Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
The confusion around setting amplifier gains baffles a significant number of car audio enthusiasts. I can’t even count the number of systems I’ve heard that are plagued with tons of background noise or hiss when music isn’t playing. Unfortunately, those same people also seem to be pretty hard on their gear and have replaced many subwoofers, speakers and tweeters. So let’s have Read more
If you’ve been around the car audio industry for as long as I have, you know Rockford Fosgate started in 1973 with the introduction of its first car audio amplifier. Through the ’80s and ’90s, the brand grew at an exponential rate, adding subwoofers, speakers and more amplifiers that deliver fantastic performance to car audio fanatics who want their music clear and loud. The 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
Ah, the oh-so-complex world of amplifier sensitivity control configuration. One would think that there would be a scientific process that would ensure that an amplifier could be set perfectly every time. But in reality, many criteria affect where a sensitivity control is adjusted. The topic of gain overlap pertains equally to source units as amplifiers. What is it? Why do we Read more
It seems like everything to do with car audio installations has something to do with managing voltages. For starters, your electrical system needs to produce enough voltage to keep your radio and amplifier going. And amplifiers need to increase the voltage to drive speakers. When adding an amplifier to a factory-installed audio system, your installer will need to measure the Read more
Day after day, I read posts on Facebook and Reddit about do-it-yourselfers trying to set their car audio subwoofer amplifiers so that they don’t make full power. The typical description goes something like: “I have a 700-watt amp and a 500-watt sub, so I set the gain so the amp so it will only produce 31.6 volts.” There’s usually something extra like “the radio was set to ¾" Read more
What in the world is a coincident coaxial speaker, and how do we measure intermodulation distortion? We know both of these questions were the first thing you thought about when you woke up this morning. But, don’t fret; the BestCarAudio.com team is here to answer these life-altering questions, calm your nerves and, of course, help you choose the best solutions possible for your Read more
We were recently at an event that was hosting a mobile audio system SPL competition. If you aren’t familiar with this sort of thing, it’s a contest to see who has the loudest stereo. We aren’t talking about cranking the dial on the factory radio. Instead, some of these folks build steel and concrete reinforced subwoofer enclosures and feed tens of thousands of watts to their Read more
I’ve listened to a LOT of car stereo equipment since I started in the car audio industry back in 1988. Since 2000, I’ve tested and formally reviewed hundreds of car audio products for publications across North America. I’ve even developed subwoofers, speakers and DSP-equipped amplifiers for one of the companies I worked for. I was a car audio sound quality competition judge for Read more
Having your local specialty car audio retailer install an amplifier in your car or truck is a great way to improve the performance of your audio system. The extra power will allow you to turn the volume up higher to extract more from your speakers. If you have a subwoofer installed, you’ll need to choose an amplifier that can produce lots of power. While there are some Read more
In a recent online discussion, someone stated that a car audio amplifier couldn’t be power-hungry. After the eye-twitching passed and our heart rates settled, we knew this was a perfect topic for our series on car audio myths. Let’s look at how amplifiers, specifically subwoofer amplifiers, make use of the power from your vehicle’s electrical system. What Is Amplifier Read more
We’ve lost track of how often we’ve said that not all car stereo shops are true professionals. It seems like some local retailers that work on exotic cars just don’t have a basic understanding of the physics behind car audio system design, integration and calibration. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few of the sure signs that you’re dealing with someone who cares about Read more
