Post on 20-May-2015
description
Good Vibrations
With Gabe Vasquez
Basic Car Audio Technology
The Car Audiophile
No Different From This Audiophile
What is an Audiophile?
Seeking high quality audio reproduction via quality electronics and speakers
Looking to reproduce the dynamics range
And placement of instruments and voices being listened to.
Elements of Sound
Lets first examine components of sound
What is Sound?
Sound is a mechanical wave which results from the back and forth vibration.Consists of a repeating pattern of high and low pressure movement of air.
Think about a tuning fork as it is struck and vibrates
Normal Conversation 40db
Live Rock Band 120db
Jet Plane Taking Off 140db
Sound is Measured in Decibels
A Decibel is a measurement of Sound level.
You need an increase of 3 dbto notice a moderate change in volume
6 decibels is a doubling of volume.
Decibels?
Decibel Meter
Reproducing the Live Event
Soundstage
DepthImaging
What About Car Stereo?
The Car Stereo is the central nervous and brains of any car stereo system.
Reproducing the soundstage in a vehicle is a challenge for the novice
Most car audio systems break down to four central components.
How loud can an amp get?
What’s The Benefits of Separates?
Better Sound: than typical factory systemsNew Sources: like Bluetooth & HD RadioMore Features: Color displays and Dolby Digital and DTS Surround Sound
Expandability: Aux Inputs and USB connections to external amplifiers & subs
Security: Detachable face plates and stealth mode to protect your investment.
How Loud Is It?For one amplifier or head unit to be
twice as loud as another, you need 10 times more wattage output.
An amplifier with 100 WPC is capable of twice (2X) the volume level of a 10 WPC amp.
An amplifier with 100 WPC needs to be 1,000 WPC to be twice as loud.
Let’s talk about RMS & Peak Power
RMS & Peak Power
RMS and Peak Power: are ratings used to determine theperformance of audio products
RMS (root means square) is a measure of continuous power measured in watts
Higher RMS power means the receiver is either able to provide or accept (speakers) the specified power over a significant length of time without fail.
Pre Amp Tuner
The central system where all function and switching and adjustments take place.This includes volume, balance fader,
tone adjustments, source selection to equalization, crossovers and eventime correction.
Source
AM/FM tuner, CD player, MP3 decoder, satellite radio, USB connections, IPod, DVD and even cassette player’s are routed through the head unit.
Signal Processors & Crossovers
Car interiors present serious problems to audiophiles
Glass and plastic surfaces reflect sound
Carpet, seat covers soak it up.
Poorly-placed speakers add to a poor soundstage
Signal Processors & Crossovers
Most receivers have a bass and treble tone control.
But an equalizer allows you to shape sound based on interior faults and personal likes.
Crossovers will fine tune and smooth out your system
When using a sub, use the high-pass filter to remove the low bass from your car's full-range speakers for clean volume.
Scotty We Need More Power
The Amplifier
Boosts the small audio signal coming from the pre-amp section and sends out to the speakers
Why Upgrade to a Separate Amp? Amplifiers can bring out the details so your music to be loud (and clear).
They gives you a clean power source to drive your speakers without straining, distorting or clipping
High-quality aftermarket speakers subs or component systems require more power for peak performance than your existing in-dash receiver can provide.
My Amp is 200 Watts!
There's a big difference between 50 watts peak power per channel and 50 watts RMS from an outboard amplifier.
A separate amp will give you more clean power than any car stereo
Any Other Reason?
Subwoofers need more power than a factory in-dash receiver can provide
Adding high-quality aftermarket speakers or component systems to your vehicle may require more power for peaks
A factory system or an in-dash receiver may not do justice to your upgraded speakers
Speakers
Component speaker systems are the best way to get high-quality sound in your vehicle.
Speakers
In most instances, speakers are the last thing a car manufacturer thinks about when building your car.
Matching Sound and System
Should you buy speakers with a high or low sensitivity rating?
Sensitivity measures how much sound a speaker makes from the power you supply to it
A car's system that is low-powered (15 watts RMS per channel or less), gets better results from speakers with high sensitivity ratings (over 90 dB).
What About Capacitors?
Subwoofers in mind when they built your car.
Why Not?Big bass sucks up a lot of power, and most car electrical systems.
Capacitors act as buffers between your amps and your car's battery.
It stores power from your battery, then releases when you need it
A Garden Hose for a House Fire?
Not enough water would get through to keep up with demand.
Same analogy when using cheap, undersized power cable
You starve your amp for power when you start pushing up the volume control.
Good cables allow current to flow freely so you get all the power you need when you need it
Boss Advanced Technology