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 […]
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 […]