Using Your Ears

A car audio system is a very personal thing — for your ears only. Although you may get advice from others on which components to buy, how they should be installed, and how the system should be tuned, you should be the ultimate authority on the subject. After all, you’re the one spending the money on a car audio system. It’s your car and they are your ears: They’ll tell you what kind of sound is best.

Using Your Head

Are you sure you want to install a system that costs twice as much as your car? How long do you plan on keeping the car, anyway? Do you really want to rip out the back seat to install subwoofers? What about when you want to cruise with a group of friends? Where will they sit? Or is it wise to fill up the trunk of the car with amplifiers so that you can’t even carry a bag of groceries? And what will that do to your car’s charging system, to say nothing of your bank account?

It’s easy to get carried away when planning, shopping for, and installing a car audio system. Try to keep a level head when putting together your system, taking into account how you use your car, how long you plan to keep it, how much you’ve budgeted, and other such considerations. I’ve seen too many people make poor choices when it comes to putting together a car audio system and regretting it afterwards. So consider all the factors involved and take your time.

Finding a Friend

While it may be your system, you don’t have to go it alone. Find a friend who has more car audio experience to perhaps serve as a mentor or advisor. There’s nothing like a little knowledge to help keep you from making mistakes, and a friend to guide you to hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls that beginners make.

Car audio is also more fun when it’s a collaborative effort. A good friend will act as a sounding board. Plus, there’s nothing like sharing a cruise with a friend and cranking up your system when it’s all said and done.

Trusting Your Instincts

While it’s great to have a friend to help out, just because your buddy insists that you should go with one 15-inch sub instead of two 10s doesn’t mean that you have to listen to him — or even that it’s right for your system. You probably have a good sense of what you want from your system — if you follow the advice above about making up your mind and doing your homework — so always go with your gut if you can’t decide which direction is best. Chances are you’ll be dead-on with the decision. 

Keeping It Simple

If you’re reading this book, it probably means you’ve just started on this whole car audio thing. A word on advice: Keep your first system simple. Even a simple car audio system can seem very complex to a beginner, and you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew. Starting with a basic system will help you get your feet wet and learn slowly rather than feeling overwhelmed by a complex system. Plus, the more components you have the more chances something will go wrong. Save complexity for when you have a few systems under your belt.

Planning Ahead

While you’ll want to keep your first system simple, there’s no reason you can’t set your sights on something more elaborate down the road. In fact, it’s always smart to plan your system with an eye towards future upgrades. If you can’t afford a subwoofer for your initial system, perhaps you’ll want to buy a stereo amp that can be bridged so that when you do get a sub you’ll have an amp that can power it. Or even if you can’t afford to add rear-seat video to your ride, you can get a head unit that has a DVD player and an auxiliary A/V output so that you can add screens in the rear later down the road.

As much as possible you’ll want to future proof your system, which means that you don’t want to paint yourself into a corner when it comes to future upgrade options. Technology changes fast and you don’t want to get left behind. Look at how quickly the iPod changed the way people bring music into the car — and how people who don’t have a head unit with an auxiliary input must feel.

Cranking It Up

If you want to see what a car audio component can do, crank it up. When shopping for car audio equipment, don’t be afraid to play music at loud volumes to get a sense of how a speaker or subwoofer performs. Most components are made to play music at loud volume and perform their best when cranked up.

Same thing goes for after you get the stuff installed in your car. Don’t hesitate to crank it up from time to time. When musicians are creating a recording in the studio, they’re usually listening to the playback (when they check out what they’ve recorded) at loud volumes, and that’s the way most music is meant to be heard. Plus, you sometimes have to crank up a car audio system just to combat road, engine, and wind noise.

Turning It Down

Of course, there is a limit to how much you want to crank it up. You don’t want your system to distort. A little distortion is inevitable, but a lot can damage components, particularly speakers. When you hear distortion or a problem with a component, turn it down.

And when you’re driving through a quiet neighborhood, turn it down. You also want to be careful not to crank it so loud that you don’t hear sirens from emergency vehicles. And you don’t want to play your system so loud that it dam¬ages your ears — otherwise you won’t be enjoying music for years to come.