About Car Sound Systems
Car audio and home audio systems once had little in common. Cars were equipped with basic, tinny radios serving up the AM hits of the day, while serious high-fidelity listening was reserved for the home. The difference in sound quality was substantial. Not so, today--car stereo systems have developed into high-quality products that offer a listening experience rivaling many a high-end home audio system.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
The first commercially available car radio was the famed Motorola, in 1930, courtesy of the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. In Europe, Blaupunkt of Germany equipped its Studebakers with radios, and Britain's diminutive Crossley car included a factory-installed radio.
By 1952, FM radio had arrived and technological breakthroughs in electronics led to car audio options beyond the simple radio. Both 45 RPM disc players and reel-to-reel tape machines made sporadic appearances in cars, but their size proved to be an obstacle to their success on a mass level, and they never really got beyond novelty status.
When the conveniently sized cassette tape arrived on the scene in the mid-1960s, this medium finally had its day in the sun as in-dash decks became the norm. Although the 8-track cartridge tape system threatened the supremacy of the cassette tape format in the 1970s (especially in the U.S.), their sonic limitations and somewhat temperamental performance ultimately made them obsolete. Cassettes were to rule the roost until the introduction of the compact disc in the 1980s.
With CD technology came ever more powerful amplifiers and subwoofers. Built to accommodate ultra-low frequencies, these subwoofers offered enough of a boom to be considered a public health hazard. Indeed, some communities began imposing fines on drivers whose car audio systems exceeded certain decibel levels.
Types
-
When it comes to car audio systems, there are basically two categories: stock and custom. Stock car audio systems come as standard equipment from the car manufacturer, while custom systems are upgrades or custom replacements of a current system. It should be noted, however, that over the years, the standard of stock systems has radically improved to the point where even so-called budget models offer sound of considerable quality. The gap between budget and high-end has definitely narrowed.
-
Features
-
There are four parts to a car audio system: the head unit, amplifier, speakers and auxiliary devices, like graphic equalizer units and CD changers. The head unit is the central part of the system and may contain a CD/MP3 player, cassette tape player or radio tuner. It's the brains of the system.
The speakers reproduce the sound energy generated by the amplifier; tweeters handle the high frequencies, subwoofers the lows and the mid-range speakers everything in between.
Size
-
In-dash units have become sleeker over the years, especially when compared to the early days of bulky amplifiers. Speaker size varies greatly, however. Tweeters and mid-range speakers are small enough to be discreetly mounted inside door panels or inside the dash. Subwoofers, on the other hand, have to be bulky to be able to handle ultra-low frequencies. They also need significant wattage to power them, so a separate power amplifier is usually assigned to these speakers. Usually trunk-mounted, subwoofer speakers ranges from a relatively conservative 6.5 inches to 60 inches. In extreme cases, the back seat of the car may even have to be removed to accommodate the speakers and their enclosures.
Significance
-
As technology has developed and systems have become more powerful, head units in a car have become decidedly computer-like in their operation. Rather than simply being a way to listen to the radio hits of the day, they may have DVD players, Bluetooth technology to enable hands-free phone calling and GPS systems to assist in navigation. Many units also feature USB ports, enabling the input of flash drives, giving users the opportunity to bring the musical contents of their home computer with them to play on their car's audio system.
-
