Auto Acoustics

Car Stereo and Window Tint

Durham: (919) 493-5473 Burlington: (336) 585-0188
  • Home
  • Services
    • ATV/UTV Upgrades
    • Car Audio
    • Driver Safety
    • Jeep Accessories
    • Marine Audio and Lighting
    • Motorcycle Audio
    • Remote Starters
    • Truck Accessories
    • Window Tint
  • About Us
  • Location
  • Customer Reviews
    • Durham Store
    • Burlington Store
  • Contact Us
  • Work For Us
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
You are here: Home / ARTICLES / Will Upgrading My Speakers Make My Stereo Sound Better?

Will Upgrading My Speakers Make My Stereo Sound Better?

Upgrading My SpeakersWhen it comes to reproducing an audio signal, your speakers are the most important component in the food chain. You could have the best source unit and amplifiers known to man, but if your speakers are mediocre, then the listening experience will suffer. That said, the world of car audio has changed over the years. With all of the changes in new cars lately, a question that often comes up is “Will upgrading my speakers make my stereo sound better?”.

Factory Audio Complexities

Upgrading My Speakers
Factory speakers are built to fit a budget.

Spurred by the efforts of companies like Harman and Bose, factory audio systems sound better than ever. Does that mean they sound great? Not necessarily. OEM audio systems have amazing technologies and elaborate tuning, but they are often missing a crucial component – excellent speakers. Why go to all that trouble and not use the best speakers possible? In most cases, the answer is cost. Building an inexpensive speaker may cost $20 or $30. Building one that is “really good” can cost more than 10 times as much, and it goes up from there. These prices don’t include packaging, shipping, marketing, training or warranty costs. When you consider that most cars with premium sound systems have somewhere between 12 and 20 speakers, with a few having more than 30, implementing truly excellent speakers would have a dramatic effect on the final cost of the vehicle.

How About Just Upgrading My Speakers?

Upgrading My SpeakersIf you had a high-end, two-channel home audio system, upgrading your speakers would be one of the easiest ways to improve the clarity, detail and accuracy of your audio system. If you have a simple stereo system in your car, the same philosophy holds true.

There is a problem, though. More and more factory audio systems, even systems without elaborate amplifiers, include signal processing to make the inexpensive speakers they use sound better. Let’s look at an example.

Chrysler is well known for its use of a woofer in the front door of its vehicles and a small midrange driver on the dash. In most applications, this midrange driver has no tweeter. The amplifier in the car or truck is tuned to increase the high-frequency information sent to that speaker. The result is that you hear high-frequency content in a relatively good balance with the midrange information.

Let’s say we upgrade those dash speakers with a good quality midrange speaker with a coaxial tweeter. The high-frequency signal boost from the amplifier or source unit now results in far too much treble information in the system. Yes, we upgraded the speakers, but now the system sounds worse. In fact, it may be unlistenable.

The same issue exists with any speaker we want to upgrade. Adding a subwoofer, better door speakers or new speakers in the back of the car can all result in a system that doesn’t sound as good as the factory system. Every speaker has different efficiencies, frequency response characteristics and frequency limits. Assuming you can swap one for another will lead to problems.

How Do We Upgrade Our Sound Systems?

Upgrading My SpeakersWithout getting into the complexities of sound systems with upmixers and other elaborate processing, the simplest method of upgrading is to include a digital signal processor and amplifier into the system. Here’s how this works.

Your mobile electronics retailer will install a digital signal processor, a new amplifier and your new speakers. He or she can then measure the output of each new speaker using a real-time analyzer and adjust the processor it so that it produces smooth and natural frequency response. The process should take just an hour or two, but it results in a significant improvement how the system sounds. Proper tuning is as important as the choice of speakers and their installation.

With most DSP units on the market, the tuning process can improve the frequency response of the system – and where the sound comes from. Ensuring that both left and right speakers sound the same at the listening position is crucial to creating the feeling that your music is coming from a soundstage right in front of you.

It’s Not Just Your Stereo

Upgrading My SpeakersYour speakers are not the only part of your vehicle that has become more complicated to upgrade. Decades ago, a set of headers and a large diameter, free-flowing exhaust could unleash a noticeable increase in performance. Your mechanic could fine-tune a carburetor to increase engine performance based on the efficiency improvements you chose.

With modern computer-controlled engine management systems, you can’t change anything. If you decide to modify the intake or exhaust, the computer may not like the changes and turn on a Check Engine light. The solution? A programmer can be purchased to recalibrate the engine management system for the modifications you have made. Do you see the parallels?

Upgrade for Better Sound

The answer to the question of whether upgrading your speakers will make your stereo sound better is a resounding yes. But the overall system design needs to be taken into consideration for the upgrade to be successful.

If you’re on the fence about upgrading your audio system, drop into your local mobile electronics retailer and listen to their demo vehicle or a set of high-end speakers on their display board. Ask if they can demonstrate how digital signal processing can improve the performance of a mobile sound system. Once you’ve heard how amazing a well-installed and properly tuned car stereo can sound, we think you’ll be hooked.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Share this:

  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: ARTICLES, Car Audio, RESOURCE LIBRARY

About BestCarAudio.com

BestCarAudio.com is a showcase for the very best mobile electronics retailers in the world and a place to educate and inform interested consumers about existing and emerging technologies.

Recent Articles

Laser Detectors

Laser Detectors vs. Laser Transceivers

June 19, 2022 

In any discussion of modern radar or laser detectors, the question of how to handle laser or Lidar speed measurement should be a fundamental and important aspect. More and more law … [Read More...]

Google Waze

Google’s Waze offers the Best in Navigation

June 5, 2022 

It’s not often that a piece of software creates a significant impact on our daily lives. Milestone social media apps like Facebook and Twitter most certainly remain in the … [Read More...]

Upgrading My Speakers

Will Upgrading My Speakers Make My Stereo Sound Better?

May 29, 2022 

When it comes to reproducing an audio signal, your speakers are the most important component in the food chain. You could have the best source unit and amplifiers known to man, but … [Read More...]

Product Spotlight Momento M7 Dash Camera

Product Spotlight: Momento M7 Dash Camera

May 23, 2022 

Protecting yourself against fraud and false accusations while driving is easier when you have a dashcam system installed in your car or truck. Momento, the collision avoidance and … [Read More...]

Remote Car Starter

10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do with a Remote Car Starter

May 15, 2022 

With summer coming to an end and frost in the forecast, there’s no better time to add a remote starter to your car, truck or SUV. Most of us know that our remote starter systems … [Read More...]

Subscribe!

Enter your email address to subscribe to our website and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 11 other subscribers

Customer Reviews

Subscribe to Our Website

Enter your email address to subscribe to our website and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Durham Location


Get directions to Auto Acoustics

Burlington Location


Get directions to Auto Acoustics

Services

  • Car Audio
  • Driver Safety
  • Motorcycle Audio
  • Remote Starters
  • Truck Accessories
  • Window Tint

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Store Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed

Copyright © 2022 Auto Acoustics · Privacy Policy · Website by 1sixty8 media, inc. · Log in

 

Loading Comments...