WELCOME
TO OUR AUDIO EDUCATION
AND ADVICE GUIDE
We
want you to be a fully armed and dangerous audio consumer. To attain this
exalted condition, you will need to know the terms, the technology, the
schemes
and tricks of the trade. In this section, you will find
more than you ever wanted to know about audio equipment and systems but
were afraid to ask. If you take a look at the navigation bar on the right,
you will see that you can move around in this subsection quickly to find
out what you need to know about speakers, amplifiers, speaker boxes &
enclosures, and just about anything else. And don't worry if you get to
feeling lost sometimes; using the main navigation bar on the left and
the section navigation bar on the right, you can quickly jump to any location
on the site. To help get you started, here's a little preview of exactly
what you will find here.
GLOSSARY
(Understanding Audio Terminology)
Ever wonder exactly what "MAX Power" means as opposed to "RMS?"
Or what about "VAS," "dB," "THD," and all
those other terms audiophiles tend to throw around? You will find all
these answers and many many more in our Glossary. The Glossary is basically
a dictionary of audio terms, with easy-to-understand explanations of what
they mean.
Car
Power
The first requisite for any car audio system is to make
sure your vehicle has the electrical capacity to handle the demands of
your dream system.
SPEAKERS
In the Speakers section you will find perhaps the most comprehensive explanation
of the what, why, and how-to when it comes to speakers. Starting off with
a some clear advice on how
to choose the right speaker for your purposes, we follow with
an illustrated explanation of exactly how speakers work and why. Next,
we explain what the various types of speakers and crossovers are and what
they are supposed to do. Then, vital information on correctly calculating
impedances. And finally, for the very serious audiophile, we explain
the what and wherefore of Theil/Small
Parameters, the specifications you need to undersand in order
to create the perfect speaker system and enclosure.
SPEAKER
BOXES & ENCLOSURES
Whether you are buying or building a speaker box for your car or an enclosure
for your home, you will find everything you need to know in this section.
From a information on how to determine the perfect interior volume for
various types and sizes of speakers, to a program you can download that
will calculate all this for you, we offer expert advice on enclosures
of all types.
HEAD
UNITS / RECEIVERS
In this section, we explain in detail how to
install or replace a head unit or receiver in your vehicle. It
includes a chart for common wiring
color codes. See recommended Tools.
AMPLIFIERS
Finally, we give a comprehensive explanation of amplifiers--what they
do, how they do it, and which one would be just right for your needs.
For the confusing matter of power, we have a page on, What's
a Watt? We also provide plenty of information on general
installation issues with tips on wire
gauges, dealing with noise,
and
impedance matching.
GOT
A QUESTION?
If, after searching through our pile here, you find yourself still uncertain
about some aspect of audio technology, or if you find any of our explanations
hard to understand, don't worry. You can always get answers to your questions
by simply asking us.