In the nearly 80 years since the introduction of the first mass-produced car radio, an entire culture of automotive audiophiles has emerged. Technological advancements have impacted virtually every aspect of car audio and every driver as well, from the casual listener to the decibel fanatic. So even if you’re not out to shake the neighborhood (or break the bank), there are plenty of car audio options to consider in the search for your most satisfying listening experience.

Gear for Your Ears
It’s possible to upgrade most of the equipment in your factory-installed (or “stock”) audio system, starting with the most visible and interactive part—the head unit. A head unit typically contains a radio display, CD/Tape inputs, and numerous other features. Although splurging for a new head unit full of dancing lights may be tempting, it’s crucial to do your homework beforehand. There is much variability between stock head units in size and shape, and choosing a drastically different unit may require major surgery. Also, many stock head units contain important non-audio features (e.g., climate control), so you’ll want to make sure these features can remain intact.

If you crave better sound quality, or just more volume, new speakers can impact your system like nothing else. True audiophiles will often opt for component speaker sets. In contrast with many stock systems that have one full-range speaker type (or “driver”) do all the work, component sets include several drivers that each specialize in a different frequency range. For example, tweeters are small and best project high frequencies; sub woofers are larger and work with low frequencies. The impact of the sub woofer is felt more than heard, making it particularly significant for bass-heavy tunes.

As with head units, purchasing the right set of speakers requires a great deal of homework. Stock speakers come in all shapes and sizes, and knowing what you currently have will help to determine your options. A major increase in speaker power may also require upgrades elsewhere, so be prepared. Your musical preferences will also go a long way toward discovering what will work best for you, and remember that if your goal is a high-end system, you may not have to upgrade everything at once.

Going Digital?
Whether or not you’re satisfied with how your current system sounds, you may still be interested in catching up with the newest trends in digital music. An entire sonic library can now fit within a pocket-sized device, but the finding the best way to take advantage of that in the car can be tricky. This section will focus on MP3s, though similar technologies (WMA or AAC files, for example) are also gaining popularity.

If you’ve built up a collection of MP3s but don’t want to tote along your treasured MP3 player every time you hop in the car, your best option is burning your MP3s onto CDs. This can be time consuming, and CDs are still easily scuffed, but the payoff can be great. A regular blank CD can hold around 200 pop songs (or 10 symphonies), so at least your CD book will get thinner. However, remember that not all car CD players recognize every file type, so find out for sure before you get to burning.

If you’re interested in hooking up your MP3 player to your car stereo, there are three basic ways to make it happen, though the ideal solution may still be on the horizon.

The first solution is a cassette adapter, which looks like a normal cassette tape with a cord attached to a headphone jack coming out of the side. Simply plug in to your MP3 player, pop in the tape, and you’re ready to go. Unfortunately, two drawbacks exist: sound quality suffers with cassette adapters, and, of course, fewer and fewer head units are equipped with tape decks as time goes by. Luckily, there are other options to consider.

A similarly easy method is the purchase of an FM transmitter. Once you find a clear station, most FM transmitters are as simple as plug-and-play, and some MP3 players come with transmitters already built-in. Here too, however, are drawbacks. Sound quality can suffer even more than with tape adapters, especially if you live in a densely populated area with a crowded radio band. And even if you don’t spend any time in the big city, FM transmitters will not produce the quality of sound you may be used to.

For optimal sound quality, your best option is making use of an auxiliary input on your head unit, but this may require some extra work. Auxiliary inputs on the front of the head unit are becoming more and more common in new car stereos, but if yours is an older model, the stereo may have to be removed to access the input. The cost of that would be greater than either of the first two quick-fix methods, but the improvement in sound quality will be worth it to serious listeners.

Satellite Radio
If you aren’t willing to spend the time and money necessary to craft your dream collection of digital music, satellite radio is a great option. The two competing providers each charge a monthly fee, but free radio barely scratches the surface of the entertainment and variety that satellite radio affords. At least 120 channels (depending on the service you choose) are broadcast digitally to every corner of the continental US, so it’s static-free, and every music station is commercial-free. Either satellite radio provider can outfit you with everything you need to either plug-and-play, or get a unit fixed in to your dash. This decision depends on whether you want to use your radio at home as well.

Do Your Homework
Constant technological innovations and the ongoing rise of digital music have already resulted in many exciting aural automotive experiences, and the best is yet to come. Several car manufacturers are already including docks for digital music players in their new vehicles, and others are sure to follow suit. Also, the growing popularity of other in-car multimedia experiences is sure to affect the audio realm as well, in the form of such technologies as DVD-Audio and Surround Sound.

For the time being, a wide variety of listening options exists to satisfy every listener and every budget. Remember, however, that what you have can determine your options just as much as what you want. Doing the proper research is the only way to prevent buying something you won’t need, or can’t use. If you’re looking to replace your head unit or speakers, keep in mind that creating room for bigger equipment can be a costly operation. If you’re looking into satellite radio or want to take your collection of digital music on the go, study all your options to find your ideal configuration. Everyone has their own individual listening habits, and your car audio setup can be as personal as your musical taste.

Happy listening!

If you have an older car that doesn’t contain a CD player or want to update your stock CD player to include MP3 capabilities, personally installing a head unit in your car is quick, easy and fairly inexpensive if you have the proper know-how.

First off, you’ll need to buy a head unit, a wire harness and a dash kit (only if the head unit you bought isn’t a “direct fit,” meaning you’ll need the dash kit to help your head unit fit snuggly into the dash), all of which you can find at Wal-Mart, Best Buy,
 
 
Circuit City or Tweeter. Popular brands of head units are Clarion, Pioneer, Kenwood and Aiwa.

Tool-wise, you’ll need a butt connector, crimpers, a stripper, an adjustable wrench, a flattened Phillips screwdriver and possibly a socket set, depending on what kind of car you have. Most cars manufactured by General Motors or Mopar and most foreign will require the use of a socket set to pull the dash cover off if it is connected with bolts.

Once you’ve bought all the necessary materials, you’re ready to get started.

1. Start by disconnecting the battery in your car by taking the adjustable wrench and loosening the nut on the positive side and pulling the positive terminal (or wire) off.

2. Remove the dash cover. Though many dash covers are attached with clips or screws, some are attached with bolts. Depending on how your dash is attached, you’ll either need the use of a flattened Phillips screwdriver (screws) or a socket set (bolts).

3. Once the dash cover is removed, you can connect the wire harness to the head unit. Follow the directions that came with the wire harness. Simply, you’ll need to match the wire colors on the wire harness to the wires on the head unit.

4. Then, you’ll need to crimp both sets of wires together with a butt connector and a crimper. Before placing the wires in the butt connector, though, you’ll need to strip the wires first. Stripping the wires consists of taking the stripper about an eighth of an inch from the end of the wire and squeezing the stripper, pulling the coating off.

5. Put the head unit in the dash kit. Again, you can skip this step if you bought a “direct fit” head unit.

 

USB MP3 Car Radio: Check this out an MP3 USB card reader Car Radio. I would buy it, but I just in bough a new MP3 car radio.

Now you can play your favourite MP3;s and WMA digital music formats in your car. This great new product accepts a SDRAM memory card or a USB memory stick. Allowing you to copy music from your PC or Laptop and play on this car radio.

Of course the stereo also plays standard CDs and CDR’s giving you endless possibilities to play your own music whilst on the road. USB & SD memory cards not supplied.

 

MP3/FM Car Audio
Audio CD / Audio CD-R/RW
MP3 CD-R/RW
MP3 USB interface (1.1 & 2.0 compatible)
MP3 SD/MMC Card reader
Power Output 4×45W
RDS (Radio Data System)
TA/TP (Traffic Program)
EON (Enhanced Other Networks)
PTY (Program Type)
AMS (Auto Memory Store)
MP3 – ID3 Tag Display
MP3 track search
4 DSP Equalizer Modes

 

Kenwood DDX6017

 

 

Kenwood DDX6017 – In-Dash Double Din 6.5 Inch Touch Screen Monitor w/ DVD/CD/MP3 AM/FM Receiver.

My New Favorite DVD/MP3 Player. The Kenwood DDX6017 has 6.5″ touchscreen monitor, play’s MP3/WMA, CD/CD-R/CD-RW, VCD, DVD/DVD-R, AM/FM, HD RADIO READY, TV Tuner (Optional), SIRIUS SATELLITE READY and come with a remote control. The Kenwood DDX6017 fits in the dash of most double din size automobile dashes. The DVD receiver has 5 screen modes that changes each time you press the MODE key.

The modes are Full picture, justify picture mode, cinema picture mode, zoom picture mode and normal picture mode. These screen mode can be set for DVD, VCD, and TV viewing.

The Kenwood DDx6017 has a great looking blue screen saver, but I would like to find a way to change it. It sounds great and looks good. The monitor/receiver has audio and visual input and output. So I’m going to experiment with the visual input to see if I can connect a pocket Pc or notebook Pc to it. I think it would be cool if I could go to the internet and read email or web pages from my car’s dash board. I will add more pictures later, so stop by again.

 

 

The Sony MEX-HD1

 

 

The Sony MEX-HD1 - Price $1,500. Sony in-dash unit burns CDs as you drive: Sony CD player that reads MP3 encoded CDs just like Kenwood’s Z828. This unit like the Rio Car that has an internal hard drive to store music. When you want to load music you remove the unit from the car and attach it to your computer to transfer music.

Sony MEX-HD1 is the first unit that can download music to the unit, this makes sense and more convent. You can slips a standard CD into the head unit, selects which tracks they want ripped, push the button and the chosen songs are compressed on the fly and saved to the drive.

Sony claims the MEX-HD1 can hold up to 160 hours of music, which means about a 10GB hard drive if Sony is talking about standard 128kbit compression rates. The MEX-HD1 hard drive CD-receiver comes with a wireless remote control, custom file memory and folder options and reads both CD-R and CD-RW discs.

Sony MEX-HD1 ships in about April and will list for a BIG $1,500. That’s pretty high for an me, I’ll stick with converting my MP3s to standard music CDs.

 

Jensen CD/MP3

 

 

ensen MP3510: CD/MP3 Receiver – Price $229.95, street price $199.95. Jensen’s MP3510 CD/MP3 receiver has plenty of great features, including preamp outputs, a detachable face, multicolor display, wireless remote, and great power (17.5 watts RMS/45 peak x 4) — for a remarkably low price. The powerful Jensen Plus tuner pulls in even the most distant radio stations, and you’ll get plenty of presets for storing your favorites.

Best of all, you can “burn” up to 200 MP3 files on a CD-R (or CD-RW) and play it on the MP3510 — it’s like having a CD changer on a single disc! This versatile receiver also plays CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and prerecorded CDs. If you’re looking to augment your system’s overall power, you can easily hook up an external amplifier to the set of preamp outputs. And you even get an auxiliary input that lets you take along a portable cassette or MiniDisc player.

 

Key Features: detachable face, multicolor display, Jensen Plus tuner, US/European tuning, 20 FM/10 AM presets, seek and preset scan, mute, 1 set of preamp outputs, auxiliary input, loudness, plays CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and prerecorded CDs, plays MP3-encoded CD-Rs and CD-RWs, displays ID3 Tag information, 24 programmable CD tracks, wireless remote, 17.5 watts RMS/45 peak x 4 channels, CD frequency response 20-20,000 Hz, CD signal-to-noise ratio 90 dB, FM sensitivity 12 dBf, 1-year warranty.

 

Kenwood CD/MP3

 

 

Kenwood eXcelon Z828: CD/MP3 Receiver with CD Changer Controls – Price $619.95, street price $399.95. MP3 files to go! Your in-car music menu can include CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and MP3-encoded discs when you choose the Kenwood eXcelon Z828. This charismatic CD/MP3 receiver serves up plenty of visual excitement with its striking 3-D FL high-res display, cutting-edge cosmetics, and impressive list of features.

To spice up your tunes’ sonic contours, season them with the 6 preset curves and 3-band parametric EQ of System Q EX Sound Control. To maximize your system’s performance, the System E’s+ Advanced Crossover provides high- and low-pass filters for your speaker and preamp outputs.

This receiver is Sirius satellite radio-ready — you must have a subscription to Sirius Radio, a Sirius tuner, and a Sirius-compatible antenna in order to receive the digital satellite radio signal. (Sirius satellite radio offers digital-quality sound, coast-to-coast coverage, and up to 100 channels of music, news, sports, and entertainment, all for $12.95 a month.)

Front, rear, and subwoofer preamp outputs send a clean, strong 4.5-volt signal to external amps. Musical variety and convenience a must? Hook in a Kenwood CD changer for 6- or 10-disc storage and access. A wireless remote is included for your convenience.

Key Features: detachable, fold-down face, 3-D FL high-res dot matrix display, CR-2 tuner, plays MP3-encoded CD-R and CD-RW discs, audio CD-Rs and CD-RWs, plus CDs, MP3 file and time memory — switch to a different source or turn off power, and the Z828 will return to the same point when MP3 play resumes, System E’s+ Advanced Crossover — for better performance from all your speakers, and independent crossover control/customized output from the driver’s seat, whether you use the built-in amp or external amps, System Q EX Sound Control, CD changer controls, 4.5-volt front and rear preamp outputs, 4.5-volt non-fading output with level control, disc and station naming, MP3 ID-3 tag display, satellite radio-ready, wireless remote, 22 watts RMS/47 peak x 4 channels, CD frequency response 10-20,000 Hz, CD signal-to-noise ratio 96 dB, FM sensitivity 9.3 dBf, 2-year warranty.

So you got tired of the OEM car sound system did you ? This car audio review will go over the key factors to consider in selecting the car stereo system that will meet your needs. Before discussing the individual components of a car stereo system here is a word of advice … broughtto you by the CarAccessoriesMagazine !! Don’t jump on next week’s sale, don’t rush your car audio review process, take your time, talk to friends, sales people, installers and get a goodfeel for what you really want. This car audio review will hopefully give you a head start.

IN DASH RECEIVER

In any car audio review, the most common question that people considering a change of car stereo system ask : will anaftermarket radio fit into my vehicle ? And the answer is … (roll the drums) … YES, becausethere are a variety of aftermarket kits available to adapt just about any aftermarket radio toyour vehicle.

AMPLIFIERS

The location of the amplifiers in the vehicle is not critical, as long as they have enoughair flow and are mounted on a dry surface. If you install the amps yourself you will needa kit consisting of power wire, ground wire, RCA, remote turn on lead and a fuse. Crimpersand a drill are all the tools required.

CAR SPEAKERS

There are two types of CAR speakers available : the dual cone and the two way. A dual cone has a small paper cone built into a larger paper cone. A two way actually mounts a separate tweeter on the larger paper cone. This allows for more frequency response and better sound quality. You will need to check the fit of your new speakers with your vehicle. You can take off your speaker cover and measure it. Make sure you get the depth if you can. Not all cars can accommodate speakers with a larger magnet.

 

 

HEAD UNIT

You should also consider other important but often overlooked features in going through your car audio review. Many models offer detachable faceplates. This security feature will only work if you actually remove the faceplate. Some models have a plate that rotates when you turn off the vehicle, which makes it look like it’s been removed.

Another feature is an automatic volume control : the system automatically adjusts the radio volume up or down, depending on the vehicle’s speed and the varying amount of road and wind noise in the vehicle.

Look for a unit that has large buttons versus small. Large buttons are easier to find and use. The radio should cause a minimum amount of distraction so the driver can keep his eyes and attention on the road. If you want to push this idea to the limit try to find a radio with greater spacing between the buttons. This makes the radio easier and safer to use as well.

The last head unit feature to discuss in our car audio review is the radio display. Large numbers and a clear readout is another reason for an enjoyable listening experience. Also, look for a radio that shows not only the radio station call number but also the time and preset number.