Mobile Sound

Do you find buying a high-performance auto audio system difficult? Do you know the factors to consider?

If you have no clear-cut guide, read on. Here’s a nice article from eHow. It outlines the steps in choosing a rewarding auto audio system:

Steps:
1. Conduct enough research so that you’re conversant with the basic terminology of audio systems. Audio and car magazines, knowledgeable friends and the Internet are your best sources.
2. Set a budget. Complete systems range from $500 to many thousands of dollars, but you can find choices within any budget.

3. Determine what high performance means to you. If you like rock and rap, maximum power output is important. If you like classical music, you want moderate power and exceptional sound quality.

4. Avoid buying a system one piece at a time. Every component, regardless of quality, has its own sound characteristics. If you buy everything separately, you won’t have a chance to preview the whole system before you own it.

5. Understand speaker options. Most speakers are two-way, with a low-range driver (woofer) and a high-range driver (tweeter). Three-way speakers include a midrange driver, which provides precise sound quality. Small car owners may opt to mount individual drivers, with the tweeters up front, and woofers and midrange drivers in back. Such systems require an external crossover device to synchronize the individual drivers. An audio shop will know the speaker limitations for your vehicle.

6. Research head units, also called receivers, which typically include a radio, an amplifier, and a CD or tape player. Head units list a power output figure in watts. Find a knowledgeable salesperson willing to explain the true power output. Higher-quality units usually have more power. Expect to pay $200 and up.

7. Check the preouts, plugs that allow for additional components on the head unit. If you plan on installing an equalizer (for improved sound tuning) and an additional amplifier (for more volume), be sure enough preouts exist. If you’re connecting the head unit to existing components, be sure the preouts are compatible.

8. Make sure the head unit is compatible with satellite radio, MP3 and home-recorded CDs. Even if you don’t use these now, you might in the future.

9. Select speakers and a head unit that are compatible in terms of power. Don’t use speakers with a lower power rating than the head unit. In fact, it’s a good idea to get speakers with a slightly greater rating, allowing for the addition of an amplifier later. Expect to pay $200 or more for top-quality speakers.

In a nutshell, you have to consider the quality of sound, room for speakers, adequate power, preouts for more components, and head unit compatibility. Those are the crucial things that make auto audio system stand out.

Hate regrets? Sure you do. So be sure you know exactly what to do and how to do it!

For all of us who want the best sound in our cars, we buy the loudest and the most expensive car audio system. But without the ability to properly install them and without the background knowledge about acoustics, then all the money we’ve spent would be terribly wasted and we would be thinking that we should have stuck with the factory unit. But being the fanatics that we are, we have some idea on how to make a car audio sound good.

But there are myths out there when it comes to car audio systems that need to be busted and that’s where the experts comes in. And these experts really know what they are talking about as they work for the Car Audio Magazine. I came across this article and decided to share it with you fellow car audio buffs. It’s quite lengthy so I’m just gonna share with you some of things which I think everyone should know.

One issue I find quite interesting is the thing about subwoofers. I’m sure you’ve also heard somewhere something about the larger the woofer, the slower it is. And here’s what Mark Eldridge of Car Audio gave us something to counter such myths. He said: “One of the most common myths is that the larger the woofer, the “slower” it sounds. What is this? How can a woofer be slow or fast?” Right on, huh?

Garry Springgar, also one of the experts from Car Audio, added: “The reason that whole thing got started was back in home audio there were a bunch of sealed box systems and the boxes were being built too small. That made the sound really boomy and people would blame it on the woofer’s size.” These guys are really good eh?

If you want more information as to where to properly place your tweeters or subwoofers to get the best out of your car audio system, these guys can tell you what to do. I mean, they do this for a living and I wonder how the car audio on these guys’ cars sounds like. I don’t really known but I can guess, and so can you. After all, what would you expect from someone who knows all about car audio? Buying and reading a Car Audio magazine will surely give you an idea just what you can do to your car audio’s performance. As for me, I am left wondering if these guys can turn an awfully cheap car audio system into something that you and I would envy. Hmmm…