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Tips on Planning a Car Audio System


If you are working on planning your own system?or trying to?looking at all of the product reviews and recommendations can be quite intimidating. It can also be rather overwhelming to visit an audio shop to talk to a specialist. Some specialists will try to talk you into much more than you want or need; others won?t want to talk with people who don?t understand the basics. So, many people turn to the internet for information.

Here are some basic tips that you can use when planning a stereo system for your car. While not all experts may agree with every one of these tips, for the most part, these tips generally apply for most situations?especially for beginners who are planning their first systems. Check out the tips below for help on working on your car stereo system.

  • ?Keep within your budget. You do not have to purchase every component of your car audio system at once?you can purchase one item at a time if need be. It is better to do that than to blow a paycheck and be unable to pay the bills!
  • Go with what sounds good to you?not what sounds good to the salesperson or what sounds good to your friend. You will be the person listening to the system day after day.
  • Less is sometimes better. This refers to fewer components. Spend more on fewer components for an audio system, rather than purchasing a lot of cheaper components.
  • Less is nearly always better as far as the number of speakers goes. When you have more speakers, your sound quality goes down because of interactions in the sound waves.
  • It is wiser to purchase a good CD-player than a CD/cassette player. Stand-alone CD-players are of better quality. If you still have cassettes you enjoy listening to, convert them to CD?s by downloading the music (legally!) and burning the songs to CD?s.
  • If your front speakers don?t seem to have enough power, instead of replacing the speakers, consider getting an amplifier. This can greatly increase the power of your speakers. Typically, 100 watts per channel is a good start.
  • Be sure to choose a head unit with sensible features. After all, you will be interacting with this on a daily basis, pushing the buttons and maneuvering the dials. You don?t want one that is awkward to control. You may want to opt for one with security controls?if you think you will be diligent about using them. Security controls only work to protect a unit if you use them.
  • Make sure that you get good-quality speakers. Even if you have to wait awhile to get any other component for your car audio system, do not skimp on the speakers. No other component can make up for poor quality speakers.
  • Plan for future upgrades when you buy any components for your car audio system. This way, the units you purchase now will be compatible with your future purchases.
    Keep these tips in mind and you should have an easier time building the car audio system of your dreams.

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    • Comments

    1. Wow..thanks for that man ! Getting opinion from people can be such a pain when it comes to something like this. Audio systems are something that need planning and careful consideration before installing. Nice article..      by thegame
    2. Quote:
      Originally Posted by CSM User View Post
      If you are working on planning your own system?or trying to?looking at all of the product reviews and recommendations can be quite intimidating. It can also be rather overwhelming to visit an audio shop to talk to a specialist. Some specialists will try to talk you into much more than you want or need; others won?t want to talk with people who don?t understand the basics. So, many people turn to the internet for information.

      Here are some basic tips that you can use when planning a stereo...

      Click here to go back to the original article

      thanks for the tipsw      by akhanna01
    3. ive never tried to install my own system - i take it that its going to be hard, have you got any tips for me, as a complete beginner on what i should do ?      by phpdeveloper
    4. I just replied to your other thread about this - the best thing to do is to read lots of things about it- buy a magazine that deals with car stereo, also go into your local parts dealer and ask them about it, tell them that you dont know what to do, but want to learn and want to install a stereo in your car - they might recommend a book or something, or even a website      by fronk69
    5. cool man, thanks, i'd better get studying then, it seems as if its going to be more of a challenge than i thought! are there any specific tools that i will need ? i have screwdrivers and little plier things for cutting wires that i got from my friend, he said i shouldnt need more than that ?      by phpdeveloper
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