When looking to upgrade your car’s existing speakers, you have many choices. It’s our job at Ask the Advisors to make your selection easier, thanks to over 28 years in the business and some pretty reliable brands that we offer.

When searching for replacement car speaker systems, always remember that this IS the most important link in your car audio systems chain, so invest wisely. Many of the brands you and I used to know and love- such as Fosgate, Boston, Polk and Infinity are not the same as they once were- now being cheaply manufactured overseas. You always want to shop for brands that provide great performance, reliability and value!

One such brand we are proud to offer is JL Audio.
(www.jlaudio.com)

JL Audio has been in the industry for over two decades and has consistently brought products to market that are reliable, great sounding and a solid value. One strong point to make in favor of JL Audio is that they are primarily a speaker and amplifier company- which means they can concentrate on these areas while other companies that offer products in all areas of car audio tend to offer less quality.

The Speakers:

JL Audio offers a full line of replacement car audio speaker systems to meet most budget and performance needs. Whether you’re simply replacing the OEM speakers or upgrading for improved performance, you’ll find a great solution within JL Audio’s line of car audio speakers.

Check out models including the “TR”, “C2”, “C3” and “C5” Series, which are available in sizes to fit any vehicle application. All of JL Audio’s speaker lines are available in Component and Coaxial designs and provide consistent performance.

JL Audio’s 5x 7 inch, 3.5 inch and 5 Inch OEM Replacement Speakers

JL Audio’s ”TR” series offers a great entry-level OEM replacement, while the “C2”, “C3” and “C5” systems provide significant upgrades in performance and sound quality. Best results are achieved with the higher end models when adding a power amplifier.

JL Audio brings more of its expertise to the table in the “C2”, “C3” and “C5” models, which incorporate design improvements including silk-dome tweeters, high performance basket/ motor designs and better crossover components.

JL Audio’s C-5 Component Speaker System

JL Audio continues to improve its product lineup and has some exciting items this year. With the newly introduced “C3” series, JL Audio has designed these speakers to be “convertible” so that the user can take advantage of the speaker’s quality regardless of whether it is mounted as a coaxial or component set-up in the vehicle.

JL Audio’s C-3 Convertible Speaker System

Whether you’re replacing speakers that have been in your car since day one or you’re looking for some serious performance capabilities, you’ll find the right product with JL Audio’s line of quality speakers.

Ask Chuck about JL Audio

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It’s getting to be that time of the year again, when you roll the “SS Beerfest” out from dry-dock and prepare for those weekend voyages.

Whether cruising the Intercoastal, offshore or hanging out at Peanut Island, you’ll want to have some nice tunes aboard- so I figured it might be time to explore the Marine Audio arena and provide some helpful advice when selecting your gear.

Looking at the Marine Audio market, you’ll quickly find a multitude of brands, which makes selecting the right stuff even more critical.

-Remember, this isn’t the inside of your F-150 or Accord…

When shopping for Marine Audio gear, you need to be aware of two factors.

HOW the product is designed for a marine environment and WHAT level of marine testing it has endured.

The “How”

In today’s “watered down” market, bringing a marine audio product to market can be fairly easy, if you cut corners. There are many manufacturers touting marine audio products that aren’t even marine grade products at all! In some cases, the manufacturer simply takes an existing car audio speaker or amplifier and merely “coats” the speaker cone or paints the speaker grill or amplifier cover in marine white.

Some brands offering Marine Audio include Alpine, Aquatic A/V, Clarion and Jensen and JL Audio.

The marine industry has set guidelines for electrical components, which covers everything from gauges to lights to propellers.

These guidelines help to determine the durability of any component under typical marine conditions- which are mainly salt-air and moisture.

The “Salt Spray” test; or ASTM-B117; is a standardized test method used to check corrosion resistance of coated samples. This is an accelerated corrosion test that produces a corrosive “attack” to the coated samples in order to predict durability in a marine environment. The appearance of corrosion in the form of oxides is evaluated after a period of time. Test duration depends on the corrosion resistance of the coating; the more corrosion resistant the coating is, the longer the period in testing without showing signs of corrosion.

Salt spray testing is popular because it is quick, well standardized and reasonably repeatable.

Salt-Fog Testing Equipment

While many manufacturers do not subject their products to this extreme testing, some of the more reliable brands do- and even go beyond the “accepted standards.”

JL Audio (www.jlaudio.com) is an example of one such brand that has remained at the forefront of marine audio technology and performance. The company has taken much of it’s existing car audio expertise and completely designed an entire marine line of speakers, subwoofers and power amplifiers that are second-to-none when it comes to durability and performance in the marine environment.

ALL of JL Audio’s Marine components are designed using robust materials able to withstand the toughest ocean environments: marine-grade stainless-steel fasteners, powder-coated aluminum amplifier chassis, solid-brass connectors, UV-resistant Centrex, polymer speaker baskets, and moisture-proof driver diaphragms.

JL Audio’s Marine Grade M770 Coaxial Speakers and M4500 4Channel Amplifier

The “What”

When selecting marine audio components for your boat, the last thing you want to do is sacrifice durability and performance for price.

If you compare the standards used for measuring durability and longevity of marine components in a salt-fog test, you will find that JL Audio has it’s own salt-fog testing facilities- AND- puts its products through advanced simulated testing equivalent to years in a marine environment.

In fact, JL Audio’s testing procedures EXCEED the typical industry standards BY A FACTOR OF 300%.

It is this commitment to quality that has set this line of marine audio gear apart from the competition since it cam to the market a few years ago.

JL Audio offers a complete line of power amplifiers in traditional design as well as it’s newly introduced HD Series amplifiers.

JL Audio’s M900/5 HD Series Five-Channel Marine Amplifier

The company also offers a full line of coaxial, component and subwoofer speaker systems- all available in various grill designs and either white or black finishes.

You will find that JL Audio components cost a bit more than the competition, but as always- you get what you pay for.

-And what you get is simply the best marine audio gear…period.

Ask Chuck about Marine Gear

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We get a lot of questions about speakers here, so just for fun I am going to cover a few of the very common ones, and perhaps dispel a myth or two while I am at it.

Myth Number 1)

I can buy speakers on the Internet or out of a van in the Publix parking lot and save a ton of money, and I hear they are just as good as the ones you sell. Ok, where do I start here?

First if a company only sells their speakers on the internet there is a very good reason.
THEY DO NOT SOUND GOOD!

Face it, if they made a good speaker they would sell them to stores like ours so we could compare them to other speakers. I know this is hard to believe but every vendor on the Internet is not looking out for your best interests! But they have a 30 day return promise you say. Yes they do; and do you know why they do? They do it because people that buy speakers on the Internet are lazy. They know you will not take the speakers to a Hi-Fi shop like ours to compare them to other speakers. They also know that you will not bother to pack them back up and take them to the UPS store and return them unless you really hate them, and with nothing to compare them to, you will probably just keep them.

So you end up with extremely mediocre speakers that you paid too much for. Do yourself a favor, go to a Hi-Fi shop and listen.

As for the van thing, I do not actually have to say anything about that do I?!?

Myth Number 2)

My friend told me that the teeny tiny little cute cubish speakers he just heard (or worse yet just bought) are just as good as the bigger speakers you sell. I have only 1 question for you, do you really believe this?

Let me start this by saying that if it were possible to build teeny tiny speakers that sounded great; every speaker company would do it. They do not build medium and large and even really – really big speakers just for fun. You see no matter how long you have been in the speaker business, and no matter how many degrees from big sounding schools you have on your wall; you CANNOT change physics. A very small speaker is not actually capable of re-producing some of the fundamental frequencies that are part of the music. It just is not physically possible. So if you ever actually compare the teeny tiny cute speakers next to a regular sized speaker; the teeny tiny one always sounds worse. If for some reason you do not feel that the laws of physics are reason enough to believe me please feel free to test me.

Go buy any cute tiny speaker you like and bring them into our shop. We will very happily set them up side by side with any speaker we sell at a similar price range, and blow you away! Just make sure the teeny tiny speaker salesperson has a real return guarantee so you can get your money back after you hear the difference and buy the better speakers from us.

Myth Number 3)

All decent speakers sound so close that I cannot even tell the difference. We hear this quite a lot, and I have only 1 response, you are very, very wrong. A speaker is probably the most important part of your Audio / Video system. A better speaker is also the best way to get real audible improvements for your dollar in the purchase of an Audio / Video system. Again I invite you to test me.

We have a set up in our showroom where you can very easily hear 3 speakers that all cost exactly the same amount compared side by side, We will also happily help you learn how to listen if you need a little help. But, believe me you will not need any help. So when you are ready to look into some new speakers come on in and we will discuss your needs and play the speakers that best fill them, and you can decide for yourself which ones you like the best.

Myth Number 4)

I need in wall speakers to make my wife/significant other happy and they are all pretty bad so it does not really matter what I get. This is really, really wrong. All of the speaker manufacturers we do business with know that a lot of folks choose in wall or in ceiling speakers because they fit the aesthetic of their room.

These companies B&W, Snell, Klipsch, Velodyne and JL Audio have gone out of their way to develop in wall and in ceiling solutions, including in wall sub woofers that sound great, in many cases just as good as their free-standing cousins. To do this has required some pretty dramatic improvements. Many of the speakers include integrated back boxes, and custom equalization to fit the environment.

So if you need in wall and in ceiling speakers let us know and we can guide you on your quest.

I am sure there are many more myths and questions, but these are the big ones.

For all the others call us or come by the shop and we will be happy to answer all of your questions and help you choose the speakers that suit your needs the best.

Ask Ron About Speakers

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]]> http://asktheadvisors.com/speakers/feed/ 0 http://asktheadvisors.com/speakerjungle/ http://asktheadvisors.com/speakerjungle/#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:27:21 +0000 ceuart http://asktheadvisors.com/?p=2464 Let’s face it…

The audio system that usually comes with your vehicle tends to lack a certain, well…I suppose you can fill in the blank with what comes to mind!

Today’s factory car audio systems are improved, incorporating multi-media radios, multi-channel amplifiers and even powered subwoofers. Despite all these available upgrades, most factory systems still lack the fidelity and definition that most of us are used to from our home audio counterparts. The weakest link in just about every factory system tends to be what should be the MOST IMPORTANT, the speakers!

When it comes time to replace your car speakers, you’ll find literally hundreds of brands and designs on the market- all touting themselves as the be-all end-all in speaker design and performance. The key here is to navigate through the jargon jungle and find the product that best suits your particular listening needs.

The players: Coaxial or Component?

Car audio speakers are available in two types of systems- Coaxial and Component systems.

Coaxial speakers are two or three-way designs with tweeter and mid/woofer sharing the same frame or platform. These are generally less costly and more flexible- as they are available in different sizes to fit any vehicle.

Coaxial speakers are simple in design and offer a good upgrade over the factory equivalent and utilize the latest in materials for better durability and performance.

JL Audio's C2 Series 5" x 7" Coaxial Speakers

Components (sometimes referred to as separates or splits) consist of a separate tweeter, mid-bass driver and passive crossover network.

(These speaker systems are also available in 3 Way configurations.)
Components offer increased performance and enable you to “raise” the soundstage in your vehicle, thus enhancing your listening experience.

This upgrade is also fairly easy to do in today’s vehicles, as many factory systems already have component speakers or locations ready for them.

The advantages of components include better separation of high and mid frequencies, more refined mid-bass response, smoother highs and the ability to “tune” your speakers by adjusting the individual level or sensitivity of the tweeter and midrange driver at the crossover.

Morel’s Dotech Ovation Component Speaker System

Differences and your ear:

When selecting your new speakers, always take into account the type of music you listen to!
Manufacturers utilize different materials in tweeter and woofer design which can mean enjoyment or ear fatigue, so choose wisely.

Tweeters composed of metallic alloys can be edgy or harsh compared to silk or poly materials- which result in different performance.

If you’re into Heavy Metal or Rap, go metallic!

And if Jazz, R&B or Classical is your taste, consider a soft-dome tweeter.

Regarding mid-bass drivers and woofers, technology has come a long way, with stiffer cone designs and larger voice-coils to handle more power as well as performance.

The final option- amplification:

If you’re replacing your tired factory speakers with coaxial or components, there is still room for improvement.

These upgraded speaker systems, while better sounding right out of the box, can perform even better with the addition of an aftermarket power amplifier.

The amplifier will bring out even more of what these great upgraded speakers are capable of and provide you with that sound that you’ve been missing!

Ask Chuck in Mobile Audio/Video

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