A Legendary Midwoofer from Focal’s High-End Car Audio Era When talking about high-end car audio, it is almost impossible to leave out Focal. Founded in France, Focal has spent decades developing distinctive speaker technologies for both home and car audio. Particularly during the 1990s and 2000s, Focal produced a number of high-end car audio components…
The Korean Amplifier That Put ABYSS on the Map When people talk about legendary old-school car audio amplifiers, the conversation usually centers on American, Japanese, or European brands. But Korea also produced some remarkably ambitious high-end car audio equipment. One of the names that deserves to be remembered is ABYSS, and one amplifier in particular…
An Iconic Old-School Active Crossover In today’s car audio systems, crossover functions are usually built into DSP processors. A single DSP can handle crossover points, slopes, EQ, time alignment, phase, routing, and much more. But things were very different during the golden era of American car audio. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a serious…
The Forgotten Beginning of Alpine Digital Car Audio Before the PXA-H600, before the H700 and H701, and long before modern DSP platforms became standard equipment in high-end car audio, Alpine was already experimenting with digital crossover technology. One of the most interesting examples is the Alpine PRA-H400. Often overlooked today, the PRA-H400 is one of…
Clarion DRX9255 – The Legendary High-End CD Head Unit Introduction The Clarion DRX9255 is one of the most iconic high-end CD head units of the 1990s. Introduced in 1996, the DRX9255 was developed as a high-performance CD source unit for serious car audio enthusiasts. At the time, most car audio head units were becoming increasingly…
Phoenix Gold Reactor – The Nuclear-Themed Six-Channel Limited Edition Introduction The Phoenix Gold Reactor is one of the most unusual and collectible amplifiers ever produced by Phoenix Gold. Rather than being designed simply as another high-power amplifier, the Reactor was created as a special limited-edition model with an unmistakable industrial and nuclear-reactor theme. Only 500…
Sony XES-Z50 – Digital Reference Sound System Introduction The Sony XES-Z50 is one of the most interesting high-end car audio systems of the 1990s. Introduced in 1996, the XES-Z50 was designed as part of Sony’s flagship XES Digital Reference Sound System. Unlike a conventional car stereo with a built-in CD mechanism, the XES-Z50 uses a…