Very Basics to a Car Audio System

Very basic car audio system information. Describes how the head unit, speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers of car audio systems work. This page is for the people just getting into installing their own systems, or those who just want to learn a little bit about how their car audio system works.

Car audio systems have come a long way since its beginnings as just an AM radio. Gone are the simple vintage stereo systems. They have now been replaced with CD players, MP3 players and even computers built right into the dashboard of your vehicle. While all this can be confusing, we are here to help you understand it.

Head Unit
The CD player or cassette deck that plays the music. Most head units will have a built in amplifier. This means you can hook-up your speakers directly to your deck. Newer more advanced units may have MP3 technoloy built in or an input connection port for your portable MP3 player. MP3 technology shrinks the file size on songs, allowing for more music to be stored on a single CD or hard drive. You will need a head unit with pre-amp outputs if you plain on adding an amplifier.

Speakers
Where all the sound comes from. Want to hear the entire range of mid to high frequency sounds and all the vocals in your music? I suggest you upgrade your stock speakers then.

Subwoofers
Speakers designed to play lower frequencies of the audio spectrum. Most require a box, and all must be hooked up to a amplifier. This is what gives you the thump and lets your feel the music.

Amplifiers
This will give your audio signal more power.