Use & Enjoy Your A/V Gear : car audio

Big bass in a small-car world

Charlie — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:52:00 GMT

Gas mileage is a big issue with an ever-increasing number of people. Most recently, the "Cash for Clunkers" program has resulted in a lot of people driving more compact vehicles. A smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle is great news for your...(read more)

Top Down Sound, Part 4: Equalizing the audio system in a convertible

Charlie — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:23:00 GMT

Jeff and I meet at the Crutchfield Research Bay for the final system tuneup. In the last installment , we set the crossover points and adjusted the gain structure in the Sebring's system. Now, we've borrowed an AudioControl Real Time Analyzer...(read more)

Top Down Sound, Part 2: Installing an audio system in a convertible

Charlie — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:21:00 GMT

The big day has arrived. In the first installment , we planned out the system for my convertible. Now we'll take a long look at the installation process. A system of this magnitude is completely out of my league, so I turn to Ben and Wayne, two ace...(read more)

Top Down Sound, Part 1: Planning an audio system for a convertible

Charlie — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:23:00 GMT

For most people, the words "car audio" conjure up an image of a big SUV blasting you with waves of bass at a stoplight. But car audio systems aren't all about bass - they come in as many shapes and sizes as home audio systems. To the car...(read more)

Car stereos that bypass your iPod's built-in digital-to-analog converter

Jim R — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:03:00 GMT

For some time now, we've been offering two tips to people who want to get great sound when they connect their iPod to a home audio system: Import (rip) your music at a higher bit rate , preferrably in the Apple Lossless format. Bypass your iPod's built...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #11: Use high-quality cables for your amplifiers

Jim R — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:38:00 GMT

Electricity's like running water. You wouldn't run a garden hose from your well to your house, because not enough water would get through to keep up with demand. That's why you don't want to use cheap, undersized power cable to get power to your amplifiers...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #10: Use a capacitor if you're going to push your subs hard

Jim R — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 13:26:00 GMT

They didn't have subwoofers in mind when they built your vehicle. Big bass sucks up a lot of power, and most car electrical systems aren't equipped to deal with it. A capacitor acts as a buffer between your amps and your car's battery. You connect the...(read more)

Will lossless files work in your car stereo?

Jim R — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:38:00 GMT

Selecting higher bit rates when ripping digital music files gives you better sound quality. The trade-off, as we've discussed , is that the files are bigger, and fewer of them will fit on whatever storage medium you choose - an iPod® or other MP3 player...(read more)

3 Benefits of Using USB to Connect an iPod to a Car Stereo

KenSpike — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:15:00 GMT

My old iPod® mini died a couple of weeks ago. No need to mourn, it had a good life. But when I purchased a new 8GB iPod nano , I realized something important about car receivers and iPods. My car receiver, a Pioneer DEH-P7000BT , has a USB input that...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #9: Add a sub and hear what you've been missing

Jim R — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:50:00 GMT

A good subwoofer will bring the bottom octave of your music back into proper balance, so you'll hear familiar tunes in a whole new light. It'll take a load off your full-range speakers too, since you'll be playing your tunes with the bass control set...(read more)

What HiFi 2.0 means to me

ZakB — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:06:00 GMT

I really love the new HiFi 2.0 movement here at Crutchfield. Helping people achieve and enjoy great sound is what we're all about, whether you're trying to do it in your house or in your car. And this building is full of people who are knowledgeable and...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #8: Don't max out your tone controls

Jim R — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:11:00 GMT

Boosting your factory radio's tone controls up to 11 might make your system sound better sitting in your driveway, but it just creates distortion when you turn it up on the highway. A heavy low-frequency boost, in particular, will put a big strain on...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #7: Set your amp gains properly

Jim R — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:56:00 GMT

Most people think the gain control on their new amplifier is a volume control. But it actually adjusts the amount of input signal coming into the amplifier. Crank it up too high, and you'll hear some nasty distortion. Here's the general idea when setting...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #4: Add a signal processor or an equalizer

Jim R — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:48:00 GMT

A car interior presents some serious problems when it comes to sound quality. Glass and plastic surfaces reflect sound like crazy, while carpet, seat covers, and other absorbent materials soak it up. Add poorly-placed speakers to the mix, and you'll find...(read more)

Better car audio, Tip #3: Add an amplifier

Jim R — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:30:00 GMT

You may be saying, "My factory stereo puts out 200 watts, and that's plenty of power." But there's a huge difference between 50 watts peak power per channel produced by your car stereo and 50 watts RMS from an outboard amplifier. A separate amplifier...(read more)