• Boston Acoustics announced they’re shipping their SPG555 Passive Radiator system. Adding this to your Boston SPG’s subwoofer box gets you an extra 3dB of bass. May not sound like much, but to your ears that’s almost twice as much bass!!
• So you want to share some music from your iPod with your buddy, but since the iPod is an iPod and not a Zune, you can’t do it…. That is unless you have a miShare!
• Multifunction rearview mirrors are not new, but with all the technology that’s coming to market lately, these things can do just about anything shot of walking of dog or getting you a cold one from the fridge!! They’re not always the most attractive add-ons for your car, but does it matter?
• I’m sure you’ve seen all the commercial on TV telling you that your normal cable and rabbit ears will quit working in early 2009; you need to upgrade to a digital box. But did you realize this also means your car stereo system’s TV tuner is going kaput too? That means new things are the horizon for mobile digital TV. Welcome to the new mobile TV format wars!
• SoundDomain would like to welcome our newest guestblogger, Adam Rayner! Adam comes to us from across the pond, and is the online editor for the UK’s famous Talk Audio website. He has quite a history in the mobile electronics industry and of course, we’re looking forward to sampling his sarcastic British sens of humor!

I just got back from the Pioneer Sound Build-Off in San Diego where Pioneer not only hosted a really cool sound-off competition, but they also unveiled the new AVIC-F series navigation radios. The new AVIC-F’s have all of the goodies you’d expect from a full-featured in-dash navigation piece, but Pioneer stepped it up a few notches and included built-in Bluetooth, voice recognition and control, and MSN Direct data streaming! Get all the details, features, and check out a small gallery of the new devices over at SoundDomain.

• Parrot’s PMK 5800 is a compact Bluetooth solution that’s perfect for just about anybody. The technically challenged will love the simplicity; the person-on-the-go will appreciate the mobility; and the gadget-guy will praise the intuitive design. In the newest video installment, Al & Ed’s "Mr. Mobile" discusses the Parrot PMK 5800, and he’s giving one away, too!
• One look at the new Massive Audio D-Block amplifiers and we were sold. SoundDomain got a sneak peek of the new and soon-to-be released line. Massive gave us a pic and it dawned on us the we actually snapped some pics at CES and didn’t even realize it! (I guess the huge new SQ woofer got in the way)!
• Ben Vollmer from Car Audio Nationals hooked us with his personal collection of photos from Spring Break Nationals. Since Ben spent most of his time over at the car audio competition during the show, he’s hooked us up with a slew of competitor car pics! Get an inside look at some of the best Sound Quality and SPL show cars in the industry. (Including SoundDomain’s own, Andy Jones!)
• Team Zapco has a strong reputation for success at the top car audio competitions across the nation,  and most recently added 11-year old Andrea McIntyre and her modified Jeep Wrangler Power Wheels to the winner’s circle. Andrea took two 1st Place trophy’s at Spring Break Nationals this year, hitting 140.1dB in the MECA Kids SPL shootout and 122.8dB in the MECA Drive-By SPL Parade. Congrats!

• Aliph, makers of the cool Jawbone Bluetooth headset, released details on three limited edition Jawbones designed by the the device’s creator. Sweet Talk, Dirty Talk, and Trash Talk are pretty simple, but I appreciate that they don’t have that modern "Matrix" styling a lot of manufacturers have taken on. The trucker lady emblem is my favorite. Do ya dig?
• CarDomain member e34zoui’s e34 5-Series BMW is off the charts. I was surfing through the Top A/V Installs on CarDomain when I came across this kitted-up starch white BMW beauty queen. He’s completely reworked the interior: kick panels, custom consoles, a complete A/V system, carPC… And the quality is straight-up outstanding.
• Don’t forget!! If you live in the Vancouver, BC area, Varad is searching for a booth car for the Lordco Trade Show! You get a slew of free gear and your car featured in the blog! Get all the details!
• Speaking of contests– Sirius is taking entries for a free trip to the Winter Music Conference in Miami with guest host Paul Van Dyk! If you’re an electronic music music junkie like myself, this is a killer opportunity!
• Audiojunkies got the scoop on some new amplifiers from Italian amplifier manufacturer Tec. The sleek and simple design will look awesome flush-mounted or on full display!

• The Alpine Imprint RLS will always be one of the most amazing demo cars ever produced. But before the Imprint made it’s impression on car audio history, the Alpine crew built the Sinister Six. What started out as an innocent $84,000 BMW 645ci ended up a jaw dropping, road raging, Sinister sports coupe. And SoundDomain has two videos  from Alpine following the crew through the amazing build.
• It interesting what you can find in life if you just look a little bit closer…. SoundDomain’s new guestblogger, Ben, writes about the hidden easter eggs found on circuit boards. Who’da guessed engineers had a sense of humor?
• Car manufacturers aren’t the only ones getting hit by Chinese knock-offs; even car audio manufacturers have to step into the ring. Check out the pics of this bogus Alpine amplifier found out in the wild. Would you have spotted it?
• Our main man Steve Meade is back and shaking up a ruckus at Taco Bell. Watch what happens when the two drive thru guys ask for a sample of the Tahoe’s beefy beats. Notice the bills in Taco Dude #2′s hand when Steve gives the magic knob a twist… The looks on their faces are pretty priceless too: from excitement to satisfaction to shock & awe. It’s always a good time with Steve.
• Bored? Add Bluetooth to your 5G iPod.
• We’ve also got a video of CarDomain member Jamminwagon plugging in and jammin’ out on his electric car through his Dodge Magnum’s sound ssytem. Boy’s got some skills, car’s got some beats!
• Scosche built out a pretty crazy demo car for SEMA 2006: a bright orange FJ Cruiser stuffed with EFX gear: eight 12" woofers, twelve amplifiers, seven monitors (including a 32"monitor in the rear door!), twenty speakers, three batteries, and over 9000 watts of power!

• Have you ever dreamed of owning your own company? How about owning your own car audio company? Well, now you can! We stumbled on a Craigslist ad where some guy is selling his high-end car audio amplifier company, including inventory, schematics, and documentation! He’s already done the hard part, now you just need to fork over a measly  $10Gs to buy it!
• If you’ve been thinking about buying an in-dash navigation or LCD screen, now’s a great time to do it! Pioneer is offering a $200 rebate on the D3.
• Bluetooth is being integrated into just about everything, but it never occurred to me to add it to a CD radio?! Well, Cobra did, and it’s a great idea!
• AT&T’s new Palm Centro smart phone does just about everything a smart phone should, and more! This smart phone actually streams XM satellite radio right to your phone! A first for this industry and it’s only $99!

• Premium car audio manufacturer Focal gave us the scoop on their new Solid Series amplifiers. These mid-level amplifiers offer great flexibility, small footprints, and uber-clean sound quality. The plain-Jane design is great for flush-mounting, and the amps are available in Wrinkle Black or Wrinkle Red. SoundDomain is the first place you’ll see these audiophile amps, so make sure to check them out and let us know what you think! One thing to point out, Focal’s parent company, home audio manufacturer JM Labs, has a home speaker that sells for over $35,000 EACH. These guys know what they’re doing when it comes to offering the best of the best. What’s in your ride?
• Team Hybrids member Dave Brooks is a World Champion car audio competitor, and last year won the MECA Modex Division National Championship, earned the title of IASCA’s Rookie World Champion, and took first place in the Sound Quality Championship. Dave’s sponsor, Hybrid Audio also wanted to congratulate him for recently achieving the rank of Chief Master Sergeant, and is now the highest ranking enlisted serviceman in the USAF. Congrats to Dave!
• We’ve got another video from Scosche live on the site. In this episode Trevor Kaplan walks you through their iPod auxiliary input for the Toyota Tundra. The AXIPTA interface is extremely easy to use and seamlessly interfaces with the factory radio almost like it was just meant to be.
• Microsoft and Alpine just inked a deal to share technology and patents. This shoudl be a pretty cool partnership since Alpine is pretty much the #1 car audio manufacturer, and Microsoft is the world dominator when it comes to software and their new Sync system is just SICK!

I know you all wish the SoundDomain Sound-Off would post earlier, since I know reading it is highlight of your day. But I like to think that because of my tardiness, you’re ending it on a high note. What better way to unwind than to read the latest and greatest news about car audio and portable gadgets? Bon appetit: 

• Attention true gadget geeks! The NaviSurferII is the world’s first single-DIN in-dash carPC. If you want something more than just an in-dash LCD, the NaviSurferII offers GPS navigation, a built-in Media player, at least a 40GB hard drive, USB inputs and AV inputs, and comes in way under $1000.
• More great news from SoundStream! Just as the auto industry is reviving old model names from the good ‘ol days, audio companies are doing the same thing. SoundStream announced the re-introduction of the famous Lil’ Wonder, which features killer power and awesome sound quality with an amazingly small footprint. And now, the series will include 2-, 4-, 5- and mono subwoofer amps!
• SoundDomain moderator Thumper26 recently finished fabricating custom A-pillar tweeter mounts in his Honda Accord. It turned out very clean, looks nearly factory, and he was nice enough to provide a brief tutorial. Great job, John!

And don’t forget to voice your opinions in the SoundDomain News forums!

Well, typical Seattle weather this weekend so another day and no sound in the ride. A co-worker suggested I rig up a garbage bag tent around my car so I can get work done in the rain. I suggested he go back to his desk and check out the news on SoundDomain instead:

• Rich Truesdell told you about the Garmin Nüvifone  not too long ago. Well videos have come forth from Garmin and this phone could quite possibly the ultimate iPhone killer!!
• Adding an Xbox to your car’s audio/video system is not too uncommon these days, but disassembling and custom-installing the separate components is not so common. These guys take apart an Xbox and show you some ideas on how to custom-mount a system in your ride.
• MECP is an installer certification program in the mobile electronics industry, similar to ASE certification for a mechanic. It represents the best of the best in the industry, separating the men from the boys. But if you want to take your skills "out-of-this-world", why not go for NASA standards!
• The Tracer Heads-Up Display (HUD) is a design study that incorporates GPS, HUD technology, and SMS text messaging. The cool part of this is the Heads-Up display, the scary part is if you start speeding, it sends a text message to your parents. Doh!
• Crazy man Steve Meade got a chance to demo his tuff Tahoe for Ice Cube’s producers, Teak and Dee. Needless to say, even those these guys listen to bangin’ beats all day long, they weren’t prepared for Steve to push the magic button in his system! Watch ‘em squirm!

Cars that talk to each other? Phones that tell you where to go? Hybrid capacitors with LCD displays? "What is he ON?!", you must be thinking. I’m on….top of the mobile electronics news that’s what I on! Here’s some SoundDomain news you might have missed:

• OEM automotive supplier Denso Electronics is developing a car-to-car communications system to make your car smarter and safer.
• Images and some details on Mio’s newest portable navigation devices, the Moov 200 and Moov 300, were leaked early and we got the images. Simple and sexy.
• Stinger introduced an updated line of 15 and 30 farad hybrid capacitors. The caps are chromed and highlighted with blue LED accents, and a blue LCD display that gives voltage and current draw.
• Portable navigation leader Garmin released the deets on the new Garmin Nüvifone. They have a real winner here – a great-looking mobile phone with a true Garmin GPS device inside. From what we can tell, this thing pretty much does it all and does it all very well.