| Can you tell the difference between a nice car and a | | | | system is all connected to the head unit through at |
| great car? It's easy a great will make someone's head | | | | least one pair of wires if not more. Think of the head |
| turn as it drives by. The same line of thinking holds true | | | | unit as the brain of the system. |
| for a great car audio system. A great stereo system | | | | - Next thing on your list to become familiar with are the |
| can get people outside the car nodding their heads to | | | | car speakers. Most cars come standard with four |
| the music while a poorly put together car stereo | | | | main speakers, two in the front and two in the back. |
| system causes nothing but stares and laughs. The | | | | Some speakers are component speakers with each |
| lesson in all this is to know your car audio system | | | | single speaker broken down into two: one for the highs |
| pieces. | | | | and one for the bass. The speaker or channel then is |
| A great car audio system instantly brings street-cred | | | | connected to the head unit through speaker wire. If |
| and something to show off. Now, not only has your | | | | you are installing everything brand new, such as a new |
| stock increased with your friends but you also have | | | | head unit and new speakers, then you should use new |
| raised the value of the car overall if and when you | | | | speaker wires for the installation too. |
| decide to sell it. Only you know what can make the | | | | - You can spend all the money in the world on a |
| perfect audio system for your own car. It is up to you | | | | kicking audio system but if no one can hear it then |
| to design and plan it out. | | | | what's the point? For that, you are going to need |
| Before you can do that you should at least have an | | | | some excellent subwoofers. They are what give your |
| understand all of the essential components of a | | | | car audio system that deep and heavy bass which |
| complete system. Here is a breakdown of the four | | | | your normal, smaller speakers cannot provide. If and |
| main parts you'll need to get started. | | | | when you decide to add subwoofers to your system, |
| - Before you can get started installing a brand new car | | | | you will need an amplifier to hook them to for its extra |
| audio system, you should probably have an | | | | pop in power. |
| understanding about the basics of a car stereo | | | | - Speaking about amplifiers, you are going to need a |
| system. First off, it consists of four main components | | | | good one if you plan on adding any additional |
| with all of the wiring connecting them together. The | | | | equipment to the system other than the stereo and |
| system includes the head unit, the main speakers, | | | | speakers. They provide extra muscle for the system |
| amplifiers for power and the subwoofers for some | | | | plus a few extra channels of power for additional |
| kick. | | | | speakers but they are commonly used to power all |
| - In case you were not aware of the terminology, the | | | | the subwoofers. It is connected to the head unit |
| head unit is just another name for the stereo itself and | | | | through an RCA cable and directly to the car battery |
| is the core part of the entire system. They normally | | | | by a fused "hot" wire and a ground wire to the chassis |
| contain a cassette or CD player and installed directly | | | | of the car. |
| into the dash. Everything else you add on to the | | | | |