has complete control over the output level, sound arrival time and the frequency response of each speaker in the system. The result should be a sound system that is as optimized Read more
We’ve talked at length about how car audio line output converters work and have even compared a few to see which sound best. We skipped over a discussion on whether a car audio amplifier upgrade needs a line-output converter. Let’s dive in! What Does a Line Output Converter Do? A high-quality line output converter serves three purposes. First and foremost, it can reduce the Read more
It’s been more than a year since we first got our hands on the amazing Sony Mobile ES XAV-9500ES multimedia receiver for a detailed Test Drive Review. Our takeaway from that testing experience was that Sony had pulled out all the stops when developing this radio: It sounds stunning, measures superbly on the test bench, and, as we would confirm after an extended period of Read more
