In the build up to what is going to be the biggest event in the EMMA UK 2018 calendar, each week we shall be providing a review of the products used in the 48hr build off.
It is after all “a historical moment in UK car audio!”
Our first review is of the infamous Audiotec Fischer Helix P Six DSP mk2. This will be the Brain of the operation as this is one of the key products being used in the LIVE International build off @Modified Nationals where TEAM UK will go head to head with TEAM Germany.
Audiotec Fischer is a family business with its products designed and manufactured in Germany. It was founded in 1990 where it has evolved from a niche supplier to a world leader in innovative audio products.
Having both an international quality standard DIN EN ISO 9001: 2015 and an international standard for environmental management DIN EN ISO 14001: you can have confidence that what they produce will be of a very high standard.
They have three main brands as a company; BRAX, HELIX and MATCH which they supply to more than 50 countries… Here in the UK the distributor is Midbass distribution who is proudly supporting the International 48hr build off.
For those of you not familiar with the latest in car audio gadgetry, this is one of Audiotec Fischer’s most popular products as it is their answer to a “one box solution”.
This single box can provide 6 channels of Ultra HD Class D amplification at 120watts per channel RMS with very low distortion (0.008%). If that isn’t enough, it has inbuilt an 8 channel DSP.
When you do the math of what a high end amplifier should cost and what a high end DSP should cost, this product suddenly becomes the bargain of the year!
In terms of sound quality it has a 96KHZ sampling rate and an extended audio bandwidth of more than 40 KHZ!!
If I am losing your interest in the detail, trust me, it’s very cool!
The general ethos of this product is to allow modern cars an audio upgrade that would otherwise not be possible. If you have a headunit that is deeply buried into your dash with satnav or reversing cameras etc, you can connect using the high level inputs into the Helix P Six DSP mk2 and take back full control of your audio system (whilst retaining all that functionality).
Some of these modern gadgets are getting ever so complicated for the novice installer, our advice is to contact your local car audio midbass dealer/installer that will be able to supply and fit your specific application. 
If you are saying to yourself, yes that is my situation, but I want an uncompromising signal source to play high definition audio in my car… Well you’re covered too, Helix DSP products have an expandable slot to allow you to connect a HEC card.
HEC Interfaces like a Bluetooth® Audio Streaming module or a High Resolution Audio USB soundcard have been crafted to give you more options than ever.
Sounds complicated with all these multiple sources of sound… Yet every day use can be made simple using its auto sensing technology, you can setup your Helix product using its very powerful software to auto select and play the sound source you want in your order of preference. For example, play on Bluetooth via your phone, hit pause and the DSP will auto switch back to your car headunit while you reverse and listen for those parking sensor chimes (or vice versa). – Very clever stuff.
But what if I want to connect a separate amplifier? Did you notice it is a 6 channel amplifier but an 8 channel DSP? – You guessed it, you have two RCA outputs to connect a cable from the DSP to you second amplifier. No need for a second DSP!!
Before you buy, if you want to see what the software is like to use, the user-friendly DSP PC-Tool software is available for free download, which if you are not connected to a helix DSP product will go into DEMO mode so you can have a good look around.
Now you’re thinking you have a start stop technology car and want to know if you can have aftermarket car audio still, the answer is yes, the safe operating voltage of the Helix P Six DSP mk2 is 10.5 – 32 volts (maximum 5 seconds down to 6 volts) making it safe to use in your modern car.
If you want to know who your nearest recommended dealer is, contact midbass for more information http://midbass.com/about-us/
If you want to know more about the build off click here
If you want to know who is on the UK team click here
If you want to know who is on the German team click here
