Guest author: Kostas Chiotis from InnovateCar.com
It often happens that while you’re driving down the road, you come across a car with an amazing bass beat and crisp sound coming from its stereo. Then you realize how dull and boring your car’s sound system is and desire for an instant improvement.
Most people consider that they have to spend extravagantly on stereo systems if they want to enjoy crisp and high-quality sound in their car but that’s not the case. By following simple tips and by making trivial improvements in the stereo systems, anyone can enjoy high-end audio in his/her car. Read on to get hands upon easy tips which will make your average-priced stereo system generate high-quality sound without breaking your wallet.
1) Replace the existing speakers
The first and foremost step you should take for the sake of excellent sound experience is to replace the factory-made car speakers. Factories usually aren’t very keen towards producing best speakers, in fact, manufacturers usually take car speakers for granted and despite improving audio systems over years, they’re still using cheap speakers which fail to deliver top-notch sound.
Replacing the ordinary factory speakers with high-quality aftermarket speakers will make a huge difference to the sound quality of the stereo system. Replacement speakers will produce tighter bass, crisp and clear sound and will bring forward the tiny details of the music which aren’t usually audible while using stock speakers.
Features of the aftermarket speakers
Now the question arises, what are the best car speakers and what qualities make them superior to stock speakers? Following are the features of the aftermarket car speakers which ensure the quality, clarity, and fineness of the sound these speakers will produce.
Better Design: Brand-name speakers ensure that you get speakers which have a sophisticated design and produce better sound. Their advance designs support several drivers like woofers, midranges, tweeters, super-tweeters, etc and collectively they produce outstanding sound.
Better materials: Aftermarket speakers are made up of durable materials which ensure long lasting and improved performance. Car speakers are always exposed to extreme climatic conditions and while technology keeps you safe on roads in winter, it can’t protect stock speakers from damage because of their cheap material. Aftermarket speakers, therefore, are built from futuristic materials which are resistant towards outside heat, cold and humidity. Their super-sonic performance ensures deeper and cleaner sounds, tighter lows and crisper highs.
2) High-Quality Music Files
What’s the point of installing new speakers and upgrading your sound system if you still aren’t able to enjoy high-end audio?
Compressing files is an easy and convenient way to store a large number of music files in your music player and these music files are good to listen with earbuds, but the moment you connect them with your upgraded car stereo system, you’ll instantly sense that something is missing. Basically, when you compress music files, some high and low-frequency information and fine music details, which are essential for terrific music experience, get dropped in the process and thus you’ll get to listen a low-grade sound.
Always play high-resolution audio files on your car stereo system and when creating files, don’t settle for default settings; keep in mind that the bit-rate determines the music quality, higher the rate, better will be the sound. Nowadays, most people prefer connecting their mobiles with their car stereos, and even save battery of their smartphone for this purpose; if you’re that sort of person, then try to minimize compression as much as possible if you’re playing music from your gadgets, explore your music app’s settings and find a way to enhance your audio quality.
3) Sound Deadening mats
All of your money invested on the sound gear won’t be effectual in producing the superior sound if you let the sound seep through open windows. Optimizing car acoustics is essential to avoid sound leakage and heavy reverberation. Sound deadening mats are ideal for reducing road noises and vibrations and making your favorite music sound even better.
The positioning of speakers also plays a key role in the quality of sound you’ll hear; they should be strategically installed in the car so that both driver and rear passengers enjoy identical sound quality. Door panels aren’t much suitable for speakers to be installed because of their thin material which will start vibrating the moment you play a loud music and distress the sound quality.
So, if you’ve speakers in your door panel, then you must think about attaching sound deadening mats to it; these will reduce the vibrations and provide a stable platform to the speakers.
4) Add an amplifier
Adding a separate amplifier will make a huge difference to the audio quality; it’ll enhance the speakers’ performance by adding more power, provides clear and crisp sound to the stereo system and makes certain that you achieve a powerful terrific sound in your car.
5) Bypass music player’s built-in digital-to-analog Converter (DAC)
The job of DAC or digital-to-analog converter is to convert digital information into music signals. DAC inside your portable music player produces satisfactory sound when listened through earbuds or earphones, but this is a quite inadequate performance if compared with the high-level performance of advanced DACs of car stereos. Therefore, while connecting your music player, iPod, smartphone, etc to the car stereo, it’s essential to bypass their DAC for enhanced music experience. Several state-of-the-art car stereos are now equipped with the feature to bypass your device’s DAC, therefore before buying an aftermarket stereo, look out for this feature to enjoy superlative sound in your car.
