Car Audio buying guide for noob.

[TruAmbitionz]

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I need a quick run-down of what to look for when buying car audio, most specifically, subwoofers and amps.

I'm the kind of person that will walk into Best Buy or Circuit City and buy whatever the salesperson says is ok, which is what I want to stop.

Why are they're so many kind of amps? Mono? 2 Channel? 4 Channel?

What brands are known to be of good quality?

Anyone recommend any sites to order/and/or learn from?

Watts? RMS? Ohms?

Any guidance will be appreciated.

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[cash68]

Everything you've just asked about isn't specific to car audio, it's just general audio stuff. I'll provide quick answers, but I suggest you just start reading about audio on the net, or grab some books at the library.

First off, don't get a sub and amp. They sound loud but like crap with factory speakers. Instead, buy some aftermarket speakers. Don't buy the cheapest, and don't buy the most expensive. Buy what sounds good. Get a good headunit, and then buy a 4 channel amp.

You asked about mono vs 2 vs 4 amps. They are what they are called. A mono amp only amplifies one channel. A 2 channel amp amplifies 2 channels. A 4 channel amp amplifies 4 channels. For a sub, a lot of people use a mono amp. For the rest of the speaker, buy a 4 channel amp, which has one channel for each speaker in your car.

Brands don't really matter a whole lot, some who used to make nice stuff now make crap, some who make crap sometimes make nice stuff. Just LISTEN to the speakers. And don't get sucked into spending a lot of money. I just picked up a few pairs of 6.5" speakers from best buy for $15 a pair, on clearance from $65. They sound good, about as good as some $70 kenwoods and alpines. I suggest you learn basic audio stuff.

 

[FallenAngel]

What he said

Start with a nice headunit and upgrading to nicer speakers. Skip the subwoofer / amplifier (buy this last, if you even want it), under 90% of circumstances, it won't make anything sound better, just muddier and with more bass. Don't forget about dampening when if you get a sub, otherwise it'll sound bad.

 

[ilikemonkeys]

Can I play Devil's Advocate?

Don't. Car audio is an awful hobby. There are so many variables and everything is expensive and theft prone. I"ve had both high end mobile audio and stock, and I'm so incredibly happy with stock, I'll never go back.

Keep your listening to home and your drive to cheap tinny listening.

Mind you that I live in the city and have replaced many head units. I"m biter and I also know a lot of people that have access to a lot of high end audio, but choose not to go that way in their cars.

Take what I say with a grain of salt.....its' just my opinion. I"ll never put a dime into my car audio.

....I spend everything on my home system

Good luck

B

 

[cash68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilikemonkeys /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can I play Devil's Advocate? Don't. Car audio is an awful hobby. There are so many variables and everything is expensive and theft prone. I"ve had both high end mobile audio and stock, and I'm so incredibly happy with stock, I'll never go back. Keep your listening to home and your drive to cheap tinny listening. Mind you that I live in the city and have replaced many head units. I"m biter and I also know a lot of people that have access to a lot of high end audio, but choose not to go that way in their cars. Take what I say with a grain of salt.....its' just my opinion. I"ll never put a dime into my car audio. ....I spend everything on my home system Good luck B

Can I play devil's advocate to devil's advocate?

Car manufacturer's put in the cheapest crap they can find. Chintzy paper woofers with foam surrounds and tiny tiny magnets rated for 15 watts or so. Complete garbage. Spending even a very small amount of money, on things like PYLE brand ghetto speakers, will net you a nice improvement in sound quality. If you already have a factory CD player, cool, but my cars had tape decks so upgraded do a black sony MP3 CD player with an aux in port. It looks stock so I never lock my car, and it sounds 100x better than the old rotted out pieces of crap in there, plus I can listen to CDs, Mp3s CDs, or my iPod now. It's wonderful. In my subaru, I replaced the fronts with a component set that cost around $75 from blaupunkt, the rears I replaced with JBL 6X9s for about $100, a used alpine 4 channel amp ($100), and a nice sony mp3 cd deck for about $250 when mp3 cd decks were still expensive. It sounds awesome, and makes road trips a blast.

In my hondas, I spent about $75 on the MP3/CD/Aux in headunit that looks stock, and the cheapest 6.5" speakers I could find. They sound much better than stock, and improve the driving experience quite immensely.

 

[TruAmbitionz]

Thanks anyway guys.
I think I know why there isn't a car audio section on this forum.

 

[cash68]

Yeah, it's because most car audio people are complete idiots who just want huge subs and tons of bass, and don't give a rats ass about actual sound quality. They just want to be loud and annoying.

 

[SR-71Panorama]

Here are a few friendly suggestions:

1. Don't buy anything at Best Buy or Circuit City. Awful doesnt even begin to describe their installs.

2. Avoid bargan basement amps that have specs that seem too-good-to-be-true. They are. Many amps will have unrealistic wattage numbers, and will basically be distortion machines.

3 For online, I'd recommend woofersetc.com, but they do sell products that won't come with a warranty from the product company, since many car audio companies only provide warranties through 'authorized dealerships'. (many opinions here; buy from ad and get warranty or skip and get much cheaper price; decide for yourself)

I used to recommend Tweeter, but they went bankrupt, so look for a small local specialty shop for installing. It wont be cheap, but they also won't destroy your car the way Circuit City/Best Buy will do.

If I were you, I'd keep it simple and get JL Audio amps, subs and speakers. There are much more exotic options, but JL is widely respected/supported, and you can find stuff online easily. Their amps are particularly nice; they have "R.I.P.S." technology, and basically the wattage stays consistent, even when the battery/alternator are under load or you are idle at a traffic stop. Most other amps will dip severely in those situations. JL amps can take a beating and keep coming back for more.

For head unit (cd player) I'd recommend an Alpine. Pay close attention to the RMS and voltage output. Some Alpines have one or two more volts than competitor HUs and that is a good thing. I know the OLD Eclipse brand had great head units. The new stuff is not made to the same quality, or so I've been told.

Of course if you have obsecene money to burn, get McIntosh everything

Lastly, for subwoofers (stick with JL) bigger does not always equal better, despite what all the 17 year olds tell you. If you listen to nothing but hip hop, then get a 15 inch, and hearing protection and call it a day. If you care about sound quality and listen to a variety of genres, I'd go with one or two 10" subs. As a general rule, the smaller the sub, the faster, cleaner, tighter and accurate the bass will be. Large subs are what you hear in traffic from a mile away, but in the car, chances are you will come to love the bass offered by smaller subs. Much more listenable in the long run.

If you're like me, you will find yourself gradually relying on the subs less, and will be more concerned over tonal balance than pure bass quantity over time.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've spent some time researching audiophile grade car systems. In short, there isn't much on the market that's good and the rest is very expensive. You're better off putting together a nice home system. I'm leaving my car bone stock.

Most car audio isn't audio at all. It's just a noisemaker and possibly a conspiracy to enrich audiologists and the hearing aid industrial complex.

Think of it this way: you won't be able to listen to music if you can't hear it in the first place. Car "audio" destroys ears. Anecdotal evidence, for sure, but I've been running into more and more young people with hearing loss. You often have to speak up to them, like you would your grandparents, to talk. It's probably the giant subs and rattling trunk lids to blame.

 

[pez]

Rattling trunks? and Noisemakers? That's what Dynamat and non-ported subs are for. Dynamat makes a big difference if you can get it installed right...only caveat is, it's expensive.

 

[chris downing]

I have a few questions for you: what type of music do you mainly listen to? What would be/is your budget for everything? And what type of vehicle would this go in? After those are answered I can give some more input.

 

[ronnielee54]

x2 on the Dynamat. I would recommend Crutchfield as a good source. I was looking for a good unit to run an ipod through. Scored an Alpine CDA9885 along with ipod cable that alows direct control of ipod through headunit. Got it along with all installation equipment and excellent directions for 249 shipped. Was also able to get 2 pair of 2006 model Polk Audio 5/7's and enough Dynamat to do 4 speakers for 129 shipped. Not a bad under 400 dollar investment if I don't say so myself. Of course that does not count buying a new 80gig classic so I could leave my 30gig photo in the car permanently.

 

[Punnisher]

I'd say just get some nice 3 way 6"x9"s for the back and 3 way 6"s for the front, and an upgraded head unit.

This will sound leagues better than stock and is still discrete (and cheap), so you're not likely to get robbed.

This is the most I'll be doing to my car. I don't need high fidelity when driving, too much background noise to really be worth anything more.

 

[pez]

Heh, I'm getting 6x8's for my front doors very soon, and when I get a non-ported sub later this year, I'll get everything dynamat'ed. It's really not that much to get a decent sounding car system. I guess I luck out because my car rides rather quietly and smoothly. Personally after getting to test a lot of configs, I didn't like Alpines unless they were amped. If you're going unamped, Pioneer and Kenwood are the best (unamped), and Alpine and such companies as Eclipse are best when amped. And FYI, some factory speakers are actually halfway decent. Not to mention all the new Mitsubishi's have the added option of Rockford Fosgate 8 speakers system.

 

[VeipaCray]

Not all of us into the car stereo hobby are the loud bass idiot types. Some of us do actually still compete in SQL (sound quality) as opposed to the SPL (sound pressure level).

There are a few audiophile grade options left for your car.

For speakers:
MB Quart (Q series)
McIntosh
Focal (Utopia Be)

Amps:
MB Quart
Audison
McIntosh
Focal

Heads / components:
Alpine F #1
McIntosh
Nakamichi


Contrary to what people on this forum will tell you, car-fi is not a horrible hobby. There are many idiots in the hobby... yes... the same holds true for all hobbies. If you are like me and spend a lot of time in traffic in your car, then an audiophile car stereo is a great way to go.