High-Performance Car Stereo, How To Design and Install: The Ultimate Guide to High-Tech Mobile Entertainment Systems

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Item # SA45  ISBN: 1884089852




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Ever wonder why some car stereos sound so much better than others? If you want to take your car stereo to the next level, this book will show you how. How To Design and Install High-Performance Car Stereo explains what it takes to put together a quality system and how to avoid wasting your time and money on the wrong gear. It also guides you through installing and tuning everything correctly, so you can finally enjoy the high-performance sound you crave.

Author Joe Pettitt gives you the how, where, and why for all the head units, amps, crossovers, speakers, subwoofers, and enclosures that work together to form a high-fidelity mobile audio system. He also gives in-depth explanations on how to install and tune each of those components to maximize its performance with your particular system. And if you've ever wanted to try custom fabbing your own kick panels, door panels, amp racks, or sub boxes, this book shows you how to do that too.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Head Units.
Buying a head unit. Specs to check. Tone control. Theft deterrence tactics. Optional equipment and on-road video/DVD. Head unit installation scenarios. Ultimate install: import tuned mobile entertainment.

Chapter 2: Equalizers.
Why you need an equalizer. What an equalizer does. Tpes of equalizers. Constant-Q and non constant-Q. Ultimate install: Street thunder.

Chapter 3: The Purpose of Crossover Networks.
Types of crossovers. Crossover slope. Crossover cutoff characteristic. Commonly used crossovers. The effects of phase shift. Crossover and loudspeaker phase alignment. Using an active crossover: How to pick a crossover point. Some deep thoughts on subwoofers. Crossovers and the real world. Using an amplifier's onboard low-pass crossover. Ultimate install: Super Sonic Mini.

Chapter 4: Amplifiers.
Class A, B, C, AB, and D amplification theory. Touring a Kicker amp. The power supply. The audio circuits. Control and feedback design. Regulated Vs. unregulated power supply. Level matching and tuning for optimum dynamic performance. System design basics. How to build a trick trunk amp rack. Ultimate install: Heavy duty system.

Chapter 5: Speakers—The Voice of your System.
How to choose the right speaker. How speakers work. Why you need different kinds of speakers. Speaker styles. Anatomy of a loudspeaker. How the specs relate to speaker performance. How ro use speaker sensitivity to help balance your system. Clip your amp, kill your speakers. How speaker impedance affects performance. How speaker position affects staging, imaging, and frequency response. Stereo imaging. The bottom line on bass. Speaker position and equalization. Four rules for mounting speakers. Ultimate install: High performance car stereo design at work.

Chapter 6: Car Audio Speaker Enclosures.
Setting the stage: locating the best sound. How to build kick-panel pods. How to build door panel pods. Basic instincts: how to build a fatter bottom end. Maximum SPL combination. To stuff or not to stuff. Conversation with a speaker designer. Computer simulations. Enclosure design and construction techniques. Constructing a sport-truck box.

Chapter 7: Wiring Basics—Connections, Terminals, and Cables.
How to match power cable gauge to power demand. How to route power and audio cables. Making the connection. Ground rules for noise free installations. Noise?!! We Don't Want No Stinking Noises!

Chapter 8: System Installations—Putting It All Together.
Orion/Eclipse high-dollar install. Best bang for your buck sound system.

High-Performance Car Stereo, How To Design and Install: The Ultimate Guide to High-Tech Mobile Entertainment Systems