Out of all 88 car audio terms, how many do you know?
- 2 Channel – An amplifier with two channels.
- 2-Way – Two speakers in a component system.
- 3-Way – Three speakers in a component system.
- 4 Channel – An amplifier with four channels.
- 4th Order Bandpass – An enclosure in which a sealed section is on one side of the subwoofer and a ported section is on the other.
- 6th Order Bandpass – An enclosure in which there are two ported sections on both sides of the subwoofer.
- Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) – A lead-acid battery that contains an electrolyte suspended in micro-glass fleece, as opposed to freely flooding the plates.
- Active – When speakers are connected directly to an amplifier and the crossover on the amplifier is used or a digital sound processor is used.
- Alternator (Alt) – A generator of electrical power in a car that produces an alternating current. It is a major component of the vehicle’s charging system.
- Ampere – The SI base unit of electrical current.
- A-Pillar – The frontmost portion of the car, typically where tweeters are installed.
- Band Pass – A combination of a low pass and high pass in which frequencies between a certain range are allowed to pass.
- Bandwidth – A range of frequencies within a given band.
- Bass Boost – Enhancement of low-frequency sound in a recording.
- Battery – A container consisting of one or more cells, in which chemical energy is converted into electricity and used as a source of power.
- B-Pillar – Portion of the car that is behind the front seats, typically where a wall is installed.
- Bridged – Process of combining a pair of channels in an amplifier to reduce resistance or impedance of the amp.
- Capacitors – A device used to store an electric charge, consisting of one or more pairs of conductors separated by an insulator.
- Circuit – A closed path that allows electricity to flow from one point to another.
- Class A – Amplifier that uses all of the audio signal input, all of the time.
- Class A/B – Amplifier that uses technology from both classes a and b.
- Class B – Amplifier that uses two output devices that handle conducting signals alternately.
- Class D – Amplifier that works by switching their output devices “on” and “off”.
- Clipping – Form of distortion that limits a signal once it exceeds a threshold.
- Coaxial – Combination of a mid-range speaker and tweeter to form one speaker.
- Coil – Wire wrapped around the former that reacts with the stationary magnet to move the former.
- Component – Speaker and tweeter are separate from one another.
- Copper Clad Aluminum (CCA) – An electrical conductor (wire) composed of an inner aluminum core and outer copper cladding.
- C-Pillar – Portion of the car that is behind the back seats.
- Crossover – An electronic device that is wired between the amplifier and speaker to ensure that bass frequencies are sent to bass speakers and treble frequencies are sent to treble speakers.
- Current – The movement of electrons through a circuit from the source and back to the source.
- Decibel (dB) – A unit to measure the intensity of sound.
- Deutch Industri Normen (DIN) – The size opening that a radio fits into.
- Digital Multimeter (DMM) – Device that allows you to measure voltage, resistance, current, etc.
- Digital Signal Processor (DSP) – A circuit that transforms/processes a digital audio signal to enhance the sound quality.
- Distortion – An undesired change in the waveform of an electrical signal
- Distribution Block – A convenient way to distribute power from a single input source to multiple outputs.
- Double Din – Size opening that a radio fits into that is approximately 4 inches high and 7 inches wide.
- Dual Voice Coil – A speaker design in which two lengths of wire are wrapped around the former, has a double positive and negative terminal.
- Equalizer – Manipulates frequencies, allowing you to boost or decrease certain frequency ranges to modify or enhance sound quality.
- Former – A cylinder that accepts amplifier current, being moved upwards or downwards.
- Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) – Large and high-definition way that information is stored for an audio track.
- Full Range – A signal that goes 20 to 20000 hertz.
- Gain – Determines the strength/sensitivity of the signal.
- Gauge – The thickness or size of the wire, the smaller the gauge the thicker and larger the wire.
- Head Unit – Source device in the dash of a vehicle that plays signals.
- Hertz – The SI unit of frequency, equal to one cycle per second occurring with a sound wave.
- High Level – Speaker-level input.
- High Pass – Allows signals above a specific frequency to pass.
- In Phase – When subwoofers are wired correctly and move in the same direction in sync.
- Infinite Baffle – Baffle that houses subwoofers with the trunk space serving as the enclosure.
- Lead-Acid – A secondary battery in which the electrodes are plates or grids of lead immersed in dilute sulfuric acid. The anode is coated with lead dioxide and the cathode with spongy lead.
- Level – The volume or loudness of something.
- Lithium-Ion – A secondary battery in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge and back when charging.
- Low Level – RCA level input.
- Low Pass – Allows signals below a specific frequency to pass.
- Mid-Range Speaker – A loudspeaker component designed to produce frequencies between 250 to 2000 hertz.
- Monoblock – An amplifier with one channel.
- Ohm – The SI unit of electrical resistance, expressing the resistance in a circuit transmitting a current of one ampere when subjected to a potential difference of one volt.
- Out of Phase – When a subwoofer is wired incorrectly and moves in the opposite direction or out of sync with other subwoofers as a result.
- Oxygen-Free Copper (OFC) – An electrical conductor (wire) in which oxygen content is removed from the copper to improve its conductivity.
- Parallel – A closed circuit where the current divides into two or more paths before coming back together to complete the full circuit, devices are in constant contact with the main circuit pathway.
- Passive – When a crossover is utilized.
- Phase – Vibration of air.
- Ported – An enclosure in which the internal airspace is not completely isolated from the outside environment, instead it is purposefully ported to the outside environment.
- Real-Time Analyzer – Measures frequency response output of a sound system.
- Root Mean Square (RMS) – Signifies the size of a signal.
- Sealed – An enclosure in which the internal airspace is completely isolated from the outside environment.
- Series – A closed circuit where the current follows one path, devices are connected in a continuous row along the circuit loop.
- Short – An accidental path created in a circuit, generating a connection where one did not exist before.
- Single Din – Size opening that a radio fits into that is approximately 2 inches high and 7 inches wide.
- Single Voice Coil – A speaker design in which one length of wire is wrapped around the former, has a single positive and negative terminal.
- Slope – Sometimes referred to roll off, how quickly a frequency falls off.
- Sound Deadening – Prevents vibrations inside of the vehicle and dampens noises outside of the vehicle.
- Sound Pressure Level (SPL) – The measure of the pressure of a sound.
- Sound Quality (SQ) – Characteristics of sound that allow the ear to distinguish sounds that have the same pitch and loudness.
- Spider – A flexible ring that controls the movement of the cone and keeps the voice coil center.
- Staging – Replicating the spatial aspects within a track.
- Strapped – Wiring two amplifiers together to achieve the power of both amps combined.
- Subsonic – Traveling at a velocity below that of sound typically refers to low range frequencies.
- Subwoofer – A loudspeaker component designed to reproduce low bass frequencies.
- Surround – Flexible ring that supports the front of the cone, securing it to the frame while still giving the cone the ability to move forward and backward.
- Time Alignment – Sometimes called time delay, delay of drivers so that sound from both sides reaches the listener at the exact same time.
- Tuning – Devices such as crossovers and digital sound processors are being adjusted for optimal sound.
- Tweeter – A loudspeaker designed to reproduce high frequencies.
- Voltage (V) – The rate at which energy is drawn from a source that produces a flow of electricity in a circuit, expressed in volts.
- Wall – Enclosure built behind the front seats of a vehicle that takes up the entire back seat (b-pillar), providing more air space.
- Watts RMS – The continuous power output of an amplifier or continuous power handling of speakers.
Car Audio Terms you MUST Know
comments (0)