W7 is incredibly awesome. The subwoofer has been described as “Tight”. We would like to add “heavy”. It is not only physically heavy but also technologically heavy. With 6 patents to its name, this monster is the flagship of JL Audio as well as other brands of equal caliber. The patents are in Overall Surround (the large surround allows extended excursion without sacrificing the cone area), W-Cone (a unique cone assembly that provides torsional rigidity maintaining voice coil alignment at the suspension limit), Floating Cone Attach Method (a cone attachment method to the voice coil for better excursion and dynamic voice coil alignment), Plateau-Reinforced Spider Attachment (an extension of the VRC technology that relieves stress from the spider material at high excursion) , Radially Cross Drilled Pole Piece (an innovative venting system that enhances thermal dissipation and power handling by directing air flow behind the voice coil) and Massive Forced Air Cooled Aluminum Alloy Frame (an excellent basket design that delivers cool air through slots directly above the top plate to the voice coil). In plain language, JL Audio knows its business and this monster really bites.

At the last CAR + SOUND Show in Sinsheim, Canton moves with its new line up of 2 way and 3 way real hifi quality system. The use of high quality rapid pulse aluminum woofers and midranges coupled with aluminum-manganese tweeter dome provides optimum reproduction quality of natural, precise and unadulterated sound performance. Its made in Germany claim has inadvertently pitted itself against the more renown MB Quart in both cosmetic looks and sound quality since there are only small differences in their retail prices. There are no "official" reviews / tests on these speakers in any magazines yet. There are however feedbacks from installers and end-users that Canton is ahead in getting the "thumbs up". Reasons are plentiful including but not limited to better cone material, better crossover components, better speaker construction, more versatile in application and no fakes (see - MB Quart -Fakes Available).

MB Quart has been a formidable player in the car audio industry for a long time. It went down on its knees twice. The MB Quart brand is with Maxxsonics, USA now.

In the past few months, retailers are carrying different series of MB Quart speakers along with a new GermanMaestro coming from different importers.



ar and has to be propped-up by Rockford Inc. During the “turbulence” months, fake DSD 216 and DSC 216 have been making their rounds in Asia. Could this be the primary reason for the substantial fall in prices of MB Quart speakers ? Some MB Quart die-hards swear though that the quality has indeed fallen. This is a clear departure from their claim – Expect The Best in various media advertisements. An urgent “cleaning” of the markets is needed or a later “resurrection” of brand image is the order of the day.

Status is recognized as a home loudspeaker manufacturer in Denmark. Its foray into the car audio industry should come as a surprise since car audio industry is really the killing field. Status is probably aware of this fact. Its products so far include 6x9” 3 way triaxial speaker and 6.5” 2 way component system speaker in the SRT (Status Road Taboo) series and 6.5” 2 way component system speaker in the SVX (Status Vortex) series. Status has “admitted” that it is really a taboo to talk about its products as the blood red woofer will be the bloodbath of the competition. It also expect strong vortex in the competition of its class. A quick check of the products should give comfort to those who are budget conscious. Perhaps, this “gives more at affordable prices” strategy would win some supporters. Let’s give Status the benefit of time.

Just as the time spent travelling on the road is on the increase, so are our requirements from the car and its interior. Apart from improvements on engine performance and refinement, car handling and ride comfort, a high quality audio system is now recognised as being just as important. High performance music reproduction from a quality system in your home is what a sound system in a car has to match.

Designing a high-performance sound system for a car interior is far more complex and challenging compared to the requirements for a normal domestic system designed for a living room. Besides meeting the most basic objective - sound quality - the system must deal with other considerations, such as extreme temperature variations, strong mechanical vibrations and greatly varying levels of ambient noise.

With the specifically designed range of car speakers you can enjoy Dynaudio´s legendary performance when on the move too. Using all the characteristic Dynaudio hallmark technologies, the car loudspeakers fit the standard speaker mounting locations for a wide range of vehicles, although often the speakers are employed in elaborate High-End car installations.

Besides the after-market Dynaudio car speakers, you can opt for a car that comes factory-fitted with a Dynaudio Sound System. Achieving a truly involving sound experience is only possible through perfect integration and tailoring (both acoustically and aesthetically) of the system. This requires involvement from the earliest stages of the car design; a major departure from the standard after-thought systems commonly found in most other vehicles.

As early as 1996, the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo was the first in understanding and adapting Dynaudio´s integrated approach, with Volkswagen soon following. Both car makers now offer Dynaudio Sound Systems with some of the models in their ranges.

Across the world, the inventory of unsold new vehicles accumulating at dealerships and on storage lots spells the doom and gloom of the auto industry.

Plummeting demand brought about by the global financial tsunami, the slowing of economy and the rise of job loss and retrenchment are devastating factors for not only the carmakers but also the countries they operate in.

Around the world, from Toyota, Honda and Nissan, Peugeot, BMW and Mercedes Benz, Kia and Hyundai; from South Korea, Japan and Thailand, USA, Italy and Germany, carmakers are cutting their productions and laying off workers by thousands.

So, what ails the industry ?

It probably started with the skyrocketing of fuel prices, followed by the financial tsunami, the falling of companies and banks and financial houses tightening of credits.

Car prices have plunged and fuel prices have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly 2 years. Potential buyers are not visiting the car showrooms just yet. There is still a need to convince the banks and finance houses to extend the credit.

The portable GPS market has virtually exploded in the last few years. Millions of people - worlwide have finally traded the folded maps and street directory in the glove compartment for a handy Global Positioning System unit. The GPS navigation unit can help you reach your destination with turn-by-turn visual and audio instructions. It also offers lots of relevant points of interest, such as restaurants, gas stations, hotels, ATMs and tourist attractions. If you get lost, the device will recalculate how to get back on track.


Most common GPS devices that are sold include mobile phones, watches, built-in GPS car head units and portable GPS.


Shopping for a GPS device can be quite an overwhelming experience. Prices of GPS devices vary widely from the no frills GPS to the feature-packed ones.

There are however, common features that are essential to look for in buying a GPS.
These are :-


· 400 MHz ARM9 CPU and GPS Receiver
The bare minimum for a smooth Window CE 4.2 or 5 performance, the CPU has to be 400 MHz. The Sirf Star III GPS receiver is the defacto standard for GPS devices because of its fast Time To First Fix (TTFF) – the time it takes the receiver to find its position in a new location as well as its ability to acquire and maintain a signal even in dense urban area.

· Size of the Touch Screen
Screen sizes range from the 2.1-inch all the way up to the large 7-inch. A screen size of 3.5 to 5-inches is the minimum and most budget GPS models to be mounted on the car dashboard. The large 7-inch is usually one that is feature packed. To make the navigation easier to the eyes without running out of the budget would be the ideal 4.3-inch widescreen.

· User – Friendly and Intuitive Interfaces
The main menu as well as the frequently used functions such as finding the nearby petrol stations, food outlets, bank ATMs and others should be only a screen tap or two away from the main screen. Some models are equipped with a selection of dedicated buttons. A large Point of Interests (POI) database is a must. This allows the user to search for POI near the current location.

· Text To Speech Prompting Voice
All GPS devices will display the street name presently and the street name associated with the next turn. It is important that the GPS devices should be able to provide the user with voice prompting upcoming turns and therefore the user does not have to take the eyes off the road to look at the screen.

· Variety Routing Options
There are commonly two routing options – the fastest and the shortest. The GPS devices should also be able to alert the presence of ERP gantries and speed camera found along the route.

· Multimedia Players
Most GPS devices provide multimedia features as well like MP3, MP4, Photo Browser and e-Book. They should be easy to use and not interfere with the navigation. Some models allow the user to play the music and navigate simultaneously. Some models only allow one or the other at a time.

· Bluetooth – Hands Free Speakerphone
Some GPS models allow the user to pair the GPS device with the Bluetooth equipped mobile phone. This feature allows hands free speakerphone option that is mandatory in most countries.

· Audio-Video Input
This AV-IN feature in some GPS devices allows input of other devices like portable DVD player to be screened. It also serves as a reverse view screen for car reverse camera.



Thus, a good GPS device should have all the features that serve the purpose of the user. It should be more than a device to find the way from point A to point B.