If you have never upgraded any of the factory audio systems in your car please read here first.
There can be many steps to achieving a good sound in a vehicle, varying from a simple speaker upgrade to a full on amplified system. Listed below is an insight into what these steps are.
Headunit (Source)
Changing the headunit in your vehicle generally means better quality audio, more power to the speakers and more settings to adjust the sound to how you prefer it. If you’re looking to add an amplifier to your audio system you should look for a stereo with a high pre-out voltage, normally around 4v. This gives the amplifier a better signal resulting in less gain needed on the amplifier, therefore giving you a lot better sound quality.
Changing the headunit also gives you features such as Navigation, DAB, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth and much more.
Speakers
The best and simplest way to upgrade an audio system is to fit a set of front component speakers. This consists of a woofer, tweeter and a separate crossover. The crossover separates the frequencies produced by sound into high frequency and middle frequency. The tweeter produces the higher frequencies and it is best suited either high up on the door or around the dash area. The woofer should be placed lower down in the door area. These are generally fitted in factory locations so nothing is on show.
Subwoofers
If you want greater sound quality a subwoofer and amplifier will do the trick as you’re installing something that isn’t currently in the vehicle. This means that the high and mid frequencies are coming from your front speakers and the low frequencies (bass) come from behind (bass is non directional). As a general rule, the larger the subwoofer the deeper the bass it will produce. Adding a subwoofer into a vehicle is like adding a subwoofer to a home cinema system, it gives definition to the sound by adding in the really low frequencies that speakers can’t play. Subwoofers can be small and fitted quite discrete so they take up little room in the boot.
Amplifying
If you want to go even further to get the best from your component speakers then an amplifier would be the next improvement. This will increase power and also allow you to tune your speakers to your own specification. An amp will also add depth to the sound and give you more control over what you are listening to. Similar to a subwoofer, an amp can be quite small and sometimes hidden away so you can’t see it at all.