car audio

N

nerdyrcdriver

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Sep 1, 2011
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Anyone here know much about car audio? I will be getting a car around october. We are mainly looking at a 2001 ford ranger. But it is an extended cab, so it could fit a subwoofer in the extended part of the cab.

What is a good budget system? Im not looking to shake the car much like my friend does. I just want to get good in door speakers and a decent sub. I want crisp bass, not the crap you get when you crank cheap subs all the way. I am thinking like a 10inch or maybe smaller sub. There will still need to be room for the box. I need recommendations on the box as well.

I know almost nothing about the amps for them. I know that you want one rated higher than the sub you have is (help keep it cool).

I was at walmart today (I know, not real high quality. But I was there, so I figured I would check it out). They actually have a pretty cool set up where you can control any speaker or sub with any of the head units they have. I loved the touch screen one, but that alone takes the entire budget. I know most of what they have around here is pioneer. But best buy has a lot more. My dad has a decent system in his car. It is all sony stuff. The audio is really nice and clear. But there is no bass at all. So if you play bass heavy music like I do, it doesnt sound very good. I would LOVE my moms bose system out of her suv. But that is crazy expensive.
 
As a new driver you should stick to the factory audio equipment until you get more experience driving.Loud music can be a huge distraction to a new driver.Ford Ranger is a solid truck.
 
I have been driving for almost 2 years. The only thing holding me back from getting my license was the fact that I didnt have a job so my parents didnt want to pay the extra insurance. Now that I have a job, my parents let me get my license.

I have always listened to music while I drive. It is actually less distracting to me than having a conversation. While having a conversation you have to stop and think about things sometimes, and sometimes that makes you not think about driving.

My moms bose system has like 20 notches and I set it to the 2nd. My dads sony head unit goes to 50, I set it to 15. The reason to upgrade the head unit is to make it easy to hook up my phone. If the truck has a cassette player, I can pay about $5-$25 (depending on brand) for an adapter that plugs into that and then into my phone. But the radio things just dont work around here. They are limited to certain stations they can use, and those are almost all taken by actual radio stations.

If the stock door speakers sound good, and I devise a way to hook my phone up, I would have no problem sticking to that for a while. But I will likely have to change the head unit. And while doing that, it would make sense to upgrade the door speakers to be higher quality.

Eventually, it would be nice to add a small sub. If they make something in like 6' or 8' and it sounds good, that is what I would choose. I dont want a 12' or even a 10'. But 10' is the smallest I have seen locally so far.
 
Don't bother with a cassette player and adapter, unless all the music you own is currently on tape. Think about it. Are you, or your parents, ever going to purchase another cassette tape? At this point, cassette players are also harder to find, and only marginally less expensive, sometimes even more expensive (due to rarity), than CD players.

Make sure that whatever you get has RCA outputs for subwoofer hookups if you plan on adding a sub and want it not to sound sloppy. This will also mean the deck probably has subwoofer controls in it's sound options, which also helps to fine tune the bass.

If using phones and other formats of music is a must, get a head unit that has either additional RCA (need adapter) or 1/8" inputs in the back, or a small 1/8 jack on the front of the unit.

For crisp bass on a budget, you're right on with what you're looking for. I'd either look at bass tubes (self contained smaller sub+amp unit), or an 8" sub with a decent amp. Anything larger than 10", and it takes a more expensive amp with a lot of clean power to drive it and still have it sound crisp rather than sloppy.

For the doors, component speakers sound better than normal speakers, but are more expensive and need an amp to drive them to sound properly, driving the cost way up again. I'd look into a good set of 2 way or 3 way speakers for your doors, if you even need to replace the stock speakers.

Most places that sell car audio have setups like the Walmart one you described. Since you're on what sounds like a fairly tight budget, don't limit yourself to one store, shop around, and if you find something in a store that you like, shop for that model online (though the return policy may be easier to deal with from a brick & mortar store).

Don't buy generic brands. They sacrifice clarity for wattage and other sticker stats, so they can make their product look more appealing for a lower price.

Even if you don't shop for it online, if you find a piece of equipment you like, look it up online, specifically reviews from customers. Ignore reviews that talk about only having had it for a week or so, and look for opinions of long term use.

I wish I could help with you what brands and models are good right now, but I haven't been into car stereos for a decade or so. My last "system" was a top of the line Alpine CD Player with the "new" reversible flip face, 2 JL Audio W6 12" Subs, Alpine 1000w x2 & 500w? x 4 amps, and 4 JBL component speakers for the doors & rear deck lid. My first system, was a cheap Sony cassette deck with a discman connected through an adapter, 4 lower end Sony 3 way 6x9's, and a Bazooka style 6" bass tube. In all honesty, that first system sounded pretty darn good for how cheap it all was! Especially when you compare sound quality vs pricing, and the thousands spent on my last really nice setup.

I might also mention, every really nice setup I've had, got stolen at some point. Sometimes with the rest of the car. Whatever you get, don't make it obvious that it's there. When entering parking lots, turn down the volume so people can't hear your bass. Don't leave the faceplate on the head unit when you're not with it. Do what you can to disguise the fact that there's subs in the back. Just be smart about it. I got the same advice when I was young, but I was young, and wanted everyone to know about and be in awe of my system. It worked. And it promptly vanished!
 
oo7genie said:
Don't bother with a cassette player and adapter, unless all the music you own is currently on tape. Think about it. Are you, or your parents, ever going to purchase another cassette tape? At this point, cassette players are also harder to find, and only marginally less expensive, sometimes even more expensive (due to rarity), than CD players.

Make sure that whatever you get has RCA outputs for subwoofer hookups if you plan on adding a sub and want it not to sound sloppy. This will also mean the deck probably has subwoofer controls in it's sound options, which also helps to fine tune the bass.

If using phones and other formats of music is a must, get a head unit that has either additional RCA (need adapter) or 1/8" inputs in the back, or a small 1/8 jack on the front of the unit.

For crisp bass on a budget, you're right on with what you're looking for. I'd either look at bass tubes (self contained smaller sub+amp unit), or an 8" sub with a decent amp. Anything larger than 10", and it takes a more expensive amp with a lot of clean power to drive it and still have it sound crisp rather than sloppy.

For the doors, component speakers sound better than normal speakers, but are more expensive and need an amp to drive them to sound properly, driving the cost way up again. I'd look into a good set of 2 way or 3 way speakers for your doors, if you even need to replace the stock speakers.

Most places that sell car audio have setups like the Walmart one you described. Since you're on what sounds like a fairly tight budget, don't limit yourself to one store, shop around, and if you find something in a store that you like, shop for that model online (though the return policy may be easier to deal with from a brick & mortar store).

Don't buy generic brands. They sacrifice clarity for wattage and other sticker stats, so they can make their product look more appealing for a lower price.

Even if you don't shop for it online, if you find a piece of equipment you like, look it up online, specifically reviews from customers. Ignore reviews that talk about only having had it for a week or so, and look for opinions of long term use.

I wish I could help with you what brands and models are good right now, but I haven't been into car stereos for a decade or so. My last "system" was a top of the line Alpine CD Player with the "new" reversible flip face, 2 JL Audio W6 12" Subs, Alpine 1000w x2 & 500w? x 4 amps, and 4 JBL component speakers for the doors & rear deck lid. My first system, was a cheap Sony cassette deck with a discman connected through an adapter, 4 lower end Sony 3 way 6x9's, and a Bazooka style 6" bass tube. In all honesty, that first system sounded pretty darn good for how cheap it all was! Especially when you compare sound quality vs pricing, and the thousands spent on my last really nice setup.

I might also mention, every really nice setup I've had, got stolen at some point. Sometimes with the rest of the car. Whatever you get, don't make it obvious that it's there. When entering parking lots, turn down the volume so people can't hear your bass. Don't leave the faceplate on the head unit when you're not with it. Do what you can to disguise the fact that there's subs in the back. Just be smart about it. I got the same advice when I was young, but I was young, and wanted everyone to know about and be in awe of my system. It worked. And it promptly vanished!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the advice. I think car audio has really changed in the last decade :)

The cassette adapter I was talking about was something like this
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-Cassette-Adaptor/17757470

You put the cassette part into the player, set the stereo to cassette, and plug the 3.5mm jack into your phone and press play. That is the simplest solution if the vehicle i get has a cassette player built in. In fact, that is what my friend uses in his 2006 acura tl and it still sounds good.

Another friend of mine put in a huge woofer (idk what size) and a crazy amp and head unit into his car. he has to adjust his rear view mirror every minute or two it shakes the car so much.

I DONT want that. It doesnt sound good (although, he always had it set to max), and you can get a hefty ticket for it. I just want nice clear sound, and crisp bass. Like a 6 or 8 inch subwoofer.

I know that the stuff at walmart isnt very good (although, they had some sony stuff that is good). But it was cool to fool around with it to see what head unit had the best build quality and audio output quality. And what speakers sounded the best, even within the same brand. The local best buy has that but on steroids. I might head over there some time this weekend and talk to the audio tech there. The one who did my dads system knew what he was talking about.

I am not too worried about it getting stolen. I will probably get the head unit and door speakers (if needed) first. While hooking that all up, I would run the wiring for a subwoofer. Later down the road, I will probably get a small sub and put it in the extended part of the cab (if I get the ranger).

I still have plenty of time to research this stuff. My dad is switching jobs, so we dont know how long it will take for him to start bringing in a regular income. So I probably wont get a vehicle until October.


My budget isnt too tight. I want to do it in 2 halves. Head unit and door speakers (if needed), and then the amp and sub. My budget isnt too tight. I actually dont have a set number yet. I dont know what a small sub and box cost, or what brands are good. I kind of wish I could just throw my desk speakers in. harman/kardon high quality audio, and just about the perfect size sub (maybe a little small). It consumes under 100w (AC), and I have run it on a 100w 12vdc to 120v ac inverter before. I COULD put it in a car, but the wiring would be a mess and the volume control would be on the passenger side.

But I want to get actual car audio stuff and have it look and work good.
 
I know a lot about car audios. I have not touch it for about 8 years. Gave up on it when I got marry and started having to many kids (4 kids now). I would recommend you to try to install it yourself. If you like that kind of stuff. Then learn it like your fish hobby. Cars was my hobby when I was younger. I learn how to hook up a car audio system and learn how to fit up my ride. My car have rims and body kit on it. I did do the suspension on the car myself too.
 
LMAO... trust me, a decade's not nearly as long as you think, at least not as far as car stereo tech is concerned. I keep up on the tech, I simply haven't used the newer models first hand, so I'm not comfortable giving specific recommendations. Believe me, everything I said applies to today's car stereos, just as much as it did a decade ago. That much hasn't changed.

I suppose I could have mentioned the options for other different car stereo input methods introduced over the last decade that came and went quicker than 8-Tracks & Betamax (look those up for a good laugh, they were practically before my time), like SD cards of various sizes, memory sticks, DVD players (without video but which could hold almost 5GB of music on one disc), etc. All of which became obsolete when iPods, Mp3 players, iPhones, and Androids with 8+ GB of storage took over the portable music collection scene. Other than those, the biggest difference in the last decade is that more inputs & outputs are becoming standard, and that some car stereos can control iPhones from the head unit now. Pretty much all other significant changes have to do with higher end features on expensive units.

I didn't say that Walmart car audio was necessarily bad, I just said to shop around because there's a wide variety of brands and models, and a wide variety of prices for them. You could have mentioned any store, and I still would have suggested you shop around. However I would stay away from brands like BOSS, Power Acoustik, XO Vision, and Dual which Walmart carried last time I was looking for a deck. That advice is based purely off of reviews I've seen for pretty much every product I looked up from any of those brands.

I definitely wouldn't recommend using home/computer speakers hooked up to a car stereo. They can be wired up to work, but it kills the life of the speakers due to differences in ohms, impedance, etc. Also sounds like crap due to the same reasons. However, hooked directly into your mp3 device of choice, that wouldn't be an issue. But I agree, it would be a visual mess, and volume control a big hassle.

Lastly, WOW! I haven't seen one of those tape adapters since my first car stereo when I was 17! That's how I connected that discman to my cassette deck (both also stolen). They're much older tech than the radio tuners, but also much more reliable, at least until they reach the point where the deck keeps trying to flip the sides over and over and over endlessly, leaving you tuneless. The good thing is, you can get them dirt cheap, they work great while they still do, and that problem usually doesn't start until after a year or so of use.
 
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