Do you have the best car audio for San Diego driving? Can you hear balanced audio clearly over highway noise? Can you turn up the volume without experiencing distortion? Can you make out the basslines of your favorite tunes? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you need a car audio upgrade.

Fortunately, with just a small investment on car audio upgrades, your car stereo could become the best sound system you own. Here are the brass tacks on how to upgrade car audio.

Speaker quality

Quality speakers are the first step towards getting the best out of your car audio. When we speak of speaker quality, a large part of that is which types of materials they are made with. The materials in stock car speakers are never the best, and even some so-called car audio upgrades use paper or plastic. In general, the best materials for woofers are a punchy yet warm class synthetic and metal hybrids, while silks and synthetic polymer fabrics are fluid enough provide the crisp detail you want in a tweeter.

Speaker distribution

To save on space and material costs, a large number of cars come pre-installed with coaxial speakers, meaning each woofer cone has a smaller tweeter mounted in its center, sharing the same axis. Though efficient, this may not sound as optimal compared to a discrete system of component speakers. Distinct woofers and tweeters for each stereo channel, for starters, while the best car audio upgrades add a single dedicated subwoofer for deeper and better defined bass.

Sensitivity matters

A speaker’s sensitivity is the measurement a lot of people miss when they think about how to upgrade car audio. Sensitivity is the measure of how much volume is produced with a given amount of power. For the best car audio, you’ll want speakers with a sensitivity rating around 90dB or higher. What this means is you won’t have to max out the volume to make your speakers loud enough to be heard, which will be better on your car audio and easier on your ears.

Better sensitivity equates to better efficiency, so you may be able to get strong audio out of well rated speakers without upgrading to a bigger amplifier. Though, depending on the car audio upgrade, an amplifier strong enough to power a potent subwoofer may get you to the next level.

Style and Function

Lest we forget, the look and feel of your car audio may also benefit from an upgrade. A new generation of car stereo user interfaces are all about video touch screens, smart phone integration, and being responsive audio commands. In most cases, we can find a user interface that will match the existing look and feel of your car’s interior, but in most cases your car’s dash will look like it’s finally entered the future.

It’s a new year of car audio in San Diego

Get 2019 under way with a car audio upgrade and hear what you’ve been missing during your commute. For guidance and installation of the best car audio speakers, components, and discrete systems in San Diego, give us a call at Car Audio City.