Is your car sound system giving the quality of music that you need? Do you think it needs some improvements to make to perform better? Some, in the hope of improving sound quality, end up assembling sophisticated sound systems for their cars but make many installation mistakes that prevent the music system from reaching its full potential.
Coming up with a decent audio system for your car isn’t as difficult as you might have thought. Knowing what you require is the first and the most difficult part. What equipment do you need?
Do you need big bass or you can make do with a medium one? There’s nothing like cruising with your favorite songs blasting in high definition! Here are some tips for upgrading your car sound system.
1. Pick Your Speakers Well
Being the sound output devices, speakers are the most important components of your music system. All other sound equipments you have are there to support the speakers. Speakers vary in sizes and there are also different models that you can choose from.
Some top models include Kenwood, JBL, Polk Audio, among others. You should take your time to research the best speaker that will provide you with high-quality music while at the same time fits well in your car.
Here are the main qualities to look for in a speaker:
- Power handling
- Build materials
- Frequency range
- RMS Sensitivity
- Impendence
The design of your car will also determine the type of speakers you can buy. Full-range speakers are only good if you have a large mounting location. You’ll most likely have more than one speaker in your car, so ensure they are well balanced for good sound depth, sharpness, performance, and clarity.
2. Select Your Receiver
The head unit is the core component of your car’s audio system and you should give it adequate attention. There are a variety of brands of this product that you can choose from, including double din head units, single din head units, and digital media receivers.
These receivers are offered with a wide array of functionalities such as satellite radio, Bluetooth connectivity, and others. The following are some of the features you should look for in a car receiver:
- Satellite radio availability
- Bluetooth compatibility
- Steering Wheel Control Compatibility
- HD Radio & Pandora Internet Radio
- Customizable Display
- MIXTRAX
- USB Inputs Remote control
- AUX
- Preamp outputs
You need to choose a head unit with a large touchscreen to enhance your experience and enrich your dashboard.
3. Select Your Component Speakers
Component speakers can make a big difference when it comes to the quality of sound that your car music system emits. These speakers are separate tweeters and crossovers that add more realism to your music by producing outstanding sound imaging.
Using the component speakers together with a full-range speaker will give you a better experience. You can fix the component speakers up-front and fix the full-range speaker at the rear.
Note that fixing the component speakers is not as easy as fixing the main speaker. You can ask for expert assistance.
4. Use Sound Deadening Material
Vibrations reduce the quality of music. Using sound-deadening materials in your car sound system will reduce vibrations and hence make the sound better. A quick note, do not put your speaker on the door panel. The door panel is prone to vibrations and this will affect the quality of the sound.
Apart from reducing vibrations, sound-deadening materials also lower the interior noise levels in your car so you can get the sound clearly from the speakers.
5. Select a Multiple Channel Amplifier
Multiple channels amplifiers are great because they are more flexible compared to the factory units. You need an amplifier that gives you the freedom of adding new components whenever you want to improve your music system.
Channel amplifiers have different numbers of channels and the more the number of channels the better. This is because you can put them into different uses. Some can power your front-mounted speakers while others can power your subwoofer.
An amplifier with five channels is better because you can use it to power the whole of your sound system.
6. Your Car Sound System Needs a Good Sub-woofer
A good amplifier needs a matching sub-woofer. A subwoofer provides you with that cool bass that you’ve been missing. If you have a 5-channel amp then your subwoofer will be taken care of nicely.
But if you have a 4-channel amp, you’ll need another single-channel amp dedicated for the subwoofer. For a more robust and professional installation, you should purchase a single channel amp to power the subwoofer.
Factors to consider when buying a subwoofer:
- RMS Power handling
- Frequency
- RangeType
- Size
- Rating
- Sensitivity
- Load
- Impedance
7. Buy a Better Sub Box or Simply Build One
If you install a subwoofer in a wrong enclosure, its performance will be affected. It is recommended that you buy a fitting box for your sub, if not, you can build one by yourself. You can as well hire someone to build it for you.
Ensure the box is of the right size so it can fit well into the car. Also, don’t force your ported box subwoofer into a sealed enclosure as this can destroy it.
Your Car Sound System Needs High-Quality Music Files
You can have the best audio equipment in the world but if your music files are of low quality, you’ll never enjoy music. When creating your music files, don’t settle for the default setting.
If you want to use your MP3 player, smartphone, or iPod in your car, ensure you use as little compression as possible. The quality of music improves with an increase in the bit rate.
Also, ensure you have high-quality power cables that allow current to flow easily and freely so all your equipment get enough power to function optimally. If you want to learn more about how you can improve your car sound system, you can visit our car blog.