Showcasing the Best in the Mobile Enhancement Industry
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
The Genesis GV70 is a very good luxury SUV at a reasonable price point. With its 2.5-liter turbocharged engine, it’s been well received by both the press and public. But the really cool part is Genesis’ ability to remove the gasoline powerplant altogether and replace it with a fully electric setup. This versatility in the platform shows the engineering involved in the design. Read more
Most car audio enthusiasts know that the typical car radio can produce 18 to 20 watts of power per channel from its internal amplifier. If you send a full-range signal to the front and rear speakers, this is usually enough power to enjoy your music at modest listening levels. That said, it’s not enough power to make the music really fun. Let’s look at what happens when we add a Read more
Rockford Fosgate has entered the Jeep audio system upgrade market with solutions like no other. If you have a 2018 through 2023 Wrangler four-door or a 2020 or newer Gladiator, the new Stage 5, 1,800-watt all-in-one audio kits are the only premium solutions on the market. Let’s look at what makes these sound system upgrades unique. Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator Stereo Read more
Speaker power ratings are among the most confusing and misleading specifications in the car audio industry. Once you understand the process used to test speaker power handling, you’ll quickly realize that the information doesn’t always translate to information that’s helpful in choosing an amplifier. Let’s dive into the science behind choosing the best amplifier for your car Read more
Understanding how DC voltages combine is quite simple. They add linearly when we wire sources (like batteries) in series. But understanding how AC waveforms combine is complicated. AC waveforms don’t always sum intuitively unless the peaks and valleys align perfectly. We see many examples where people interchange the terms phase and polarity. In reality, those words refer to Read more
The BMW M340i is not quite the BMW M3, but not quite the base model 330i. But what is nice is the standard non-controversial grille that has put so many people off the M3’s new snout. Forgetting the highly debated grille, the BMW M340i offers daily performance wrapped in a luxury package. For years it was the benchmark sports sedan. It continues this tradition even in the face Read more
Over the last decade, the popularity of under-seat truck subwoofer upgrades has exploded. At least a dozen companies offer vehicle-specific solutions with shallow-mount subwoofers to add bass to these vehicles. If you’re perusing the enclosure options for your truck, you’ll notice two distinct options: enclosures with drivers that face upward into the seat bottom and those that Read more
