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Questions & Answers?!?
After 27+ years in this biz, certain questions come up over and over. The following are some that you may have, and hopefully the answers will be of some help to you. As always, we invite you to call or email with any questions you may have.
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Q: What is the best subwoofer? (or deck, or amplifier, or equalizer, etc)?
A: There is no firm answer. But it is a great way to tell if you are dealing with a professional sales person. Why? Because the correct answer is; The (component) that sounds best to YOU is the best. As long as you stick with a quality brand with a solid track record and warranty, buy what sounds best to you! It just makes sense!
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Q: Does it matter how good the deck is if I upgrade the speakers?
A: ABSOLUTELY! Your music starts at the deck! If the signal coming out of it is distorted, or not of the highest quality, the best you can hope for is a better grade of lousy! And by the way, there are MAJOR differences in performance from one aftermarket deck to another. One more time; Listen and decide!
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Q: Should I go with component speakers, or just upgrade the ones I have?
A: It depends upon your expectations. There are some outstanding replacement speakers out there that can come very close to a true component set. But they are not going to give the same level of performance as a true component set when properly installed. Bottom line; If you want the BEST quality of sound possible, you want components. If you aren't sure; You guessed it! Listen and decide!
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Q: Why does my 1000 watt PyraLegaPileVolfen Amp have less output than my buds 200 watt amp?
A: This is one of my favorites. First rule: NEVER, NEVER go by the power ratings printed on an amp, or on the box. They are peak, or max power ratings. Translation: No way in hell! On name brand amps, check the spec sheet in the box, and look for the RMS, or continuous rating. This is what your amp is capable of on a regular basis. As for the bargain basement stuff, consider this; If it was possible to build a 1000 watt amp that sells for $200, don't you think everyone would do it? I could sell 'em by the boat load at $200! It won't happen. In car audio, as in everything else, you will get what you pay for.
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Q: What is the best enclosure for subs? Can a ported enclosure be smaller because of the port?
A: Every enclosure has certain advantages and disadvantages. Basic sealed enclosures are our favorite. A properly built sealed enclosure will give the best overall frequency response, and the most bass (true!) A ported enclosure will give you a boost at its tuned frequency (usually in the 45 to 55hz area). This may make it seem louder than a sealed box, but in a ported enclosure, you lose all frequencies below the tuned port frequency. There is a lot of bass below 40hz! A ported box may be a good choice if you are short of power. Bandpass boxes used to be very popular. We don't like 'em. Can't be any plainer. Several reasons why; They are, by design, bigger than sealed or ported. They are EXTREMELY critical of size, and port requirements. The wrong port or enclosure size can destroy a sub. The last reason we hate 'em; Because of the design, you can't tell when your speaker is distorting until it is too late. A lot of people have lost good subs to bandpass boxes.
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Q: Does the size of the wire really matter?
A: Sorry, guys. In this case, size really does matter. Picture current flowing through wire like water through a funnel. If you try to pour too much water too fast, it backs up and overflows. With electricity, a high power amp that wants lots of current, but can't get it because the wire is too small, will not perform as well as it should. It will also tend to run much hotter, and even shut down from overheating. By the way; The ground wire is part of the circuit. It should be as large, or larger than the ground. Bottom line; If you spent good money on car audio equipment, don't shortchange yourself by skimping on the connections. That's just crazy!
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Q: What the hell is THD, RMS, Ohm load, Dynamic headroom, "Q", and why should I care???
A: Specs on car audio components are 1 way (but not the only way) of evaluating the quality and the performance you can expect from components. Here's the catch; Not all manufacturers play fair. Some exagerate their specs. Some outright lie! Your best bet is to stay with a name brand with a quality reputation, and find a dealer whos opinion you trust! As far as what all those specs mean? Check out our buyers guide section for an overview, or call us!
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Q: What is "distortion"?
A: In audio, distortion is anything that alters the sound from the original recording. Technically, that means that when you adjust the tone control, that is "distortion". That's not really what we mean, though. For our uses, distortion is anything that makes the music sound harsh, muddy, or otherwise "wrong". Distortion is also the #1 killer of equipment, bar none!! Trying to make an amp produce more power than it's capable of kills amps and speakers. Over equalizing with bass boost, loudness control, and EQ's destroys speakers also. Mismatches of equipment leads to killer distortion. Bottom line; If it sounds distorted, TURN IT DOWN! If you want it louder, check into better equipment. If you keep distorting what you have, you'll be shopping for new equipment anyway!!
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Q: What's the deal with RCA line-outs?
A: Most quality decks have RCA line-outs to supply signal to an outboard amp. This is a good thing, because by taking the audio amplifier in your deck out of the picture, the signal to your deck is cleaner. Of better quality. Multiple lineouts allow you to use the fader in your deck to control front to rear balance. Separate sub output allows independent control of your sub. Also a good thing. What many people don't think about is that not all RCA signals are the same. You should care about the voltage and the resistance (measured in ohms) of the outputs. Higher voltage means more signal from the deck. More signal to the amp means more, and cleaner signal out of the amp. So far, so good. Here is where it gets a little more slick; Most decks put out around 1 to 2 volts. Not great. Better decks put out 3 to 4 volts. We have some that generate up to 16 volts! Awesome! BUT!! What most manufacturers don't talk about is the resistance, or ohms, of the signal. Many decks, even with high voltage numbers have as much as 10,000 ohm resistance! That is a lot of signal lost! Better decks will have as little as 55 ohms resistance! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the advantage. And by the way, you can buy one of these low resistance decks for less than you think.
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Check back often for "NEW" Q&A's!
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