How to Trick Out Your Ride Like a Pro with New Sound
Summer is coming, which means things will be heating up and the weather will be perfect for night cruising in your ride. There’s never been a better time to trick out your ride with all the car audio and car accessories you’ve been holding off on.
Hopefully, you’ve already invested in premium car window tinting. Not only does window tint keep your car cool in the summer, but it also elevates the overall look and feel of your ride. Quite simply, cars with tinted windows just look better.
So, what’s the next step? What upgrade can you make to your ride to really make it stand out this summer?
Let’s walk through this step-by-step.
Step #1 – Always Start With the Head Unit. Always.
People that want to go big with their sound always think to go to their speakers first. This is totally WRONG. What you actually want to do is swap out that old factory head unit for a high-quality aftermarket stereo. You can start your search by Googling “car stereo installation near me” or “car stereo installation in San Diego.”
Remember, your audio signal originates from your head unit. If you’re still using your old factory stereo, then your audio signal is not going to be great.
After you swap out your factory unit for an aftermarket one, you’re going to notice a big upgrade in your sound quality, clarity, and power. Another bonus is that modern car stereo units have a ton of features. One of the most popular features is Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, which allows you to seamlessly integrate your phone with your head unit. It’s way better than standard Bluetooth.
Step #2 – Upgrade Those Old Factory Speakers
Once you have a new aftermarket car stereo installed, you should be clear to upgrade those low-power factory speakers that came with your ride. There are plenty of great brands to choose from including JVC, Sony, Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer, and plenty more.
Don’t think that you have to spend a ton of money to get a good set of speakers. You can actually get a really decent set for a few hundred dollars. Our advice? Go to a car audio store and sample out some of the merchandise in person. You’ll figure out pretty quickly which speakers most appeal to your listening preferences.
Step #3 – Need More Boom? Drop in an External Subwoofer
A new head unit and new speakers probably aren’t going to achieve the boom that you want on their own. For those of you out there that need plenty of ground-shaking bass, you’re going to want to invest in an external subwoofer.
This piece of equipment can either be installed inside the main interior or in the back of your trunk. It’s going to provide that additional punch you need on those heavy basslines.
When it comes to external subwoofers, you’re going to have two choices on the enclosures: a ported box and a sealed box.
Sealed boxes are smaller and result in tighter, more accurate basslines. However, they do require more power to run efficiently. Ported boxes on the other hand are much more efficient and don’t require as much power. They provide a boomy, throbbing sound. The drawback is they come in a larger box size.
Our advice on this is to check in with your local car audio store. Listen to both a ported and sealed subwoofer to see which one you like best.
#4 – Amp Things Up
There’s only one thing that’s keeping you from being the loudest whip on the street – power. And nothing gives your stereo, speakers, and subs extra muscle quite like a powered amp. If you want your car stereo system to reach its full potential, an amplifier is a must have. Just make sure you get one with enough channels to support all your equipment, especially if you’re going with a component speaker arrangement.
You can usually pick up a decent one from a trusted brand for a few hundred dollars. Consult with your local audio pro to find out which amps work best with your sound system of choice.
Finding a Car Audio Pro Near You
The great thing about car audio is that it’s easy to find places that carry high quality aftermarket equipment that also perform the installation. Most of these places guarantee their work to ensure that you are completely satisfied with your purchase and installation.
You can kick off your search by Googling “car audio installation near me” or a similar term. That should bring up numerous places in your area that perform car audio service.
