There are many factors to consider when you are choosing a new car audio system. It is common for people to make a few mistakes along the way. This article will cover some of the more basic factors to consider, and help you make the right choice in purchasing an audio system for your car.
The most obvious mistake many people make is spending way too much money. Although it might seem like throwing more money at the system will make it better, it isn’t always necessary to break the bank to have a good sounding audio system. This can be even worse if you do not like the system once you are done with it. First and foremost, you want to set yourself a budget and stick with it. Then decide how many of the car audio components will need to be replaced. By doing this, it will be much easier to locate good audio products that are within your price range. You will have to decide what is most important to you in your system. Going over budget is the first and most common mistake car audio system buyers make.
The next thing to think about before purchasing is just how much your vehicle may need to be modified to accommodate the type of audio system you want to install. For example, certain speaker setups will require holes to be cut out, new wires run etc. In many cases you will want these changes to be done by a professional, which will affect your budget since you will have to factor in labor costs. Forgetting to put a rubber grommet around a new hole for wires can quickly reduce the quality of your audio system, which is why some people just need to hire someone.
Make sure that you think about the future before you spend too much money on your car stereo. Will you be keeping this vehicle for quite awhile, or sell it in the near future? If you do sell your car, will you remove the audio system or sell it with the car? In most cases, you are very unlikely to recover the money spent on a high quality, custom system through the outright sale of the vehicle. If you do plan on removing the system, this can make it harder to sell. Believe it or not, having at least a decent car radio is a very important factor people consider when purchasing a vehicle.
You should also ask yourself, what do you mainly use this car for? If this is your everyday vehicle, and your car sees a lot of wear and tear, it would make sense to purchase high end, brand name components. Most certainly if you spend more time in your car than at home, then you will want it to be as comfortable and entertaining as possible. For people who just go get the kids and groceries a few times a week, it would be much more appropriate to save money and choose more affordable components.
Another common mistake is consumers not choosing a system appropriate for the type of music they listen to. I would have to say that this should be one of the most influencing factors in making an audio system purchase. If the music you like is real heavy in bass, then of course you will need a high powered amplifier. Then you would want a sub-woofer matched to the power of your amp and how you set it up. For other types of music, like rock, metal or country, a set-up like that can adversely affect the sound of the music. Additionally, if you listen to classical music or trendy pop music, you will need to get an audio system that has a strong speaker system that offers even play of the entire sound spectrum.
Now some of you readers have some very nice vehicles, and they are tight, but a majority of average drivers have cars with a little bit of age, and have driven some rough roads. Make sure that the car audio system you choose, isn’t so powerful that your car rattles and sounds clunky as it goes down the road. It just makes you look silly.
-Chuck T is a freelance writer who enjoys his music, and his truck. He has a blog about Nothing In Particular Photo by loudestnoise
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Just a few things that I would suggest:
-Don’t forget to make sure it’s properly tuned by somebody who knows how it’s done. You could spend a lot of money on a lot of good product, but it won’t sound as good as it should until it’s properly tuned.
-Another thing to keep in mind is not to choose looks over performance. A lot of people make the mistake of buying equipment that looks fancy. Things like chrome details, bright colors, lights and the like attractive to the buyer, but when it’s all said and done, you’re not looking at your speakers constantly, you’re listening to them.
-Doing research ahead of time and talking to unbiased people and asking for outside opinions is also something worth putting some time into. The people at the store are mainly there to sell you product that the store carries, they aren’t going to suggest you go across town and buy from another store.
-Don’t get too excited at the very first thing you find. It may seem nice at the time, but there is still a possibility of finding something else that will work out better.
-Setting aside a small part of the budget for even a little bit of sound insulation can improve the sound pretty dramatically, as well.
-As far as music type goes, I would partially agree on needing an amplifier and subwoofer(if indeed this is going to be part of the purchase). In this case I’d say it’s more about the size of the speaker itself as well as the enclosure type that houses it. Rock tends to sound better with 10 inch drivers vs things like rap/hip hop tend do sound better with 12 inch drivers. I won’t be touching on materials used in the manufacture of equipment, because an average user will be VERY unlikely concerned with this.