A Quick Walkthrough on How to Outfit Your Ride with Car Audio
Now that spring is officially upon us, you’re probably taking more trips to the beach and driving around in your car more than normal. Wonderful weather means getting together with friends and finding more reasons to get out and enjoy the weather.
However, you may have noticed that your car audio isn’t exactly where you want it to be. Either your audio is underpowered, or it sounds distorted and crackly when you crank up the volume too loud. Whatever the case may be, you do not have to live with weak car audio.
The good news is that professional car audio installation is readily available in your area. Most people kick off their search by Googling terms like “car audio near me” to find a shop that can upgrade them.
So, where do you begin when it comes to upgrading your car audio? Let’s dive in a little deeper with a walkthrough on what components you need to buy to achieve perfect sound.
#1 – Swap Out That Factory Stereo for an Aftermarket Car Stereo
Most people think they need to upgrade their car speakers to immediately improve their sound. That’s actually not true. What you want to do is swap out that old factory stereo for a brand-new aftermarket car stereo.
Remember, the car stereo is the source of your audio signal. Even if you have top-of-the-line car speakers, they’re not going to be able to do much with a weak signal from a factory stereo. You shouldn’t have to spend too much money to get an aftermarket stereo that gets the job done. Most people spend a few hundred dollars or more for this upgrade, and you should always stick with trusted brands like Sony, Panasonic, JVC, and other household names.
Once you replace your factory stereo with an aftermarket stereo, you’re going to notice an immediate improvement in power and clarity of your car audio. Aftermarket car stereos also provide many features, such as an equalizer and ways to integrate your smartphone like Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. Additionally, many aftermarket car stereos come with large touch screen interfaces that make using the product while driving easy and safe.
#2 – Upgrade Those Factory Speakers for Aftermarket Speakers
Once you’ve upgraded to an aftermarket car stereo, you’re clear to upgrade your old factory speakers to aftermarket car speakers. Yet again, you shouldn’t need to spend too much in order to get a high-quality arrangement of speakers. In fact, many coaxial car speaker setups (all-in-one design) will only run you a few hundred dollars.
However, if you want to go with a more professional car speaker arrangement, then you’ll want to go with component speakers. These speakers separate each individual element into their own channel, so you’ll need to be mindful of that when purchasing an amplifier. It’s also worth noting that although component speakers are more expensive, they are hands-down the better option for a true audiophile that appreciates perfect sound.
#3 – Amp Things Up
Once you have your car stereo and car speakers in order, you can further elevate your car audio by adding an amplifier into the mix. Think of the amplifier as the extra muscle in your sound system. It will push your system to be louder and clearer than ever before. As previously mentioned, an amplifier is especially important when using component speakers. Make sure that whatever amp you get has enough channels to cover each individual element of your component speaker system.
#4 – Get a Subwoofer for More Boom
For those of you out there that want a little extra boom with your playback, you’ll want to invest in an external subwoofer. This is going to give you all the extra bass that you need for those booming tracks.
You’ll have a couple of options for the enclosure on your subwoofer: a sealed box or a ported box. Sealed boxes are smaller and provide a tighter, more accurate baseline, but they need more power to operate at their best. Ported boxes, on the other hand, don’t require as much power and will provide a more booming, quaking sound. The only drawback is that their enclosure is larger than sealed boxes.
Finding Car Audio Installation Near You
We’ve given you a lot to chew on as far as what car audio you need to get to achieve perfect sound. Our advice? Visit your local car audio store and sample some products that we’ve mentioned in person so that you can see which ones appeal most to your listening preferences. Most people find their shops by searching for the term “car audio near me” or “car audio installation near me.” That should bring up numerous car audio retailers in the area that you can check out. Most of these shops can install the product into your vehicle on the very same day that you purchase it.
