Guide to Upgrading or Buying a New Car Audio System

If you’re reading this guide then hopefully you’re a car audio enthusiast, just like us, who enjoys the sound from a high quality car audio system.

There are a lot of options available but by researching and educating yourself about the various upgrades you will be able to make a more informative decision when deciding which car stereo system will be best for your needs.

Car Audio Guide

One of the first things you should do is research the available product options. Don’t just look into the car head unit, stereo/radio, but also look into the receivers, speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers.

Factory fitted car audio systems tend to be a broad standard a custom and bespoke audio system however, allows you to experience a deeper range of sounds and usually has flexibility for additions such as DVD players, DAB radio etc.

Firstly lets make sure you understand the car audio jargon.  The receiver is the unit that sits in the dash of your car and allows you to operate the various functions available in your vehicle.  The car audio receivers include Car Radio (AM/FM), CD player, MP3 Player and DAB radio.

One of the first questions well ask you is what features you want to be included in any new receiver.

Car Speakers Kent

Next is the speakers.  There are Two-way and Three way speakers.  Factory fitted car audio systems usually use two way speakers they are given their name from two drivers or speaker cones in each speaker.  One is for the higher frequencies and the other is for the lower frequencies.  Three way speakers, as the name suggest, have three drivers each of which controls a narrow band of frequencies to allow clearer and more powerful sound.

Damage or distortion to speakers is often caused when the RMS wattage handling of the receivers output doesn’t match the speakers.

Although its easier to install after market speakers that are the same size as your current speakers its also possible to sometimes cut a bigger hole in the panels to accommodate the increase in size.

Once you’ve determined the size of speakers you require you will need to decide on the shape and depth that your car can adequately hold.  If your’e not sure then please feel free to contact us.

Car Subwoofer Kent

If you’re interested in a deeper bass sound then a subwoofer would be a great addition to your car audio upgrade.  As well as the subwoofer itself you will require an enclosure for it to be mounted in.  Most car stereos cant power a subwoofer, some come with their own power or alternatively you can install an amplifier.  Again like speakers you will need to match up the RMS ratings between the subwoofer, amplifier and the car stereo system.

Amplifiers can power both the speakers and subwoofers to stop the power requirements from overloading the car stereo system.

We always use insulated speaker wiring to make it safe and durable.  We often recommend a complete re-wire of a car audio system when upgrading to allow maximum output from all components.

Finally a processor can enhance the car audio system, there are various options including Bass Enhancer, Crossover, Equalizer, Line Driver and signal processor.  Its best to give us a call to discuss these and their advantages for your car audio system.

Other options and functions that you should consider are DVD player, GPS, Bluetooth capability, remote control, USB ports etc.

To conclude, there are so many different options and the best way to get a complete bespoke car audio system tailored to your requirements and your vehicle is to give us a call.

If you’d like any other information or advice about buying a car audio system please feel free to contact us.