Upgrading your car sound system – what equipment you need

There is nothing more exhilarating than the sound of bass booming inside your car as you go out partying with your gang. The rush that thumping music gives you cannot be equaled by any other element of fun. The sound quality, clarity, and volume control are the basic things that define a good music system in a car – which is your primary recipe for good times out. If your car has a music system that is not up to your standards of fun, it is time to upgrade. Here is the basic know-how on upgrading your car sound system and what equipment you need for it.

Know the basics

In essence, the sound system of a car consists of three components: the head unit, the amplifier, and the speakers. While the head unit provides the signal consisting of audio, the amplifiers do their job of ramping it up. The speakers are the component that produce sound. Overall quality of sound that is received as output is dependent on optimum performance of these three components individually, and on their compatibility with each other.

Equipment #1: The head unit

There can be no music if there is nothing to decode the signal. This is precisely what a head unit does – it provides the signal that subsequent components need in order to do their jobs. In a more generic, talking-lingo, the head unit is referred to as "stereo" or "radio". Whatever input source you provide to this head unit (for example, USB drives, CDs, DVDs, etc.), it reads the audio file signals and forwards them to the amplifier. In order to upgrade your car music system, a good quality head unit is required that can read any signal that you plug-in. Older music systems had head units that could read audio cassettes and CDs. Today, most of the music is either through a USB drive, auxiliary inputs or through infotainment systems. Get a head unit that provides you all of these options.

Equipment #2: Amplifier

This piece of equipment is what receives the weak signals from the head unit and powers them up for the speakers to work with. Original equipment that accompanies a car out of the showroom does not usually have a powerful amplifier fitted with it. Actually, it may not separately have an amplifier at all; it does not mean that there is not amplifier in there –it is just small, and combined with the head unit and doesn’t really count. If you want to power up your car audio, amplifier would be the next big thing after the head unit. You may be hurdled by the space restriction, but you can always put the boot to good use.

Equipment #3: Speakers

For upgrading your car music system, you really need to consider whether or not you want to run out of space in your car. Car speakers are a comprehensive unit that do not have separate woofers and tweeters and all that jazz, just to save on space. Since this equipment is what actually uses the signal from the amplifier to make music, getting the right pieces set up in the right positions is going to make all the difference. Remove the factory speakers, and get a full-fledged audio output system installed in the boot. If not, just get better comprehensive speakers that can work with the upped signal provided by the amplifier.

Amrit Mirpuri was born in Manila, Philippines. He is presently the C.E.O. of L.A. Group of Companies based in the Philippines which consists of L.A. Car Accessories Store.