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Alpine Electronics was founded in 1967 in Tokyo, Japan as part of the Japanese Alps Electric Co, which jointed with Motorola for the new name in a new country. It currently sells navigation and audio systems for cars. Alpine, although currently not the leading company in the car audio industry, has produced many lines of successful car subwoofers, all under $300 (with the exception of a couple of lines). The looks of the subwoofers are of note. Customers have reported that Alpine subwoofers are made so both sides look fantastic. One has even rated the clean look as a weakness, as a simple installation “will not visually do it justice”.

One of the more popular lines in the Alpine company, the Type-R series is also the largest: it has seven subwoofers compared to the three or four the other lines have. The Type-R series is composed of 10-inch, 12-inch, and 15-inch woofers. Alpine has really packed a whole lot into those inches, because there’s power, yet it doesn’t hurt like other subwoofers that sacrifice sound quality for strength. The two 15 inch products in the Type-R line are the only ones priced over $300, but that’s not to say they aren’t worth it. The entire line is priced as it should be, because high quality 15-inch subwoofers are actually quite difficult to find; most tend to stick to 10 and 12 inches. An owner of an SWR-1242D subwoofer (12 inches, part of the Type-R series) said that sound could be heard from the car from 2 miles away. He parked his car in a gas station and even made the shelves shake. You can get the 10-inch Type-R series for $200, the 12-inch for $220, and the 15-inch for $400. Continue reading ‘Alpine Car Subwoofers: Quality And Affordability’ »

Rockford Fosgate, founded in 1973, used to be one of the leading companies in the car audio industry. Since then, it has fallen to simply become a major brand, letting their competitors take the reigns as the more innovative brands on the market. Rockford Fosgate focuses on amplifiers, but sell a variety of different audio equipment, whether it belongs on a car or not.

Mitsubishi recently began using the Fosgate sound systems in their new models, despite the lack of industry status that Rockford Fosgate as taken on. In any case, this just proves that their products have not fallen off of the shelves in any way, and that they will continue to be a reliable brand. Continue reading ‘Rockford Fosgate T112d4 Subwoofer: Worth It?’ »

Hifonics was first set up in 1981, November to be exact. Helmut Stieglitz, the man behind the first trades of Hifonics, decided on a very interesting concept that would put the first faces to the Hifonics company. Instead of using simple number and letter combinations to denote series and models, Hifonics borrows the names of Greek, Teutonic, Roman, and Egyptian gods to use in order to create a memorable name that wouldn’t be confused (like, say the 700 series versus 800 series). This has certainly paid off, because some series, like the Hifonics Zeus subwoofer series, are easy to remember. Hifonics is now owned by Maxxsonics, which continues to win numerous SPL wars.

Team Maxxsonics, as mentioned, consistently places in the top rankings for their sound pressure levels. They have won so many competitions using their strategies and products. As Hifonics has fallen into the hands of the Maxxsonics team, the company will absolutely continue to produce better car audio equipment aimed to pack as much power into a consumer model (rolling around in a competition car wouldn’t be too fun, some of them can’t even drive!) as possible while maintaining a low cost to make things affordable. Mr. Stieglitz certainly picked the best team to hand over his creations to, because we’re going to see some good things come out of Hifonics in the future. Continue reading ‘Hifonics Zeus Subwoofer: A Value-priced Subwoofer’ »

In any car audio system, the subwoofer must absolutely be present. It might not sound important at first, but if you remove the subwoofer component, there’s no bass left. A subwoofer by definition is a loudspeaker dedicated to producing low frequency sounds. Have you ever heard the booming beat screaming from a car? That’s the subwoofer at work. Of course, it’s turned past what the average car owner would have it at.

The top companies you’ll want to look for if you want to upgrade your car subwoofer are JL Audio, MTX Audio, and Kicker. These three are leading the car audio industry, all with early origins. JL Audio’s W7 line is one of the most advanced and most powerful subwoofer lines available on the market (pricey, but well worth it if you care about the quality). MTX Audio has released an amazing 60-inch subwoofer that holds the record for the size. They also have the largest consumer subwoofer that measures at 22 inches. Kicker’s L7 seems to be the best from the Kicker lineup, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be. Continue reading ‘Car Stereo Subwoofers: An Essential Car Audio Component’ »

The market for insurance in the US is somewhat unusual. In most every other line of business, companies are allowed to compete with each other across state lines. This helps to keep pricing and the quality of the product to higher levels and protect the consumer. But, the insurance industry is licensed and regulated state-by-state. There’s no such thing as a federal insurance policy. You have to buy a policy written by a company licensed in the state where you live. This is frustrating because, if you live near the border, your friends and colleagues at work probably tell you how little they pay or complain you have the better deals. Either way, it’s not very fair. Worse, the companies often decide not to set up in all fifty states, but pick and choose where they will operate. The result is that many states only have a small number of licensed insurance companies. Because there is no real competition, their premium rates tend to be high. This produces a big political divide. In Republican states, this is the free market at work and no intervention is necessary. If you do not like this, move to another state which has lower rates. In Democratic states, there is more interest in protecting consumer interests. Some states have intervened in their local markets to introduce “managed competition”. Needless to say, this has outraged the insurance industry and the insurance agents who survive on the commission earned from the insurers. There have been heated debates between the lawmakers. Where the local Department or Office of Insurance has produced new rules, they have been referred to the local courts. Who would have thought helping millions of average people to save money on their premium rates would produce so much heat.

Anyway, the latest state to surface in this national debate is Massachusetts. In some ways, this state is also slightly nonstandard because of the dominance of the local agents who handle about 80% of the insurance business. Agents have more to lose if the markets are opened up to competition (and sites like this offer a direct line to insurance companies without having to go through an agent). Not surprisingly, they have been the fastest to the courts in the fight to protect their income. We have just had the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court on two rule changes made by the state’s Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes (she has since retired to a university post). Let’s start with the effect of the move to open up the state to competition. Before the rule changes, there were nineteen insurers writing auto insurance policies. Twelve more companies have now entered the markets. In most cases, premium rates have been stable as insurers cut their costs and accepted a reduced profit. But agents have been hit because the opportunities to earn commission have been reduced.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has supported the reforms, finding the effect of managed competition is sufficiently beneficial that it should represent the prevailing public policy in the state. Put another way, the judges think the many consumers should pay less rather than the few corporate officers and stockholders earn excessive profits. Because one of the agent’s automatic rights to a commission has disappeared, they will be looking to recover their losses in other ways. There are two morals to this story. The first is that, if you want to find cheap auto insurance, support the lawmakers in those states who promise to introduce more competition into the car insurance market. Secondly, always get your auto insurance quotes through a site like this and avoid agents who earn commission.

Rockford Fosgate, founded in 1973, used to be one of the leading companies in the car audio industry. Since then, it has fallen to simply become a major brand, letting their competitors take the reigns as the more innovative brands on the market. Rockford Fosgate focuses on amplifiers, but sell a variety of different audio equipment, whether it belongs on a car or not.

Mitsubishi recently began using the Fosgate sound systems in their new models, despite the lack of industry status that Rockford Fosgate as taken on. In any case, this just proves that their products have not fallen off of the shelves in any way, and that they will continue to be a reliable brand. Continue reading ‘Rockford Fosgate T112d4 Subwoofer: Worth It?’ »

Hifonics was first set up in 1981, November to be exact. Helmut Stieglitz, the man behind the first trades of Hifonics, decided on a very interesting concept that would put the first faces to the Hifonics company. Instead of using simple number and letter combinations to denote series and models, Hifonics borrows the names of Greek, Teutonic, Roman, and Egyptian gods to use in order to create a memorable name that wouldn’t be confused (like, say the 700 series versus 800 series). This has certainly paid off, because some series, like the Hifonics Zeus subwoofer series, are easy to remember. Hifonics is now owned by Maxxsonics, which continues to win numerous SPL wars.

Continue reading ‘Hifonics Zeus Subwoofer: A Value-priced Subwoofer’ »

In any car audio system, the subwoofer must absolutely be present. It might not sound important at first, but if you remove the subwoofer component, there’s no bass left. A subwoofer by definition is a loudspeaker dedicated to producing low frequency sounds. Have you ever heard the booming beat screaming from a car? That’s the subwoofer at work. Of course, it’s turned past what the average car owner would have it at.

The top companies you’ll want to look for if you want to upgrade your car subwoofer are JL Audio, MTX Audio, and Kicker. These three are leading the car audio industry, all with early origins. JL Audio’s W7 line is one of the most advanced and most powerful subwoofer lines available on the market (pricey, but well worth it if you care about the quality). MTX Audio has released an amazing 60-inch subwoofer that holds the record for the size. They also have the largest consumer subwoofer that measures at 22 inches. Kicker’s L7 seems to be the best from the Kicker lineup, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be. Continue reading ‘Car Stereo Subwoofers: An Essential Car Audio Component’ »

Alpine Electronics was founded in 1967 in Tokyo, Japan as part of the Japanese Alps Electric Co, which jointed with Motorola for the new name in a new country. It currently sells navigation and audio systems for cars. Alpine, although currently not the leading company in the car audio industry, has produced many lines of successful car subwoofers, all under $300 (with the exception of a couple of lines). The looks of the subwoofers are of note. Customers have reported that Alpine subwoofers are made so both sides look fantastic. One has even rated the clean look as a weakness, as a simple installation “will not visually do it justice”.

One of the more popular lines in the Alpine company, the Type-R series is also the largest: it has seven subwoofers compared to the three or four the other lines have. The Type-R series is composed of 10-inch, 12-inch, and 15-inch woofers. Alpine has really packed a whole lot into those inches, because there’s power, yet it doesn’t hurt like other subwoofers that sacrifice sound quality for strength. The two 15 inch products in the Type-R line are the only ones priced over $300, but that’s not to say they aren’t worth it. The entire line is priced as it should be, because high quality 15-inch subwoofers are actually quite difficult to find; most tend to stick to 10 and 12 inches. An owner of an SWR-1242D subwoofer (12 inches, part of the Type-R series) said that sound could be heard from the car from 2 miles away. He parked his car in a gas station and even made the shelves shake. You can get the 10-inch Type-R series for $200, the 12-inch for $220, and the 15-inch for $400. Continue reading ‘Alpine Car Subwoofers: Quality And Affordability’ »

The JL Audio 8W7 is the 8-inch version of JL Audio’s W7 line. The W7 series is JL Audio’s most recent car subwoofer release and is known as the most technologically advanced out of any of the JL Audio products. The entire line features six new, patented technologies never before seen in the lineup, mostly because none of the previous products, remade in a second version or not, can even relate; JL Audio built the W7 series from scratch and not from a previous model. The W7 series focuses on sound quality and volume at the same time; that is, JL Audio wants to see how loud they can turn the party up without having to sacrifice the sound.

The 8-inch version has drawn numerous positive reviews from car audio experts and leading organizations. Car Sound and Performance calls it the “best damn 8-inch subwoofer ever made”. It’s small, yet powerful, and the 8-inch subwoofer has never been made so well in so long. It’s really no wonder that it’s getting rave reviews. JL Audio has certainly taken advantage of the situation and brought the little ones to own the bigger ones. Continue reading ‘Jl Audio 8w7 Review’ »