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!

It’s Friday again and I am so ready to get my weekend started. I have speakers and kick panels calling my name, just waiting to get installed in my car. But that all has to wait until tomorrow morning… So I guess until then I’ll go ahead and catch up on the SoundDomain news:

• Rearview/back-up cameras are pretty common these days, but frontview cameras are pretty new. This mirror could turn your weekend canyon cruising into a Hollywood moment, or it could save you from taking blame on your next fender bender (videos and pics available)!
• Don’t you hate it when you spend $45,000 (or more) on a new BMW and then when you drive it off the lot it hits you that you forgot to order the factory navigation option! Man, I hate that! Well, don’t worry… To prevent buyer’s remorse BMW is giving folks in that predicament a free BMW Garmin Nuvi360 with a custom BMW mounting system.
• If you’re going to be in the Biloxi, MS area June 21-22 make sure to stop by the Gulf Coast Coliseum for the Scrapin’ the Coast/Deep South Nationals show. Last year there were over 2000 cars and trucks, and the show was named Mini Truckin’s "Show of the Year" for 2007. We’ll be there shooting the event just in case you can’t make it.
• The Kenwood DNX8120 was by far our favorite radio at CES this year. We told you all about it in our CES Coverage, and now we have a demo video hosted from Kenwood showing off all the 8120′s cool features and functions. Man is this thing SWEET!

Varad needs a booth car to showcase a few of their products, and theyasked CarDomain to help find the perfect car! The Varad crew is searching for a "tuner-themed" car for the Varad booth at the Lordco Trade Show in Vancouver, British Columbia April 7th and 8th at the Pacific Coliseum. This is one of BC’s biggest automotive consumer industry trade events, and Varad wants to hook you up! The car needs to be a "tuner" themed, clean and show-worthy.

So what’s in it for you?? Well, other than getting to showcase your car in one of the hottest automotive accessory brand’s booth for the world to see and people to photograph, Varad is also going to hook you up with…

Continue reading "Shine On! Get Free Gear & Your Ride in Varad's Booth!" »

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.

SoundDomain made a change to the blog yesterday. We’re going to experiment with moving the comments for the blog posts over into the forums rather than in the blog. You can do both right now, but the forums might end up being an even better comment sounding area. You can read all about why we want to try this here.  But of course that’s not the news you really care about it…. This is:

• XM announced the winner of the "Wild Ride" contest, where you could enter for a chance to win a $30,000 vehicle of your choice plus a free year of XM. I bet you thought nobody ever actually won these things, huh?  What did the winner choose? Check it out.
• Looks like the whole "We’re switching over to digital and switching off the analog" isn’t going as smoothly as OnStar hoped. Are you getting screwed?
• I recently dubbed the Navigon 7100 the "King of Portable Navs"…. Well it’s already getting dethroned, but the crown is staying in the family. Welcome the Navigon 8180.

So the new SoundDomain is now only a month old, but it’s been a successful month so far. Thanks for your support! As the year progresses, we’ll start offering some great hands-on gadget reviews, longer feature articles and complete build articles from some of the greatest shops around the US and Canada (maybe even a few worldwide!). Expect some cool changes to come for SoundDomain. For now, just expect a really cool forum, and some really great news… Like this:

• SoundStream is coming out with a 15,000 watt amp designed for SPL competitors and those that like to sonically rattle their fillings loose.
• MB Quart is known for incredible sounding speakers and amplifiers, and their recent journey into marine audio has led to some really innovative products. The new MB Quart APC (Audio/Video Processing Center), also known as the "Black Box" is one of the most unique source-solutions for boats that I’ve seen in my 10+ years in the industry.
• The Japanese consumer electronics industry is filled with cool gadgets, some we’ll either never see or we’ll have to wait at least a year or two before coming to our shores. Such an example is the new Kenwood K-WD01, a double DIN in-dash CD and MD player – a device we’ll probably never see. I vote this a "never see" since it has MD , and the mini-disc just never made it big here (unfortunately).
• The P-Per phone from Chocolate is one of the coolest concepts I’ve come across in a long time. Of course it follows the typical iPhone styling, but it uses an ePaper display on both sides, features a 3.0mp panoramic camera, a haptic touchscreen, and more. Seriously, check it out.

TGIF Everybody!  I don’t have much to say today, so I’m just going to let the news speak for itself!

• Diamond Audio is pumping out new product for 2008 and the Hex Pro components are some of the sexiest I’ve seen in a long while. I’ve always been a huge fan of the sticky honeycomb Hex woofers, and the configurable external crossover DA includes with the new Hex Pro’s is hot top-to-bottom. The nice brushed aluminum top cover and smoked plexi on the bottom showing off the impressive gadget guts are pretty much a work of art.
• Talk about the latest and greatest technology! SoundDomain scooped a new steering wheel with a built-in LCD and LEDs that can communicate with Navigon’s new 7100 portable nav. The steering wheel displays route instructions and other information right to the steering wheel! We also figured out that BMW will be using this technology for their awesome new 1-series compact sports coupe.
• Scosche has a new universal Bluetooth handsfree kit that plugs into your 12-volt outlet and has a built-in mic for handsfree calls. This CES Innovations Award-winning little gem can also stream audio into your OEM or aftermarket radio and features USB charging capability. Easy, inexpensive, and universal… Does it get any better?

What?! It’s the last day of the January? Where did the month go?? Oh yeah, I remember… CES 2008 and the relaunch of the new SoundDomain.com! We had quite a busy month and over the next few it’s going to get better and better. But to hold you over until then, you should check out the hot news over at SoundDomain. Here’s what you missed yesterday:

• America, F&#K Yeah! InPhase Audio had these patriotic sub boxes on display at CES. Not quite what I’d rock in my trunk, but I can appreciate the pride!
• The mad scientists over at JML Audio just wrapped up an install on a hopped-up IS300. This bad boy pumps out 540HP to the wheels and is loaded with an audiophile-quality install of the highest caliber.
• Navigon’s 7100 portable navigation device is quite possibly the new king of the streets! It’s sexy and loaded with features to make your life a much better place. Find out how!
• Cadillacs 2009 CTS-V is going to come equipped with an Alpine radio the features a pop-up nav screen, 40GB hard drive, DVD capability, USB 2.0 and more, all wrapped into one of the sexiest dashboards I’ve ever seen.

So what’d you get up to yesterday? Nothin’?! Man, then why weren’t you checking out SoundDomain? Do you know what you missed? OK, I’ll help you out this time. But just this once.

• Before the transistor was invented, audio amplifiers used vacuum tubes, little light bulb-looking devices which audiophiles claim offer warmer, purer sound. But unless you’re shelling out big bucks or restoring old hardware, you’ll probably never see one. It’s old school, and it’s pretty amazing. What’s even more amazing is this video of an old French guy making vacuum tubes from scratch.
• Orion’s new Cobalt series is so tough. How tough is it? They’ve hired the UFC fighter Roger "El Matador" Huerta to represent the new line from Orion.
• Metra just introduced a new Katana brand of speakers and subs and we’ve got pics and details on the line. I love the new speakers’ black glass fiber cones.
• Newcomer to the land of mobile electronics, Realm Audio, has introduced a new flat subwoofer that’s only 2.87" deep but has a 600W peak. Big things can come in small packages!