Custom car audio installations have changed a great deal over the years. More often than not, custom installations from years ago often looked like ‘bolted-on’ additions to a vehicle. Modern systems blend seamlessly with your interior. Advances in construction techniques allow your installer to create complex multi-dimensional shapes that look like they came from the vehicle assembly line. Read on as we contrast the materials and designs of the past with what is currently available.

Source Units

If you look at a custom installation more than about five years old, the trademark was an aftermarket source unit in the dash. Working backward chronologically, we saw Double-DIN navigation systems, flip-up multimedia receivers, detachable face CD receivers and pull-out cassette decks with CD changers. The quality and features of factory radios just could not match what the aftermarket had to offer.

As companies like Ford spearheaded the move towards integrated infotainment solutions like Ford Sync, vehicle manufacturers increased their emphasis on providing clients with more features and better performance. Navigation, USB support for MP3 and WMA files, iPhone control and backup camera systems are now common in even the most basic of vehicles.

Modern source units have become a central control system for vehicle functions such as heating and cooling adjustments. They also have become vehicle information displays for things like tire pressure monitoring. In the past, the radio was a single component that performed a single task. Now, they are an integral part of the car, and no longer an option that can be replaced easily. Many modern vehicles use distributed multimedia systems that cannot be replaced at all.

How do we upgrade the sound system? Your mobile electronics specialist retailer is armed with several integration solutions that work with your factory source unit. These products allow for the installation of high-power amplifiers, signal processors and speaker upgrades to dramatically improve the performance of the system. Vehicle manufacturers rarely invest in high-quality speakers, so there is ample opportunity to improve even premium-branded OEM sound systems.

Cosmetic Integration

Another telltale sign of an old-school, high-end sound system were custom door panels. A set of aftermarket components mounted to an adapter plate or panel on top of the factory door skin was common. A premium installation may have a custom cloth-covered grill over the speaker instead of the mesh grill provided by the manufacturer.

Modern sound system upgrades are often nearly invisible. With the increase in available speaker mounting depth afforded by complex contoured door panel designs, high-end component speakers can be installed behind factory grills on custom adapter plates. Once the door is back together, there is no sign of the upgrade. Add in some sound deadening and speaker coupling rings, and the performance of your new sound system will increase by another order of magnitude.

Depending on the design of the vehicle, the tweeters from the new component set may fit into the factory location with little to no modification. In cases where the factory tweeter is in a location that doesn’t provide optimum placement, your installer can fabricate a compact tweeter pod for the sail panel or mount them in the A-pillar. Either way, the result is cosmetically inconspicuous while offering excellent performance.

Subwoofer Enclosures

It used to be that having a subwoofer in your vehicle meant sacrificing a significant amount of storage area in the hatch or trunk of your vehicle. A pair of ten- or twelve-inch subwoofers in a large vented enclosure took up take up a large amount of space. While the underlying philosophy of how speakers work has not changed in decades, modern subwoofer designs produce excellent low-frequency output from extremely compact enclosures. Enclosures concealed in spare tire wells or into the corner of a hatch take up little to no cargo space while providing excellent low-frequency performance.

Pickup trucks are a popular platform for upgrades. There are now dozens of subwoofers on the market that feature basket and motor designs that allow for under-seat enclosures. A pair of ten-inch subwoofers under the rear seat of a Sierra, Silverado, F-150 or Ram is a daily occurrence.

Materials and Cosmetics

If you look back through car audio magazines from the 90’s, you would be assaulted with amplifier and processor racks finished in tweed and trunk liner carpet. For a custom show-car installation, high-gloss painted fiberglass was popular. Looking back, these installations rarely matched the styling cues and materials that came from the factory. Instead, they seemed to contrast them deliberately. There are always exceptions, but from a stereotypical perspective, divergence appeared to be the name of the game.

Modern installations use vinyl that matches the factory materials for color and often for grain. Acrylic plastic inserts replicate factory styling accents. Where new grills need to be created, installers are now including multi-dimensional contours to give the panel more depth and elegance. Many installations feature painted dash or center console inserts for DSPs and radar detector control panels that match other styling cues correctly. Trunk installations are trimmed nicely so the subwoofer enclosure looks integrated rather than something dropped in back of a vehicle. Chrome inserts, accent lines and the use of several complementary materials can turn what was an all-black carpeted trunk into a creative and highlighted part of the system. But it will still look like it is a cosmetically-integrated part of the vehicle.

The highest praise for most installers is to hear that the audio system they installed sounds exceptional, and that it looks like it was a factory-installed option!

System Design and Equipment

The proliferation of reasonably priced digital signal processors has changed the way car audio systems are designed. In days gone by, a mid-level sound system upgrade may have included a four-channel amplifier, a subwoofer amplifier, a set of component speakers for the front doors, a set of coaxial speakers for the rear doors and a subwoofer. Now, rear speaker upgrades are often forsaken in favor of a DSP processor and active filtering on the front stage speakers.

The benefits of a fully active system are dramatic. Your installer has full control over the crossover frequencies and output levels for each speaker. He can equalize and adjust the signal delay to the left and right speakers to create a focused and stable soundstage across the dash of the vehicle. Your music will sound more natural and realistic. Many new system amplifiers include built-in digital signal processors to allow for a fully active three-way system installation using a single chassis. Some of these amplifiers are small enough to fit under a seat to save space.

Upgrade your Sound System for Better Performance

A lot has changed regarding car audio system design, equipment choices and vehicle integration. You can enjoy recording studio or concert-like performance from a system upgrade that is nearly invisible. If you were a fan of car audio systems years ago, then it is worth visiting your local mobile electronics specialist retailer today. You will be able to experience the latest products and installation techniques in person.

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.

Upgrading a factory audio system is not as easy as it used to be. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, connecting an amplifier and a new set of speakers to a factory source unit would yield impressive, if not amazing, results. As automobile manufacturers put more focus on the performance of factory-installed sound systems, digital signal processing (DSP) became more and more prevalent. Equalization and signal delay built into factory source units and amplifiers allow inexpensive speakers to sound acceptable. This tuning works well for such speakers, but not for a set of premium aftermarket speakers. In the past few years, it has become common practice for reputable mobile electronics retailers to perform a series of oem sound system measurements in a vehicle we haven’t worked on before to ensure we understand how the factory entertainment system functions. The results of the measurements will determine the best path to upgrading the performance of the audio system.

Measure Twice, Cut Once

What do we measure, you ask? We need to quantify three items before a system upgrade can be discussed.

The first is frequency response. We need to know if the signal coming from the factory radio or amplifier has been equalized or filtered in any way. Equalization can help improve the performance of inexpensive speakers and compensate for the acoustic characteristics of your vehicle.

The second is voltage. If you have a high-power factory amplifier, then the interface we choose for your system has to be able to handle all of the voltage the amp can produce. Not knowing how much voltage is present in the speaker wires can lead to a system design that distorts at high volumes. This distortion will damage speakers.

The last thing our shop will want to analyze is the type of signal present. In most cases, the output of the amplifier is a BTL (Bridge-Tied Load), though some are single-ended. There is no right or wrong type of signal, but the information is required to ensure that they will use the appropriate interface solution or amplifier.

Depending on the vehicle and complexity of the factory sound system, we may have to complete several other tests. Signal routing tests are critical, especially if there is a center channel in the vehicle. Chimes, navigation prompts, parking sensors, up-mixers, active noise cancellation and systems that inject “engine noises” into the audio path have to be taken into account before the system design is complete.

What if We Do Not Measure Your System?

Imagine that you want to improve the sound in your audio system. You go to a car stereo shop and buy an amp and a set of speakers, determined to install them yourself to save some money. Even worse, you want to try to save a few more bucks, so you buy the equipment online and have it shipped to your house. Saturday rolls around, and you tear into your vehicle. You run wires to the battery and try to connect to the factory amp. After an hour or two in forums or Facebook groups, you think you have finally connected to the right wires. When you turn the system on, it sounds dull and lifeless.

What happened?

Many factory amplifiers have dedicated outputs for tweeters and midrange drivers. Connecting to one or the other limits how much information goes to your new speakers. Working with an experienced mobile electronics retailer helps you eliminate situations like these. A retailer that doesn’t already have the information can measure the response of each channel of the factory source unit or amplifier and provide a way to manage work with that information.

A more-typical result is that the high-frequency output from the new speakers is overwhelming. Many factory audio systems use a woofer in the door and a small midrange in the dash. These tweeterless factory systems require a moderate amount of high-frequency emphasis to sound acceptable. When you add a tweeter that can do a good job of reproducing these frequencies, the boost inherent to the system becomes overwhelming. You may be able to turn down the treble control on the radio, but it’s likely that the adjustment only compensates for the highest of frequencies, leaving you with an annoying frequency response bump around 4 or 5 kHz.

What We Do with the OEM Sound System Measurements

After the measurements are complete, our shop can recommend a solution to help ensure the success of your new system. If you luck out and have a simple factory source unit, you may only need a voltage adapter, commonly called a line output converter, to send an appropriate signal to your amplifier.

If a large amount of equalization is present from the factory amplifier, then an equalizer or digital signal processor may be adequate to compensate for the factory tuning. A calibrated microphone and audio analysis equipment is required to set up the new system. These devices are expensive, and it takes time to learn how to use them correctly to achieve acceptable results.

If you have a factory amplifier that includes crossovers or time alignment, then your interface options narrow. Several system integration processors on the market can automatically undo equalization and time alignment, then recombine signals from the subwoofer, midbass, midrange and tweeter outputs. There are also integration modules that will replace your factory amplifier and provide connections that will feed a signal directly to your new amplifier. Unfortunately for the Do-It-Yourselfer, these amplifier replacement modules need to be programmed for the year, make, model and trim level of your vehicle. This configuration process is not something that you can do at home.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Performing OEM system measurements are like preparing to have a cavity filled. Before your dentist starts grinding or drilling, he or she will take a series of X-rays so that they know exactly what they are dealing with. The same philosophy applies to constructing a subwoofer enclosure. You’d never see someone start cutting wood without having measured the car accurately.

When it is time to upgrade your factory audio system, visit your local mobile electronics specialist retailer. Ask if they know how your factory audio system is configured in terms of signal processing. If they don’t know, find out whether they have the equipment to measure the factory audio signals in your vehicle. Once you are comfortable with their level of expertise, you can enjoy the process of designing a fantastic sound system for your vehicle. You will be thrilled with the results!

This article is written and produced by the team at www.BestCarAudio.com. Reproduction or use of any kind is prohibited without the express written permission of 1sixty8 media.