A Legend of the Analog Crossover Era When looking back at the history of car audio, there are certain pieces of equipment that represent an entire era. Some are head units.Some are amplifiers.Others are speakers and subwoofers. But there were also components that played a much more important role behind the scenes — equipment that…
The Beginning of JBL’s Legendary GTi Subwoofer Legacy When we talk about the history of high-performance car audio, there are certain names that immediately come to mind. Alpine. Pioneer. Clarion. Nakamichi. Rockford Fosgate. And, of course, JBL. JBL had already established an extraordinary reputation in professional sound reinforcement long before it entered the world of…
The Most Unique Tube-Powered Car Audio Head Unit When looking back at the history of car audio, there have been countless head units that stood out for one reason or another. Some became famous for their sound quality. Others became legendary for their high-voltage preamp outputs and their role in the SPL scene. Some represented…
The 8.5V Competition Head Unit That Ruled the SPL Era In the late 1990s, car audio was a very different world from what it is today. Sound quality was important, but so was the ability to build an extremely powerful system and produce massive sound pressure levels. As SPL (Sound Pressure Level) competition continued to…
The Beginning of ODR When Pioneer Took High-End Car Audio Into the Digital Age There was a time when car audio was almost entirely analog. Large amplifiers, analog crossovers, equalizers, RCA cables and carefully installed speakers defined the serious car audio system. Then, in 1993, Pioneer changed the direction of high-end car audio. The company…
A Forgotten Classic of Old-School High-End Car Audio Before DSP, before ultra-compact amplifiers, there was another way to build a serious car audio system. There was a time when high-end car audio was a very different world. Large amplifiers. Heavy power supplies. Massive magnets. Hand-built components. And speakers designed with one simple goal — to…
The Amplifier That Became an American Car Audio Legend Power 300, Power 650, and the 1000 that stood at the top When talking about American car audio in the early 1990s, there is one amplifier that deserves a special place in history. The Rockford Fosgate Power 1000. By today’s standards, 150 watts × 4 may…
The Beginning of High-End Mobile Audio There was a time when building a serious car audio system started with one simple principle: The source comes first. Long before digital DSP, streaming, wireless audio, and computer-controlled sound processing became part of everyday car audio, serious enthusiasts paid enormous attention to the component that actually reproduced the…
When Sound Quality Came First There was a time when car audio was not simply about power. Before massive amplifiers, enormous power ratings, and endless competition for bigger numbers, there were products designed with a very different philosophy. The goal was simple: Make music sound right. The Genesis Q200X is one of those amplifiers. A…
A Digital Car Audio Revolution of the 1990s Rockford Fosgate Symmetry EPX2 Today, DSPs are an essential part of modern car audio. Adjusting crossovers, EQ, time alignment, and phase using a computer or smartphone has become completely normal. But about 30 years ago, there was already a product that brought many of these digital processing…