Building a Mobile Listening Lab
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Welcome to this article from the Crutchfield archives. Have fun reading it, but be aware that the information may be outdated and links may be broken.
Whether live or in the studio, good music always comes down to the playing. Like a good venue, a good stereo setup completes the circle.
Follow along as the managing editor of Crutchfield's car A/V writing team transforms his GMC Yukon into a "mobile listening lab." Outside of his role at Crutchfield, Michael is a professional musician and uses his drive-time to give his current projects a critical listen. He can't do that with a factory stereo system, so he decided to go all out and transform the Yukon's cabin into a high-fidelity listening space.
Of course, that also means that the truck will be a great place for listening to any music, not just his own projects. The articles below follow his journey of audio transformation from "factory blahs" to "audiophile highs."
Follow Michael each step of the way as he transforms his truck's sound system into a great place to listen to music:
- Laying the foundation, part 1
- Laying the foundation, part 2
- Laying the foundation, part 3
- Dynamat installation and pre-wiring for amplifiers
- Installing the front door speakers
- Video: factory vs. aftermarket speakers
- Rear speakers, amplifier, and subwoofer
- Report on the Yukon system's performance
- The ultimate in system tuning
- Video: Alpine's IMPRINT signal processing in action
Meet Robert Ferency-Viars
Eating up the highway with clarity and volume — a champion of car audio.
During my first few years at Crutchfield, I served as one of our Advisors, helping our customers choose new audio components for their homes and cars. Eventually, I moved to the writing team and spent a decade researching new products and getting even more hands-on with car audio gear.
I've performed many car and home audio installations over the years, some of them even on my own cars. As the editor of Crutchfield's car audio web articles, I couldn't ask for a cooler job. We listen to music and play with car audio gear every day!
Like most of us here, I've always been into music. I installed my first car stereo system before the family car was even mine. In college, I helped friends and roommates install their car stereos and set up the stereos in their apartments. I was a volunteer DJ for the local community radio station for a few years (playing late night metal and Sunday morning bluegrass & alt-country). That's where I also first learned a little bit about sound mixers.
These days, I serve my community by volunteering with the Boys Scouts of America. I also love playing board games & RPGs, spending time with my family, and installing new audio systems for my friends.
More about Robert
More from Robert Ferency-Viars
How to choose a radar detector
Car stereo buying guide
Review of the Sony XAV-AX5500 car stereo
Single-DIN vs Double-DIN car stereos
How to connect your new car stereo's wiring
How to choose a replacement FM antenna for your car