Ten Tips for Getting Better Sound from Your System

Flexibility — it's one of the great things about mobile audio. Whether it's adding that one last piece of gear, tweaking the EQ blend, or repositioning your subwoofers, there's always something that you can do to make your system sound better. Sometimes, if you're still working with a factory stereo, all it takes is an equipment upgrade (maybe a new receiver or some better speakers). Already have an aftermarket system? Then there are plenty of tweaks and adjustments you can try to get the mix just right for your vehicle and your music.



Chances are, if you're reading this article, you're thinking that your mobile system could sound better. No worries, on the following pages you'll find recommendations for gear upgrades and system settings designed to improve the performance of just about any setup.

Install new speakers: It's an easy answer, but it's true: upgrading your car's speakers will improve your overall sound. There, I said it. The reason is that your audio system, as a chain, is only as strong as its weakest link. Everything you hear has to pass through those speakers, and if they're not up to snuff your whole system will suffer. Adding highly efficient aftermarket speakers to a factory system is a smart move because they will sound better and should work with your vehicle's available power.

Upgrade your receiver: As important as speakers are to your system's overall sound, a quality receiver should be pretty high up on that list too. A high-powered aftermarket receiver will give you a cleaner amp section and higher-quality components for better sound with less distortion. Often, you can add on additional music sources like a portable player, satellite radio tuner, DVD media, and others via an auxiliary input. You'll also get a clearer display for safer and more convenient operation, and better sound shaping features so you can tailor the output to fit your car.

Add tweeters: Muddy sound is a common problem in cars that have speakers mounted low on the doors. Those drivers firing right into your ankles might be OK in terms of bass (which is much less directional), but chances are they leave something to be desired in the treble department. But, by adding a pair of component tweeters up on the sail panels or on the front window pillars, you'll be able to focus those high tones where they need to be: at ear level. The resulting reorganization of the sound will greatly improve your high-end definition and do wonders for your overall listening experience.

Add an external amplifier: From a sound quality standpoint, few upgrades can do as much for your music as a boost of amp power. For starters, consider that your speakers need lots of clean, consistent power to sound their best. By driving them with a high-quality external amp, you'll actually get fuller, more dynamic sound (at all volume levels) than you would with receiver power alone, and you'll have plenty of juice left over for when you want to crank it up.

And the good news is, amps these days come in a variety of configurations to fit just about any system. With a 3-, 4-, or 5-channel amp, you can power all of your components and full-range speakers directly — without a degree in electrical engineering or any wacky wiring creativity.

Install Dynamat: Vibration dampening products like Dynamat are designed to deaden the natural resonance of your car's body by absorbing the vibrations caused by your speakers and road noise. These materials are a great way to reduce general road noise (like tire hum, engine noise, wind, etc…) that can interfere with your music, and improve your overall system performance, since energy that isn't wasted on resonant body panels leaves more available to power those speakers. That way, your music is left with an acoustically neutral space (or as neutral as a mobile system can get) in which to play around. Vibration dampening is also a great way to tame a trunk-rattling subwoofer for tighter bass and less distortion.

Install Bass Blockers on your full-range and component speakers: Yes, those full-range 6-1/2" speakers you've installed in your doors can handle some low-frequency tones. But why make them? That's just like laying out the welcome mat for distortion. You really should have a subwoofer in the trunk for that end of the frequency spectrum, and save your other speakers and components for the mid- and treble-ranges. Bass blockers are installed in-line on your speaker wires and do just what their name suggests: block the bass frequencies that your speakers can't handle. They are available with several different filter settings, and are also great for 3-1/2", 4", and other small speakers that can't handle the low frequencies.

Make sure your speakers are in phase: Even if they were installed professionally, it's worth checking to make sure your subwoofers and speakers are wired in phase (that is, the positive and negative leads are connected the same way at both the receiver or amplifier and the speaker). How will you know? Fade your radio all the way to the front, and turn the balance all the way to the right or left. Listen for a minute, then move the balance to the center. You should hear a little more bass — if you don't, your speakers are out of phase. Repeat the process for the rear speakers. To check your sub, listen to a bass-heavy track, then have a friend reverse the speaker wires leading to the sub. If you hear more bass, leave it!

Change the position or enclosure style of your subwoofer: Fact: different subwoofer enclosure types (bandpass, sealed, and ported) produce different types of bass. Fact: that's OK, because people have different tastes in bass. Think about what you're looking for and enclose accordingly. Bandpass boxes, for example, tend to produce loose, "boomy" bass, while sealed enclosures are all about tight, controlled low-frequencies. (For more on subwoofer enclosures check out our Subwoofer Showdown.)

And, if you're not getting the kind of bass response that you'd like, try moving the box that you already have. The placement of the enclosure does contribute to the overall performance of your sub, so it's important to try out different arrangements in different parts of your car until you find the spot that works best for your music and your vehicle. Under a seat, back in the trunk, pointed into a corner, whatever; every car is different; experiment.

Avoid extreme EQ boosts: Since low frequencies take so much power to reproduce, boosting the bass control on your receiver draws power away from the high end and lowers your overall headroom, introducing more distortion into your signal. So when you want more kick, try lowering the mids/highs and turning up the volume instead. You'll end up with more low-end reinforcement, and you won't have to worry about degrading your signal.

Tweak your compressed music: Hours of music on a single disc or a device that you can carry in your pocket? There's got to be a downside, right? Unfortunately, there is, and it's sound quality. While in-dash MP3 receivers (and portable players like Apple's iPod and Creative's Jukebox) have revolutionized the way many of us listen to music, they've also introduced a new wrinkle in the quest for great mobile sound.

Compressed music formats (MP3, WMA, etc…) minimize file size by trimming portions of the original signal which are determined to be inaudible. These frequencies are generally outside the human hearing range, but their absence can sometimes be heard in the little musical details that we usually take for granted. Compressed music sometimes suffers from weak bass, flat-sounding treble, and an overall loss of warmth. Fortunately, mobile audio companies have made some great advances in the last few years in restoring the sound quality of compressed digital music (Alpine's MediaXpander, Clarion's Anti-Distortion Filter, and BBE MP from BBE Sound are just three examples). If you listen to a lot of digital music, taking advantage of these tools can go a long way toward improving your sound quality.

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