Main Entry: an·echo·ic Pronunciation: "a-ni-'kO-ik" Function: adjective : free from echoes and reverberations <an anechoic chamber.
In the sense of car audio, this term is often associated with describing speaker response. When using software to plot subwoofer response in an enclosure design, usually cabin gain and environmental factors aren't taken into account, so the curve is said to be "anechoic," which is to say the curve you see isn't going to accurately reflect the actual curve in-car.
Another example of a somewhat anechoic efect is listening to speakers on a sound board in a store, as opposed to hearing them in a car, or just connecting a speaker on a workbench instead of mounted into a car door where it's meant to be heard. All of these examples will alter the response of the speaker, just as changing cars or even speaker position can alter response.
DUMAX specs for subwoofers are considered anechoic, which is good in that the comparisons between speakers is evenly matched and unaffected by enclosure or vehicle response. You need to understand though that environment and enclosure have a great effect on the response of a speaker, so when looking at speaker specs, or auditioning speakers in an anechoic setting such as a store's sound board, they aren't going to sound the same once they're in your car.
Yeah, ty for that one, i always wondered why in the store some things sounded great but in a car.. it sounded like a different speaker completely. Oh hey glass i know you probably avoid best buy, but go in there one day and ask them how they have their amps hooked to the subs.. i did and they just stared at me... and asked a manager, who then told me, it was just a regular 200 watt crappy amp.. hmm shed some light on this for me if you dont mind? I mean do they really use some crappy amp back there or do they use something like a dj amp rack?
not sure at BB (closest one is 1.5 hours away) but most stores use a digital switch board that uses relays to control various amplifiers to various head units and speakers, so you can switch them around and try various combinations. Those are all powered by regulated DC power supplies.