Car Speakers

Let's be honest: Unless you buy a car that has an expensive, brand-name factory stereo option, your standard speakers probably aren't going to be anything to write home about. Speaker upgrades are a basic and fundamental way to get your car custom sound system started, and probably the easiest way to get immediate, better audio quality in your vehicle.

You'll want to measure the speakers that came with your car to make sure you buy the right size and shape. For instance, most typical front speakers are four, five or six inches (10, 13 or 15 centimeters) across, while most rear speakers measure 6 by 9 inches (15 by 23 centimeters).

There are two types of speakers to consider: coaxial and component. Coaxial speakers are the cheapest and most common models. They integrate midrange sound by incorporating a woofer (for low range sounds) and a tweeter (for high-pitched sounds) into one unit. These speakers are easier to install, but generally produce lower sound quality. You can put speakers like these into your doors or the rear deck -- the area just below the rear glass -- by swapping them out with the originals.

Component speakers are a set of multiple units -- including both woofers and tweeters -- installed at different locations throughout the car, each one producing its own sounds to give a kind of concert quality to your music. These are typically more expensive than standard car speakers and installing them is often much harder, too. In fact, you may end up needing a jigsaw to cut a hole in your A-pillar (where the front door meets the windshield) to install the tweeters [source: Crutchfield]. Then of course, there's the infamous subwoofer. If you want that throbbing, thumping bass that can be heard (and often felt) from several yards away, you'll want one of these in your car. Subwoofers provide that deep, low-end bass and are often installed in the trunk or rear compartment of the vehicle.

Above all, listen to the speakers you want before you buy them. Do they produce the quality you're searching for? Do they suit the type of music you like? Only you can tell what speakers are best suited to your ears, so take them on a test run before you make your purchase.

Speakers are great, but without a receiver to play music, they don't do much. In the next section, we'll talk about the latest in receiver technology and how today's radios do much more than just play music.

3 Facts about Car Speakers

Car speakers and car audio in general can be a pretty complicated subject. Car audio is also something of a subjective matter as well since something that sounds good to one person may not sound the same to somebody else. But there are a few simple facts to bear in mind when considering car speakers that apply no matter what kind of music you listen to or what kind of vehicle you are putting them in.

First, a quality installation is paramount to good sound. A speaker that is poorly installed is just not going to sound good no matter how much you spend on them. Speakers that are too small for the hole they are mounted will allow sound waves from both sides of the speaker to be heard which will degrade sound quality a great deal. Be sure to select the proper size speaker for your installation site or that the correct size hole is cut for your speakers. Most speakers come with a template to allow for proper hole sizing, so be sure to use it. Speakers that are not mounted securely will rattle and resonate making every drum beat an annoying buzzing, rattling sound experience. Proper wiring connections are also very important to good sound. Loose connections can let speakers cut out or even ground out your radio or amplifier, blowing fuses or damaging equipment. The proper gauge of wire is also important as too small a wire will not deliver the full power of your audio system to your speakers. You must also ensure that the wires are run in such a way that they are not in danger of chaffing from sharp metal or moving parts since these hazards can damage your sound system.

Second, bigger isn't always better. While it is tempting to use the largest speakers you can cram into your car, this won't always guarantee the best sound quality. Speakers that are matched to the power output of your audio system, deliver optimal sound for the kind of music you listen to and physically fit in your car will sound better than two giant sub-woofers sitting on your back seat. Four high-quality, high-efficiency 6.5-inch speakers in a compact car will sound clean and fill the cabin with quality sound that larger, lower quality and less efficient speakers will not be able to match. If you really need some extra bass, a powered sub-woofer can augment small main speakers quite nicely without breaking the bank or crowding you out of your car.

Third, you can help the speakers you already have to sound better. When you listened to the speakers you bought at the car audio store they probably sounded great, but now that they are in your vehicle, they don't sound as good. Why? Your speakers will have to overcome all the road noise, engine noise and environmental noise surrounding your car which is not an easy job. All this other noise negatively impacts the speaker's ability to reproduce the sounds you want to hear. You can fix this by installing additional sound-deadening material like Dynamat under your carpets, over your headliner, in your doors and behind your back seat. These materials cut the outside, undesirable noise and let the sound of your speakers shine through.