do you listen to what sales people say is best? do you listen to your friends and buy whatever they tell you? does your friend have a great system, and you want to have the same set up he has? or do you actually listen to things for yourself? do you bring your own cd to the store to hear what your music will sound like? do you assume that when looking at 2 items together the more expensive item is always better?
please be honest, i want to know why you buy what you buy, and how you bought it. please let me know what brand you bought, and why you bought it. there is no wrong answer, this is just a general question.
2007-01-12T07:58:17Z
no guys, i'm not asking how to buy car audio. i'm asking you what you do when you buy car audio. i know what i do.
Jai M2007-01-12T07:40:08Z
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Well u floow a bit of all those things listed above, but realistically it all depends on what kinda sound u actually want from your car. Car audio installs fall broadly under three categories 1) SQ install or an install done for awesome sound quality and amazing fidelity 2) SP or sound pressure, basically a lot of subwoofers producing enough bass to loosen every nut on your ride.
Firstly decide on a basic setup of sound, a pair of front speakers, a headunit, a sub and an amp, if u want that extra punch,
Carry your favourite music along with you, when u go to the shop, to hear it out, pick one track, that is very dynamic in nature, ie that lets u listen to a number of instruments in one go, and compare it to other speaker *** headunit combos.
Fix your budget, and do not try and go overboard, because there is actually no limit to car audio.
I have been a strong believer in Pioneer all my life, and my last install was a mix of sound quality and sound pressure, so i had 4 speakers at all corners, with 2 tweeters, and 2 12 inch subs in the rear, running off a pioneer headunit, and two pioneer amps.
I have A Pioneer DEH-P6700MP. It has the features I wanted. All the outputs and MP3 /WMA capability, but it is not as expensive as some other brands, but it had what I wanted. A lot of places will let you bring in your own music and see how it sounds on certain set-ups. I prefer Memphis Car Audio speakers and subwoofers, but they are not the most expensive. If you hear a set-up you like take it into consideration. Sometimes you do get what you pay for, but if you are not into competition, then you probably don't need a $5,000 audio system, But you will have to invest a few hundred dollars to get a quality system. The thing to remember is to get what you like.
I think you've answered your own question. Do you try your clothes on before you buy them or do you just buy what your friends are wearing and hope it fits and looks good on your too?
Before I go on, YES take your favorite CD with you when you are checking out the music. NO expensive isn't always better.
First, figure out what your budget is for your system. Figure out how much you have to spend and buy accordingly. And don't buy what your friends have unless their parents can front you the same kind of money to do your system.
I've owned about 7 vehicles. I've changed the audio system out completely in 3 of them. I've changed the speakers only out in 4 of them including the 3 I just mentioned. I've added an amp to only 1.
In most cases, if your head unit (radio) has all the functionality you need, changing out the factory speakers will get you the sound quality you want/need. I always start there first. Two of my vehicles had BOSE systems in them and changing speakers would have been too expensive. And one vehicle got stolen before I could change speakers.
I've changed the head unit in my current vehicle (to a 2005 factory unit from a 2003) and I'll change the speakers this summer.
If you aren't satisfied after the speaker change, consider a new head unit to match the speakers.
If you still aren't satisfied, add an amp to run your speakers and an amp powered sub woofer.
If you still aren't satisfied, stop spending your money cause you never will be.
Also, when it comes to spending money on a stereo, my thinking is always this: No matter how much money I spend, eventually my car and my stereo is going to end up in somebody's junk yard.
I've got 6 other previous vehicles that prove my point totally. That being said, don't spend to much, but at the same time buy what you can afford. And try not to exceed your budget in the process.
Also, once you've decided what you want to buy, write down the model numbers and do a google search for reviews. Sometimes products just don't live up to their price.
If you want to talk more, shoot me an email. No sense everybody knowing my secrets. LOL
When I bought my last audio system (nothing too special) I listened to all the systems with the different speakers. Panasonic sounded just as good as the high priced systems , and had all the extra's I wanted.The best sounding reasonably priced speakers were Sony ,so that's what I bought.
never listen to sales people they try to sale you stuff you don't need. listen just remember it might sound good in the store but it might not in your car always buy name brands like kicker,jbl,memphis,pioneer, also remember there is a low end and a high end to all car audio you pay for what you get if its a 5000 watt amp and they want $150 don't get you will not like it