OXNARD, CA (01.14.2021) – SSV Works is offering the industry’s only weatherproof Polaris RZR Pro XP full aftermarket audio solution.

“Our new 3- and 5-speaker kits with JVC backup-camera-ready radio for Polaris RZR Pro XP (2020) are now shipping and we are also offering, for a limited time, the added value of a backup camera with these new systems,” explained Trevor Kaplan, SSV Works CEO. “Not only do our kits offer the only aftermarket solutions available, but they are affordable and come with everything you need for an easy Plug-&-Play install. These complete kits are the loudest and best sounding systems available on the market for your RZR Pro XP.”

SSV Works customers can also add more bass to their RZR Pro XP with an easy Plug-&-Play subwoofer system, or improve the sound of their factory Ride Command system with an easy upgrade with SSV Works’ new RZ5-UD10 under dash 10-inch subwoofer enclosure.

“Installing the RZ5-UD10 is a simple process with less disassembly than our competitors,” Kaplan continued. “The enclosure is designed to maximize output without taking up usable space under the passenger side dash. It’s a perfect upgrade to your RZR Pro XP.”

The Polaris RZR Pro XP 5-speaker kit includes:
• Direct-Fit dash kit with JVC MR1 Media Receiver or SSV Works MRB3 and Backup Camera
• Front door panel speaker pods with SSV Works 6.5-inch speakers
• Direct-Fit amp mounting system with 4-channel amplifier
• Plug-&-Play harness, wiring, and cables
• 8-inch and/or 6.5-inch cage mount pods
• 3-speaker kits are the same minus the cage pods
• MSRP (3-speaker kit): RZ5-3A1 is $2,049.99
• MSRP (5-speaker kit): RZ5-5A1 is $2,399.99

Additional features of the RZ5-UD10 include:
• Available loaded with a 10-inch SSV Works Powersports subwoofer (RZ5-UD10), Kicker 10-inch subwoofer (RZ5-UD10K), or unloaded (RZ5-UD10U)
• 100 percent fiberglass for the best sound quality and bass response
• Finished in a black texture coat to match the factory interior
• Includes stainless mounting hardware and step-by-step installation instructions
• Pre-installed weatherproof subwoofer wiring harness

JVC’s IPX6-rated KD-MR1BTS digital media receiver features Bluetooth, USB, a 2.7-inch color display, global tuner with weather band, 7-Band EQ, rear view camera capability, and is SiriusXM-Ready.

For more information, visit www.SSVWorks.com, call 818-991-1SSV (1778), or email sales@SSVworks.com.

STILLWATER, OK (01.12.2021) – Stillwater Designs today announced that it has been named a CES 2021 Innovation Awards honoree for the new KICKER Solo X L7X subwoofer. The announcement was made ahead of the first-ever, all-digital CES 2021, happening Jan. 11-14, 2021.

The CES Innovation Awards program is an annual competition honoring outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products across 28 product categories. An elite panel of industry judges, including members of the media, designers and engineers reviewed submissions based on innovation, engineering and functionality, aesthetic and design.

“We’re very happy to win the Innovations award,” said Steve Irby, KICKER’s Founder and President. “This is a radically improved version of the original Solo X, and to be recognized for the amount of work and creativity we’ve put into making it a reality feels really good.”

A ground-up reimagining of the legendary Solo X, the 2021 iteration was designed to set high standards in a subwoofer’s mechanical excursion, musicality, thermal management and reliability. Offered in 10-, 12-, and 15-inch versions, each Solo X will share a 2,000-watt RMS power rating. KICKER’s SoloX has not yet been assigned an MSRP, and will begin shipping later this spring.

For the past four years, KICKER has researched and experimented with concepts surrounding an extreme subwoofer, while re-introducing the brand to the competition circuit by sponsoring major competitions like the Unified Finals, USACi Finals and Midwest SPL Finals.

“The concept of the new Solo X is to take it to the next level,” Irby said. “It is designed with very tight tolerances. It has more power, more stroke, more Xmax, and still has a field-replaceable cone. The new design allows the Solo X to be extremely loud, but also be extremely musical.”

The no-glue reconing system uses a unique surround compression system and bolt-on spider landing, and is designed specifically to make speaker repair possible in only a few minutes time.

The CES 2021 Innovation Awards honorees, including product descriptions and photos, can be found at CES.tech/innovation. Additional honorees will be revealed during CES 2021.

Visit kicker.com for more.

This article was written by Paul A. Eisenstein for TheDetroitBureau.com

DETROIT, MI (01.08.2021) – In the automotive world, bigger has typically been equated with better. But where that was once measured in the length of a vehicle, the size of its fins, the output of its engine or the overall mass. These days, it seems, the best way for a manufacturer to say “Mine’s bigger” is to point to the video screen on the instrument panel.

It may prove difficult to top what Mercedes-Benz has in store, however, as it prepares to release its new EQS battery car. Essentially an all-electric alternative to the familiar S-Class flagship, and the anchor of the new EQ sub-brand, it will offer as an option the large, subtly curved “Hyperscreen,” a video display panel extending, the company notes, “almost the entire width of the interior, from the left to the right A-pillar.

The sort of feature once found in fantasy-in-chrome concept vehicles, “With our MBUX Hyperscreen a design vision becomes reality,” said Gorden Wagener, chief design officer for the Daimler Group. “We merge technology with design in a fascinating way that offers the customer unprecedented ease of use. We love the simplicity we created with a new level of MBUX.”

For those who haven’t followed the automotive technology race in recent years, automakers have gone from basic infotainment systems relying on kludgy knobs, buttons and touchpads to increasingly sophisticated interfaces that can operate much like the voice assistants revolutionizing home technology. The MBUX is, in basic function, much like Amazon’s Alexa. Simply say, “Hey, Mercedes,” and then ask it to change a radio station, plot out a route, check traffic or weather or find the answer to a question you and your passengers are debating.

The cloud-based system made its debut just a couple years ago in the latest-generation Mercedes C-Class but is now working its way through the rest of the German marque’s line-up. And, it claims, the version that will power the Hyperscreen will be significantly upgraded using artificial intelligence and “learn-capable software” that not only will take instructions, but also intuit personal needs and make its own suggestions.

It might remind you if you forget to make a call that you normally schedule at a particular time. Or it might suggest you turn on the hot stone massage when it’s cold outside and you’re heading out on a long drive. It also might check your calendar and recommend sending someone a greeting on their birthday.

Meanwhile, the massive screen will provide additional advantages. It can be difficult to provide much information on a 6-, 8, or even 10-inch touchscreen, requiring users to navigate through a series of menus to find what they need, such as changing radio stations, canceling a route or even turning on or off the seat heaters. The Hyperscreen will allow for a “zero-layer” feature where pretty much anything you might want will be within immediate reach, especially with the AI-powered system anticipating what you need.

“The MBUX Hyperscreen is both the brain and nervous system of the car,” said Sajjad Khan, member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG and CTO. “The MBUX Hyperscreen continually gets to know the customer better and delivers a tailored, personalized infotainment and operating offerings without the occupant needing to click or scroll anywhere.”

As with the large display in the current version of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Hyperscreen actually blends together multiple screens but does so all but seamlessly, the automaker noted in a release. It uses the latest OLED display technology to deliver extreme levels of brightness and contrast.

The Hyperscreen is organic in appearance, rather than the boxy layout found in most vehicles, meaning it wraps around the center stack and steering wheel and even two of the EV’s turbine-like air vents.

Mercedes is by no means the only automaker betting that consumers want ever bigger screens. Tesla loaded a laptop-sized display in its original Model S and, today, similar screens are used to control virtually all vehicle functions. Ford’s new Mustang Mach-E has its own computer-sized display and, as TheDetroitBureau.com reported earlier this week, spy shots show a near door-to-door display in what may be a new crossover-style remake of the Ford Fusion. The curved display in Cadillac’s new Escalade SUV measures nearly three feet.

Click here to read the full article on TheDetroitBureau.com