what do i need for an audio system in my car?

Question

what do i need for an audio system in my car?

Answer 1

best means something different to different people... are you more into pure volume levels (SPL)? others more into Sound quality..SQ ? or maybe being completly stealth is your thing? or maybe your a show boater and want lots of lights and chrome....it all depends what YOU want... give me a direction and i will make some recomendations. but if your searching for a brand name and if money was no object, i would fill my car with mcitosh.

Answer 2

money

Answer 3

if you dont want to spend too much time or money than you should just replace all of the speakers in the car...



but if thats not a problem....

these are things you can do to your sound system....



-Head Unit

-Speakers

-Speaker amp (not necessary but improves sound quality)

-Subwoofer/amp (not necessary but improves sound quality)



if you do decide to get any type of amp, there are many types of amps you can use for the setup....



-you can get a 5ch. amp that will power 4 speakers and 1 sub

-you can get 1 mono amp for a sub, and a 4ch. amp for the speakers

-you can get a 3ch. amp that will power 1 sub and 2 rear speakers



note:

you can wire unlimited subs to a single channel, but you have to know what you are doing.....



theres many different combinations of amps/speakers.

so you might want to do some looking around before you buy something.



good luck. hope this helped

Answer 4

a good headunit and speakers are the main thing u want. then sub/amp, then 4channel amp for speakers. that would be the best order to go if u want to do it over time.

Answer 5

It just depends on how much you want to put into it. In my car I have an Alpine head unit (cd player), a pioneer amp running Alpine Type R components in the doors and next to the rear seat, Then I have a Rockford 1000.1 watt power amp running an Alpine Type R subwoofer. But then in my truck I just have an Alpine head unit, an Alpine 4 channel amplifier running alpine components. I don't have subs in my truck.



So I guess what I'm trying to say is it depends on how much you want to spend and how good you want it to sound.

In my honest opinion I would start with a good head unit and some new speakers. I would worry about the subs and such later. But thats just my opinion. You could just buy some new speakers and use the stock head unit in your KIA. Or you could go all out and buy a head unit, speakers, subs, amplifiers, wiring kit for your amps, etc......

I would start pricing audio equiptment and see what you can afford. Well good luck I hope it works out for you.

Answer 6

well.. this is kind of a vague question. It really depends on what you want. I would recommend no more than 2) 10 inch woofers, and to replace the stock speakers in your car. A nice 5 channel amplifier would do the trick. You would get some nice power to your 4 speakers, and the 1 channel would bump your subs. You could even get 1) 10 inch and be happy with the sound quality. Another set up is to just replace your car stereo with a quality reciever and to get a 2 channel subwoofer amp to add some good sounding lows to your setup. (along with replacing your stock speakers).



It really all depends on what YOU want. If you want to get pulled over by the police for a noise ordinance violation I have other suggestions.



a nice 5 channel amplifier and a sub + replacement stock speakers would suit you good! I think.

Answer 7

ur new audio system can be cheap or top of the line, people will hear you for miles good. i highly recommend ebay for parts, theres a lot of great things. i run a pair of volfenhag ten inch dual voice coil subs, 1000W amp, bandpass box, and sony CDX GT 500 head unit with two sony xplod 240 watt 6x9 speakers in my rear deck, all for under 400 dolalrs on ebay. if you get subs, mount them in a band pass box. its a little more expensive, but well worth the price. if you just want to do the speakers, theres a lot of choices, find one that suits you, but avoid pioneer... very low end speakers. start with your head unit. do you want CD? ipod plug ins? if you get subs, make sure you have pre outs for an amp. if you want more info, feel free to IM me (hardrider112388 in AIM) or email ([e-mail]) hope this helps!!

Answer 8

That depends on what kind of entertainment you need in the car. Nowadays it can range from a simple FM Radio to car theater integrated fully functioned computer system with GPS tracking and bla bla bla.

Because you just step up from factory system, I assumed you just need a simple stereo system to enjoy music with better quality than the stock system.

You can star by picking a good quality CD receiver head unit. Recently good ones come cheap, with about $100-$150 you can get decent CD player with Radio, sometimes with aux-in, USB, and iPod compatibility. There are some good entry level ones from Pioneer, Alpine, Sony (I suggest you choose from big brands, the build quality is usually better and has better after sales support)

Next is to find a good quality speakers. Now it's depends on how loud you want the system to go, how much you want to sacrifice the integrity and space of your interior, and oh, yes, your budget. If you want a simple system, just buy some good coaxials and install them in stock factory panels, it can be 5", 6", or 6"x9" depending on your car. If you have the space, I suggest you install a seperate component speaker (the one with one tweeter and one woofer for each channel). Power them from head unit if you have limited budget, if you have extra, buy a 4-channel or 5-channel amp.

For a limited budget, here is my suggestion :

Install a decent quality 5" or 6" component speakers at front, put the woofers on the factory's hole and the tweeters on the dash corner near the A-pillar. Next buy a 4-channel power amp (a decent one with 50W/channel will cost you about $200), take 2-channel to drive the front speakers, and the rest bridged to drive a subwoofer. A 10-inch is enough, my recomendation would be JL Audio's W0/W1, or Kicker's Comp. Build a small sealed box for the sub.

Rear speakers? You can power them from the head unit, you don't even have to change the stock speakers if they're not broken, in driver's seat you won't hear much of them anyway.



E-mail me if you have another question

Good luck