Product Spotlight: ARC Audio CX69

Picking an efficient speaker system that sounds good and can handle lots of power is no easy feat. The mobile audio experts at ARC Audio in Modesto, California, created the new CX69 6×9-inch speaker to fill this void. Whether you want great sound from the saddlebags of your Harley-Davidson, a door speaker that can keep up with a crazy subwoofer system or a solution for your side-by-side or boat, the CX69 does it all. Let’s look at what makes these speakers a great choice when you want your music loud and clear!

ARC Audio CX69 Features and Design Elements

ARC Audio’s in-house design team designed the CX69 speakers around a heavy-gauge stamped-steel frame. The frame has four curved spokes with rolled edges for added rigidity. Large vents at the base of the basket allow hot air to escape from the voice coil and prevent pressurization at high drive levels. At the bottom of the frame is a powerful motor assembly that features a high-quality Y35A-grade ferrite magnet. Unlike neodymium, ferrite magnets maintain their magnetic field strength better in high-heat conditions. Furthermore, their size acts as a heatsink for the voice coil to help keep it cool. The result is louder playback with better power handling.

The woofer cone is a carbon-doped polypropylene design that offers an outstanding balance of rigidity, mass and damping to prevent unwanted resonances and distortion. The carbon also improves thermal stability, so the cone doesn’t deform or flex after being driven for hours at high power levels when exposed to direct sunlight or operated in high-heat areas. The outer edge of the cone is attached to the mounting flange using an inverted rubber surround. The inverted design provides more clearance around the edges of the driver, keeping moving parts away from grilles and mounting hardware.

If you look closely, you’ll notice that the ARC Audio CX69 uses a large dust cap in the center of the driver rather than a post for the tweeter. This design dramatically increases the cone area to improve the speaker’s efficiency. The added mass of the dust cap also enhances midbass performance compared with the typical motorcycle audio speaker.

In terms of power handling, the ARC Audio CX69 features a monster 1.45-inch glass fiber and Kapton voice coil former and an oxygen-free copper voice coil winding. Compared with drivers using a 1-inch voice coil, the voice coil assembly in the CX69 has 45% more area from which heat can dissipate. This directly translates into improved power handling and reduced power compression – so your music will sound great at high volume levels for longer than competing products.

The woofer features a progressive-roll Nomex spider that prevents the cone assembly from bottoming out at extreme power levels. The spider, voice coil former and cone are stagger-step bonded together using an adhesive that is rated for 446 degrees Fahrenheit (230 degrees Celsius). This temperature is much higher than that of typical adhesives to ensure that the speaker functions reliably.

ARC Audio tooled a rigid stamped steel frame to suspend the 1-inch Norseal PVC-damped PEI tweeter above the woofer cone. The tweeter features a 25 mm voice coil, enabling it to function just as reliably as the woofer assembly. Like the bond between the woofer’s voice coil former, spider and the cone, the tweeter uses high-temperature, step-cured adhesives so that the components remain solid when driven hard for long periods. A high-quality metallized polypropylene capacitor is used for filtering to ensure that the tweeter delivers smooth and detailed high-frequency sound.

Speaker Specifications

By way of specifications, ARC Audio rates the CX69 as having an efficiency of 95 dB SPL, making it several times louder than the typical car audio speaker. Power handling is rated conservatively at 125 watts continuous and 300 watts peak, making this driver a perfect match for the Moto 720 amplifier or any of the X2 series. The required mounting depth is 3.25 inches.

ARC Audio knows speakers designed for outdoor applications must withstand dust, rain and debris. The woofer cone on the CX69 has been treated with a UV-resistant coating to ensure that it won’t crack, fade or dry out like other designs. With the tweeter suspended above the woofer, there’s no way for water to get into the speaker, making it virtually waterproof.

Upgrade Your Motorcycle Audio System with ARC Audio Moto Amplifiers and Speakers

ARC Audio put a lot of thought into the design of the CX69 and its little brother, the CX6 speaker. They wanted to give consumers a product that would sound great and stand the test of time. If you want an audio system upgrade for your Harley-Davidson or are looking for a high-performance 6×9 speaker solution for your automotive, marine or UTV application, drop by a local authorized ARC Audio retailer and ask about their Moto series of products. We think you’ll be impressed by their performance and value. You can find an authorized retailer using the Dealer Locator on their website. Also, be sure to follow ARC Audio on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to be the first to learn about their new solutions.

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.

When it Comes to Subwoofer Specifications, Some Numbers Don’t Matter

If you are a mobile electronics enthusiast like we are, then it’s quite possible that you enjoy reading product specifications. You can learn a lot about the design and application of a product from the specs. Amplifier power ratings are probably the most popular specs, but there are a lot more. One product specification that tends to confuse people more than help them is speaker efficiency. This article explains what the numbers mean and how you should analyze the appropriateness of subwoofer specifications, one subwoofer to another.

Speaker Efficiency

In a nutshell, the efficiency specification attempts to quantify how much sound a speaker will produce when provided with a given amount of power. Manufacturers provide the specification in two common methods. The most common are decibels of output when fed with 1 watt of power and measured at 1 meter from the speaker, written as 1 W/1 m. The other specification method involves replacing the 1 watt power measurement with 2.83 volts. For a 4 ohm car audio speaker, 2.83 volts works out to 2 watts of power or 4 watts into a 2 ohm speaker. Make sure to take the impedance of the speaker into consideration with the latter format.

For a subwoofer, we derive this efficiency number with a formula that includes the driver’s resonant frequency, equivalent suspension compliance and driver’s electrical Q. In reality, the resulting number is purely theoretical and applies most directly to output in the frequency range above where most subwoofers play. There is the heart of the matter: The efficiency specification doesn’t describe how loud the subwoofer is at low frequencies. The only way to predict and compare performance is to model the behavior of the driver in simulation software.

Frequency Response Simulation

Let’s compare two 10-inch speakers. For sample A, we will use a very high-quality car audio subwoofer. Since we want to make this example somewhat extreme, we will use a 10-inch pro audio woofer as Sample B in our comparison. We will use BassBox Pro 6 to make the comparisons.

Sample A has a calculated efficiency of 93.21 dB when driven with 2.83 V. Sample B has an efficiency of 95.07 dB. Without modeling the low-frequency behavior of the driver, you’d happily think that Sample B was the louder of the two by 1.86 dB.

We modeled each driver in a sealed enclosure with a volume that provides a total system Q (Qtc) of 0.707. The car audio subwoofer is in 0.694 cubic feet, and Sample B is in 0.378 cubic feet net.

As you can see from the graph, the output of the two woofers varies dramatically. Sample A is louder at 40 Hz by an impressive 4.95 dB. That is contradictory to the efficiency specification, isn’t it? It is, however, not wrong.

Subwoofer Specifications

When an engineer designs a speaker, the first thing to decide is the application. Will this be a high-SPL car audio speaker, or a pro-sound speaker? The differences make a great deal of difference.

Our sample subwoofers also have dramatically different excursion capabilities. Sample A has an Xmax of 17.6 mm and Sample B has an Xmax of only 4 mm. It is worth noting and reminding everyone that cone excursion quadruples for every halving of frequency. If these speakers were given enough power to play 100 dB at 80 Hz with an excursion of 1 mm, then they would need to move 4 mm at 40 Hz. At 20 Hz, they would need to move 16 mm. An excursion requirement of 16 mm is no problem for Sample A, but will likely rip Sample B to shreds.

Comparing the output of two drivers requires that we ensure the driver can handle the excursion requirements necessary to meet our needs.

In the case of our subwoofer simulations, due to excursion limits, Sample B can produce a maximum output of only 94.9 dB at 40 Hz. Sample A can produce 108.3 dB at the same frequency. That is a difference of 13.4 dB. This difference is significant. Sample B simply cannot produce 100 dB of output at 40 Hz in this enclosure. Thus, Sample B not a suitable choice for a subwoofer, which makes sense, since it was designed to be a bass guitar speaker.

Choosing the Right Subwoofer

Unless you own speaker-modeling software and know how to use it, it can be tricky to determine the performance of one subwoofer versus another. Even more difficult is attempting to predict how one sounds when compared to another. Frequency response is just one of the many criteria that differentiate one subwoofer from another. Excursion capabilities, enclosure requirements, distortion characteristics and – of course – cost are all factors to be considered.

Many people think that just because it is harder to hear distortion at low frequencies, the design of a subwoofer matters less than that of a midrange speaker. You would be stunned at how a good subwoofer can bring out details in your music that you may have never heard before.

When it is time to go subwoofer shopping, visit your local mobile electronics specialist retailer. Discuss your needs with them and work with them to find a subwoofer solution that fits your application. You will be happy that you did.

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-W124ES and XS-W122ES Mobile ES Subwoofers

It’s been over a year since Sony launched their first Mobile ES subwoofer – the XS-W104ES. The big brothers to this amazing driver are now available in the form of the 12-inch XS-W124ES and XS-W122ES drivers. Rated to handle 500 watts of power and designed to sound great in either sealed or vented enclosures, these are a perfect solution for those who want an audio system that delivers impressive bass.

Design and Performance-Enhancing Features

The XS-W124ES and XS-W122ES are the same drivers, except for the 4- and 2-ohm voice coil impedance options. These subwoofers are based on a heavy-gauge, five-beam, stamped-steel basket concealed behind a custom-tooled shroud. The shroud forces air from under the spider mounting plateau down across the magnet and out of the bottom of the speaker in what Sony calls their Dynamic Air Diffuser design. There’s a custom trim ring around the mounting ledge to conceal the hardware and give the driver a clean, tidy look once installed.

Sony Mobile ES Subwoofer — Power handling and longevity are increased by forced-air cooling around the motor assembly.

Like all the speakers and subwoofers in the Mobile ES Series, these 12-inch drivers use Sony’s Lightweight Rigid Cellular woofer cone. The cone design balances rigidity, mass and resonance damping to ensure that unwanted harmonic distortion isn’t added to the audio signal. Sony notes that their LRC cones are 10 times as rigid as conventional injection-molded polypropylene speaker cones. The cone is attached to the outer edge of the basket with Sony’s proprietary Separated Notch Edge Surround. This rubber surround includes angled notches that allow it to stretch and compress smoothly to improve linearity at high volume levels. The notches also prevent the surround itself from resonating and coloring the music produced by the driver. Finally, a rigid inverted dust cap in the center of the cone keeps debris out of the voice coil.

The Sony XS-W124ES and SX-W122ES drivers use two progressive-rate spiders to deliver excellent efficiency and appropriate damping at high excursion levels. The tinsel leads are sewn to the upper spider for quiet and reliable operation. The terminals will accept cables up to 10-AWG in size for efficient power transfer from your amplifier.

Sony rates these subwoofers as capable of handling 500 watts of continuous power in compliance with the CTA-2031 standard. Using the older IEC 60268-5 standard, the continuous power rating is 400 watts. Peak power is listed as being 2,000 watts.

Sony Mobile ES Car Audio Subwoofer Applications

Sony suggests that these subwoofers can be used in sealed enclosures with an internal volume of 0.84 cubic foot. In this application, the Qtc is up around 1.0 and the F3 is about 45 Hz from either model. For those craving serious low-frequency output, the suggested 1.34- or 1.6-cubic-foot enclosures from the owner’s manuals both deliver a boost in output of just over 6 dB. That means a single driver in a vented enclosure will play louder than two drivers in a sealed enclosure at all frequencies above 20 Hz. If you have room for the vented design – we highly recommend going that route.

Not surprisingly, these woofers are well-matched to the power production capabilities of the new Mobile ES amplifiers. A pair of XS-W124ES subwoofers wired in parallel is ideal for the XM-1ES monoblock. You could also use these with the 750-watt subwoofer channel on the XM-5ES five-channel system amplifier.

Experience the Elevated Standard of Car Audio with Sony Mobile ES

When the time comes to add deep and accurate bass to your car audio system, visit your local authorized Sony Mobile ES retailer and ask for a demonstration of the XS-W124ES or XS-W122ES 12-inch subwoofers. We know you’ll be impressed. To learn more about Sony Mobile ES and the rest of its impressive products, follow Sony Car Audio on Facebook.
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-AX6000 Automotive AV Receiver

Hundreds of audio-video receiver options are available to upgrade your car’s or truck’s entertainment system. Selecting one that’s easy to use, reliable and sounds great is no easy task. The car audio team at Sony has combined the most sought-after features with state-of-the-art technologies to create the XAV-AX6000 digital media receiver. This radio includes wireless Apple CarPlay and both wired and wireless Android Auto, so your smartphone’s voice recognition and internet-connected features become a crucial part of providing you with the information and entertainment you want while driving.

Sony XAV-AX6000 Source Information

Most owners will connect their Sony XAV-AX6000 to their Android or Apple phone using Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to stream music from Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio or Tidal. You’ll also have the option of playing music files stored directly on the phone, which can be accessed using simple voice commands. Both Apple and Android-based phones can connect wirelessly to the radio using a Wi-Fi connection, so there are no cords or cables to worry about each time you get in or out of the vehicle. You can also use these smartphone connectivity solutions to get detailed, turn-by-turn navigation directions to almost any address, business or landmark in North America using Google, Waze or Apple maps. Both systems allow you to check your schedule, make phone calls, listen to incoming text messages and dictate a reply – all while keeping your eyes on the road and your hands on the steering wheel.

The XAV-AX6000 includes an AM/FM receiver with RDBS station information display. Users can connect a USB mass storage class device to play MP3, WMA, ACC, FLAC, WAV, ALAC or DSF/DSDIFF audio files with sampling rates up to 768 kHz (depending on the file format). The USB-C port on the rear of the chassis provides up to 3 amps of current to recharge your smartphone efficiently when connected. The XAV-AX6000 also has a micro-HDMI port on the back of the chassis so that you can connect a smartphone, computer or game system to the radio as an external multimedia source. Bluetooth audio streaming with support for high-resolution LDAC is built into the radio to maximize the sound quality of wireless audio playback on supported devices.

Connectivity and Control Options

The XAV-AX6000 features a 6.95-inch display with a capacitive-touch interface. The screen assembly is integrated into a bezel-less design that looks as though it belongs in the dash of your car, truck or SUV. A set of six hard buttons is included at the bottom of the screen to make volume, source selection, track selection and voice recognition activation easy without having to look at the radio.

In terms of audio features, the radio has a 20-watt-per-channel amplifier built in and can be connected to external amplifiers using the 5-volt front, rear and subwoofer preamp outputs. The XAV-AX6000, the XAV-AX4000 and the XAV-9500ES offer high- and low-pass filters on all four channels with slopes that are adjustable from -12 to -48 dB/octave. Your installer can fine-tune the installation with the five-channel time alignment settings and the 14-band graphic equalizer. Many users will appreciate the ability to change the background wallpaper to a JPEG image from a USB memory stick.

A backup camera input is also included to make it easy to see everything behind your vehicle while parking or maneuvering. The backup camera image will display automatically when the transmission is in reverse or can be selected manually from the source menu if you need to check on a trailer.

Sony has included support for the iDatalink Maestro RR and RR2 integration system. These modules allow the radio to talk to the computer network in your car to display information like engine speed, vehicle speed, coolant temperature and much more. Select applications include information like tire pressure, battery voltage and even climate control adjustment. Check with your local Sony retailer to learn more about your vehicle’s Maestro compatibility and features.

Upgrade Your Entertainment System with Sony

If you’re looking for a new radio to upgrade the sound quality, features and technology in your car, truck or SUV, drop by a local authorized Sony retailer and ask about the XAV-AX6000. Be sure to bring your smartphone to experience how intuitive and responsive the system is. To learn more about Sony car audio products, check out the Sony Car and Marine Audio website. You can also follow Sony on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to keep up with their latest product releases and new information.

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.

Basics of OEM Integration in Your Newer Vehicle

Installing a mobile audio system involves much more than just hooking up some wires and driving in a few screws. Almost all vehicle manufacturers have realized that some amount of audio system tuning will dramatically improve their customers’ experience. When you decide it’s time to upgrade your factory audio system, we need to take into account any tuning that may have been done by the factory. It’s not easy, but at the same time, it’s not impossible. This article provides a brief look at what is involved in connecting a new amplifier and speakers to your factory source unit or amplifier, or as it is called, OEM integration.

It’s Not Flat

No, we aren’t talking about the Earth. One of the first steps in designing a premium audio system upgrade is to measure the electrical signal that is being sent to each of your speakers. Why? As we mentioned, more and more factory source units and amplifiers include advanced signal processing. Even some of the most basic audio systems with only four speakers have custom equalization for each speaker. Once our installers know what they are dealing with, they use that information in designing your new system.

The signal measurement process should be done before system design. If the signal is flat (no equalization), then the system design may take a different direction from when the signal is equalized. Compensating for factory equalization requires that some kind of equalizer be installed in the new system. Either way, we have to allot time to measure the acoustical response of the new system and make appropriate adjustments.

Think of this process as though your installer were a surgeon preparing to solve a medical problem for you. The surgeon will order x-rays, scans and many tests long before you’re on the operating table. Nobody wants to start work on a project without knowing what they are dealing with. Modern car audio systems are no different.

Front and Center

Automobile manufacturers strive to make all their customers happy – within a certain budget. This goal includes providing an enjoyable audio experience for everyone in the vehicle. Many mid- and high-level factory audio systems use a center channel to help create a listening experience that is enjoyable for both occupants of the front seats. Configured properly, a center channel can help create a realistic soundstage from both seating positions. Trust us when we say that some of the people who tune these factory audio systems have a lot of experience doing what they do.

When we want to upgrade the audio system in a vehicle with a center channel, we have to reverse-engineer how that speaker is functioning. Is it a mono signal that is the sum of the left and right signals? Is it an up-mixed signal that plays sounds that are not reproduced by the left and right speakers? It could also be a little bit of both. Your installer will have to do some tests to decide what is happening and how to deal with it.

Do We Undo or Up-do?

If you have a vehicle with a genuine up-mixed center channel, one of the best ways to upgrade the audio system is to leave the processing alone and add better speakers, amplifiers and signal processing. With this method, we can create a sound system that sounds amazing from both the driver and passenger seats.

The basic concept is to take the left, center and right signals; recombine any frequency filtering; then send those three signals to whatever speakers you choose for each side of the vehicle and the new center channel. Often, the new system will be a three-way speaker set in the doors and maybe the A-pillars, and a two-way system in the center. We will most certainly use a digital signal processor and/or an integration processor to do the signal filtering and tuning for the new system.

How We Undo What They Do

OEM Integration — The JL Audio Fix 82 can “fix” a number of factory signal problems.

Several processors on the market can sum filtered channels together and undo factory equalization and time alignment. Some of these processors require manual adjustments and some work automatically with a custom setup track. After using one of these processors to provide a full bandwidth signal, we can then use digital signal processing to set up the new system and compensate for the vehicle acoustics. Just as the vehicle manufacturer chose to equalize the signal going to each speaker, we need to do this to maximize the performance of your new system.

What if We Don’t Undo What They Did?

Imagine a simple scenario: You have a car, perhaps a Nissan Altima. Even the base model audio system has equalization in this vehicle. Equalization is based on the speaker that is being used, location of the speaker and acoustic effects of the vehicle on the signal from that speaker relative to the listening position. If we change the speaker to one that is better, the factory equalization can – and most likely will – work against us. That nice new speaker may sound worse than the cheap factory speaker. After all, the manufacturer tried to make what was likely a low-quality speaker sound OK.

Trust Your Local OEM Integration Experts

When it comes time to upgrade the audio system in a fairly new vehicle, make sure you are working with a mobile electronics retailer that knows how to evaluate the existing audio system properly. If you are changing the source unit, then it’s no big deal. But if you are using the factory radio and/or amplifier, proper testing is crucial. Don’t be scared or discouraged. A well-trained retailer can transform any audio system into something truly amazing! Drop in and see what they can do 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.

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Product Spotlight: ARC Audio CX69

ARC Audio CX69 Features and Design Elements

Speaker Specifications

Upgrade Your Motorcycle Audio System with ARC Audio Moto Amplifiers and Speakers

When it Comes to Subwoofer Specifications, Some Numbers Don’t Matter

Speaker Efficiency

Frequency Response Simulation

Subwoofer Specifications

Choosing the Right Subwoofer

Product Spotlight: Sony XS-W124ES and XS-W122ES Mobile ES Subwoofers

Design and Performance-Enhancing Features

Sony Mobile ES Car Audio Subwoofer Applications

Experience the Elevated Standard of Car Audio with Sony Mobile ES

Product Spotlight: Sony XAV-AX6000 Automotive AV Receiver

Sony XAV-AX6000 Source Information

Connectivity and Control Options

Upgrade Your Entertainment System with Sony

Basics of OEM Integration in Your Newer Vehicle

It’s Not Flat

Front and Center

Do We Undo or Up-do?

How We Undo What They Do

What if We Don’t Undo What They Did?

Trust Your Local OEM Integration Experts

Testimonials

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