Car Audio Electronics - The Basic Components

Car audio electronics have become more and more important auto parts since the very first car radio was introduced, long before I was born. No matter whether a car cost $200 or $200,000, there is one feature that is a must for almost everyone; a stereo system.

It started with car radios then cassette playes, TVs, CD players etc. Recently there has been observed a correlation between the number of cars on the road and the demand for in-car entertainment. We can see a growing trend of purchasing in-car entertainment attached to the car stereo system.

An example of such attachments are DVD players that may function well to keep your nagging kids busy with a cartoon movie, especially when you drive long distances. Another example is all kinds of mobile electronics installations we have seen more and more of the recent years.

Head Units

What is a head unit? It is the unit in the car audio system that provide signals to your amplifiers. This is the origin of sound; where it all begins. Whatever the rest of your vehicle's audio system includes, here is where your sound starts. Choosing the right head unit is therefore momentous. If you use a poor head unit no matter how good your equipment down the line is, you will in fact be stuck with low quality sound.

Amplifiers

The amplifiers make the signals from the head unit's more powerful in order to drive the speakers. The amplifiers must be able to take advantage of your speaker's power handling capability, proper volume as well as it's clarity.

Speakers

These are the final link or the last element in the chain and the most prominent component with regard to the quality of sound you actually hear. If the speakers are of bad quality it doesn't matter if you have best head units and amplifiers; it will sound bad. Period.

Equalizers/Crossovers

Equalizers are not a necessity but can help balance your sound when used properly. Crossovers help divide up the full range of sound frequencies, which enables you to use special speakers for each range. Crossovers make the sound better, because no single speaker can precisely generate the full range of sound our ears are able to hear.

Accessories

The accessories range from important details to just making car audio installations look better. There are several accessories that are available for your car stereo system. The most necessary accessories are:

• RCA Cables: cables used to transfer pre-amp signals.
   
• Speaker Cables: It is important for the quality of sound to use good speaker cables, especially if you have a high quality amplifier. When the signal from the head unit is amplified it becomes much stronger and requires thicker speaker cables to carry it.
   
• Power Distribution Blocks: for wiring up multiple components more easy.
   
• Capacitors: We always talk about sound when it comes to stereo systems, car stereo systems included. But what we really mean is music. Because music - especially classical music - can be very dynamic, the power requirements of your system may be very high for periods of time and vice versa.
  
  If you have a small alternator or battery, your car's electrical system may not be able to keep up with demand, thus distort the music. With a capacitor this problem is solved, by providing extra storage capacity for those high power signals.