| Car Audio | | Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2006 4:51:44 PM by Blog 57 team | 
Can you imagine your car without an audio system? Can you enjoy driving your car without your favorite music or radio station, in the background?
But what system suits your need? What is it that you really want from your audio system?
Can you be satisfied with the basic stereo, like a factory system - AM/FM cassette with pair of speakers?
Do you wish to upgrade the factory system just slightly, adding speakers to get a bigger sound?
Perhaps you prefer to upgrade the factory system to a system with CD player, amps and more speakers for audiophile sound, but not gigantic in volume?
You might even want to install a pounding audio system that will shake the car or a competition-quality system that will drive the neighborhood crazy?
Here are some things to consider before buying your audio system:
- Most of the head units that cost over a hundred bucks do pretty much the same thing, they tune in radio stations, play cassettes and offer presets for convenience. The ones around $150-250 might offer in-dash CD player. There are some nice features available in head units, so do your research.
- The better systems use a CD changer; this will cost another $125-350.
- If volume is what matters to you most – consider buying amplifiers. They will provide good and clean loud music. For audiophiles: run about 100watts per channel into your mid and high frequencies, and another 200 watts dedicated to your lows (subs) pushing subwoofer speakers.
- Sixty watts speakers, or so, will do a great job, but if you want the big basses, you’ll have to add more watts driving more subwoofers. Take into consideration this is a whole different game. This can cost you about $1,500 in gear, and another 1,000 to install.
- Beware of inefficient sound systems! Some shops install an 800 watt system that sounds like a 100 watt system.
- Remember: 8" subs in the right enclosure will produce more bass pressure than 15" subs installed "where-ever they fit".
- To shake your neighborhood it is enough to replace the sub/amp with 500 watts and a pair of 12" subs.
- Most factory car stereos sound terrible when turned up. Trying to produce the basses makes them distorted. The quickest and less expensive upgrade is to add a self-powered subwoofer to your factory system – this will make wonders.
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| | | Talk of acquiring JVC brand buoys Kenwood stock | | Posted Wednesday, December 27, 2006 2:49:28 PM by Blog57 Team | | Shares of Kenwood, a Japanese maker of car stereos, navigation equipment and home electronics, posted their biggest gain in a month on Monday on talks to acquire the JVC brand from Matsushita Electric Industrial. Kenwood could buy a 33 percent stake in Victor of Japan, also known as JVC, a person involved in the negotiations said Saturday. Shares of JVC, which is based in Yokohama, Japan, gained ¥20 to ¥608, valuing the stake at ¥51 billion, or $430 million. "Victor's audio business and brand present the most interest for Kenwood," said Mitsuhiro Osawa, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities. The gains in the two companies' shares reflect expectations that the deal may improve earnings, he added. Buying the JVC name would give Kenwood access to a 79-year-old brand plus technologies for developing liquid-crystal displays and DVD recorders.... | |
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| | | Dodge Ram Transformation - Car Audio and Electronics Magazine | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 12:52:24 PM by Blog57 Team | | As you struggle to haul yourself up into Lou Paolino III's Dodge, silently cursing its massive aftermarket wheels and 5 1/2" lift, you'll notice a rather sedate dash through the window. Nothing's too flashy. Nothing screams, "I'm custom!" Then you note the aftermarket head unit, the tweeters set into the suede-wrapped pillars and that surround sound giveaway - the center channel. "This system was designed from the very beginning to fully exploit 5.1, Dolby Digital, DTS and Dolby Pro-Logic II surround sound," Paolino reveals. It's hard to believe that not long ago he regarded surround sound with skepticism. Of course, this was before Eric Holdaway of Speaker Works in Orange, CA, came into the equation. In addition to lending us his ears for test reports, Holdaway and his shop are known for meticulous installs where sound comes first.... | |
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| | | This New Car: Biodiesel -- Is Willie Nelson Singing the Right Song? -- Sunday, 9:30 p.m. (Eastern) -- WICN/90.5 FM & | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 6:52:33 AM by Blog57 Team | | Worcester, MA --* On Sunday, November 12 from 9:30-10:30 p.m. (Eastern), WICN/90.5 FM, the NPR affiliate serving Central New England, will broadcast and webcast Episode 5 of "This New Car: Exploring Transportation Alternatives," a brand new 13-week, one hour special edition of /The Business Beat/. In "This New Car," Steve D'Agostino, host of /The Business Beat/ since 1995 and principal of Best Rate Of Climb http://www.bestrateofclimb.com>, moderates a panel of experts. They are: Jim Dunn of the Center for Technology Commercialization http://www.CTC.org>;* *Gilles Labelle of Westboro Toyota's Hybrid Center of Massachusetts http://www.hybridcenterma.org>; and Craig Van Batenburg of the Automotive Career Development Center http://www.auto-careers.org>. In Episode 5, "This New Car" explores: Biodiesel -- Is Willie Nelson Singing the Right Song? To hear a 2-minute 7-second audio clip of the November 12 show, in MP3 format, visit Episode 5.... | |
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| | | Turning DVD extras into cash | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 2:51:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | Some car chases in movies are so over the top that you might find yourself mentally trying to add up the cost of all the wreckage. Now Progressive Direct, a unit of a U.S. auto insurer, will do the math for you. It teamed up with Universal Studios Home Entertainment to insert a running tally of the destruction into the recent HD DVD release of "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift." As cars smack into one another in Tokyo, a display in a small window keeps track: "Roof repair: $209, taillights: $451, fender: $618." The calculator is labeled "Progressive Direct: Insurance Damage Estimates." This digital gauge is the first in what Universal and other studios hope is a stream of branded interactive features on their new DVDs. Like those released in the rival Blu-ray format by Disney, Fox and other studios, the HD DVD discs issued by Universal, Paramount and Warner Brothers have about six times as much data capacity as standard DVDs.... | |
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| | | Audio from Medialink and General Motors: Listening to Your Car | | Posted Wednesday, November 01, 2006 10:51:53 PM by Blog57 Team | | Though a world of talking cars like Knight Rider may still be a few years away, many new vehicles are doing a much better job of communicating with their owners. Here's how car owners can use that info to keep their car in top running condition. Listen to this report at: http://media.medialink.com/WebNR.aspx?story=32612 Registered journalists can access video, audio, text, graphics and photos for free and unrestricted use at http://media.medialink.com. http://www.usnewswire.com/ -0- /© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ .... | |
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| | | FM Modulators Can Interfere with Other Vehicles | | Posted Saturday, October 28, 2006 2:50:58 AM by Blog57 Team | | Your car radio may suddenly change while your driving...if your neighbor on the road has an FM modulator. It lets you listen to your I-pod in the car, but unfortunately other cars on the road may be forced to listen to your playlist as well. National Public Radio has asked the Federal Communications Commission to recall some of those devices. In certain circumstances their FM signals are so strong they are blocking out the radio stations of other vehicles on the road. Jamey Carr is General Manager of 100.9 "The Eagle" in Amarillo. He told Newschannel10's Tina Berasley "Nobody wants the government involved in everything that they do and my guess is that they'll fix it before they're told to because they want to put out a product that people want, they don't want to put out a product that causes an uproar".... | |
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| | | Sound Advice: Adapter for car can charge PDAs, iPods | | Posted Monday, October 23, 2006 2:49:04 PM by Blog57 Team | | Q: I have an iPod and I wanted to listen to it in my car while traveling. I purchased an FM transmitter that slips over the docking connection and adds very little size or weight to the iPod. I like it very much except for one aspect. In order to keep it thin and light, it uses the iPod for battery power. With a full charge, I am lucky to get two hours of play time before draining the iPod battery. The transmitter has a small connection in the bottom that looks like a miniUSB connection. I also own a Motorola RAZR cell phone. It connects to my computer and car charger via a miniUSB connector. .... | |
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| | | $6.9 Million Powerball Ticket Left In Car | | Posted Wednesday, October 18, 2006 10:49:35 PM by Blog57 Team | | The winning $6.9 million Lotto Powerball ticket sat in its owner's car for several days before he realised it was the winner and claimed his prize, NZ Lotteries Chief Executive, Todd McLeay, said today. "I watched the draw live on Saturday night, but I had left my ticket in the car. I didn't think I had any winning numbers so I didn't bother getting it out," said the winner. "It was only on Monday night, when I finally took my ticket inside and checked it against the Lotto results online, that I realised I had won. "I checked the numbers and thought I didn't have anything, but as I reached the third line I thought 'nah, that can't be right.' "I called in my wife to check, and then she called in our son, and by then it finally sunk in that we had won the big one. "I don't think we'll be splashing out.... | |
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| | | Hitachi to Buy Car Audio Maker Clarion to Boost Sales (Update6) | | Posted Wednesday, October 18, 2006 12:48:08 PM by Blog57 Team | | Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Hitachi Ltd., Japan's biggest electronics maker, will pay as much as 55.7 billion yen ($465 million) for a majority stake in car audio and navigation maker Clarion Co., helping boost auto-related sales sixfold by 2011. The company, which is Clarion's largest shareholder with a 14.4 percent stake, offered 230 yen per share and plans to buy more than half of the stock, Tokyo-based Hitachi said today in a statement. The offer is priced 52 percent higher than yesterday's close of 151 yen. Clarion's stock surged by its daily limit. Hitachi, which started a development venture with Clarion in December 2000, is targeting sales of 290 billion yen ($2.4 billion) at its car information systems unit by the year ending March 2011. Tokyo-based Clarion last month slashed its profit forecast because of price declines and lower overseas sales of its car navigation systems.... | |
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| | | Hitachi to Buy Car Audio Maker Clarion to Boost Sales (Update1) | | Posted Saturday, October 14, 2006 10:48:02 AM by Blog57 Team | | Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Hitachi Ltd., which makes automobile engine, brake parts and motors for hybrid vehicles, said it will pay as much as 55.7 billion yen ($465 million) to buy car audio and navigation maker Clarion Co. to boost sales in the business. The company, Clarion's largest shareholder with a 14.4 percent stake, offered to pay 230 yen per share for the stock it doesn't own, Hitachi said today in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The offer, priced 52 percent more than yesterday's close of 151 yen, opens Oct. 25. Hitachi, which bought its initial stake in Clarion in December 2004, expects sales in the business to rise to 290 billion yen in the year to March 2011, the company said today. Hitachi's sales of car navigation equipment were 44.4 billion yen last year, compared with Clarion's revenue of 184.1 billion yen.... | |
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