How to Supply Strong Bass to Car Speakers

Loudspeaker

There can be a few reasons to explain why the bass is poor when a car stereo is turned on. The reasons include shoddy wiring to poor stereo installation to small and cheap speakers. It also simply could be because the stereo's bass control is turned down or the speakers are installed in a spot that does not support solid bass output no matter how good the speakers. Here's how to find the cause of poor bass output and determine what actions can correct it.

Things You'll Need

• A CD with a track containing deep bass

Instructions

1. 

   CD

   Play the CD track to test the stereo's bass output.

2. With all car doors closed and the volume set, adjust the bass control to the detent position indicating "flat" output. If the bass increases, the bass control was set too low.

3. If bass does not increase by turning up the bass control, turn the stereo's balance control to the left speaker, then to the right speaker. If more bass is reflected in the middle with both speakers playing, the problem is that one speaker is wired backward. Reverse that speaker's connections. Retest the bass. If these steps fail to provide better bass, the most likely culprits are cheap speakers or too shallow or small a mounting space to support bass output.

4. If you have factory-installed speakers, install better speakers. If you do have premium speakers, check that the back of the speakers are acoustically isolated from the front of the speakers. If air from the back of the speaker can access air from the front, make a seal around the speaker to correct the problem. If the space behind the speaker is small or shallow, find a deeper, larger spot to mount it.

Tips & Warnings

• CDs are best for testing bass because they have the least compressed, most extended bass of any playback medium.

• Bass speakers have to have a minimum volume of baffle space behind them to produce bass ouput. Most doors and trunks have this volume, but roofs or roof pillars for example, do not.

• If you do not have a trunk isolated from the vehicle's cabin, consider using two full-range speakers mounted in cabinets.

References

• About: "Definition of a Speaker Baffle"
• Carstereohelp: "Installing Aftermarket Speakers"

Resources

• Crutchfield: "How To Install Car Speakers"