Signal processing is nothing new to car audio. In the ’80s we had stand-alone equalizers, crossovers and even phase-shifting devices — all designed to help your installer make your car audio system sound better. Lately, the focus in audio signal processing has shifted from analog to the digital domain. There are now dozens of stand-alone Read More…

With the cold winter behind us and school finished for the year, it’s time to start thinking about getting our cars, trucks and SUVs ready for our summer road trip or vacation. Whether you have toddlers or teens, keeping everyone in the vehicle entertained during the drive will make the entire adventure much more enjoyable. Read More…

If you are like most people, you may think that your local car stereo shop specializes in custom audio systems, speaker replacements and, if they have marketed themselves well, remote car starter installations. The reality is, many mobile enhancement retailers offer a variety of automotive enhancement services that extend well beyond audio system sales and Read More…

Just as the invention of the transistor eliminated the need for vacuum tubes, advances in technology allow us to create new and unique entertainment solutions with more and more features. We thought it would be fun to take a quick look at a few important car audio technologies throughout history. Transistors The first car radios Read More…

When it comes to creating an audio system that sounds amazing, incorporating a digital signal processor into the system gives your installer the tools required to compensate for the majority of the limitations that vehicles impose. To maximize the benefit, a digital signal processor system design needs to take the features and benefits of a Read More…

When you think of the stereotypical car audio system, most people imagine compact cars with large subwoofers in the trunk being driven around late at night, rattling the china in the cupboard and being annoying. While many stereotypical bassheads are still out there giving the industry a bad reputation, a much larger group of enthusiasts Read More…

Beyond the features and design of a subwoofer, no single factor affects the performance of a subwoofer system more than car audio subwoofer enclosures and their design. There are several popular enclosure design options available, each with their own unique set of benefits and drawbacks. The most popular enclosures are an acoustic suspension (sealed) and Read More…

No single upgrade to an audio system offers a larger improvement in sound quality than the addition of a car audio subwoofer. Adding a subwoofer not only improves the low-frequency performance of your sound system, it can also improve the clarity of the entire system and enhance the volume level capabilities of the smaller speakers Read More…

When it comes to designing car audio systems, retailers need to take into account how their clients want their music to sound. Everyone seems to have different preferences for the amount of bass or high-frequency content. These tonal balance preferences can change based on the choice of music and the listener’s mood. In most cases, Read More…

In our Bang for your Buck series, we talk about product features and component designs that offer increased value and performance. We’ve discussed source units and speakers, and now it’s time to take a deep look into amplifiers and what separates one amplifier from another. Years ago, a prominent mobile audio enthusiast claimed that all Read More…

Shopping for a new car audio amplifier is tricky. There are thousands of amplifiers available from at least a hundred car audio companies. Picking the right amp for your system requires balancing an expectation of performance with the cost and features of the amp in question. In this issue of Bang for Your Buck, we Read More…

We recently talked about the difference between good and great speakers. In a nutshell, when you choose great speakers, you get more power handling, the potential for more output and dramatically improved clarity, thanks to a reduction in distortion. In this issue of Bang for Your Buck, we are going to look at two car Read More…

It should be no surprise that your choice of speakers has the biggest impact on the sound quality of your car audio system. With that said, many consumers simply don’t understand what separates one speaker from another in terms of performance and value. In this installment of Bang for Your Buck, we are going to Read More…

In a recent article, we discussed the features to look for when choosing a new source unit for your vehicle. In this article, we delve deeper into the source unit specifications manufacturers provide and explain what they mean, in hopes of helping you weed out a solution that performs the way you want. Charge up Read More…

A long time ago, a friend of mine told me always to ask a salesperson what I would get if I spent 10 percent to 15 percent more on an item I wanted to purchase. At the time, the discussion was related to a large tube-style television. Let’s say the TV I was looking at Read More…

If you ask someone in the mobile electronics industry what “source unit integration” means, they’ll probably tell you about making an aftermarket radio fit into the dash of a vehicle and allowing it to send audio to the speakers. For decades, this has been the extent of the task. Physical Source Unit Integration Mounting a Read More…

When you go shopping for a computer, it’s important that all the pieces work together to provide maximum performance and reliability. When you head out to upgrade your car audio system, your salesperson should ask you a series of questions that will help them identify the perfect solution for your needs and application. When it Read More…

It’s early 2018, and North America is still contending with a deep freeze and some nasty winter weather. Erie, Pennsylvania, got more than 50 inches of snow over the holidays, and several northeastern US cities set records for cold weather. Montreal, Canada, spent six consecutive days with the temperature below 1 degree F. Amid all Read More…

If you look around the Internet, it won’t take long before you see someone say that hooking up an amplifier is as easy as connecting a few wires. Are they right? Well, yes. You most certainly do need to hook up some wires. You also need to know how to connect those wires, disassemble your Read More…

While modern vehicle features such as lane departure warning systems and adaptive cruise control aren’t available for your classic car or hot rod, there are modern technologies available for your pride and joy. These will make your next cruise or car show much safer and more enjoyable. Let’s take a look at how classic car Read More…

If you’ve been in the audio industry for a while, then you’ve likely heard that old-school or classic car audio amplifiers are better than the new stuff. How someone quantifies “better” is somewhat of personal preference. They could be talking about aesthetics or the sound of the product. Whatever it is people like about classic Read More…

Years ago, when someone wanted to make their car stereo system sound better, they bought a new radio. With the complexity of modern infotainment systems, upgrading your radio isn’t always possible. So, what’s a music enthusiast to do? As it turns out, the radio is the least of your worries – unless, of course, it Read More…