KF Audio

Dear valued customers and audio enthusiasts,

We are thrilled to announce the soon to launch of our new online business, which marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in our journey. With over 36 years of experience in the car audio retail and installation industry, we have decided to take our expertise to the digital realm, allowing us to reach a wider audience and continue to provide unparalleled services.

After years of serving customers in our physical store, we have come to realize that our knowledge, skills, and passion for sound tuning should not go to waste. We firmly believe that everyone deserves to experience the absolute best in audio quality, regardless of their location. Therefore, we have curated a range of services, tailored to cater to the needs of individuals who value exceptional music experiences within their vehicles.

Our primary focus lies in audio system design consultations, product recommendations, and sound tuning services. Through our online platform, we aim to bridge the gap between technology and music, enabling enthusiasts to achieve optimal sound tailored to their unique preferences. Our team of experienced professionals will guide you through every step of the process, ensuring unparalleled customer satisfaction.

Here's an overview of the services we offer:

1. Audio System Design Consultations: We understand that each vehicle has its distinct characteristics and requirements. We will work closely with you to design a customized audio system that complements your vehicle's acoustics. Whether you seek immersive soundscapes or booming bass, we will find the perfect balance for your listening pleasure.

2. Product Recommendations: Our team invests countless hours researching and testing the latest car audio products in the market. We take pride in offering unbiased recommendations specific to your needs, ensuring each component contributes to a harmonious audio setup.

3. Sound Tuning Services: Drawing upon our years of experience, we provide comprehensive sound tuning services, maximizing the potential of your car audio system. Our experts possess an in-depth understanding of sound waves, equalizers, crossovers, and other critical elements. Sit back, relax, and let us fine-tune your audio system to perfection.

As we kick off this exciting new chapter, we invite you to visit our Facebook/website, where you'll find a wealth of resources, including informative guides, expert tips, and a range of products carefully selected to meet even the most discerning audiophile's expectations.

At KF Audio, our commitment to exceptional customer service remains unchanged. Although we have transitioned from a physical store to an online platform, we assure you that our dedication to your satisfaction remains our top priority. We are just a click or call away, ready to provide guidance, answer your questions, and help you experience the power of extraordinary sound.

Thank you for your continued support over the years. We look forward to serving you in this new online venture and embarking on an exciting journey together.

Warm regards,

Siemen Liew
Founder, KF Audio.

KF Audio This site will feature the latest information pertaining to car audio and promotions, check back ofte

To all our muslim friends:
Selamat menyambut hari raya Aidilfitri maaf zahir dan batin.

Wishing all our Hindu friends & families: prosperity, good health and full of happiness.

To all our Muslim friends:
Selamat Hari Raya!

Notice to all our valued customers:

Please be informed that due to accumulated jobs that we are unable to cope with, we decided not to accept any more jobs effective 23rd Jan 2022 so as to allow us to clear the accumulated jobs before Chinese New Year which is just around the corner.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Siemen Liew

Notice of closure!

With a heavy heart, I wish to announce that KF Audio is closing its physical shop retail business with effect from 1st Feb. 2022, however KF Audio does not end here, we will continue to provide after sale warranty service until the warranty period ends, that is at least a year from now on.
Reason for the closure: Siemen Liew is retiring from full time installation business.
For future after sales services, please whatsapp or call Siemen Liew @ 012 524 3542.
On behalf of all the staffs at KF Audio I wish to express our sincerest gratitude to all of you for the strong support over the years without fail.

From the bottom of my heart a big "Thank you"!

Siemen Liew
KF Audio Sdn.Bhd.

怀着些许不舍，我想宣布，KF Audio 将于 2022 年 2 月 1 日起关闭其实体店零售及安装服务，但 KF Audio 并未就此结束，我们将继续提供售后保修服务和在线业务。
关闭的原因是因为 Siemens Liew 将退出全职的安装业务。
有关所有音响售后服务相关问题，只需致电 Siemen Liew @ 012 524 3542。
衷心感谢大家多年来的鼎力支持。

Siemens Liew
KF Audio Sdn.Bhd.

KF Audio updated their phone number.

𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬

Choosing loud speaker is as important as choosing lenses for camera, the quality of lens in camera plays a vital role in the picture quality, uncaptured details is a loss of picture quality.

Likewise in a sound system, one of the important elements in the audio chain is speaker. No matter how good an audio source, the quality of the sound is only as good as the speakers could deliver.

𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫𝐬

There are three types of speakers for car audio, namely:

𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐥 = 𝟐 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬
(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.1)

𝐓𝐫𝐢-𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐥 = 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬
(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.2)

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 = 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.3)

𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐥 and 𝐓𝐫𝐢-𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐥 are speakers with tweeters mounted on the center of cone, usually used as rear-fill speakers, whereas component speakers are separate elements and come with a dedicated passive crossover (frequency filter) that removes the undesired frequencies for the appropriate speaker or tweeter. It’s usually of better sound quality than the coaxial and tri-axial types.

𝐒𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐞
(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.4)

Car audio speaker comes in many sizes and shapes. The most common one is the round shape type, offering 3”, 4” 5.25” and 6.5”; it operates on mid-bass to upper midrange frequencies from around 60Hz to 3Khz range. Also available are 8”, 10’ and 12’, these are commonly used as subwoofers, operating on the sub-bass region from 20 Hz to 60 Hz.

Tweeter is smaller in size, usually not larger than 3”. Operating frequency range is 3Kh to 20Khz and beyond, it does not require high power to drive, due to its higher efficiency than the midrange drivers.

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.5)

Specifications are Datas provided by the manufacturers to ease audio design engineers in designing sound projects. Datas include:

𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 - rated in watts RMS or in continuous program power. These two rating are more accurate and meaningful; it is the threshold power rating in which the speaker could withstand as compared to max or peak power. Any power operating exceeds this rating could possibly cause damage to the speaker.

𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 - it is an effective range of frequency in which a particular speaker is capable of reproducing, measured in Hertz and kilo Hertz with tolerance reads at +/-3dB point.
(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.6)

𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 - is the measures of sound pressure level with a calibrated microphone placed at a distance 0ne meter away from speaker to be measured, and by feeding one watt of power input to the speaker. It should be read in dB per watt per meter (n dB/w/m)
(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.7)

In today's challenging market, certain manufacturers want their products to look good on papers, specifications were made tricky to the non-technical inclined buyers.

Specifications like:

Power handling: 300 Watts

Frequency response: 20 to 40kHz

Sensitivity: 93 dB

This type of rating is incomplete and serves no purpose. Here, power rated could be peak power instead of RMS or continuous power; frequency response could be at –10dB down instead of -3dB point ( -3dB point is at 50% power); sensitivity could be measured with 2 Watts of input instead of 1 Watt or at 0.5m distance. II’s totally meaningless and a way to fool buyers.

𝐌𝐲 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞:

Specifications are figures indicating how well it could perform electrically, these figures do not tell how warm, smooth or harsh a speaker performs.

Sound is very subjective to ones’ hearing sensitivity and music preference, it is best to audition the speaker even though it reads good on specification, as no speaker sounds the same. Choose the one that best suits your musical taste.

Spend as much you could for quality speaker in order to optimize the sound quality of the entire audio chain.

If you expect good sound, do not compromise on speaker quality even on budget constrain, make your upgrade in two or more installments, do not change everything with limited budget, else will end up with not getting to your expectation and it's too late to regret.

Gratitude!

Thank you Mr Edward for the compliment! My friendship with Mr. Edward started about 10 years ago when his very good friend Mr. Ricky brought him to pay us a visit, we had a very friendly talk and went for a drink. During the chat session, I came to know that Mr Edward developed an interest in car audio when he was studying in Australia. Over the years, I noticed Mr Edward collected vintage car audio and is well connected with Industry greats from around the World.

Mr Edward never fails to attend the Kuala Lumpur International Audio-Visual shows held annually with some of his friends from east Malaysia. We will meet up for dinner after the show followed by car audio audition session until late night.

Mr. Edward has high expectations for good music, a critical audio listening enthusiast, besides car audio, he also owns a modest home hi-fi set.

Mr Edward lives in Sibu, Sarawak. I am lucky and glad to have him as friend.

Once again thank you Mr Edward.

Siemen Liew

In today's fast pace and busy lifestyle, people are often stressed after work. Music can be a stress relief entertainment that most people will agree, and that's the reason why it's good to have a decent sounding audio in your car to enjoy your favorite music while in the car and probably don't bother about the traffic jam anymore!

With the advancement of technology and installers' know-how, car audio could be as nice as home audio systems.

Let us see how we could improve on the factory fitted audio system by understanding the fundamental of audio.

𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗺
One very important aspect in audio that many music lovers neglected, is the audio spectrum, it is the range of audible frequency which covers from 20Hz to 20,000Hz.

Music is a complex composite sinusoidal waves with varying frequencies and amplitudes formed by different musical instruments and vocals. The frequency range required for human hearing is 20Hz to 20kHz, it is the industry standard for manufacturers' to adhere when producing musical apparatus, such as music sources (players), amplifiers, audio signal processors and speakers.

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿
Speakers, being the least efficient and the weakest link in car audio systems, especially on the budget range of cars.

Most budget OEM cars come with a pair of midrange speaker on the front and back doors, many people have mistaken it as full range speakers, actually it's not!
Its effective frequency range is only around +/- 60Hz ~ +/- 3KhZ. A full range speaker should be able to cover the full frequency spectrum of 20 Hz to 20kHz.

(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.1)

Still remember in the previous article on 𝘛𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺?
The full audio spectrum is being divided into four frequency ranges, ideally it should be handled by four sound reproducing elements. (speakers in this case)
• 𝗦𝘂𝗯-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 (𝟭𝟬-𝟲𝟬𝗛𝘇) - 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗯-𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗳𝗲𝗿/𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗳𝗲𝗿
• 𝗠𝗶𝗱-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 (𝟲𝟬-𝟮𝟬𝟬𝗛𝘇)- 𝗯𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿𝘀
• 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 (𝟮𝟬𝟬-𝟯𝗞𝗛𝘇)-𝗯𝘆 𝟯~𝟰" 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀
• 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 (𝟯𝗞𝗛𝘇-𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆)- 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀

As mentioned earlier, the speakers on the four doors are just midrange speakers, its range of operating frequency is +/- 60 Hz to +/- 3kHz.

(𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨.2)

If that's the only speakers installed in the car, one could hear is only that range of music information.

This indicates that music information in the frequency range between10 to 60Hz and 3kHz to 20kHz are not effectively reproduced through the door speakers, hence, the music sounds flat and dull.

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝟏𝟎 𝐇𝐳 ~ 𝟔𝟎 𝐇𝐳
This low frequency sub-bass, although it's just a narrow range, it is the foundation to good music, a properly tuned low frequency system provides the sense of envelopment of sound, a wide and deep soundstage, the sense of being in a live concert hall, without it, the music has no soul.

Some of the musical instruments that produce this range of frequency are :
• 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝘂𝗺
• 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿
• 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼
• 𝗣𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻
• 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿
• 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗮

It's extremely important for car audio to have sub-woofer, as it also serve to overcome the ambience noise generated by the engine and the road noise, without it the ambience noise could mask the bass notes of the music.

This problem does not exist in home audio system.

𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝟑𝐤𝐇𝐳 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲
This range of frequency is commonly known as treble range, it consists of many "𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥" musical harmonics, the by-products- 1st, 2nd and 3rd harmonics of the fundamental frequency generated by musical instruments, it provides the most details, clarity and airiness on the musical passages.

This is where the accuracy of many musical instruments can be measured. System with good balance of treble produces excellent music quality.

Musical instruments that produce this range of frequency are :
• 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻
• 𝗙𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲
• 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘁
• 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿
• 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁
• 𝗣𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼
• 𝗦𝘆𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗿

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Quality of tweeter plays an important role in achieving good and accurate music.

Subwoofer is a "must have" music reproduction transducer, without it, the music sounds thin and no "body", it's like a live band without bass guitarist and a drummer.

In my 30+ years experience in car audio business, I realized that car audio newbie tends to overlooked the importance of the above elements.

When they were unhappy with the sound quality of the factory fitted system, the first thing that they will do is to replace the music source unit (player), not realizing that the cause of the poor sound was not due to the source but the speaker system.

Having a good sounding audio system in a car, it's like having a mobile sound-room, it follows wherever you go and keeps you entertained.

If you are a rock music "𝘬𝘢𝘬𝘪", you can play as loud as you like without causing disturbances to your neighbors and your family members.

In the coming issue, I will write about choosing the right speakers.

Before I start off on how to upgrade an OEM (factory fitted) audio system, it is useful to know how a sound system is being evaluated and deemed good.

In this article, I will be using guidelines from International Auto Sound Challenge Association's competition judging manual (IASCA USA), on the section of sound quality judging. With this knowledge, it will largely help in your understanding when it comes to the area of improving the OEM systems.

Excerpt from the manual:
When judging sound quality, it is important to have a clear understanding of all of the different factors that contribute to the overall listening experience. it is not enough to say" this vehicle sounds good" or "this vehicle sounds bad". Judges must quantify to what degree a competitor's vehicle has achieved success in each of the categories that comprise the sound quality section.

• 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
• 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
• 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴
• 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆

In this section judge(s) will evaluate a system based on how well it reproduces the four frequency ranges below from a tonal perspective.

• 𝗦𝘂𝗯-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 (𝟭𝟬-𝟲𝟬𝗛𝘇)
• 𝗠𝗶𝗱-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 (𝟲𝟬-𝟮𝟬𝟬𝗛𝘇)
• 𝗠𝗶𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 (𝟮𝟬𝟬-𝟯𝗞𝗛𝘇)
• 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵-𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 (𝟯𝗞𝗛𝘇-𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆)

The 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝟲 characteristics which describe a tone are:

𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀*
The magnitude of the auditory sensation produced by the sound
(can be affected by equalization or improper level matching between speakers.)

𝗣𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵*
The subjective quality of a sound which determines its position on a musical scale.
(Excessive distortion and non-linearity can affect pitch)

𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗲*
The interaction of the harmonics and fundamentals of a sound which give it it's sonic signature. (Example: The sound of a guitar can be affected by poor reproduction of high frequencies of the system if the harmonics of the fundamental tones produced by the guitar are not produced accurately)

𝗠𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻*
A change in amplitude, phase or frequency which occurs to sound.
(can be affected by systems with phase problems, frequency problems, etc.)

𝗗𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻*
Literally the duration of a sound
(can be affected by systems with poor transient response or panel resonance, for example).

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘆*
The time it takes for a sound to build up (attack) or die down (decay). Attack and decay can be affected by systems with poor transient response, panel resonance and excessive early reflections.

For a system to reproduce a recording with superior tonal accuracy, it must perform without significantly affecting the delicate parameters previously listed. when all of the above parameters come together well, a system is said to sound natural and spectrally accurate.

The judge(s) will evaluate whether the sound of the instruments and voices reproduced by the system sound real and natural in and of themselves. At this point , the judge(s) should concentrate on instruments in each range specifically, ignoring the relative balance of the whole spectrum (which is judged next).

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿:
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤.

𝗦𝘂𝗯-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 (𝟭𝟬𝗛𝘇-𝟲𝟬𝗛𝘇)
The judge(s) should concentrate on the lowest notes of large string instruments (bass guitar and stand-up bass, in particular), large drums (kick drums, timpani), low synthesizer sounds low pipe organ notes, etc.

The sound reproduced by the system in this range should be immediately recognizable, realistically weighted, articulate, and free of distortion and overhang. it is vital to reorganize the difference between good extension and overhang. overhang refers to a blurring or exaggeration of the decay time of a sound. Accurate low frequency extension is a desirable trait.

𝗠𝗶𝗱-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝘀 (𝟲𝟬𝗛𝘇-𝟮𝟬𝟬𝗛𝘇)
The judge(s) should concentrate on the sound produced by the mid-size drums (tom-toms large congas, etc.), the middle range of a bass guitar and stand-up bass, lower notes of the piano and synthesizer. These should be reproduced smoothly with good articulation and detail. Particular attention should be paid to the attack and decay of the drums and the bass guitars. Because of the small size of the vehicle as a listening environment, problems with resonances and "peakiness" are common in this range. The best systems control these problems so that they do not interfere with fidelity.

𝗠𝗶𝗱-𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 (𝟮𝟬𝟬𝗛𝘇-𝟯𝗞𝗛𝘇)
This range contains the vast majority of musical information in most recordings. Among others, the judge(s) should concentrate on: the human voice, brass instruments, woodwinds, strings, the upper range of the bass guitar, electric and acoustic guitar, piano, smaller drums and other percussion instruments. Voices should sound full and natural without artificially nasal or "h***y" characteristics. All instruments should sound realistic without uncharacteristic ringing, "thinniness" dullness and distortion.

𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 (𝟯𝗞𝗛𝘇- 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆)
The judge(s) should concentrate on cymbals, triangles, bells the upper frequencies of the snare drum, rim shots, hand clapping, synthesizers, the upper stretches of string and woodwind instruments, and the sibilance (tendency to exaggerate "s" or "f", or "t" sounds) in voice recordings. These should sound accurate, smooth, neither too dull or too bright, and should not exhibit any harshness, "thinniness", excessive sibilance or distortion.

𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
Overall spectral balance is the tonal accuracy of the system across the entire audio bandwidth. The same factors described under "Tonal Accuracy" affect Overall Spectral Balance. The system will be judged according to its ability to reproduce the recording as a whole, rather by dissecting it into individual frequency ranges..

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿:
The judge(s) should listen to the "big picture". Does the system create the illusion of real instruments and voices as you listen to the tracks? Is the distribution of energy between the frequency ranges appropriate and natural-sounding? Particular attention should be paid to how smoothly the system integrates different frequency ranges. As an example, a system may have good sounding high frequency performance in and of itself, but when the level of the high frequency is compared with the rest of the spectrum, they may be too loud or too quiet.

Superior system will sound effortless and natural with any of the judging tracks. Weaker system will exhibit distortion, unnatural coloration, dynamic compression and frequency response errors, which lead to listening fatigue and lend a "processed" unnatural sound to the music.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗲
Some may wonder whether "Overall Spectral Balance" and "Sound Linearity" are redundant terms - and from a semantic point of view, this could be argued. The distinction made here for the purpose of the IASCA Rule Book is the following:

"Overall Spectral Balance" is a 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺'𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀. "Sound Linearity" is a calibrated 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺'𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱, 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘀.

如果你热爱音乐，但又无法闲在家听音乐（原因心照不宣），汽车音响绝对是您不二的选择。

对于追求高音质的音乐发烧友，往往都不屑一般汽车的音响音质而需求更高级别的提升。无奈，花了大笔金钱的提升却总是带来失望和遗憾。有者甚至对其高档汽车不俗的原厂音响系统仍颇有怨言。为何会如此呢？
两个理由：
1）没有着重于系统的弱点并加以改善和不正确的组件推荐。
2) 系统匹配不搭和音质调校的问题。

并非所有品牌的汽车音响都是一样的，因此不能一概而论，得个别去处理方合适。

接下来的汽车音响贴文中，我将讨论原因和解决方案。在讲解过程中，或许会有点纳闷，但这绝对是值得的，因为你将了解音质不达标的因由和解决方案。

我将以技术人员的身份，与大家分享我多年在汽车音响的经验和心得，或许不完全都对，但它必定是我多年工作经历所累积下来的。

我知道我有不少的客户都是合格的电子和电气工程师、音响发烧友、录音室音响工程师、专业音响供应商等人物。这都是无形的压力啊……😄 音响的质量可以是想当主观的，我觉得无需去批评或争论，因为音质感的要求对每个人而言不尽相同，很多时候和个人的经验及工作领域有关（如迪斯科舞厅、酒吧和录音室)各有所求，未必一致。

在这里我要强调的是，我只着重于如何把原有的音质简单的还原而已。

我们离理想的汽车音响目标尚远，无需要对小小的细节引起争论，毕尽很难找到两人的听觉频率是百分百想同的。

欢迎大家提出建设性的建议，共同学习，我们将受益良多。

学无止境，请多多分享。

谢谢！

If you are a music lover, but can't spare time to listen to music at home (you know the reasons), car audio is a good option.
In the mind of sound quality demanding music lovers, especially the audiophiles, the sound quality of most cars did not meet their expectations, and therefore the need for an upgrade, however, after the upgrade, some were disappointed because their expectations have not been met, despite a lot of money spent; especially with some of the premium cars whose factory fitted (OEM)sound system already quite good.

Why does this happen?
Two reasons I would give:
1) the weakest link of the system was not targeted and incorrect components recommendation.
2) poor system matching and sound tuning.

Not all OEM car audio are created the same and therefore different approach is required.
In the coming issues of car audio article, I will write about the whys and the solutions to solve it.
It will be lengthy and quite boring at some points, but it is worth your time eventually; because you know why your system did not sound good, your problem solved and expectations achieved.
I am not an engineer; I write and recommend at a technician level based on my years of experience.
I know some of my customers are qualified electronics and electrical engineers, audiophiles, recording studio sound engineers, professional sound providers. I have great pressure now! :)

Sound quality perception is very subjective to an individual's listening preference and his exposure to music listening, this often leads to unnecessary debates.
I have no time for debates, it's too time-consuming and I believe that you can't find two people having an identical hearing response; if you don't believe go for a hearing test at an ENT clinic with a friend, you'll know what I mean.

Our car audio sound quality is still quite far from being acceptable as good, especially from the budget cars.
So, our duties as installers are to help upgrade the OEM sound systems to faithfully reproduce what was recorded in the music source as much as possible.

Finally, you are welcome to share your expertise as a sound engineer, let us learn together.

Thank you for reading!

Thank you!

Hi my dear friends, thank you very much for your strong support and the " likes",
Very much appreciated.

It's very encouraging indeed, since support is good, I plan to go ahead, please let me have a bit more time as I am not well prepared!

Thank you for your patience!

Car audio articles.

Dear valued customers and friends, Couple of months ago, a supportive customer-friend (Mr Bobby)has suggested me to write some articles on car audio and post it here. I told him that I will consider once the time is right.

EMCO has been enforced more than a month, I am virtually locked in the house, could not go to work , visit friends and relatives, quite boring indeed.

Poor English and writing skill are the hindrances of my writing, (holding screw driver is my only expertise) :) but this time I am going to get away the obstacles and make an attempt to write.
If you don't mind reading broken English car audio articles written by Siemen Liew, please give a "like" here, once I get enough response/ encouragement , I will make an effort.
Thank you for reading!

大家好！不久前一位印裔顧客-朋友, 建议我在此写一些关于汽车音响的文章, 我说好，让我考虑考虑。
这个考虑，说了几个月都没声息，正逢现时EMCO 有点时间，我想做个小小的尝试，但又深怕写的不好成为笑话。
在写之前，我相做个调查，如果您赞同，哪就在此给个 "like" 吧！如果反应不錯，我就试试看。
谢谢您的阅读和表态。

Wishing all our Muslim friends "Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, maaf zahir dan batin"
Stay safe and take care.

Android 10.1" Azur .Multi media receiver.
Specifications are available on this demo clip.
This is the model used in the 2018 Nissan X-trail.

https://youtu.be/cRuZqF53VaM

AZ-AND905IPS-DSP (9 INCH DISPLAY) / AZ-AND915IPS-DSP (10.1 INCH DISPLAY) CPU - Quad CorePlatform - T3LRAM - 2GROM - 32GPower output - 50W x 4Radio IC - 7388Screen - IPSTouch Screen - 2.5DUSB port(s) - 24G antenna - NoneBuilt in DS...

2018 Nissan X-Trail installed with Azur 10.1" Android multimedia DSP receiver, with the helps of the in-built DSP even factory fitted speakers could sound great!

Did you experience wind noise in your car?
This noise is usually caused by poor door seal.
The solution to it, is to add-on additional seals on the doors as shown in the photos.

2015 Subaru WRX Japan spec. head unit replaced with 9" Android media receiver.

Hi Guys, thank you for the "Likes".
Very much appreciated! Have a great day!

More photos of Beetle

VW Beetle engin compartment

VW beetle in exquisite condition for sale!!!
Only RM 39.9K

Installed with high quality audio and car accessories worth over RM 10K
• Alpine CD receiver with CD changer
• Alpine PDX 4 channels amplifier
• Boston Acoustics reference series component speakers (2 sets)
• Push button starts system
• 3M solar rejection film
• Security alarm and leather seats

Thank you guys for liking KF Audio Sdn. Bhd.'s FB page, very very much appreciated, especially those who never miss whenever a new posting is being posted. :)

Ribuan terima kasih!
谢谢！
Siemens Liew

New Android media player for M/Benz S-280.

Porsche Cayman R
Amazing audio from new setup!

New items fitted-in:
1. OEM fit, after market DVD/media receiver. (Perfect integration)
2. Alpine amplifier (installed at front hood)
3. Focal Flax series components speaker (at stock locations)
4. Active subwoofer (installed under the dashboard)

2020 BMW G12 740LE
An extensive audio system upgrades.
Items added/changed:
1) Helix digital signal processor
Model: V8 Pro
2) Helix digital signal processor
Model: DSP mini
3) Audison Power amplifier
Model: AP 4D
4) Audison mono block
Model: VRX1-500
5) Front end: Focal M series tweeters.
Model: TBM
6) Focal M series midranges
Model: 3.5WM
7) Audison under seat woofers
8) Rear doors: Focal Power series components speaker.
9) Rear parcel shelf: Focal Power series components speaker.
10) Center: Focal Power series mid-range & tweeter.
11) Subwoofer: Focal Model: E30KX
12) Custom made subwoofer enclosure.

Mercedes Benz W204 stereo system upgrades.
Items:
1) Alpine digital signal processor
Model: PXE-0850s

2) Focal Flax 2way component speakers on front doors
Model: PS165 FX

3) JBL 2 way coaxial speakers on rear doors