Things to know…

The year is 1985 and the stereo system in your new vehicle is just not good. It doesn’t sound good, it doesn’t look good and it didn’t have a CD player. Fast forward to the year 2006 and the stereo system in your new vehicle is pretty darn good, or is it?

Factory stereos overall quality in vehicle are at an all time high. With features like a CD player (not even a tape deck anymore), MP3, iPod ready, steering wheel controls, rear mounted controls, satellite ready, navigation and Bluetooth cellular hands free they have all the bells and whistles. Some cars manufacturers have even gone to the aftermarket companies to help them with their factory stereos by even badging them with names like Rockford Fosgate, Alpine, Pioneer, Dynaudio, Infinity and Boston Acoustics. Can you get any better then this? Sure you can, but you have to know a thing or two or three or maybe four for it to sound better then what the factory has provided for you. Read more

What are Component Speakers and Why Should I Buy Them

Today’s vehicles come from the factory with decent sounding systems. I say decent because that is what they are. Todays factory systems sound better than they did 10 years ago, but there is still a LOT of room for improvement.

Back in the early 90’s when I started my shop, we sold tons of coaxials and triaxials. Simply described, these are speakers that have a woofer, midrange and tweeter all in one unit. They are bolted together and have a minimal crossover typically hot glued to the back of the basket. By taking out the customer’s dual paper cone speaker and installing a coaxial, we could make a vast improvement in sound quality.

That is not so true anymore. The manufacturers are putting better speakers in their vehicles. In order to achieve the same amount of improvement, we now offer our customers Component Speaker packages. Component Speakers are typically 2 separate speakers and an outboard crossover. A common Component Speaker setup includes two 6.5″ woofers, two 1″ tweeters and a pair of crossovers the size of a pack of cigars.

Speaker quality is tremendously important when selecting a good component set. Just as important is the role of the outboard crossover. Because there is significantly more room to work with, better quality components can be used within the crossover unit. By using better parts, the frequencies going to the woofer and tweeter can be better controlled and separated. This allows for vastly better frequency response, sound quality and power handling.

Installation of a component set is definitely more complex. A location must be found for the crossover and in many cases, additional wires need to be run into the doors. Some component sets allow for the tweeter to be mounted into it’s customary location in the center of the woofer. Other sets require the tweeter to be mounted elsewhere. This may mean the cutting of a door panel, the construction of an a pillar pod or perhaps surface mounting.

When considering a speaker upgrade, consult with your local specialist who, undoubtedly has several pair of component speakers on a working display for you to audition. They can make installation recommendations based on previous experiences. And when it comes time to install the set, they can do the job properly the first time to ensure that you receive the most from your investment in sound quality.

What about the cost? Component speaker generally start out at the price of a decent set of coaxials and go up in price from there. The sky is the limit with components. Installation ranges from slightly more than a coaxial install to many hundreds of dollars for a customer fiberglassed door pods.