If you are familiar with the world of audio systems—mobile, home, and professional—you should at least know that there are speaker wires out there that cost more than speakers (or even amplifiers, players, etc.). To sum up, there are wires that cost an insane fortune. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Let me move on by saying I am not a fan of these products.

Yes, you will see in their built and craftsmanship—and in the materials used—that they are made with quality. But, do they merit their hundreds-of-dollars price tag? Not unless your wire is made from gold, which by the way some are, and can be substituted for real jewelry will I even think of buying one, let alone show interest in them.

In a majority of the installs I have gone through—both personal and maybe as a spectator or plain helping hand—I choose wires that offered by a respected brand in the field, and get their semi-budget offering. I just look for something that is fairly think and well-built, with thickness of course corresponding to the needs of my juice-requirements, and get it over and done with.

There was a time when I was a real wire snub. By that I mean as long as it can carry an electric signal, I’m fine with it. I have since then believe that there is a minimum quality required for wires. First of all, using thin, low-quality wires can be dangerous. They can overheat and spark, and eventually lead to unwanted fires. Next, wires do carry electric signals and the science of it all tells us that a better conductor offers less resistance. In this sense, sound in the form of electric signals travel more freely if you have good wires. This reduces loads on sources (in this case the amplifier), and gives a cleaner and “fresher” signal for the speakers. In the end, proper wire gauge and thickness is what matters.

An age old ongoing debate regarding speaker wires is the blind test. People who believe in insanely-expensive wires are subjected to blind listening tests, wherein they will literally try to hear the differences. Guess what normal outcome usually comes out of these? Needless to say, if your electrical signal is as clean and the same to begin with, how could a a hundred-dollar wire sound better than, say a twenty-dollar one?

Yes maybe there are people who can tell the difference, but do you think the price difference is worth it? In my opinion, find a wire that has been tried and tested, is of quality, is reasonably-priced, and enjoy the music. If you have money to spare (and want better sound), replace your speakers, amplifiers, source, or improve your install—deadening, aiming, etc. If you’re done with all of that (and still have money to spare), buy more music you can listen to.

Click here to start looking for decent-quality but affordable speaker wires.

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This amplifier packs 600 watts of power which can be separated into three stereo pairs. It has an on-board crossover that is state-variable and is configurable for low pass or high pass use. Anyway, if you are a technical-specification addict, you can just visit its official page from JL Audio’s site. Let us, from here on, just concentrate on what people are saying about the gargantuan amplifier. Below is a compilation of reviews by professionals and everyday regular users.

Talking about the new XD series line, autohifi magazine has this to say:

“The world has never seen so much amplification in such a diminutive package. The new XD Series by JL Audio demonstrates that really small can also be very powerful.”

Bill, a professional installer from Florida, said:

“Excellent clarity. The ease of installation was a pleasure. JL’s commitment to quality is apparent. I was so impressed with it, I bought another 2 weeks later for another vehicle.”

Kevin Mesa from Arizona:

“Great power and versatility to hook up many configurations of speakers. Size was very small for this amount of power. Its small size allowed me to hook it up under the rear seat in my extended cab truck, keeping it out of sight and still leaving room for my tools. Runs all my speakers with plenty of power, and sounds great. Very clean, and it doesn’t get very hot—it does get warm but not hot. Easy to set up and tune, but I would recommend that you read the manual if you don’t have experience doing this.”

Once we get a hold of this amplifier we will feature a full review and test so watch out for that. In the meantime, see below for features and follow the link for more reviews.

JL Audio 6 Channel Amplifier

Click here to read more reviews or to view more six-channel amplifiers.

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The time when cassette players were the only options for in-car sound systems was not too long ago. In fact, total abomination of the cassette player happened only in the latter parts of the last decade. I for one remember a time when I chose to have an in-dash CD player in addition to my already-installed CD changer. For my peers, the idea was absurd,  redundant, and stupid. For me, I only thought technology can only head in that direction—and it did.

Of course today, going with a cassette-only car stereo might be a little too overkill—not unless of course you are going with a full retro restoration theme. If not, you can go with a cassette and CD combination head unit. Today there are still a number of still-manufactured cassette players, but some of that are from unheard-of manufacturers mostly from China. Below, we’ve weeded out some players being offered by respectable brands.

Pioneer KEH-P2030

Believe it or not, this is a current model offered by Pioneer. Yes, they have not forgotten those who still love the old magnetic tape. It is XM ready and has 40 watts into 4 channels. Some features worth noting are auto-reverse (damn, I miss that), FM/AM tuner, CD changer control, and detachable face for security. The P2030 has a list price of $100.

Click here to read reviews and find deals.

Sony XRCA350X

You might have a harder time finding this one as most retailers carrying these are announcing stocks left in their product descriptions. However, most of them also carry refurbished deals. You can get one of these for around $60. It also has a detachable face plate, up to 18 FM presets. 3-band equalizer, and seek tuning among others.

Click here to read reviews and find deals.

If you are still interested in the other not-so-known brands that we mentioned earlier, click here.

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Car audio school sounds like a weird idea but the truth is, there are a number of valid institutes that teach you the ups and downs of system installations. What’s weird at this point, however, are those that offer online programs. I mean, how? Serious install skills need hands-on experience, right? Frankly, we still do not know how such works—if it even does—but maybe we would have created some noise because of this article that will prompt them to contact us.

So now that we’ve done our research, we have compile a short list of training institutes and schools, which we will continue to update with those that we are currently unaware of, or new ones that will surface post writing this article. So we hope that you find below one that is accessible to you, so you can go on and have a car audio-related profession.

We apologize but at this point our schools list is composed only of U.S. locations. If you know of other schools—or run one—outside the United States, please do not hesitate to contact us for a free listing.

Car Audio Schools List

7th Row Center

The 7th Row Center is listed in another list that we came across. It is supposedly located in Woburn, Massachusetts, and is officially named 7th Row Center Hands-On. However, we do not know of their whereabouts, nor do we know if they really are an institute. The only concrete thing we have is their contact information.

325 New Boston Street, Unit 6
Woburn, Massachusetts 01801-6273
Phone: (781) 935-0044

Acoustic Edge

Now here’s a very legit and popular school. Acoustic Edge is located in Houston, Texas. They have courses on mobile electronics installation as well as related niches like custom fabrication, custom interior, and even residential multimedia and security installations. Their courses range upwards of $1,000 with logged hours upwards of of 40. Anyway, all of this is on their site.

Click here to visit Acoustic Edge’s official site.

Installer Institute

Installer Institute is located in the heart of car audio competitions—Daytona Beach—particularly in Holly Hill, Florida. Aside from car audio courses, they also have courses on custom interiors as well as painting and metal work. Like Acoustic Edge, they also have a nicely laid-out website that contains all pertinent information.

Click here to visit Installer Institute’s official site.

MT2—Mobile Technical Training

Located in New Jersey—particularly South Hackensack—which is 10 minutes away from New York City. They have an 8-segment mobile electronics and fabrication course. They also have a custom interior course.

Click here to visit MT2′s official site.

List will be updated shortly…

By the way, the online course we we’re talking about is Mobile Dynamics. We know that they offered in-house training for some time but has now reverted completely to online.

It is also important to know some car audio governing bodies like MESA or The Mobile Electronics Schools Association and MECP or Mobile Electronics Certified Professional. If you want to launch a career fast, it helps to get certifications from these. By the way, MESA is an organization for schools.

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1. Factory Car Speakers Versus Aftermarket Speakers
2. The Truth Behind Factory Car Speakers

So now, let us segregate this post into the two basic concepts posted above.

The Truth Behind Factory Car Speakers

If you think your current factory system can do a lot more improving, you cannot be more right. The truth is, factory systems are just not keen to provide pleasurable music listening experiences. Sure, there are are these so-called signature series and multiple speaker systems like Audi’s Bang & Olufsen offering, but those are normally reserved for higher-end luxury cars. In this discussion, we shall stick with run-of-the-mill sedans, like your mother’s Acura, or semi-rich uncle’s Lexus.

A car is probably one of the worst places to setup an audio system. Remember, an ideal listening setup is one where the listener is at the middle of the left and right speaker, with the both having equal distances to the listener. In a car, such is impossible—unless you have the McLaren F1 where the driver is at the middle.

Add to the fact that factory speakers do not have good tonality to begin with. Tonality is how close a speaker sounds to the original source—instruments like they are being played next to you.

Over the years, I have seen the tweeter-midrange setup being made common by factories in everyday drivers. Sure, that may have some improvement over coaxial door installs, but in reality, the tweeters they use are nothing but miniaturized full ranges.

Factory Car Speakers Versus Aftermarket Speakers

I do not want to sound like a factory spokesperson here—after all, I am not trying to sell you anything—but factory speakers simply cannot cope with aftermarket speakers. Aftermarket brands specialize in car audio installations and most (if not all) of their products involve some form of research. Aftermarket speakers specialize in off-axis installations. What this means is that the speakers do not have a direct, straight line to the ears of the listeners.

Imagine how most car speakers are installed—usually in doors, in back boards, on dashboards. An ideal setup should have the speakers facing towards you, like in a home theater or a simple component system. Not having the speakers pointed towards the listener poses a lot of problems that have to do with sound quality. As a result, replacement speaker companies design products that perform reasonably well under such circumstances.

Another important aspect aftermarket speakers tackle is durability. If your car has a door speaker, chances are it is getting wet. Its back is inside the cavity that houses the windshield. Sure speakers have some protection but that small space is a damp one. The good aftermarket speakers also address this issue.

Going aftermarket also means limitless freedom in installation options. You can go all-out with your installation and have as many speakers as you want. For the conservative you are only concerned about sound quality, you can go with a simple two-way or three-way installation. Such will provide better locations because each individual driver is in a separate location. You can have tweeters or midranges installed in a direct line of path such as in the pillars.

Click here to see some aftermarket speakers to familiarize you with brands and types.

Some speaker photos

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Adding a subwoofer to your car’s audio system can well be the best upgrade you can do to improve the overall sound of the system. Greetings and welcome to Car Audio Buff. In this article we shall go back to basics and discuss one of the most common car audio add-ons people do.

What is a subwoofer?

A subwoofer is a bass speaker—a speaker meant to play low notes like those of the bass guitar, bass drum, baritones, etc. It does not sound good on its own, just like most individual speakers that are part of component systems. Most cars that come out of the factory do not come with pre-installed subwoofers. This is a simple fact because such speakers are larger than normal, and need creative but intrusive installation spaces. In a typical sedan subwoofer install, the woofer is usually placed in the trunk.

A typical subwoofer measures anywhere between 8 inches to 15 inches. The size is totally dependent on user preference, and in this scenario—bigger is louder. The bigger the sub—the more air it can push—the louder it can be. However, bass-loud systems are a totally different thing. In the realm of car audio, bass is a thing. Bass competitions are stalwarts, and cars made just to play bass notes and bass musics, common. However, for the sake of simplicity, in this article we shall stick to audible or “just right” bass—the kind that will actually make listening more pleasurable and enjoyable.

Installing a subwoofer system

First things first, simply adding a subwoofer to a current factory audio setup might not always improve sound quality. Modern factory systems are already full-range, meaning they cover the entire sound spectrum already—adding a sub in this case might just end up with bass overkill. In such cases, you might also want to look further into adding aftermarket speaker components or sets. Component sets are usually in the form of separates—a separate tweeter and a midbass or midrange driver.

Click here to see some basic car audio component systems.

Now let’s move on to assuming the above part is said and done. A subwoofer, unlike most car speakers, needs an enclosure to operate correctly. Do note that there are these free-air subs that negate that, but let’s concentrate on the basic sub—those that need enclosures. An enclosure is basically a wooden house for the subwoofer. The sub can be inside it, flushed in it (the front is exposed), and it can even be pumping air into it (back magnet is exposed). An enclosure can also have slots or totally sealed. The size of the enclosure will depend on the subwoofer, and most manufacturers have basic recommended enclosure measurements.

A wooden enclosure can be a simple square box that can be made by any semi-experienced handyman. It is usually made from medium density fiberboard or MDF. For those with advanced handyman skills, such can also be made from odd-shaped fiberglass that can be placed in space-saving places like spare tire wells and trunk sidewalls.

Now that we have a sub and an enclosure, there are two basics left to discuss: an amplifier and a headunit (radio) that can be connected to an amplifier. There are literally thousands of amplifiers to choose from in the market. To know if it will work with your sub and headunit, simply look for the power rating of your sub. Rating is usually specified in watts. For beginners, simply choose an amplifier that has a lower rating than your sub—for example, a 200-watt amplifier for a 300-watt sub. Your options here are endless considering amplifier brand, power rating, etc.

Click here to see some basic car audio amplifiers.

Basically, a headunit needs pre-outs or rca outs to be connected to amplifiers. However, speaker outs can also be connected using line converters. Modern car radios have subwoofer outs. Although not needed, this makes the install more simple because it only gives out low frequencies, plus, the bass can be controlled independently from the radio.

This is getting way too long

Damn, I did not think such a basic article would take this long. Anyway, to prevent you from further boredom, I shall discuss more advanced concepts in a second part. But I do think I have covered the basics well enough in the above post. Do hit the comments for questions and clarifications.

Some photos of car subwoofer system installs

Just some random stuff to inspire you.

Related posts:

1. Checking Subwoofer Polarity Connection — Phase
2. The Right Amplifier For Your System
3. How To Pick The Right Amplifier For Your System

In its time, and even today, many have regarded this as one of the best sounding amplifiers. That and the fact that it is definitely underrated. Many car audio testers and writers use this as a reference simply because it as been around forever. Most can channel its sound just by closing their eyes and remembering all the listening sessions they have spent with it.

Nowadays, if you’re lucky, you can score one of these bad boys for around $100. Best place to get one in good condition are the car audio forums.

Some photos (compiled from various sources)

We will update this post with more information soon. In the meanwhile, please hit the comments if you have something to add.

Related posts:

1. Phoenix Gold RSd65cs Review

The woofers have enormous 12-leg, die-cast aluminum baskets with machined front and back plates. Each cone comes with MTX’s proprietary 12 stiffening ribs. Asymmetrical Linear Drive technology is once again used in this series, which pairs low distortion with high output. Its enormous magnet structure weighs 102 ounces, and a 2 1/2″, 4-layer voice coil handles power and dissipates heat effectively. This combined with Spider Plateau Venting—various small vents all around the frame—adds to the woofer’s cooling.

The speaker’s gasket is made from NBR rubber. Nitrile Butadiene Rubber is a synthetic that is extremely resistant to ozone and UV rays, which means it is plenty durable. Another unique feature of the sub is the radius on the pole which also contributes to minimizing turbulence during large excursions.

The Thunder 8000 comes in 10″ to 15″ sizes.

Models

T8104 — 4 ohm, 10″, 400 watts RMS, 1,000 watts total, 5″ mounting depth
T8108 — 8 ohm, 10″, 400 watts RMS, 1,000 watts total, 5″ mounting depth
T8124 — 4 ohm, 12″, 400 watts RMS, 1,000 watts total, 5 9/16″ mounting depth
T8128 — 8 ohm, 12″, 400 watts RMS, 1,000 watts total, 5 9/16″ mounting depth
T8154 — 4 ohm, 15″, 500 watts RMS, 1,500 watts total, 6 7/8″ mounting depth
T8158 — 8 ohm, 15″, 500 watts RMS, 1,500 watts total, 6 7/8″ mounting depth

Sample Reviews

“These things sound amazing and they get really loud with little power. I am only pushing 100 watts to each one and they sound as if there getting 300 watts each.”

“If this speaker rattles, or seems weak or whatever, that person has not installed it correctly. Do your research. Pick the right amplifier and box. If you do, your hair will move when you fire them up. I have 2 MTX 10″ with MTX 750W amp. These speakers just rock! The bass is SUPER clear. These subs really need a non-ported small box for a nice tight bass that will rock the car next to you. I am a big SQ fan and have 4 Focal 165V. The BAND is right in my car! If other guys are disappointed then they don’t have the right equipment! I truly believe MTX makes a great product, and your not going to pay the big price like some of the others for the same sound.”

Read more reviews.

Images

Car Audio Buff thoughts

Prices for the Thunder 8000 series start from $60 for the 10″ and $150 for the 15″ version. Surely that is a good bargain if you want to go lout but are on a tight budget.

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Sands—a Thai (Thailand) brand developed by a certain Khun Ravat Arkradejdachachai, brings vacuum-tube technology amplifiers to the market. But more on that on a later post, as the A6 conductor is actually their 6.5″ separates.

Khun Ravat has been the sole distributor of SEAS speakers for over 10 years in Thailand. In 2005, he set out to design a car amplifier that will reveal the best potential of his SEAS drivers. The V235 pure class A, pure tube, dual mono amplifier was born.

Five years later, he has developed a car audio portfolio that satisfies the needs to discerning car audio enthusiasts worldwide.

Enter the Sands A6: Conductor

The A6 uses handmade Usher midbass and SEAS Prestige-based tweeters. The Passive crossover uses nothing less than Munforf and Interteknik capacitors and resistors.

The A6 retails for about $300 USD. More information coming soon.

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Danish Acoustics is a line of SEAS-based speaker components made by a company in Singapore called Acoustic Technology. Yes, the Singapore car audio segment is dead serious. So first things first, SEAS you say? These must be good.

Pristinum literally means pure, uncorrupted, and in original condition. Clever.

From the Acoustic Technology website: “Accuracy is achieved when a system remains true to the intent of the recording. This is achieved by having very low levels of harmonic distortion with minimum time smearing and coloration.”

The Pristinum is offered as a 2-way passive set—the Pristinum 6.1, and as a 3-way semi-active set. The components are listed below.

Tweeter – TW2701

A high-resolution, wide bandwidth fabric dome tweeter using Scandinavian technology. High grade neodymium magnets are housed in an optimized tuned chamber. Inside the chamber are damping materials such as felt and acoustic wool. Free-air resonance goes as low as 1,080 Hz. Comes with a wedge mount kit for direct mounting.

Mid-woofer – PW165

A polypropylene cone midbass drive unit with a powerful and linear motor system. The copper clad aluminum voice coil increases power handling, bandwidth and lowers inductance. The voice coil is surround by powerful barium ferrite magnets keeping the flux energy concentrated at the magnetic gap. Rated at 80 watts with a maximum short term power of 250 watts. It has a frequency range of 50 to 4,500 Hz.

Crossover – XP 6.1

The crossover has an advanced serial network topology, and not only acts as a filter, but minimizes phase and lobbing errors. The tweeter and woofer are cascaded with reactive components which results in very minimal phase problems. This achieves a stage that is deep into the dash and not forward.

The Pristinum 6.1 2-way sells for around $700 USD.

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