Hi, I dont much of anything about car stereos. I knew the I-net would help me learn about them but its harder than i thought. A lot of the terms are totally foreign to me. I was hoping i could get a little help. If anyone knows a good faq or somthing like "Car Stereos for Idiots" that would be great.
If someone doesnt mind typing a lot, I would really appreciate some kind of introduction to car stereos. Basically what I want to get is a loud system at a good price and I wanted to know what it was I was buying. Thats basically what I care about. If anybody can help me, please do. Thx.
Replies (4)
curtis73 on 12/21/2003 02:17:50
I don't really have any links for you, but I love to hear myself talk :)
You'll hear alot of abbreviations here so I'll start with those.
SPL - basically this means sound pressure level or how loud things are. Many of the boom-boom cars you hear referred to as SPL-cars
SQ - sound quality. This is when you get really nice imaging and good sound without being unbalanced or distorted. These two qualities are not mutually exclusive. For about the same money you can make an SPL or an SQ system, but making an SQ system that has lots of SPL takes money.
Watts or W - this is the amount of juice available to drive the speakers. Watts = volts x amperes. The volume of your system is controlled by voltage. The volume button varies the amount of voltage going to the amplifier. The amplifier takes that signal and combines it with the available amps and sends it to the speakers as wattage. That's a really simplified description that is probably making the audiophiles here cringe, but its a start :) Output wattage of an amplifier is usually expressed in two numbers: peak or maximum and rated or RMS. RMS is what it can continually produce and peak is what it can make in brief bursts. Your stereo's head unit (often abbreviated HU) has an amplifier built in.
There are thousands of numbers that you may never need, and they are all subjective. A manufacturer might inflate numbers to get you to buy their product, but you really get what you pay for.
If your Acura has the stock system I would start by purchasing some aftermarket stuff. The nice thing is that our stereo is what we call a DIN size. Its dimensions are fairly standard, meaning that your choices of stereos that will fit without modification are nearly endless. Your stock HU is probably putting out about 10w per channel. The speakers were probably designed to handle about that much. I suggest getting an aftermarket HU from a good brand. I have had good luck with most of the big names like Kenwood, Pioneer, Clarion, JVC, and others. If you want to invest some more cash, go for Eclipse. If you are filthy rich, get a Nakamichi.
I am very partial to Pioneer's Premier line. They have really nice sound and put out some nice clean wattage. They are advertised with their max wattage of 45 or 50w per channel, and they make about 22w per channel RMS. Not impressive, but a good start. After you've picked your brand, its just a matter of features and preferences. Often times you can get suckered in. Most of one brand's line of products have identical guts with different features. Only choose features that you're sure you'll use to make sure you don't pay more than you want. I have a remote control on all of my car's stereos and never use them. Two of mine I paid for the upgrade to CD changer controls and never bought the changer.
Now that you've purchased a stereo, speakers are next. Find out what size you have. You can just get the same size to replace yours or you might find somone else here with an Integra who has found an easy upgrade. Often times the only thing standing in the way of putting 6.5" speakers where 5.25" once resided is a little snip of some steel or an enlargement of a piece of plastic. The bigger they are, the better the bass response will be. I am partial to Polk, Eclipse, and Infinity speakers, but its up to the individual ear to decide what they like. For that reason I won't go into specific speaker numbers.
The only other thing I would suggest is an external amplifier. The HU has its own small amp that sometimes impresses but often fails to produce the desired SPL or SQ that you desire. Most new HUs come with "preouts." They are RCA outputs that bypass the HU's amplifier. You can hook up RCAs to an external amplifier that supplies better wattage; both in quality and quantity. Chances are the speakers you find will be rated to handle about 80-100w RMS. An amplifier that supplies 80w RMS x the number of speakers you have will make nicer, louder sound that will live up to its potential. Installing an amp is pretty straight forward, but requires disasembly of very minor interior parts like doorsills to run power and RCAs to the amp. You may not need more wattage so I suggest trying it with good quality HU and speakers and then add the amp later if you need it. As an example: I'm running a nice (but not super special) Rockford Fosgate HU making 18w per channel and Polk EX speakers. I expected to get by with it for now and buy an amp later. To my surprise I am so impressed with the sound that (even with the top down) I get adequate SPL and shockingly good SQ. To contrast that, my wife's Tercel has the same speakers with a JVC HU making 22w per channel and the sound is quite subpar. I doubt its the HU's fault, its most likely that my BMW is full of sound insulation but her Tercel is a tin can.
Distortion is somewhat hard to summarize as it come in so many forms. I'm sure you know what it sounds like. Cheap speakers can make distorted sound because the movement of the cone is inconsitent. They can also make distortion because they just can't handle the music you give them. The magnets and coils of the speaker can only handle what they're physically capable of reproducing and anything else comes out as sound that isn't right. The other kind of distortion comes from the amplifier. Basically, as you turn up the volume you reach a point where you're asking the amp to make more music than it can accurately do. Its more accurately referred to as clipping.
The beginner audio person's best friend as a reference is Crutchfield.com (and fine forums like this). Crutchfield has assembled so much information on cars and installations that they can tell you a lot. They will tell you what speakers are in your car, what fits, where they are, and how to change them. If you order from them they even include a mulit-page installation booklet custom tailored to your car with accurate pictures and all of the stuff you need to install what you've ordered. Their prices are fine, but what really draws me to them is CUSTOMER SERVICE. I can't get over how awesome they are. If you shop carefully they are cheap. Suffice it to say that I would consider myself very experienced with installations, but I still order from Crutchfield for the return policy, installation help, free tech support, etc. Also check out the products here on this site and at TheZeb.com. The Zeb is probably the cheapest I've found for alot of articles, but they sometimes run out of inventory quickly since they do a lot of closeouts.
Crutchfield also has a great compilation of glossary terms and FAQs. Welcome and enjoy!!
Everyone feel free to jump in and correct me or add to. I'm very experienced with the scene, but the finer points of my math aren't developed yet.
cplkittle on 12/21/2003 10:27:35
That was a very good intro, curtis. I have nothing much to add.
Crutchfield is highly recommended here for comparisons and learning. They have a "what to look for" page preceeding every section (HU, speakers, subs) It gives a good explination of what features are available, and what each does. and on the next page, a chart comparing all brands they carry.
Choosing a good head unit is, as Curtis mentioned, the first step. Many will tell you that the quailty of your head unit will set the standard as the quality of your entire system. I would suggest picking out a few that you like, and if you have any questions, ask us. We can give you straight up information because we are not trying to sell you anything. All questions are welcome here, please don't be afraid to ask anything.
In my opinion, this is the best place to be for those just starting out. There are alot of people here including myself that don't mind finding information for you if we don't already know. This is a large gathering place for those who love car audio, there is a wealth of knowledge here, and it is free to those who ask for it.
ttocs on 12/21/2003 10:44:59
check out the help section on this forum. There is alot of good info for commonly asked questions. Otherwise we will be glad to help with anything specific.
Swez on 12/23/2003 07:42:17
Yep, you've found a very newbie friendly site here and the team is very well versed in many phases of car audio. (Ie: product knowledge, install helps, troubleshooting tips and more)
Agreed, the HU is the foundational part of your install. Having adequate features that you'll really use is key. Why spend more for toys you will not use, hard to understand and kick up the price. If you want to power your interior speakers with the HU initially, one that nets 20 - 30 watts RMS to each speaker is a good start. Can always add amps later if you want more clean sound than a good HU can deliver.
The next step is upgrading interior speakers to decent quality and high accuracy ones. The options are mind boggling to say the least, but we can help you narrow the field based on price, power handling and overall sound characteristics you can expect. However, your best tools are your ears.. What may sound fabulous to one guy may be very unsuitable to your ears. It's very subjective as what sounds great in a car install wall at the store, may sound very different in your car. This is where subjective opinions get you feeling muddled or stuck.
Also, if adding a sub is part of the plan, this is also something we can help out with. Basically, we need to know what kind of music you like, how loud you want the subs and a general budget for the low end part of the system. Budget, space limitations, power consumption and placement of the subs all come into play now. We can walk you through these stages... but first you have to have some idea of what you want... High SPL, mostly SQ or a blend of both. How much you have to spend on each item is not the main issue... as you can build the system in pieces as you can afford them.
Lastly, the biggest mistake many newbies make, is to buy a boat load of cheap stuff to fill up thier car, but then become disenchanted with the performance and have to spend more money, time uninstalling and reinstalling quality gear. Avoid that one at all costs as it's hard to get rid of junk gear and then have to start all over again. Ask plenty of questions, THINK and read the FAQ's and postings here too. The rest will fall into place over time, as you learn.
Swez
If someone doesnt mind typing a lot, I would really appreciate some kind of introduction to car stereos. Basically what I want to get is a loud system at a good price and I wanted to know what it was I was buying. Thats basically what I care about. If anybody can help me, please do. Thx.
Replies (4)
curtis73 on 12/21/2003 02:17:50
I don't really have any links for you, but I love to hear myself talk :)
You'll hear alot of abbreviations here so I'll start with those.
SPL - basically this means sound pressure level or how loud things are. Many of the boom-boom cars you hear referred to as SPL-cars
SQ - sound quality. This is when you get really nice imaging and good sound without being unbalanced or distorted. These two qualities are not mutually exclusive. For about the same money you can make an SPL or an SQ system, but making an SQ system that has lots of SPL takes money.
Watts or W - this is the amount of juice available to drive the speakers. Watts = volts x amperes. The volume of your system is controlled by voltage. The volume button varies the amount of voltage going to the amplifier. The amplifier takes that signal and combines it with the available amps and sends it to the speakers as wattage. That's a really simplified description that is probably making the audiophiles here cringe, but its a start :) Output wattage of an amplifier is usually expressed in two numbers: peak or maximum and rated or RMS. RMS is what it can continually produce and peak is what it can make in brief bursts. Your stereo's head unit (often abbreviated HU) has an amplifier built in.
There are thousands of numbers that you may never need, and they are all subjective. A manufacturer might inflate numbers to get you to buy their product, but you really get what you pay for.
If your Acura has the stock system I would start by purchasing some aftermarket stuff. The nice thing is that our stereo is what we call a DIN size. Its dimensions are fairly standard, meaning that your choices of stereos that will fit without modification are nearly endless. Your stock HU is probably putting out about 10w per channel. The speakers were probably designed to handle about that much. I suggest getting an aftermarket HU from a good brand. I have had good luck with most of the big names like Kenwood, Pioneer, Clarion, JVC, and others. If you want to invest some more cash, go for Eclipse. If you are filthy rich, get a Nakamichi.
I am very partial to Pioneer's Premier line. They have really nice sound and put out some nice clean wattage. They are advertised with their max wattage of 45 or 50w per channel, and they make about 22w per channel RMS. Not impressive, but a good start. After you've picked your brand, its just a matter of features and preferences. Often times you can get suckered in. Most of one brand's line of products have identical guts with different features. Only choose features that you're sure you'll use to make sure you don't pay more than you want. I have a remote control on all of my car's stereos and never use them. Two of mine I paid for the upgrade to CD changer controls and never bought the changer.
Now that you've purchased a stereo, speakers are next. Find out what size you have. You can just get the same size to replace yours or you might find somone else here with an Integra who has found an easy upgrade. Often times the only thing standing in the way of putting 6.5" speakers where 5.25" once resided is a little snip of some steel or an enlargement of a piece of plastic. The bigger they are, the better the bass response will be. I am partial to Polk, Eclipse, and Infinity speakers, but its up to the individual ear to decide what they like. For that reason I won't go into specific speaker numbers.
The only other thing I would suggest is an external amplifier. The HU has its own small amp that sometimes impresses but often fails to produce the desired SPL or SQ that you desire. Most new HUs come with "preouts." They are RCA outputs that bypass the HU's amplifier. You can hook up RCAs to an external amplifier that supplies better wattage; both in quality and quantity. Chances are the speakers you find will be rated to handle about 80-100w RMS. An amplifier that supplies 80w RMS x the number of speakers you have will make nicer, louder sound that will live up to its potential. Installing an amp is pretty straight forward, but requires disasembly of very minor interior parts like doorsills to run power and RCAs to the amp. You may not need more wattage so I suggest trying it with good quality HU and speakers and then add the amp later if you need it. As an example: I'm running a nice (but not super special) Rockford Fosgate HU making 18w per channel and Polk EX speakers. I expected to get by with it for now and buy an amp later. To my surprise I am so impressed with the sound that (even with the top down) I get adequate SPL and shockingly good SQ. To contrast that, my wife's Tercel has the same speakers with a JVC HU making 22w per channel and the sound is quite subpar. I doubt its the HU's fault, its most likely that my BMW is full of sound insulation but her Tercel is a tin can.
Distortion is somewhat hard to summarize as it come in so many forms. I'm sure you know what it sounds like. Cheap speakers can make distorted sound because the movement of the cone is inconsitent. They can also make distortion because they just can't handle the music you give them. The magnets and coils of the speaker can only handle what they're physically capable of reproducing and anything else comes out as sound that isn't right. The other kind of distortion comes from the amplifier. Basically, as you turn up the volume you reach a point where you're asking the amp to make more music than it can accurately do. Its more accurately referred to as clipping.
The beginner audio person's best friend as a reference is Crutchfield.com (and fine forums like this). Crutchfield has assembled so much information on cars and installations that they can tell you a lot. They will tell you what speakers are in your car, what fits, where they are, and how to change them. If you order from them they even include a mulit-page installation booklet custom tailored to your car with accurate pictures and all of the stuff you need to install what you've ordered. Their prices are fine, but what really draws me to them is CUSTOMER SERVICE. I can't get over how awesome they are. If you shop carefully they are cheap. Suffice it to say that I would consider myself very experienced with installations, but I still order from Crutchfield for the return policy, installation help, free tech support, etc. Also check out the products here on this site and at TheZeb.com. The Zeb is probably the cheapest I've found for alot of articles, but they sometimes run out of inventory quickly since they do a lot of closeouts.
Crutchfield also has a great compilation of glossary terms and FAQs. Welcome and enjoy!!
Everyone feel free to jump in and correct me or add to. I'm very experienced with the scene, but the finer points of my math aren't developed yet.
cplkittle on 12/21/2003 10:27:35
That was a very good intro, curtis. I have nothing much to add.
Crutchfield is highly recommended here for comparisons and learning. They have a "what to look for" page preceeding every section (HU, speakers, subs) It gives a good explination of what features are available, and what each does. and on the next page, a chart comparing all brands they carry.
Choosing a good head unit is, as Curtis mentioned, the first step. Many will tell you that the quailty of your head unit will set the standard as the quality of your entire system. I would suggest picking out a few that you like, and if you have any questions, ask us. We can give you straight up information because we are not trying to sell you anything. All questions are welcome here, please don't be afraid to ask anything.
In my opinion, this is the best place to be for those just starting out. There are alot of people here including myself that don't mind finding information for you if we don't already know. This is a large gathering place for those who love car audio, there is a wealth of knowledge here, and it is free to those who ask for it.
ttocs on 12/21/2003 10:44:59
check out the help section on this forum. There is alot of good info for commonly asked questions. Otherwise we will be glad to help with anything specific.
Swez on 12/23/2003 07:42:17
Yep, you've found a very newbie friendly site here and the team is very well versed in many phases of car audio. (Ie: product knowledge, install helps, troubleshooting tips and more)
Agreed, the HU is the foundational part of your install. Having adequate features that you'll really use is key. Why spend more for toys you will not use, hard to understand and kick up the price. If you want to power your interior speakers with the HU initially, one that nets 20 - 30 watts RMS to each speaker is a good start. Can always add amps later if you want more clean sound than a good HU can deliver.
The next step is upgrading interior speakers to decent quality and high accuracy ones. The options are mind boggling to say the least, but we can help you narrow the field based on price, power handling and overall sound characteristics you can expect. However, your best tools are your ears.. What may sound fabulous to one guy may be very unsuitable to your ears. It's very subjective as what sounds great in a car install wall at the store, may sound very different in your car. This is where subjective opinions get you feeling muddled or stuck.
Also, if adding a sub is part of the plan, this is also something we can help out with. Basically, we need to know what kind of music you like, how loud you want the subs and a general budget for the low end part of the system. Budget, space limitations, power consumption and placement of the subs all come into play now. We can walk you through these stages... but first you have to have some idea of what you want... High SPL, mostly SQ or a blend of both. How much you have to spend on each item is not the main issue... as you can build the system in pieces as you can afford them.
Lastly, the biggest mistake many newbies make, is to buy a boat load of cheap stuff to fill up thier car, but then become disenchanted with the performance and have to spend more money, time uninstalling and reinstalling quality gear. Avoid that one at all costs as it's hard to get rid of junk gear and then have to start all over again. Ask plenty of questions, THINK and read the FAQ's and postings here too. The rest will fall into place over time, as you learn.
Swez
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