The number one reason people upgrade their car audio system is crystal clear: they want to improve the sound quality of their car. There are a number of ways to do this: try one, and you’ll improve the sound quality of your car a little bit. Try them all, and you’ll turn your vehicle into a traveling listening room.

Upgrade your speakers

Step one is a no brainer. The factory installed speakers that come stock in your car do not begin to match the quality of third party speaker installation. Simply swap your car speakers for a higher quality set will give your music a boost in volume and clarity. Especially if you invest ina dedicate subwoofer to make your bass thump.

Upgrade your receiver

Once you’ve got decent speakers in your car, you’ll want to improve the signal they receive. But much like its stock speakers, your car’s factory installed receiver will cut corners when it comes to audio output. For one, the power of the output will be too low to make the most of your upgraded speakers. Then there’s the quality of its digital to analog converter (DAC). That’s what takes the data signal from your CD or device and converts it to sound. The better the DAC, the more details come through in your audio.

Play higher quality music files

A quality DAC can only do so much, though, if you’re playing low quality digital files. If you’re playing an actual CD (those still exist, right?), you’ll send a high fidelity signal to your speakers. But if you’re playing from compressed MP3 files, or worse yet, streaming audio, the digital signal you start with is missing the fine details you need to recapture to improve the sound quality in your car. Sorry, Spotify fans — you’ll need to switch to lossless audio files to improve sound quality! The higher the compression, the smaller the file, meaning more albums fit in your pocket. That's great for your pocket, but not great for listening. Smaller files mean less information, which means when you pump up the jams in your car, gaps in the music data make it sound thin, and distort much quicker. A good rule of thumb is to encode MP3s at a minimum of 320kbps, which has 2.5 times more data than the standard 128kpbs!

Use your best connection

How you connect your phone to the car receiver makes a huge difference in audio quality. Older technology lets you plug your device into an eighth-inch auxiliary cable. Newer technology allows you to transmit the music on your mobile device to the car stereo using Bluetooth. However, both methods limit your audio quality. The auxiliary cable plugs an audio signal intended for headphones into your car stereo, and doesn’t benefit from that killer DAC you invested in. Bluetooth further compresses those streaming audio files, losing all the luscious detail your new speakers deserve.

In Fact, Don't Play Through Your Phone at All

If you think plugging an auxiliary line into your phone's headphone jack can solve your phone's compression issues, think again. Although better than wireless, that headphone jack is subject to the quality of your phone's digital-to-analog converter — the thing that turns digital files into sound waves. Your phone's converter is designed to be good enough for tiny ear buds — but still relies on way too much compression to sound remotely good on car audio systems.

Invest in an amplifier

To truly get the best performance out of your speakers and receiver, the ultimate way to go is to invest in a new amplifier. Adding an amp will produce far more power than amp built in to your receiver. A two channel amplifier is even better. It will allow you to power your standard speakers, while leaving a dedicated channel to power your subwoofer. A sub requires a lot of power to get the best results, and when power from the same amplifier is diverted to woofers and tweeters, there’s not enough left to give that sub the juice it needs. A two-channel amp will get you firing on all cylinders. 

Install sound dampening materials

Road noise is the not so silent killer of excellent sound quality in your car. If you know where to put them, you can add sound dampening material to quiet your car’s interior. Even when music isn’t playing, you’ll appreciate the relative silence while you drive. And when you do put on music, that’s all you’ll hear. That’s one of many reasons it pays to have an expert install your new car audio system.

Go Easy on the Equalizer

When you're driving, you probably want more bass — especially on the freeway, as increased road noise at higher speeds is hardest on lower frequencies. Whether your car stereo offers basic bass, mid, and treble range controls, or a multi-band graphic equalizer, instinct says you can boost your bass levels to solve the problem. Not true! Such boosts only expose any flaws in your analog signal or speakers. It's much better to leave the bass knob alone, marginally reduce your mid and treble levels, and turn up the volume knob instead.

Add Sound Dampening Materials

That road noise is a killer. Unfortunately, our city's roads are some of the nation's worst, so car stereos in San Diego have their work cut out for them. Installing sound dampening materials — insulation sheets or spray foams — into hollow spaces such as inside car doors, can cut out a lot of road noise, which means you'll hear your music better.

Contact Car Audio City in San Diego to get the highest sound quality available

Our expert installers know every trick in the book to improve the sound quality of your car. Get in touch today at (619) 474-8551, and we can make sure you get the best upgrades to meet your needs.