_How can I improve my car stereo sound quality in my Ford focus. I've been trying to impress some of my friends with how well my stereo system sounds and I need to up the sound quality. So my friends are very nice cars in my Ford focus should compete with it. How can I improve the sound quality without spending that much money on my Ford focus.

What Subwoofer Sound Is For Me? It's official that asking yourself "What Subwoofer Should I get?" is on your mind. Anyone moving into the car audio field has asked themselves this at one point, so don't feel out of place. There actually is a good route to take when asking yourself this question. Too many people impulse buy equipment they later regret.

We and our writers have created a step by step process to help people decide which subwoofers and components work best for their environments and desires. Also, check out the "What Amplifier?" step by step guide.

Step By Step Guide On Choosing A Subwoofer:

1. What Sound Do You Desire / Work Best For Your Vehicle?

Your buddy Joe Shmoe has the loudest system you have ever heard. Two days later, you go impulse the same exact system for a couple hundred bucks and the system isn't half as loud. "WTF!" is the usual response we hear.

Rule number one, plan out the system to your vehicle. Air space and air flow are a huge deal. This also goes along with figuring out what enclosure best suits your equipment and vehicle as well. We can't urge this enough, do the numbers before spending the numbers from your bank account. Patience is a virtue.

A great example we like to share, are Steve Meade's Designs. If you don't know who he is, visit your local youtube and do a search on him. His designs are the largest in the world but they are pushing TOP NOTCH levels. Three quarters of his designs go into figuring things out before "just building" it.

Back On Topic Here, Figure out what sound you want:

Subwoofer sizes:

Small = More Crisp, sharp bass notes (8 inches - 10 inches)
Medium = Happy medium, crisp and deep (12 inches - 13 inches)
Large = Deep Deep Bass, sacrifice crisp sound (15 inches+)

2. Do Research. And Then Some More

When dealing with electronic equipment like this, there is no such thing as "too much research." To be frank, this whole site is here to help people "in search" of this type of stuff. Some sites offer small reviews like amazon and such, but the in depth ones are tough to find. Maybe check out mindblowingaudio.com.. might help.

3. Look Into Different Brands

Different brands and different makes of subs create different bass levels. Some brands are better at different levels of makes then others. This is just like any other line of electronics. Cameras, dvd players, you name it. Here again, research is key if your new to this stuff. It could take years and years of hanging around the field to get a good hands on idea of brands.

4. Shop For Prices

Yeah Best Buy and those huge retailer stores are probably close to you and an easy stop and shop.. but these stores are most likely the best price. Most best prices on electronics are found online. We don't want to mention any sites because we try to stick away from helping advertise for other sites. Subwoofer Sound Quality Check
When it comes to subwoofer sound quality, were talking the difference between night and day. There really is no substitute for great subwoofer sound quality. The difference between subs from your local dollar store and subs that are hundreds of dollars worth spent is day and night.

I always get asked the question, "What's the cheapest sub I can find with good quality?" I personally hate the question because you get what you pay for and that's the end of the story. Cheap subs that have speaker size magnets are what wrecks the whole aspect of cheap subs.

I have created a help guide to let people know what there doing before they go out and pay for things they don't need. I myself have wasted so much money and so have others around me. The help guide isn't the only thing to you should base your things off of, but I feel it is very helpful guide.

Subwoofer Sound Quality Help Guide: Buying Subwoofers

1. Research Your Brands

I say this because different brands usually means different sounds. Different sounds are a huge deal when it comes subwoofer sounds. For instance, I've personally heard that people thing audiobahn is more of a air flow bass for vented boxes and some brands like.. Rockford are more a sealed box deep bass sounds. Do research on what you think you may desire and what type of vehicle you may be putting it in and what type of box your going to be pushing bass with.

2. Find The Right Box For Your Vehicle And Sub

Don't just go and buy the sealed boxes because they are cheap and that's what was all used ten years ago. Vented boxes and pushing air is the new science to the car audio world. I would say it's almost safe to say that vented boxes and pushing more air and letting the subs breath are most of the time double the loudness. With some research you can find what type of box is best for your subs pushing sound power of decibels.

Figure out what box and sub will be loudest for your vehicle. NOT your cousin Joe's vehicle but your vehicle that the system will be going into. With research you will find that sealed boxes might be better in an air tight trunk that cant breath. Or an SUV will have much louder sounds with vented or bandpass. It's really up to you and your research to figure this out.

3. Don't Impulse Buy

People laugh at me when I say this one, but I truly see it everyday. "I heard my buddies system that is loud as heck, so I went out and bought all the same exact equipment and IT DOESN'T SOUND THE SAME." Relate back to number two on the list of figuring out what setup is best for your vehicle. Your buddies vehicle has different cubic feet and air flow than your vehicle.

4. Buy Online

Sorry Best Buy, but your prices are not even close to what I can get for online. Heck, even crutchfield and such have better deals than the retail stores that sell car audio. Don't get me wrong, Walmart sells a heck of a deal on the dual subs, but I hope your looking at better products than those. (No offense to be given).

When purchasing online though, beware of a couple of things. For example, the "no returns" usually tends to scare me a bit. Also, if the items are mailed from anywhere but the country your from, set aside a lot of shipping time to receive the actual item. Ebay buying is around the same matters but you can also research "how to find reputable sellers." Different Subwoofer Sounds?
The different subwoofer sounds out there are what makes each subwoofer different. A smart buyer would research different brands and different makes of components before buying, but that is just my opinion. I have been in the car audio field for quite some time and that's why I've decided to create this site to help guide people.

When buying subs, there are some very important factors to really take in to account. I have made a help list to help you go by when just buying a subwoofer and not an enclosure or anything. It is real basic and not too in depth.

1. Magnet Size

I go by the actual magnet size. Take a look at the size and try and figure out what is actually magnet and not plastic that is fooling the eye. A lot of brands do that. They will have a plastic piece that goes over the magnet to make it seem larger. I saw a set of Rockford P1s the other day and the actual plastic piece comes right off.

2. Magnet Weight

Along with magnet size comes magnet weight. Just because the magnets are huge doesn't mean that they are heavy duty. Huge subs like the Power series of rockford and stuff have deep magnets that weigh a lot. Yes I am aware that other brands have heavier subs than rockford. It was an example and only that.

3. Rubber Quality

When I say rubber I mean the rubber surrounding the inner cone. This rubber is what takes the excursion of the magnets and if its cheap material and small, the sub will have little excursion and most likely not be a real low bass. And as we all know, the lower the bass is the louder it usually is.

Don't get me wrong, this is not the nasa version of picking out a subwoofer but it is a guide to help. We are well aware of more in depth tactics to find good subwoofers for bass but we wanted to give a basic help guide that was real user friendly. Thanks for visiting the site, and don't be afraid to comment. "I Want No Subwoofer Sound"

Top 5 Reasons People Hate Bass
So your looking for no subwoofer sound huh? Don't get me wrong, I respect your choice but I am a believer that there are people who wreck it for others. The ever so famous situation of grandma driving down the road to get groceries and 50 cent rolls up next to her shacking the pavement. Grandma gets so freaked out that she may need some new panties.

What most people don't know is that a true tuned stereo has more bass than what you think. The feeling that makes you feel like your actually in the movie is bass mainly.

1. Punk Kids Wrecking Bass

As I said above in my example, people hate punk kids driving with high levels of bass. I'll even admit as a car audio enthusiast that having a punk kid roll up with loud bass is very annoying in it's own way.

I've learned what seems to get me annoyed is the fact that if the person is driving a beater of beater but bumping their bass.. than that's annoying. If your gonna take the time to have people look at your car, then you better have a damn nice car at least.

2. "It's Too Loud!"

Some people just can't handle the loudness and feel of bass even though its a low not a high volume. This is a pretty basic idea and understandable to me. Like for instance, I couldn't imagine an elderly person enjoying the loud levels of bass..

3. Waste Of Money

This equipment to run high sounds like this is never cheap. Even your cheapest system is most likely going to cost a couple hundred dollars. There is usually no way around spending money on electronic equipment. Its the same as computers, or tvs, and such like that.

4. "I Can't Even Hear The Words Of The Music"

With most systems that are super loud, you can't hear the words. Most of your local teenage drivers that have systems only put the subwoofers in and not music highs to even out the sound. A true tuned system will not be like this though. The difference between the top runners and those just craving bass for cheap.

5. Not All Music Sounds Good With Bass

I can't argue this one.. Garth Brooks should never be played on a set of L7s and that's for sure. I would say in my opinion there is a slim majority of music that even does sound good with bass. But once you find that music, you are in for some joy! Subwoofer Sound System Help Guide
When choosing a subwoofer sound system there can be a lot of confusion on what to go with, how much to spend and the other thousand questions you may have. Below we have made a basic help guide to guide people through the fact of looking for some more bass into their lives.

And just so you know right now, this is a car audio bass help guide. If your in search of more bass to the interior of your home, this may not be the right guide for you.

When buying a subwoofer sound system, your going to want to look for a couple of things in subwoofers. I created a small help guide when it comes to buying subs.

1. Look At Magnet Size

In the back of the subwoofer/s, there is a magnet. I hate to say it, but this is number one for a reason. The magnets are what creates the bass to begin with, and if they are not big at all or they are crappy quality.. your going to get crappy bass.

2. Magnet Quality

Next after magnet size, comes magnet quality. A lot of companies trick you and put a plastic neatly designed piece over the actual magnets to make the magnets seem better, but they are just psyching you out with the plastic. Magnest quality matters!

3. Rubber Size and Material

If the rubber on the outside of the inner cone is small, that basically means the sub company knows that the sub will not have a large excursion rate.. making the sub not move that much.. basically meaning the sub is not going to be that loud.

If the rubber is thin and too hard, then when the sub does have excursion the rubber will break. Different climates from weather really play a roll on the rubber as well too.

Are audio speakers a better choice than subwoofers for bass? I'm looking for a descent mid bass that is heavy but yet not too loud. Is it a better route to go with a subwoofer straight up or a really good speaker? I'm also looking at the price range of the two variables too. What may be cheaper and what may sound better? Please help?

John S.

Answer:

Good question John! And thanks for sending it in to us. Our sites are really on the growth and it is cool to see people reaching to our professionals for answers.

The decision of subwoofers versus speakers for bass has always been on the battling radar for decades and really still is up for debate. I think it's all a matter of opinion on what you as an individual are looking for. I'll just jump into the debate instead of of just sitting here babbling.

First of all. all audio speakers bass can only get so loud. It really depends on how much bass you want. If your looking to shake your rear view mirror and get people's heads turning than speaker bass is not for you. There is a reason subwoofers were made, and that is to push low levels of bass.

The subwoofer setup will cost more and there is no way around that. You have to have someone run the wires under the carpet and from the battery to the amplifier. Wires from the the back of the deck to the amplifier. Then wires from the amplifier to a ground on your car. It really is not that complicated, but some find it very complicated.

Installing new speakers really just amounts to taking off certain panels and unplugging wires and installing the new speaker and re-hooking up wires. THAT IS, if there is not a amplifier pushing the speakers. And if there is a car amplifier pushing the speakers, you might as well just re-do it all.. subwoofers and speakers all in the same idea.

I know its a bit complicated.. but which ever way you take there will be some expenses you cant get around and it will be some hassle. To get GOOD sounding bass is never cheap unless you know the right person to do it.

So to give you nothing but my complete opinion, I would "if it was me" get a descent quality of speakers and just get descent subwoofers installed with their own separate amplifier. It will be the easiest for the cost. Because most speakers that put out some bass need an amplifier and by that time, you might as well just do the subwoofer thing.. that way you can get as much bass as you need for your desire.

Hope that helps! Thanks for visiting!





What Speakers To Buy??

I am in need of a good speaker to really tune my audio system. I have very heavy bass to where it rattles your brain. I am running two T1 RF 15's. I need to hear the words a bit more when I jam to my tunes. Whats a good route?

Miguel N.

Answer:

Thanks for sending in the great question Miguel. The whole speaker issue of which ones to buy for your system has been around since cars have been around. It goes all the way from just being basic and seeing what happen TO doing math equations of sound decibals bouncing off the glass of your automobile windows.

Depending on how in depth you really want to get. I would say there are a couple of variables that may take into effect when your looking for a certain sound level for your automobile.

I would say the biggest one is what sound you desire out of the speakers.. In your case, you want audio speakers that put out less bass because you have enough. I'm guesting your "high levels" of bass are coming from a pretty descent size subwoofer.

Something a lot of people do not know is that having a subwoofer or subs on a audio system with just stock or close to speakers, it will slowly melt down their sound levels. I don't want to get too technical but that could be the reason why your speakers don't sound as good anymore.. or I could be wrong and they never did sound good to begin with. Either way, good to know.

I wont get into what good brands of components there out there, but with a tiny bit of searching you will easily find them. And remember, you nine times out of ten GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

What really helps a speaker sound better is the environment it is setup in. For instance, people hope to see huge results out of certain speakers when they are only "wire nut-ed" together..! I will never understand this. Do you homework if you want your equipment to sound top notch.





What size speakers are ususally in the front doors of a car? I just bought a new car (well new to me) and the front speakers are blown and making weird noises when I turn the volume up. I also have Rockford subwoofers in my trunk. I need a good balance for the highs. Do you have any suggestions for speakers?

Teressa R.

Answer:

Thanks for the great question Teressa. Balancing out the bass lows with the highs is a tricky task and not for the light heart. And like you said stock speakers do have a tendency to just poop out on people. After a couple of long jamming sessions and some years down the road those cheap speakers always seem to blow.

The size of the speakers in the front doors of cars are usually different. It all depends on the year of the car and what make. Most makes of vehicles tend to stay the same though. For example, Chevy Cavaliers would most likely have the same size speakers in the front doors.

A good all around speaker to go with to reach those highs is the brand of Infinity. I don't like to give out actual brand names here on our sites but I'll do it just now because Infinity has been around for a very long time holding nothing but a good reputation.

Any size speaker from their brand will give you the highs you need. A lot of luxary cars now a days come with stock infinity speakers which just goes to show the reputation they hold.

With out the highs in a car audio system, you really have a weird sound at times. There are a lot of bass heads out there just bumping their huge levels of bass but you can't hear any of the highs. Some of them car and some of them do not. The math of it is, a highly tuned system will have the right amount of highs. How can I achieve more highs with my bass system? I have two T1 Rockford Fosgate 15's and these things turn heads to say the least. I might go brain dead from sitting in my ride. I love love love the bass and need it in my life. WHAT I NEED though, is more HIGHS.. I have just the basic stock setup for speakers that comes stock in a 1995 Tahoe. What can I do?

Kelly P.

Answer:

Thanks for sending in the good question Kelly. This is a great question and I have honestly been waiting for someone to send it in. Highs are a big deal to manage with large levels of lows. Without highs your system will sound a bit funny.

As far as getting those highs, your going to need to upgrade the equipment a bit on the smaller end of things. more tweeters and smaller speakers that really scream those highs over the bass. Well.. not over but .. WITH the low levels of your bass.

Also, better brands equal better quality a lot of the time. We all try to find the happy medium balancing out price versus quality but remember, you get what you pay for.. to a point.

It also helps to mount the components that will be putting out the highs more towards the heart of the music.. or towards the person desiring to hear the highs. That is why most times than not, they put tweeters in the front panels of the car. For the operator of the vehicle and person in the front to hear the highs and balanced lows in the rear.

If I was you, I would mount some tweeters in the front of your tahoe and go from there. Test it out for a while and see what you think of the new sound. They can really go the distance. They are small but really do more that what they seem to. Mount them off the ground too. In my opinion, the higher they are mounted from the floor of the vehicle .. the better.

Let me know what you think and thanks for the great question. And don't get me wrong, I do not claim to know tons about this.. I am sort of just giving you some of my known knowledge that I believe to be correct.

I URGE OTHERS TO CORRECT ME in some posting below because I need the best information being sent towards this question. Thanks guys!