The EISA awards recognize some of the top international products in car audio and other consumer electronics categories.
This year, in the car audio segment, winners were mainly in sound processors and amplifiers, plus an OEM award for a Bose system in Mazda vehicles.
Ground Zero won Best In-Car Sound Processor for its GZDSP6-10SQ (see top photo), EISA praised the 10-channel DSP for its sound quality, “achieved through a well-thought-out electronic architecture and the use of signal-friendly technology…” EISA said the DSP “delivers impressive performance and value for money.” See more here.
The Ground Zero GZDSP6-10SQ has been available in the US for the past year through HKI, which also sells SounDigital. Street price is $699.99.
STEG K4.01 II won for Best In-Car Amplifier
STEG, a high end Italian brand, is offered in the US by Rep-Corp. The STEG K4.01 II is a car amplifier delivering 4 x 95 watts at 4 ohms and is designed to adapt to all typical hi-fi car audio system configurations. It is built without control stages, to be used with a DSP. But by inserting an optional module into its dedicated slot, it can support a multi-way analog system. Alternatively, with a different module inserted into the same slot, the amplifier can be upgraded to a DSP/amp with 8-channel DSP. US pricing to be determined. See more here.
Audiotec Fischer won for Helix V EIGHT DSP Ultimate | In-Car DSP Amplifier of the Year and DSP PC-Tool 6 | In-Car DSP Software of the Year
Audiotec Fischer, distributed in North America by MSC, took the DSP/Amp award for its 8 channel amplifier with a 14-channel, next-generation DSP. It features 12 high-level inputs, 6 RCA inputs, optical and bidirectional USB-C audio (PerfectStream) for hi-res music streaming as well as sending and receiving measurement signals. “The new ACO platform (Advanced 32 bit CO-processor), combined with DSP PC-Tool 6, enables powerful EQ, automatic time alignment (ATM), signal analysis (AISA, Advanced Input Signal Analyser), and flexible virtual channel management.” See awards here and here and see MSC’s press announcement here.
Morel won Best In-Car High End Component for the Supremo 63 Special Edition
EISA said, “The Morel Supremo 63 Special Edition is a top-tier 3-way active system blending refined engineering and exotic materials…Sonically it delivers rich bass, nuanced mids, silky highs, and lifelike imaging with stunning dynamics—an acoustic engineering masterpiece.” See more here.
Musway M6v4 Best In-Car Upgrade and myCON, Best In-Car Integration
Musway M6v4: “… remains at the forefront of the competitive DSP amplifier market thanks to its advanced features: it features an EPS that prevents errors generated in the original unit by not detecting speaker loads, supports the start-stop function, and allows bridging of its 6 channels, features HD audio resolution up to 96kHz…” See more here.
Musway myCON, Best In-Car Integration: This is a controller designed for Musway devices equipped with DSP. It has a central AMOLED touchscreen display. Through the on-screen commands, users can not only select inputs and presets but also control streamers and players when connected, with full display of titles and graphics…” See more here.
Bose on Mazda CX60/CX80 won Best In-Car OEM Premium Audio System.
EISA said, “In collaboration with Bose, Mazda’s long-standing partner, the onboard audio system was developed starting from the vehicle’s sheet metal, which was sculpted to create acoustic volumes for the woofers and dedicated housings for midrange drivers and tweeters. The 12-speaker, multi-amplified system is driven by a DSP engineered by Bose and finely tuned by Mazda’s Takumi masters to seamlessly integrate into the overall driving experience.” See more here.
ESX QS-TWO-BT won Best In-Car Streaming Amplifier
Germany’s ESX is a Class D amplifier specialist, said EISA. “The QS-TWO-BT not only stands out for its ultra-compact size, what is most surprising is that despite its dimensions (90 x 35 x 70 mm) it passes with flying colors in any test related to performance, sound quality and low distortion levels (>0.007% THD+N at 5W), offering a power of 52 watts RMS per channel at 4 ohms..” See more here.
EISA awards are considered one of the top honors in global car audio. Winners are chosen by 54 publications across 27 countries.
