Car Sub Woofers - Car Stereo Speakers

By Philip P Daniel

New car speakers and subwoofers can make even the most normal of “whips” into something even William Shatner himself would be proud of. That does not mean that simply throwing tons of money at the problem of a weak system will manage to solve the problem. If you want to get some “junk in the trunk” and have a ride that has officially been “pimped” then read Philip “P as in Phat” Daniel’s guide to car speakers and sub woofers you dudeical dude!

Well Philip…I’m ready to get amped, what should I do to start?

I would say the first thing that any new car speaker coinsurer should do is determine a budget. Figure out exactly what is the top of your spending budget, then cut it in half…and double it. Although you may not want to spend this much, this is the number that you will most likely end up spending whether you like it or not so get used to seeing it sucka! Once you come up with this figure, it will be able to eliminate the systems that are out of your price range. Although you may covet these systems (much the same way I covet an autographed picture of a scantily clad Jerry Ryan in all of her Vulcan glory) you will be able to resist them with not as much temptation (something that I still can’t manage to do about the Jerry Ryan picture no matter how many restraining orders she levels against me).

OK…I’ve got my budget. What do I do next?

Well, the answer to this is simple. As much as I’d like to tell you to go ahead and buy something right now off of our lovely website, the next step in your purchase should be to make a trip to your local car audio electronics store and listen to these systems in person. Sure you can attempt to judge them based on the numbers that the manufacturer give for watts, amps and ohms, but unless you are an audio engineer, you won’t be able to judge the merits of these numbers unless you actually hear these puppies in action. That is not say that they aren’t important, but they should be kept in mind within the context of how they actually sound. You wouldn’t go buying a new full body Borg costume without actually trying it on would you? Of course you wouldn’t and that is why it’s so important to actually hear how the speakers will sound. When listening to the speakers, make sure to tell the schmuck that is handling the system that you want to listen to music that you generally listen to. Listen to the clarity of each of the speakers and narrow down you selection to a couple of options. Once you have two or three in mind, do a side by side comparison and see which speaker you enjoy listening to over time. If you still can’t decide, look at the specifications and judge on that basis. If you still can’t decide, flip a damn coin or something and put those suckers in your car already!

If you are listening to subwoofers, keep in mind that they will most likely sound quite different within the confines of your car. This also brings up a good point being that you need to pick speakers that will fit in the holes in your car. Unless you want to modify the existing spaces, be prepared to choose based on the options available. If you are willing to modify, realize that it can be a difficult process that can take both time, but also blood, sweat and tears, in no particular order. With subwoofers, since they will have to be mounted in a box, make sure the box that you purchase will fit in your trunk/backseat and that you are comfortable giving up all of your cargo/passenger room. The way that I look at it is, I would rather have a booming system then friends, so for me the choice was easy…speakers everywhere baby!

Once you have your new speakers picked out, feel free to run screaming out of the shop and back to you computer where Newbie is guaranteed to have prices that will kick whatever store you go to in the proverbial “cahjones”. Our expert reviews may also be able to help push you over the edge and make the decision a bit easier. All in all, with a new system, you old jalopy can be as smooth as the Star Ship Enterprise and as bumping as a Phish concert! Peace out from Philip P. Pa pa pa pa pa pa pa P-Unit!

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