heads

Today's Web clip is a quick primer on how to install a new car stereo head unit into your vehicle. (This of course being that you already have or know how to uninstall your factory deck, but that's a different story for a different time). There's not a whole lot I can say here that isn't demonstrated in this video clip, but to give you an overview of what can be seen here, I'll give you the rundown: installation of the shell in which the deck fits, putting in the ISO connectors to the back … Read more

Recently I've been using this video blog to cover topics related to car audio, and on Thursday I presented a video that touched upon the importance of wiring in the implementation of any car stereo system. In today's video we get a broad overview of wiring your car stereo head unit for use in a new car audio system.

There are certain considerations involved in determining the wiring of your car stereo, and this video covers several of them. Among the considerations covered here are head unit involved, options (iPods, satellite, Bluetooth), making sure your aftermarket harness can … Read more

So you want to upgrade your current car stereo to a phat sound machine with specialty or aftermarket parts? Beyond your personal tastes and desires for items like a head unit, speakers, and woofers, you should probably be aware that you'll need to upgrade your battery and alternator; most production vehicles' electrical systems are not designed to run high-power aftermarket audio equipment. In fact, most vehicles' electrical power range lies between 600 and 1,200 watts--not much for a big, loud, fancy car stereo.

Once you've decided what exact pieces you want to install as your car stereo … Read more

In case you didn't know, my articles this week are all about car audio. Today, we start at square one with picking out your most basic components for your car stereo: the head unit and speakers.

Rich Richards of Utah-based Innovative Home and Car Audio explains some basic things to look for and consider when designing your car audio system. Rich discusses the importance of getting a deck with high-voltage output through the preamp for better sound, the benefit of component speakers (midrange and tweeter) being as close together as possible, coaxial rear speakers, amplifiers, wiring, fuses, and everything … Read more

Do you want an electric car? Survey says...GM turns the entire windshield into a head up display, hacker bricks 100 cars remotely, the first Android -based car is coming, and we rough up the smooth yet muscular Jaguar XFR.

• Jaguar XFR review

• Consumers intrigued by electric cars

• Navigon lets you buy GPS in pieces, like the old days

• Car dealer's ex-employee accused of remote disabling 100 cars

• Aha Radio app streams more than just music in car

It's not often I come across something on the Web that makes me cringe, but it happened earlier Wednesday when I spotted a sculpture of Steve Jobs' head made out of mozzarella cheese.

The sculpture (if we can call it that) was created by "Ken" over at The Cooks' Den. Dubbed Steve Jobs Cheese Head, the Apple CEO's dome is made from two blocks of mozzarella cheese, ground pepper (for the hair, people, c'mon!), and glasses to finish off the look.

Ken calls himself a "Mac fanboy" and plans to be in line … Read more

Automaker GM, working with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Southern California, is developing a new head-up display that outlines the road and potential hazards with lasers.

The system would use sensor technology such as infrared cameras, currently used for night vision by Mercedes-Benz and BMW, to look ahead when visibility is poor on dark nights or foggy days. When the cameras see cars, animals, pedestrians, or any other obstacle, lasers would outline them on the windshield. Similarly, the system could see the road ahead when the driver can't, and paint the edges of the road on the … Read more

This was my third Head-Fi "meet," and at each one I've met lots of great people sharing a common passion for hi-fi. I'm not sure why, but Head-Fi members are a lot younger than most audiophiles. You see a lot of under-30 members, and it seems like under-40 Head-Fi-ers are in the majority! The weather outside on Saturday in Queens, NY, was frightful, but inside the vibes were warm and inviting. This event was hosted by my friend, Aaron Kovics (Head-Fi username Immtbiker).

Head-Fi meets gather Internet friends at a place, in this case a hotel, where they can listen to each other's headphones and headphone amplifiers. Some amps are home-built designs, some are commercial units. And unlike regular hi-fi shows, you can listen to what you want, with your own music, as loud as you want.

I met one guy with a set of vintage Grado Signature HP-2 headphones, probably from the early 1990s. They had a very dynamic, bold sound, and a special something I can't quite put my finger on. I'm a big fan of John Grado's current line of headphones (and phono cartridges), and I sold a lot of those early Grados (designed by John's uncle, Joseph Grado) when I worked as a salesman at a high-end audio store.

As I recall the original Grado headphones sold for $400 or $500, but used ones now go for $1,300 to $2,000! That's what I love about the best high-end gear; it sounds amazing, it's built to last, and it goes up in value! Think anybody will want to buy a 30-year-old iPod for a premium price in 2040 to actually listen to? I doubt it. … Read more

Plugging your headphones into your computer or receiver's headphone jack won't produce the best possible sound. Why? The embedded headphone "amp" is probably just a good-enough chip amp. It may sound acceptable, but nothing like what you'd hear from a properly designed dedicated headphone amplifier.

Sure, if you have a set of $50 or $100 headphones, it doesn't make a lot of sense to drop $400 on a dedicated headphone amplifier.

But if you have something closer to the sort of world-class headphones I write about from time to time, you'd be foolish not to take the plunge. You've already made a substantial investment in headphones, but you're not getting all the sound quality you paid for.

Head-Direct's EF5 Desktop Tube Hybrid Amp ($399) is a two-box affair; one chassis is the power supply, the other is the amp itself. Each unit is solidly built and fairly compact: just 4.33 inches wide, 1.97 inches high, and 10.63 inches deep.

The amp uses a single (RCA 12AU7) vacuum tube. The amp takes about a minute to come to life after turning it on, and when the top panel's blue LEDs light up you know it's ready to play. Plug the headphones into the 6.3mm jack, adjust the volume, and you're good to go.

I listened to the EF5 with a lot of headphones, everything from my Grado RS-1, Sennheiser HD-580, Monster Turbines, Jerry Harvey JH13s, and Head-Direct's very own HE-5.

The Drive-By Truckers' excellent "Live From Austin TX" CD had tremendous presence and impact. Patterson Hood's straight from the heart vocals really cut through, and ditto for the raucous guitars. Sweet!… Read more