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.
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When Sony relaunched the Mobile ES Series line of premium car audio products in 2021, the first subwoofer they announced was the XS-W104ES. This 10-inch subwoofer includes the performance-enhancing cone design, surround technologies and cooling innovations common to all speakers and subwoofers in the Mobile ES series. Let’s take a close look at the design of the driver and how it can be integrated into your car’s audio system.

Sony Mobile ES XS-W104ES Design Elements

The Sony XS-104ES 10-inch subwoofer is based on a five-spoke heavy-gauge stamped steel frame. The frame is concealed by an injection-molded shroud that helps to guide air around the motor assembly to improve cooling. Likewise, the design allows air under the spider to escape for additional cooling and to help reduce variances in linearity at high drive levels. Finally, a large vent through the pole piece offers the same benefits for the inside of the voice coil and motor assembly.

The subwoofer features Sony’s Lightweight Rigid Cellular Diaphragm cone design to offer a good balance of rigidity, mass and damping. These critical criteria need to be balanced in any speaker design. Sony’s LRCD design is 10 times more rigid than conventional polypropylene cones. At the outer edge of the woofer cone is Sony’s proprietary Separated Notch Edge Surround. The diagonal groves in this rubber surround help ensure linear operation at high excursion levels while adding damping to the design to prevent resonances that add distortion. The cone assembly is supported and centered by a progressive-rate spider with sewn-in tinsel leads. This spider design ensures excellent efficiency while providing the required cone-assembly excursion control at high volumes for reliable operation.

Electrical connections are handled by a set of gold-plated, spring-loaded terminals on the side of the basket near the spider mounting plateau. These terminals can accept up to 10-AWG wires for excellent power delivery. Sony finished off the top of the XS-W104ES with an injection-molded trim ring that conceals the mounting hardware for a neat look once installed.

By way of specifications, this subwoofer has a 450-watt continuous power handling rating compliant with the CTA-2031 standard. The peak power handling rating is 1,800 watts. Finally, the calculated efficiency is 86 dB when driven with 1 watt of power and measured at 1 meter.

Subwoofer Parameters and Application

While features are an essential part of any subwoofer design, how the suspension components and mass of the cone assembly interact with a specific enclosure determines the driver’s frequency response once it’s in your vehicle. The engineers at Sony designed the driver with a moderately compliant suspension that allows it to produce excellent low-frequency output from small enclosures. The XS-W104ES will work well in sealed enclosures with an internal volume as small as 0.5 cubic foot, but for the most low-frequency output, a 1-cubic-foot enclosure is ideal.

For those wanting a boost in subwoofer system efficiency, a vented enclosure is another option for this impressively flexible driver. The owner’s manual for the driver suggests a 1.44-cubic-foot enclosure tuned to 37 hertz. This enclosure offers about 10 dB more output at 40 hertz than the sealed enclosure designs with the same power. One subwoofer in a vented enclosure would outperform four identical drivers in a sealed enclosure.

Upgrade Your Car Audio System with Sony Mobile ES Subwoofers

Long-time readers or those who understand car audio system design know that adding a premium subwoofer to your car stereo is one of the best ways to improve its overall performance. Not only will a subwoofer like the XS-W104ES produce more deep bass, but it also will alleviate the need for the smaller speakers in the vehicle to reproduce those low frequencies. The small speakers will sound better, play louder and last much longer.

If you’re shopping for a premium subwoofer to upgrade your car audio system, drop by a local authorized Sony Mobile ES retailer and ask to audition the XS-W104ES subwoofer. You can learn more about Sony car audio products by visiting their website. Be sure to follow them on Facebook for all the latest news and updates on their car audio solutions.
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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.

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.
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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.