Overview Of Your Car’s Audio System
For enthusiasts, what I’m about to describe will seem elementary. To be fair, car audio systems have a huge base of aficionados that spend entirely too much time on their pride and joy. That said, I’m a realist and understand that the experience you have while driving is directly linked to your stereo (or, rather, the music coming out of it).
In this article, I’m going to give you an overview of the components which comprise your car’s audio system. We’re going to explore the speakers, the amplifier, radio, and supporting devices. I can imagine I’m going to receive angry emails from devotees who’ll argue that I’ve left a lot out. Remember, this is an overview for those who don’t spend half of their income on stereo equipment.
Radios
All car audio systems that are installed at the factory have a radio. Sometimes, it’s called the “head unit.” While you might think that the radio is only good for tuning into bad DJs and “talking heads,” it actually runs the entire show. All of the controls, including your bass, treble, and volume, begin with the head unit. What’s more, it encases the supporting devices, which we’ll get to in a moment.
Amplifiers
You’ve likely overheard someone mention that they’re planning to buy an amplifier for their car stereo. In truth, your audio system already has one; the person you overheard is probably planning to buy a unit with more power. All amplifiers – factory installed or aftermarket – come with 2 main parts: the preamp and the power amplifier. Most of the time, the entire unit is installed in a different location from the radio.
Speakers
Your car’s speakers basically receive the signal generated from the power amplifier before delivering it to you. Speaker design is more complicated than a lot of people think, so we’ll leave that discussion for another time. For now, it’s enough to understand that the system uses woofers for the low-range frequencies, tweeters to deliver the high-end, and drivers to take care of everything between the woofers and tweeters.
Supporting Devices
There was a time when your radio was all you had to work with. Today, you can plug a number of different devices into the head unit; some of them are already installed at the factory. For example, you might have a GPS unit or CD changer installed. Also, keep in mind that more vehicles today are coming from the factory floor already equipped with MP3 players. All of these devices need the head unit – the brain of your car’s audio system – to function.
Only The Basics
For the average motorist, what I’ve just described is enough to get you by. You’ll be able to make reasonably educated decisions regarding the type of components you’d like to have installed. For the stereo enthusiasts who are groaning over this bird’s eye view, be patient. In a future column, we’ll dig into the details.
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Tags: Car Accessories, Car Audio