Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
Without investing in an understanding of the technologies that improve speaker performance by reducing distortion, choosing one driver over another based on features and specifications alone can be challenging. The 12-inch Rockford Fosgate T1D212 and T1D412 are good examples of premium subwoofers laden with modern tech that outshine competing products. Let’s take a deep dive Read more
If you read our recent Sound Check article on the 2023 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, you know that a subwoofer system upgrade is a great way to improve a factory-installed stereo system. Dozens of car audio companies offer subwoofer solutions explicitly designed to work with factory-installed radios and amplifiers. That said, the upgrade process isn’t always straightforward in Read more
After a recent vehicle introduction, discussions about vehicles with 48-volt electrical systems are at an all-time high. Changing standards in vehicles is nothing new. Most cars manufactured before the mid-1950s came with 6-volt batteries. As the need for power and speed from various automobile components has increased, we’re about to witness a change to 48-volt systems. Let’s 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
In our never-ending efforts to create great content, we devised a plan a while back to share listening tips for specific tracks with our readers. Our plan at the time was to explain what to listen for in different songs to evaluate the performance and capabilities of an audio system. After some research and experiments, we’ve come up with a twist on this plan that we think Read more
It’s hard to believe that we published our first list of songs for real bassheads in 2018. In this context, we aren’t talking about music that booms but tracks that rumble and shake well into the inaudible range. What’s the difference? Boom is easy; rumble is work. These tracks are outright difficult for many systems to reproduce. Let’s check out 12 more basshead songs that Read more
We’ve recently seen a resurfacing of keyboard commandos who claim that the ability to hear the differences between the amplifiers is hogwash. Those who have been around the car audio scene for a while often bring up Richard Clark’s famous $10,000 Amplifier Challenge to support their hypothesis that all amplifiers sound the same. If true, why do companies offer different Read more
If you’ve been a long-time BestCarAudio.com reader, you know we prioritize performance and reliability when choosing audio system components. With that said, an installation that looks good does matter. You don’t want a bunch of amplifiers in your vehicle that are all different shapes, designs or colors. This is your car or truck, and it should look clean and classy, not like a Read more
The BestCarAudio.com team received a great question about subwoofer polarity and how a crossover affected the phase at the crossover point. Specifically, the question focused on whether the subwoofer polarity needed to be reversed if the sub amp used a -12 dB/octave filter. The short answer is yes. As always happens with audio systems, the full answer isn’t as simple once we Read more
