Are you tired of your boring sound system in your car not providing the earth shattering bass you want? Are your speakers as quiet as a drunk man during Christmas? Here are just a few tips to make sure that you get exactly what you need this holiday season.
Look for better speakers!: Speakers play a major part in the audio department. You can get that loud and crisp sound for cheap! Speakers’ prices can range from $100 – $500.
Get a subwoofer (or several!): Subwoofers provide that low, trunk rattling bass! These are fantastic if you want better lows and louder bass drops. Now, here is where it can get complicated. There are several sizes of subwoofers ranging from 8 inches to 20 inches! The most common is either a 10” or 12” subwoofer. These usually go in boxes that move air to get that low bass. The price can range anywhere from 100 – $3000!
Tweeters! These little guys (Size of golf balls) provide that loud and clean sound without missing the higher notes from the bass of regular speakers. These will increase not only your volume, but also the clarity of your music. These range in price from $50-$200.
Radio/Deck/Head Unit: This is crucial for having an upgraded sound system either for loud and crisp music or for that hair shaking bass! This is one of the most important of the ten. The “deck” is the way you control your volume and tuning settings. Deck prices range from $50 to $900.
Amps/Capacitors/Wires: For any aftermarket sound system you are going to need and amp,capacitor (Optional for newer cars) and wires. The Amp is very crucial to powering your system. This helps provide the power from your battery and stores it to then help push power through your speakers and or Subwoofers.
Deciding what you want This is the hardest part. When you get a sound system you have to determine what sound quality you would like. You need to decide if you want loud and crisp music for enjoyable music or if you want to rattle mirrors off your car and maybe others!
Boxes: Boxes for subwoofers can be really simple of 4 pieces of wood and glue to 300 screws and plexiglas. To make it simpler you need to figure out what you like. To have a lower rumble (louder bass) or a nice thump (typically quieter) The main difference is either Ported or Sealed. Ported boxes have holes to let the air escape. This gives you a very low bass that can be heard in neighborhoods. Sealed boxes are for people that want a thump of bass instead of a growl.
Dynamat: This is really for you car audio enthusiasts! This material helps with that obnoxious sound of rattling or buzzing you can hear from loudspeakers. This is inexpensive but does a fantastic job at muffling that annoying metal buzz sound that everyone hates. Where to start? Look for what you want. Want louder quality? Go for better Speakers and tweeters. Want that loud boom and bass? Add a subwoofer! Want improved everything? Get a better head unit (radio) speakers and add a subwoofer. The possibilities are endless.
Change your existing radio settings: This is the easiest way to change the quality of your music for no cost! Look for a Gear symbol or a settings button and click it. This should show you audio settings. Then you should see bass,treble,mid and loudness. Bass controls the loud boom. Treble controls the clarity. Loudness controls the loudness of your audio by increasing then decibels.
Jace Jasperson, Spartan Scoop