Coaxial
Junior Member
I have been out of car audio for a few years now. As I am getting interested in it again and looking at some of the current products, I see they are now making class D amps capable of full range output, which was not possible the last time I did any reading on the subject.
I see several manufacturers are making smaller amps now too. There are several with outputs in the 30-40 rms per channel range. Why has this came into being? When I left the audio world a few years ago, 50 rms per channel was about as low as most amps were made. The power went up from there. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see it. For myself, I plan to keep my stock deck and just add new speakers, but an amp might be necessary for them to have enough power. I drive a midsized truck with limited space, and also I don't need 100 rms per speaker anyway. A small 4 channel will be great.
Also, it seems that head units have become nearly as smart as my smart phone itself, capable of interacting with it, playing stored music, running apps, backup cameras, and more. I have to say I'll be the odd man out where that is concerned. My only interest is to put in a CD and listen to the songs on it, then switch to another one for something different. Maybe, just maybe, I'd be into a bluetooth connectivity for hands free calling while driving, since my factory system has this and I wouldn't want to lose it after having had the experience.
I see pricing has come down some as well. There are $70 decks now with more and better features than the $200 decks from just a few years ago. Speaker pricing seems to be close to the same dollar amounts but some of the speakers seem improved design wise. I see more of them have anti-resonate baskets now. I never had problems with the tried and true steel baskets, that I knew of, but it's still interesting to see the thought that goes into development of the products.
What else is new in the audio world, development wise, in the last 6-7 years?
I see several manufacturers are making smaller amps now too. There are several with outputs in the 30-40 rms per channel range. Why has this came into being? When I left the audio world a few years ago, 50 rms per channel was about as low as most amps were made. The power went up from there. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see it. For myself, I plan to keep my stock deck and just add new speakers, but an amp might be necessary for them to have enough power. I drive a midsized truck with limited space, and also I don't need 100 rms per speaker anyway. A small 4 channel will be great.
Also, it seems that head units have become nearly as smart as my smart phone itself, capable of interacting with it, playing stored music, running apps, backup cameras, and more. I have to say I'll be the odd man out where that is concerned. My only interest is to put in a CD and listen to the songs on it, then switch to another one for something different. Maybe, just maybe, I'd be into a bluetooth connectivity for hands free calling while driving, since my factory system has this and I wouldn't want to lose it after having had the experience.
I see pricing has come down some as well. There are $70 decks now with more and better features than the $200 decks from just a few years ago. Speaker pricing seems to be close to the same dollar amounts but some of the speakers seem improved design wise. I see more of them have anti-resonate baskets now. I never had problems with the tried and true steel baskets, that I knew of, but it's still interesting to see the thought that goes into development of the products.
What else is new in the audio world, development wise, in the last 6-7 years?