If you’re looking for the best performance from your car audio system, the limitations of Bluetooth sound quality might be holding you back. Even if you’re streaming lossless or high-res files from Tidal or audio files stored directly on your phone, wireless connections to a car audio source unit are often optimized for bandwidth, not […]
Car Audio
The Four Stages of High-End Car Audio – Part 4: Product Quality
The final article in our series on understanding high-end car audio systems moves away from the need for accurate system design, integration, configuration and calibration to discuss audio product quality. If you’ve been a long-time reader of the articles at BestCarAudio.com, you know that we put a significant emphasis on identifying car audio products that […]
The Four Stages of High-End Car Audio – Part 3: Imaging
The third article in our series on understanding high-end car audio systems delves into the fascinating world of imaging. In essence, imaging is the ability of an audio system to recreate the precise location of a performer or instrument on a soundstage. While not all recordings excel in this aspect, some are genuinely awe-inspiring. Let’s […]
Speaker Sensitivity – Specifications and Explanation
Every speaker, be it a tweeter, midrange driver, woofer or subwoofer, will have a sensitivity rating. Sensitivity ratings attempt to describe how much sound a speaker will produce for a given amount of power from an amplifier. There’s a common misconception that more efficiency is better. Longtime readers of BestCarAudio.com won’t be surprised to learn […]
Product Spotlight: Alpine PSS-TSLA-223 Tesla Audio Upgrade Kit
While Tesla has done a good job on the radio and navigation side of their infotainment systems, it’s a stretch to say the amp and speakers are fantastic. California Car Sounds and Tint in Campbell, CA, has a perfect solution to make your music sound amazing. Let’s check out the Alpine PSS-TSLA-223 Tesla audio system […]
Wire Equivalency Using the AWG Standard: 16+16 Isn’t 8
We recently witnessed a discussion on social media in which someone said that two 16 AWG wires could do the same work as a single 8 AWG wire. Unfortunately, the American Wire Gauge standard for stranded conductors isn’t intuitive in helping determine how multiple conductors can pass current. So let’s get geeky and do the […]
The Four Stages of High-End Car Audio – Part 2: The Soundstage
We’re back with the second of four articles discussing the listening experience of truly high-end car audio systems. In our first article, we discussed the importance of accurate frequency response. This second article will discuss the soundstage, provide a definition for it and explain why it’s crucial to recreating a recording accurately. What Is a […]
Deep Thoughts on Car Audio Power Wire Sizing
In the 1980s, most car stereo shops had charts in the install bays that showed what size power wire should be used with different amplifiers. Some charts were based on current and cable length, while others suggested amplifier power ratings and lengths. In all cases, an essential piece of information was missing. Today, we’ll sort […]
A Look at the Importance of Tweeter Installation Hardware
High-quality speakers and proper installation are crucial when upgrading your car’s audio system. The ease with which your installer can reliably integrate tweeters into your vehicle will determine a portion of the labor cost. Will the technician need to fabricate a mounting bracket? Will they need to create a little pod? Is there even enough […]
Analyzing Sedan Subwoofer Location Performance
A while back, we looked at how different subwoofer locations affected system performance in a Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. A client of ours asked if that information was relevant to a sedan. So, let’s take a cool little enclosure and see what happens when we try several different sedan subwoofer locations. The Test Subject Our […]