significantly improve your car's sound: Learn how

shopping for brand new car speakers can significantly improve your car's sound.

Is the audio inside your car incredibly dull compared with what you’re used to on your home stereo?



If so, it might be time to liven up your car rides a little by upgrading to new speakers.

installing new speakers to your vehicle can improve the sound quality dramatically. Some audio technicians say it’s the number-one upgrade you can make to improve the overall quality of your car.



“Manufacturers are not audio engineers,” says Jim Johnson, general sales manager of Portland Car Audio & Accessories in, Portland. “They don’t care how it sounds. They care about gas mileage. Speakers are usually kind of last on the list. Upgrading to new speakers gives you a fuller sound.”

vehicle speaker
There's a whole lot to choose from when thinking about car speakers.

Car/truck speaker options

“New speakers will create a higher fidelity and clarity of sound,” says Robert Kimble owner of Audio Electronics in Salem. “The music is more distinct with less distortion. People won’t get tired listening to it.”



Johnson says "customers must decide the kind of sound they like." The first thing Johnson genuinely does with a customer is sitting in the car with them to discuss their personal preference.



“Everyone’s ear is different,” he says. “What I think sounds amazing, you may think is horrible. It’s a good idea to get out and listen to what you like and don’t like about it.”

Once you have found a sound you really like you will have a better understanding when it comes to buying car speakers. There are a large number of makes and models, sizes and power levels to choose from.



Portland Car Audio & Accessories offers three types of car speakers to choose from: full range speakers, component speakers and coaxial speakers.



• Full range speakers include a tweeter to provide for the high-pitched sounds and a woofer for the lows. This option offers several different sizes.



• Component speakers, at the same time, come with separate tweeters and woofers. They're advertised as providing a more detailed sound, according to Columbus Car Audio & Accessories.

• Coaxial speakers come with a tweeter and driver.


Once you've chosen a type of car speaker, you'll need to decide how many you want. Johnson says some cars come with as little as two speakers, while larger, luxury vehicles may have as many 32. He adds a typical sedan usually has four.



“It really just depends whether you want to replace all of them,” Johnson says. “I would recommend doing all four. If you’re budget-minded, I would start with the ones in the front. That’s where you’re at. And you’re going to be in the car 100 percent of the time.”



Another option to boost the sound is adding a subwoofer to your system. Subwoofers are designed to reproduce low bass frequencies and can be included with new speakers or can be added separately to existing car speakers.


“Most speakers can’t play down low in those frequencies like a subwoofer can,” Johnson  says