installs SUBMITTED BY RICHARD WONG, DISTRIBUTION ACCOUNT MANAGER, SONY CAR AUDIO
During December’s KnowledgeFest Dallas event, Sony Car Audio displayed a 2021 Toyota Tacoma featuring the ES product lineup. The system was built by the vehicle’s owner, Richard Wong, who is also the distribution account manager at Sony Car Audio. The goal, he said, was to build a vehicle that demonstrated wellrounded sound quality. According to Wong, the build features the recently released XAB9500 ES head unit with a 10.1-inch screen and wireless Android Auto / Apple CarPlay. Wong added a unique touch to the build, inspired by a ’90s-era trend: “My amps are mounted into the ceiling,” he said, adding that it was a more common approach in the 1990s “when car audio was really popping. Things are more subtle now. I’m bringing it back for the ‘wow’ factor.” Besides being a neat feature, he noted that mounting the amplifiers on the ceiling saved space behind and under the seats. Additionally, Wong installed a 6 by 9 component set, “a one-off setup I custom-made, with two XS W1O4ES 10-inch subs, powered off our XM-GS100 mono amplifier. The mids and highs are powered by the XM-GS4 4-channel amplifier.” He said he took this route because Sony doesn’t currently offer a 6 by 9 component set: “I took one of our 6.5-inch component sets and our 6 by 9 coaxial speaker, and I made it into a 6 by 9 component set,” he explained.
59 Mobile Electronics January/February 2022
