Beginners Guide to Improving Car Audio
Why Upgrade Your Car Audio?
Many folk are still very suspicious of being sold car audio improvements, only for post-purchase dissonance to set in causing regret. Sometimes this is based on bad experiences with poor sales propositions presented by enthusiastic, yet unknowledgeable sales staff.
Music is very popular. In many cases, it is possibly the most cost-effective form of entertainment available. Being able to stream your all time favourite music for £10 – £15 per month makes a mockery of most other paid for forms of entertainment. Music listening in your car can be radically improved by spending as little as the cost of some sound treatment and a pair of Audison Prima speakers. Compared to the standard fit alternative, this will take you to a completely new level of enjoyment while on the move.
Having negotiated the bad old days of kitchen iPod docking stations, don’t we deserve something better than the standard equipment fitted to most vehicles? Cars have not been dramatically affected by falling costs of technology and car manufacturers continue to make a lot of money from a car-crazy public in the UK. However much they take from us, they still do not seem to think that car audio is important.
It is extremely rare for a car customer to return a vehicle for a full refund on the basis that the car audio system is unlistenable, so there is no pressure on car manufacturers to change their attitude to the “Car Radio”. If one manufacturer got the sound right in their cars then all the others would follow of course, but that doesn’t look like happening any time soon.
I Don’t Enjoy My Car Audio System!
So where do the problems lie? This is a big question. The first area of concern is the speakers themselves. With the car industry paying an average of $7 per pair for their speakers there is a clear quality hole here. Do not be fooled by shiny marketing suggesting that a major home hifi manufacturer is responsible for the speakers. In the majority of cases this is simply not true. Take the speakers out of your Bentley with the Naim car audio upgrade you spent £6k on and you will find cheap and nasty speakers of Chinese origin. The amplifier is not made by Naim either. This is a shame as if the onboard equipment was made by Naim, it could probably be made to sound really good. As it is, their badge is only on the processor, responsible only for tweaking phase and eq in an attempt to make the poor equipment fitted sound half reasonable.
Where Do I Go, What Can I do?
So, what can you do? Firstly, avoid car dealer audio upgrades at all costs. Get the most basic standard audio in your car. On delivery, take the car to a FOUR MASTER and ask for their advice. If you were tempted by a multi-thousand pound car dealer upgrade then you clearly have a budget figure in mind. The fact is that an aftermarket specialist will provide you with a system that blows anything available from your car dealer out of the water! Of course, as with all things you can actually spend as much as you like. Increasing your budget could get you some custom A-pillar builds to house mids and tweeters so the sound actually arrives at your ears rather than at your knees. Alternatively, a good subwoofer hidden under the boot floor in a custom enclosure that does not impinge on luggage space.
What Do I Need To now Before Visiting My Specialist Installer?
An aftermarket specialist will always start an upgrade with proper sound treatment. This is not an add-on accessory It is a mandatory starting point. Without it, you are simply wasting much of the performance of your replacement speakers. As with speaker placement there are different levels of sound treatment you can go for. Be advised by your FOUR MASTER, as they will have almost certainly have worked on a vehicle similar to yours in the past and will know what will work best.
In terms of the equipment chosen for your upgrade, it is not necessary to heavily research this before you visit your local FOUR MASTER. Go with an open mind and some music you know and like. Most specialist car audio companies are not household names and even if you do recognise some brands, equipment will vary dependent on application and budget.
Where Can I Get Independent Reviews?
A leap of faith is often required. However, Driving Sounds Magazine is a great source for reliable and honest customer approval of equipment they have had fitted to there own cars. All content is now available on their website for free of charge download. You can either read an article on a car similar to yours or on equipment that is being recommended by your FOUR MASTER.
A FOUR MASTER installation carries a lifetime warranty. A 21-day satisfaction guarantee is also provided so even if you are not immediately delighted, your installer will work with you to ensure you end up with your dream car audio.
