Does Preamp Voltage Matter?

For almost as long as there have been car audio enthusiasts, they have been adding amplifiers to their vehicles to increase the power available to drive their speakers. More power means we can turn the volume up higher without distortion. When it came to connecting amplifiers to speakers, the first power boosters connected to the speaker wires of the radio. Now, modern head units offer dedicated RCA preamp outputs to make things easier.

Manufacturers specify how much voltage their source units can produce on these preamp outputs. Most radios offer at least 2 volts of signal, but some offer 4 volt, 5 volt or even 8 volts. Does this preamp voltage matter? Does more voltage make your system louder? Read on to find out.

Signal Chain

When we install an aftermarket radio in your dash and connect it to the amplifier, we have to make at least one adjustment to ensure everything will work properly. We refer to this step as “setting the gains.” This procedure involves matching the output voltage limit of the source unit with power production capabilities of the amplifier to ensure that both achieve maximum output when the volume is cranked all the way up.

Adjusting an amplifier’s sensitivity is, in theory, a simple process. That said, there are many things to take into consideration. How loud is the source material recorded? Does the head unit distort at full volume? Has anyone adjusted the radio’s tone controls or equalizer? Does the amplifier have any tone controls? If any one of these criteria are overlooked, the sensitivity adjustment may not be accurate.

What is the drawback to an improperly configured sensitivity control? If it is set too low, then you cannot get all the power available from the amplifier to your speakers. If the sensitivity control is set too high, then you can easily distort the output of the amplifier. A second side effect of adjusting the sensitivity control too high is that you increase the noise produced by the amplifier. Nobody wants to hear a hiss in the background of their music, so setting things properly is critical.

What Does High Preamp Voltage Do?

Some intensive research among several of us “old” car audio enthusiasts revealed that there were even a few twin-shaft cassette receivers with high-voltage preamp outputs. Some sales and marketing folks decided that more voltage meant more volume. In the early ’90s, several head unit manufacturers started marketing their radios as having voltage preamp outputs. If nothing else changed, sure – in theory, more voltage means more output. That said, if you swap from a 2 V source unit to a 4 V, and then readjust the sensitivity control on your amplifier down to compensate for the extra voltage, the maximum output level should stay the same.

If more voltage does not make your system louder, what is the benefit of this extra voltage? The answer is a reduction in gain of the amplifier and, thus, a reduction in potential noise. If your amplifier is set up to produce full power with a 2 volt signal and has a subsequent signal to noise ratio of 85 dB, then it is not unreasonable to expect that the noise would reduce by about 3 dB when we turn the sensitivity down by the same amount.

To the Test

We set up a premium consumer-grade amplifier on the lab test bench. It had an S/N Ratio specification of 89 dB when producing 1 watt of output and connected to a 4 ohm load. This is a pretty good rating these days. We set the amp up to produce 1 volt of output with a 1 kHz sine wave at a reference level for our function generator at -30 dB relative to full signal. We then took a long frequency response measurement.

The next step was to reduce the output signal of the function generator by an arbitrary amount – we chose 6 dB. We readjusted the sensitivity control of the amplifier so the output level was once again 1 volt and took another long frequency response measurement.

The results of the two measurements are shown in Figure 1.

Preamp Voltage — Figure 1, output dropped by 6db.

In Figure 1, you can see the large spike in frequency at 1 kHz on the right side of the screen. We zoomed in to fill the screen with as much information as possible below this frequency. The gold line shows the background noise produced by the amplifier with the sensitivity control at the lower of the two settings. The green line shows the background noise when we increased the sensitivity of the amplifier by 6 dB.

Figure 2 shows the difference in noise level at 100 Hz. Not surprisingly, the difference in noise is just under 6 dB.

Conclusion

When it’s time to go shopping for a new source unit, among the dozens of cool connectivity features, options for display technologies and different brand names, paying attention to specifications is still important. If you are planning to add an amplifier to your mobile electronics system, make sure your source unit can produce at 4 volts of output on the preamps. This extra voltage will allow your installer to reduce both the sensitivity controls on your amplifier and the background noise level of the system.

Visit your local mobile electronics specialist retailer today for more information on which source units have high-voltage preamp outputs.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Rear Speakers – A Benefit or a Bad Habit?

For decades, automobile manufacturers have installed relatively large rear speakers in their vehicles. The stereotype of a set of 6×9 speakers sitting on the parcel shelf of a Monte Carlo is as “car audio” as it gets. As the industry has evolved, the importance of rear speakers has diminished. Are rear speakers necessary? Do they offer a benefit? Are we just holding on to a bad habit? Read on to explore more about rear speakers.

Why are They So Big?

Automakers used to take advantage of the opportunity to put speakers in the rear of their vehicles because those speakers could be larger that the ones in the front of the vehicle. Consider a third-generation Camaro or Firebird. They had a set of 4×6 speakers on the dash and a set of 6×9 speakers in the rear sides. Likewise, a fourth-generation Monte Carlo had 3-1/2-inch speakers in the dash and 4×10-inch speakers on the skinny little rear deck.

In most cases, a speaker with more cone area will play louder for a given amount of power. Larger speakers are capable of producing more bass. We recently saw a factory audio system with a 9-inch door speaker, and 6x9s in a pickup truck and SUV doors are very common.

What is Our Goal?

The trend in the last decade for both factory and aftermarket car audio systems has been to recreate a live performance as realistically as possible. This shift in design has introduced us to the need for proper speaker placement and the use of larger speakers in the front of the vehicle. The use of digital signal processors to set up crossovers, signal delay and equalization for each speaker location has further improved on our ability to create what is known as a soundstage in our vehicles.

A soundstage refers to a perceived source location for our music. In a perfect world, our music would appear to come from far out in front of us and provide a good sense of width and depth, excellent focus, and realistic ambiance – just like a live performance. Automobile manufacturers have to balance cosmetic design versus optimum speaker placement, and speaker placement often loses the fight.

What is Your Goal?

How do you like to enjoy your music? Do you attend live performances? Do you listen to a two-channel system at home? Do you usually use headphones? Are you into surround sound? Your answers to these questions can help your car audio specialist retailer design a system that will sound the way you want.

If you like live performances and two-channel audio, then it’s most likely that you would enjoy a system with a soundstage that is out on the dash of the vehicle. In this application, rear speakers are not very important, and in most cases, the money saved by not purchasing and installing rear speakers at all will allow you to buy better front speakers.

If you listen to headphones, then you may want the sound from your system to wrap around you evenly. You may enjoy a system that makes you feel as if you are in the middle of the sound. An equal amount of sound will come from in front of you as behind you. In a system like this, using similar or even identical speakers in the front and back can help produce great results.

If you watch a lot of movies in surround sound, then you need to work with your retailer to decide what is right for you. In movies, the side and rear channels are usually reserved for special effects and ambiance. You may want to go without rear speakers in a mobile audio system. Very few sources include surround information, and currently there are no aftermarket surround sound reproduction solutions, although some are coming.

Are You a Purist?

In pure, raw technical terms, you want as few speakers in your system as possible. Additional sources of sound can result in interference patterns called comb filtering. An ideal system would offer full-range left and right signals, and – because we typically can’t use large speakers in our doors – a subwoofer to fill in the bottom few octaves.

The placement of the speakers can have a dramatic effect on the sound of the system. From a perspective of tonal accuracy, having the midrange speakers in the doors works well. This location typically produces a very wide soundstage. A door location does not often result in a soundstage that appears to emanate from far out in front of you. To achieve that, you may need to use a smaller midrange speaker with a tweeter in a dash or A-pillar location.

When possible, try to ensure that tweeters are mounted within 20 degrees of being on-axis to the listening position.

Who’s Back There?

Another consideration for rear speakers is whether you have passengers in the rear of the vehicle. If you have children or friends in the back, then it would serve them well to have speakers to enjoy. Yes, they will be able to hear the dash or front door speakers, but not as clearly as if they had something close by. It would not be unreasonable to design an audio system that allowed you to turn the rear speakers on and off, depending on your needs.

Rear Speakers as Rear Fill

For systems designed with a focus on the front soundstage, rear speakers are often operated at a much lower relative level than the front. Some people call this technique “rear fill.” The intent is to provide a sense of spaciousness to the listening environment. Employing rear fill speakers splits the divide between systems with or without rear speakers. The relative level of these speakers is critical. Too much can start to pull the soundstage rearward.

There is no right or wrong when it comes to a preference for the location of your soundstage. Whatever you enjoy is the right choice. Your local mobile electronics specialist retailer can work with you to design a system that sounds the way you enjoy. Drop in today and ask if they have a demo vehicle that you can audition. That’s a great way to decide what solution is best for you.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Product Spotlight: Sony XAV-9500ES Mobile ES AV Receiver

Those seeking the ultimate performance from a car audio system know that the result will only be as good as what you start with. Decades ago, many companies offered high-end CD players. These days, your options are limited when it comes to genuinely high-performance car audio source units. If support for hi-res, an impressive 10.1-inch display, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and iDatalink Maestro compatibility are on your list, then you’ll want to take a serious look at Sony’s flagship Mobile ES receiver – the XAV-9500ES.

Design Features of the Sony XAV-9500ES

The first thing you’ll notice is that the XAV-9500ES is a floating-face radio with a 10.1-inch capacitive touch anti-glare interface display with a 1280 by 720-pixel resolution. The display depth, angle, height and left-to-right alignment are adjustable, so your installer can make the radio look great in your dash. The radio’s main body is standard single-DIN so that it will fit in a variety of vehicles – even an ’89 Honda Civic — without any modifications. The display is impressively bright at 425 candela per square meter and offers a contrast ratio of 1000:1. Sony’s bezel-less design is used on this radio, so the display assembly looks smooth and clean – like it belongs in a car and not a spaceship.

The radio includes a 20-watt-per-channel amp to drive the front and rear speakers. The preamp outputs are rated to produce at least 5 volts of output and include adjustable frequency and slope high-pass crossovers on the front and rear channels and the subwoofer. In addition, Sony’s gone above and beyond by including an eight-band parametric EQ for each output channel and a master 14-band graphic equalizer to shape the system’s response to your listening preferences. There are also signal delay settings for each of the six outputs that your installer can use to ensure that the sound from each speaker arrives at the listening position simultaneously. When the system is configured correctly and used with properly installed speakers, you’ll experience smooth tonal balance and a realistic soundstage across the vehicle’s width – just as if you were at the console of a world-class recording studio.

Sony XAV-9500ES — Each of the six outputs of the XAV-9500ES has an eight-band parametric equalizer so your installer can fine-tune your system.

Sony didn’t skimp on quality components inside the radio either. At the heart of the system is an Analog Devices 32-bit, 192-kHz compatible digital signal processor to handle the system calibration. The DSP feeds a state-of-the-art ESS Sable HiFi 32-bit high-performance digital-to-analog converter. Unlike most source units, the XAV-9500ES is Hi-Res Audio-certified and will output audio to 96 kHz instead of the usual 22 kHz of most radios. With the latest premium audio components, the XAV-9500ES offers performance that rivals that of many esoteric home audio source units costing in the five-digit range.

Source and Smartphone Integration Features

The XAV-9500ES includes wireless Apple CarPlay and both wired and wireless Android Auto. You can use either of these solutions with your smartphone’s voice recognition and digital assistant features to make phone calls, listen to and dictate responses to text messages or choose from dozens of entertainment options. There are dedicated apps including Spotify, YouTube Music, iHeartRadio and Tidal for music, and several options for those who enjoy audiobooks. In addition, you can get detailed navigation directions to almost anywhere in North America using Google Maps and Waze on both platforms, along with Apple Maps when using CarPlay.

The USB-C port on the rear of the chassis provides up to 3 amps of current to charge a smartphone or tablet. You can also connect a USB memory stick to the USB-C port on the back of the radio or through the included USB-C extension cable to play MP3, WMA, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, WAV and DSD/DSF audio files. Bluetooth audio streaming with support for the LDAC codec for Hi-Res Audio playback from supported devices is also included. There is, of course, an AM/FM receiver with RDS information display. Your installer can upgrade the radio with a SiriusXM satellite radio tuner for non-stop entertainment from coast to coast.

Speaking of upgrades, the XAV-9500ES is compatible with the iDatalink Maestro RR and RR2 vehicle integration interfaces. These modules allow the radio to communicate with the computers in your car or truck to display information on the screen or adjust the climate controls in some applications. Visit your local Sony retailer to learn more about what features the Maestro interfaces offer for your vehicle.

Upgrade Your Car Stereo with Sony Mobile ES

Many car audio brands are looking for ways to save money by reducing features and performance. However, Sony continues to deliver car audio solutions with exceptional sound quality and an extensive feature set. If the quality of your music matters, drop by a local authorized Sony Mobile ES retailer today and ask for a demonstration of the XAV-9500ES, along with their impressive speakers, amplifiers and subwoofers. You can learn more about Sony Mobile ES products by visiting their website or their Facebook page.
This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Product Spotlight: Sony XS-163ES 3-Way Component Set

When it comes to speakers for the front of your car or truck, the flagship Sony XS-163ES three-way component set from the Mobile ES Series is an excellent choice. The set includes a pair of 6.5-inch woofers, a pair of 3.5-inch midrange drivers, two soft-dome 1-inch tweeters and matching passive crossovers. Sony has combined premium designs and technologies to deliver a speaker system that sounds great and can reproduce your music at impressive volume levels. Let’s check them out!

Features of the Sony XS-163ES Speaker System

Starting with the 6.5-inch woofers, Sony has developed a five-beam basket that includes their Dynamic Air Diffuser technology that prevents pressure from building up under the cone and spider at high excursion levels. The result is a speaker that’s impressively linear when pushed hard. The cone on the woofer uses Sony’s Lightweight Rigid Aramid Fiber Matrix material to balance rigidity, damping and mass. The result is a cone design that’s 10 times as stiff as polypropylene, with excellent damping to prevent resonance and distortion. Furthering the efforts to quell distortion is Sony’s Separated Notch Edge Surround. This rubber surround includes small grooves that help prevent resonances at high frequencies, so your music is uncolored and clear. A set of mesh grilles is included for the woofers.

The Sony XS-163ES kit includes a pair of 3.5-inch midrange drivers that feature a powerful yet compact neodymium magnet housed inside the voice coil. The driver requires a mere 1 7/16 inch of mounting depth so that it will work in doors and dash locations. A rubber Separated Notch Edge Surround is employed on the midranges to allow for linear operation and distortion control.

Both the 6.5-inch woofers and the midrange driver feature an aluminum phase plug that assists in keeping the voice coil cool while eliminating the chances of distortion from an untamed dust cap. The stamped steel frames for the mids include venting under the spider plateau and mounting tabs with spacing to fit a variety of applications. The design of these drivers matches the larger woofers for a consistent look and similar excellent performance.

Sony’s 1-inch tweeters are based around a synthetic fabric soft dome design for smooth response. The Sony XS-163ES system is hi-res audio certified and offers output well beyond 20 kHz to ensure that your high-quality audio tracks sound amazing. The kit includes cups for surface and angled mounting applications, and the tweeters can be flush-mounted.

The three-way passive crossover networks from the Sony XS-163ES set are bi-amp capable with dedicated inputs for the woofer and a second for the mid and tweeter. The networks include a low-pass filter for the woofer, a bandpass crossover for the midrange and a high-pass filter for the tweeters. As such, they aren’t small – but they are necessary for the system to function reliably and sound excellent. A toggle switch allows your installer to adjust the tweeter output level to -3, 0 or +3 dB settings. The networks combine iron and air-core inductors with electrolytic and mylar foil capacitors.

Enhance Your Car Audio with a Three-Way Component Set

There are three significant benefits to using the Sony XS-163ES three-way component set for the front speakers in your vehicle. First, if you want to turn up the bass and really work the woofers, the midrange drivers will remain clear and detailed. Second, the sound dispersion pattern from the speakers is very even through the listening environment as larger drivers have to reproduce higher-frequency information. Lastly, and this depends a bit on your application, the system can produce a very stable soundstage because the midrange drivers are often mounted higher in the doors or the corners of the dash. When installed, configured and calibrated correctly, the result is a listening experience that can be incredibly realistic and detailed.

Upgrade Your Car Stereo with Sony Mobile ES Today!

If you are shopping for a premium speaker upgrade that won’t break the bank, drop by a local authorized Sony Mobile ES retailer and ask to audition the Sony XS-163ES three-way component speaker set. We know you’ll be impressed. You can learn more about Sony car audio products by visiting their website (https://electronics.sony.com/audio/c/car-marine-audio) and following them on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sonycaraudiousa) to learn about all the cool new products they are bringing to the car audio market.
This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Product Spotlight: Sony XS-692ES 6×9” Mobile ES Component Speakers

Looking for new speakers for your car or truck that will deliver detailed sound and impressive output? Look no further than the Sony XS-692ES 6×9-inch two-way component speaker set from the Mobile ES series. Let’s examine what Sony has done to make this speaker set unique.

Modern Component 6×9-inch Speaker Solution

The Sony XS-692ES speaker set was developed primarily for front-door applications where the tweeter is installed higher and farther forward to improve the perceived depth of the soundstage. With that said, they will also work fantastically on the rear parcel shelf of a sedan. The system includes a pair of 6×9-inch woofers, two soft-dome tweeters and a set of passive crossover networks. Sony rates each speaker system as producing 90 dB of output when powered with 1 watt and measured at 1 meter. Power handling is rated at 90 watts per the IEC 60269-5 standard and 110 watts by the CTA-2031 standard. A 100-watt-per-channel amp like the XM-4ES or XM-5ES is a perfect match.

The woofers from the Sony XS-692ES set feature the same lightweight rigid cellular cone design that Sony uses in the rest of the Mobile ES drivers. This cone material is low in mass while being solid and well-damped – the three critical components of a great speaker design. At the outer edge of the cone is a surround with what Sony calls a Separated Notch Edge design. These small notches help to improve driver linearity and high-excursion levels by allowing the surround to stretch and compress radially. The notches also reduce unwanted resonance. The combination results in a design that performs with impressively low distortion characteristics at high excursion levels. Sony has implemented a progressive spider to optimize efficiency while controlling cone motion at high power levels.

Sony uses a phase plug in the center of the driver rather than a dust cap. This choice once again reduces the potential for distortion, as dust caps are known to resonate and can color the sound. The aluminum phase plug is also one of the key components in keeping the voice coil cool to reduce power compression and optimize reliability. Sony designed the chassis of the woofer using their Dynamic Air Diffuser basket to further assist in keeping the voice coil assembly cool. The basket design allows air to flow around the motor and prevents pressure from building up in the spider and cone at high excursion levels.

The tweeters in the set have a synthetic fabric soft dome with a diameter of 1 inch. The low-mass design offers output that extends to 40 kHz, making them ideally compatible with high-resolution audio recordings. The voice coil is immersed in a magnetic fluid to increase efficiency and dramatically improve power handling. The kit includes surface- and angle-mounting options, or your installer can flush-mount the tweeter in your dash, doors or A pillar.

Finally, the passive crossover networks included with the Sony XS-692ES set feature air-core inductors and high-quality film capacitors for excellent linearity and efficiency. The networks feature an attenuator switch with 0 and -3 dB settings, so your installer can adjust the tweeter level based on its proximity to the woofer and the listening position. The crossover can also be wired in a bi-amped configuration with four amplifier channels for infinite adjustment over tweeter to midrange levels and the ability to add signal delays from a digital signal processor.

The 6×9 woofers have a mounting depth requirement of 2.875 inches. The tweeters require 0.75 inch of mounting depth when flush-mounted.

Premium Components and Design Deliver Amazing Performance

All the design elements and features we’ve mentioned combine to reduce distortion and improve clarity. Listening to the Sony XS-692ES will change how you think about car audio systems. Visit a local authorized Mobile ES retailer today to audition these speakers and the amplifiers, subwoofers and amazing source units from Sony. For more information on Mobile ES products, visit the Sony website.
This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

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