The 6 Best Ways to Upgrade Your Car Audio Without Spending a Fortune

Driving conscionable hits otherwise erstwhile your favourite opus is playing and the dependable is crisp, rich, and makes you consciousness similar you’re successful the beforehand enactment of a concert. But if your car’s audio strategy sounds much similar a distant vigor broadcast than a unrecorded performance, it mightiness beryllium clip to marque a change.

Without blowing your budget, present are immoderate smart, wallet-friendly ways to boost your in-car audio experience.

6 Soundproof Your Car

The extremity present isn’t to marque your car arsenic soundless arsenic a signaling workplace (though that would beryllium cool) but to trim capable outer noise, truthful your existent audio strategy tin really shine. You don’t request to walk a luck connected fancy materials oregon a nonrecreational installation, either.

The full process involves rubber-sealing the accustomed suspects of roadworthy and upwind noise: your windshield, windows, panoramic extortion (if you’ve got one), and each the doorway edges. Then determination wrong and slap immoderate sound-deadening mats connected the floor, doors, roof, and adjacent nether the hood.

For the exterior, see springing for those noise-reducing tires adjacent clip you're owed for a change, and possibly adhd immoderate sound-dampening liners to your instrumentality wells. That’s conscionable a taste, though. I’ve already gone into overmuch much extent successful my full car soundproofing guide if you’re itching for each the gritty details to level up your in-car audio.

One last hack that I precocious discovered is to cheque for rattles successful aerial vents and trim pieces by playing a bass-heavy way astatine mean measurement and touching antithetic parts of your interior. When you find a rattle, a tiny portion of foam portion usually solves the problem.

5 Upgrade Your Speakers

Stock speakers, portion functional, are often designed for wide production, not audiophile-grade sound. They tin deterioration out, distort astatine precocious volumes, oregon neglect to present the bass and clarity you crave. With truthful galore options, choosing the close speakers tin consciousness overwhelming, but the astir important happening to absorption connected is ensuring that the speakers acceptable your car’s talker holes. Common sizes see 6.5 inches for doors, 5.25 inches for dashboards, and 4 inches for smaller spots. But if you’re unsure, you tin cheque Crutchfield to assistance you find the close acceptable for your conveyance oregon inquire a professional.

If you are not keen connected replacing each the speakers, you mightiness privation to absorption connected the doorway speakers first, since they grip astir of the dependable you really perceive portion driving. Upgrading them volition springiness you the biggest bang for your buck. Look for a bully brace of coaxial (woofer and tweeter combined) oregon constituent speakers (separate parts). Go for the second if you are aft amended dependable prime and consenting to enactment successful a small other effort during installation.

Depending connected your goals, you should besides see the worldly of the cones and tweeters. For example, polypropylene cones are durable and present coagulated bass, portion silk oregon textile tweeters supply smoother highs. There are plentifulness of budget-friendly to high-end options from trusted names similar Pioneer, JBL, oregon Rockford Fosgate that present large sound.

4 Adjust Your Equalizer Settings

Most caput units (whether banal stereo oregon an aftermarket upgrade) travel with preset EQ modes similar Rock, Pop, Jazz, oregon Classical. These are good successful a pinch and convenient, but they whitethorn not beryllium precisely tailored to your tastes. If you privation thing that truly sings, you’ve got to spell manual.

Start by flattening everything. Set each your EQ bands to zero to springiness you a cleanable slate from which to work. Then, perceive to a opus you cognize truly well—something with a bully premix of vocals, instruments, and possibly immoderate bass kicks. I similar utilizing tracks similar Hotel California by the Eagles oregon thing by Bruno Mars (That's What I Like is my favourite if you inquire me).

Now, set your bass first. If the low-end sounds muddy oregon boomy, dial it backmost a bit. If it’s excessively weak, bump it up until you consciousness that nice, choky thump—but not truthful overmuch that it drowns everything other out. Your extremity present isn't to rattle your windows (unless that’s your thing); it’s to springiness the euphony immoderate warmth and presence.

Then determination to the mids, wherever the vocals, guitars, and astir instruments live. If your euphony sounds hollow oregon similar it's coming from wrong a tunnel, your mids are astir apt excessively low. Raise them gradually until the vocals dependable wide and natural, not excessively crisp oregon excessively dull. Be cautious here, though, due to the fact that excessively overmuch midrange tin marque everything dependable harsh and fatiguing.

Finally, tweak your treble, which is the sparkle connected top—the cymbals, hi-hats, and each those saccharine high-frequency details. If the dependable is simply a small dull oregon muffled, adhd immoderate treble. But again, don’t overdo it. Too overmuch treble tin marque your euphony dependable tinny oregon sibilant (that annoying hiss connected “S” sounds successful vocals).

3 Upgrade Your Head Unit

So, you’ve done each those EQ adjustments, oregon adjacent upgraded your banal speakers, and yet you inactive don’t similar what you hear. If that’s wherever you're at, the adjacent astute determination mightiness beryllium upgrading your car’s caput unit, particularly if you’re rolling astir successful an older ride. There are plentifulness of budget-friendly options retired determination that don’t skimp connected dependable prime and modern features. I'd urge you look into brands similar Pioneer, JVC, Alpine, Kenwood, and Sony, arsenic these connection models that battalion a punch crossed a wide fund range. And if you’re consenting to store astir oregon cheque for sales, you tin often snag a large deal.

Before you bargain anything, marque definite the caput portion you’re eyeing is compatible with your car. Most vehicles necessitate a circumstantial size—either single-DIN (the slimmer kind) oregon double-DIN (bigger and usually touch-screen). If you’re not definite what your car takes, a speedy Google oregon a affable chat astatine your section car store should constituent you successful the close direction.

2 Install a Digital Signal Processor (DSP)

A Digital Signal Processor (DSP) is simply a tiny instrumentality that processes audio signals successful your car to fine-tune the euphony for your car's unsocial acoustics. It adjusts frequencies, balances dependable betwixt speakers, and tin marque your euphony dependable clearer and much immersive.

Adding a DSP typically involves connecting it betwixt your caput portion and amplifiers—unless it’s a DSP with a built-in amp—so the audio awesome is processed earlier it reaches the speakers. If you’re handy, you tin travel the manufacturer’s instructions for a DIY install. However, for analyzable setups, particularly with mill caput units, I urge you spell the way of nonrecreational installation to guarantee optimal performance.

Once installed, you’ll request to configure settings similar equalization and clip alignment, often utilizing bundle connected your machine oregon a mobile app. It mightiness instrumentality immoderate proceedings and error, but the effect tin beryllium a night-and-day quality successful dependable quality. If you’re unsure however to spell astir it, see hiring a pro—they tin fine-tune it to your car’s circumstantial acoustics.

1 Install a Car Subwoofer

If your euphony feels similar it’s missing that satisfying thud, or you tin hardly consciousness the bass driblet successful your favourite track, past getting a subwoofer is the astir impactful fix. You person 2 main budget-friendly options: under-seat and trunk subwoofers.

Underseat models are compact powerhouses that tuck neatly nether your car seat. They are perfect for smaller vehicles oregon erstwhile preserving trunk abstraction is essential. They typically travel with built-in amplifiers, making installation much straightforward and keeping wide costs down. Just beryllium definite to measurement some the tallness and extent nether your seat—most models request astir 3–4 inches of clearance, positive capable country front-to-back to acceptable the enclosure.

Trunk subwoofers, portion taking up immoderate cargo space, present deeper, much almighty bass—great for those who prioritize dependable quality. These often travel successful larger enclosures and tin beryllium either passive (amp required) oregon powered. Brands similar Rockville, Pioneer, and BOSS connection reliable, budget-friendly options, truthful you tin see those. Installation tin beryllium DIY-friendly if you're comfy with basal tools, but a nonrecreational instal mightiness beryllium worthy it for a clean, unafraid setup.