Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
It would be a gross understatement to say I spend a lot of time reading the content on car audio manufacturer websites and social media. The average day can involve a minimum of an hour researching information for articles, and sometimes it’s more than five or six hours. During this time, I see many terms passed down from model to model, even if they are technically incorrect. Read more
Designing a subwoofer system for a car or SUV can be tricky. We’ve talked about the need for retailers to quantify a customer’s expectations while working within their budget. The shop designing the upgrade should also verify that the system will function reliably. Some components in this process include ensuring that there are enough subwoofers, a powerful enough amplifier and Read more
I bought my youngest son a small gardening trowel from the dollar store to use when he and I go metal detecting. The rod that connects the blade to the handle started to bend after being used six times. No, not six outings. Six attempts to dig small objects out of soft, damp dirt. As the lads on the Cleetus McFarland YouTube Channel say, "I’m an idiot!”Indeed, a stick would Read more
A few months back, I wrote a very detailed article that explained what happens when you push the output of an amplifier (or source unit) to the point that the signal clips. To be clear, and much to the dismay of many who think otherwise, there is NO DC component riding on the top of the waveform. What you see there is a large number of harmonics that produce the top of what is Read more
There’s no denying that pickup trucks are some of the most popular options for subwoofer system upgrades. Despite the creature comforts and luxury afforded by Lariat, Platinum, Longhorn and Denali trim levels, a high-performance subwoofer system can transform any of these vehicles from nice to all-out amazing. The issue is, there isn’t much space for subwoofers in these Read more
Historically, Bluetooth and the words “sound quality” haven’t mixed well. The folks at Audison in Italy have decided it’s time to provide the car audio world with a solution that sounds good and offers something not seen before in this segment: support for hi-res audio transfer. Audison doesn’t just make this claim, but they have the full support of the Japan Audio Society. Read more
A Honda Civic Si, Acura RSX, Mini Speedster, BMW X5, the Sinister 6 and the Imprint RLS – if you recognize the pattern here, you know it’s a list of Alpine demo vehicles. Perhaps calling them demo vehicles is an understatement. These creations set the bar so high that few companies have followed in their tracks. Each vehicle was designed and crafted to showcase Alpine car audio 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
In the fall of 2021, we took some detailed measurements to quantify the frequency response characteristics of several different RCA cables. These varied from solutions as simple as a pair of 18-AWG wires that were twisted together, to premium coaxial conductors and twisted-pair cables with extensive shielding. The results, as presented, showed negligible variations in response Read more
