Manufacturing - Car Audio

Car Audio jargon

Head Units

Auto Blank Skip Function allowing a head unit to fast-forward or rewind past blank periods on a tape

Automatic Volume Control

Function allowing the volume to increase with the vehicle' s speed

Auto reverse

A feature of a cassette player where the direction of tape travel changes automatically

Autostore

Allows the user to automatically store the strongest stations as presets

Balance

Left/right balance control

EON

Enhanced Other Networks - advanced function that interrupts RDS bulletins from other local stations

Fader

Front/rear balance control

Full logic

Advanced auto reverse tape deck where fast forward is always forwards and rewind is always rewind

Intro scan

Plays the first 10 seconds of every track

Loudness

Boosts low frequencies, but at the expense of high frequencies

Noise reduction

Various methods for reducing the level of background noise, e.g. Dolby

PLL

Phase Locked Loop - keeps tuner from seeking stronger frequencies

Pre-amp

Controls the volume and tone, the output from which is fed to an amplifier

Presets

Stations that can be stored for recall

PTY

Programme Type - allows stations to be grouped by type (pop, rock, classical, news etc.)

RDS

Radio Data System - Only available on FM, it displays the station name, delivers traffic information and switches to news broadcasts, can display the time and can find the best frequency for the station you are listening to

TP/TA

Traffic Programme/Traffic Announcement

Amplifiers & Crossovers:-

Bandpass

A filter that transmits a particular frequency band and attenuates frequencies that lie on both sides of that band.

Bridgeable to Mono

Function allowing two outputs on a stereo amplifier to be combined to produce a more powerful mono signal

Crossover

A filter which is able to separate out high and low frequencies to allow them to be sent to different amps or speakers

Gain

Signal amplification, expressed in decibels (dB)

MOSFET

Amplifier power supply designed for improved performance

OHM

The measurement of electrical resistance

PMPO

Peak Power or Maximum Power Output that can be sustained for a short time from an amplifier. Not generally regarded as the industry standard.

Pre-Amp Output (pre-out)

An output on the head unit enabling an amplifier to be added

RMS

Root Mean Square - the benchmark for measuring an amplifier's output over a sustained period of time

Signal To Noise Ratio

Ratio of background hiss to the full output power

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Speakers:-

Bass

Low audio frequencies

Bass Reflex

See Ported

Coaxial

Speakers with separate cones within the same unit which give better sound quality than full range speakers

Components

Separate speakers with a crossover that are generally regarded to give the best sound quality as they can improve the Staging

Cone

The sound-making part of a loudspeaker that moves back and forth in the air

Driver

Another word for a speaker

Dual cone

Speakers with two cones, usually one glued to the other

Enclosure

An enclosure designed to improve the performance of a loudspeaker - also known as a box

Free-Air

A type of subwoofer which works best in free air, using the boot as an enclosure

Full Range

Single cone speakers that produce the full range of frequencies

High Pass Filter

Filter that removes the lower frequencies from the signal and is often used with a tweeter. Also known as a capacitor or bass blocker.

Low Pass Filter

Filter that removes the higher frequencies from the signal and is often used with a subwoofer

Midrange

As the name suggests, frequencies in the middle of the frequency range

3-way

A speaker system made up of three different types of drivers

Tweeters

Speakers that reproduce the higher frequencies (treble), they are generally fairly small

2-way

A speaker system with two types of drivers (see also COAXIAL)

Sub Bass

The 'thumping rumble' in a system

Subwoofers

Large speakers designed to produce the low frequencies, designed to be used in a cabinet, tube or free-air application

Voicecoil

A small coil of wire positioned close to a magnetic field in the speaker. When electrical current is fed into the voicecoil, the coil will move back and forth. When the cone of a speaker is fastened to the voice coil, the cone will move.

Miscellaneous:-

DIN

Stands for German Industrial Standard and describes a standard dash slot for a head unit or a multi-pin connector used in instead of a RCA connector

DSP

Digital Sound (Signal) Processor - essentially a graphic equaliser with presets, which allows the user to programme particular tonal presets

Hertz

The measurement of frequency, usually written as Hz or kHz (kilohertz)

MDF

Medium Density Fibreboard - used for building bass enclosures and the like

RCA jacks

The coaxial connectors used to link components

SPL

Sound Pressure Level - the amount of volume produced in decibels

Staging

The direction that the listener believes the sound is coming from

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