How To Test-Drive a Car Audio System
How To Test-Drive a Car Audio System - Automotive sound systems used to easily. You had a radio receiver, a pair of speakers and maybe a CD player. But now car audio is an exercise in technology that looks like it from a recording studio, complete with high-powered amplifiers and subwoofers booming, no additional noise sources such as portable music players, hard drives and even Bluetooth audio call.
While the basic foundation-radio / speaker setup has not changed much in recent years, it may be difficult for modern audio features available, much less understand the technical terminology to understand. Ultimately, the complication makes it difficult even to decide which right audio components and features for you when shopping for a new car.
While the basic foundation-radio / speaker setup has not changed much in recent years, it may be difficult for modern audio features available, much less understand the technical terminology to understand. Ultimately, the complication makes it difficult even to decide which right audio components and features for you when shopping for a new car.
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| How To Test-Drive a Car Audio System |
To help you understand the nuts and bolts of car audio systems, read "Car Audio Basics". Next, consider the audio questions for the cars you are interested in buying. And once you're a dealer, use our Car Audio Checklist to ensure your new car audio system has the features you want.
And because modern car audio systems are so versatile - and because we can not any technology in a single article - View our detailed stories about the music player and Bluetooth audio integration.
Finally, "How-Tech Test Drive Dealer Without Interference" gives tips on how to stuff you'd get from a dealer to avoid while in a vehicle testing technology.
Head Unit Basics
And because modern car audio systems are so versatile - and because we can not any technology in a single article - View our detailed stories about the music player and Bluetooth audio integration.
Finally, "How-Tech Test Drive Dealer Without Interference" gives tips on how to stuff you'd get from a dealer to avoid while in a vehicle testing technology.
Head Unit Basics
- The car stereo head unit a standard DIN or double-DIN unit, so you can easily take him out for an aftermarket head unit if you choose? Or audio components are spread over the dashboard?
- Put the audio controls consist of a touchscreen interface, physical knobs and buttons, or a combination of the two?
- Are the controls easy to operate while driving?
- Is the screen big enough? It is easy to read at a glance and in bright sunlight? Is to provide information such as artist / song / album for a CD or music from a connected music player? Is showing artist / song / channel for satellite radio?
Car Radio Features
- Which radio sources are: AM, FM, satellite, HD Radio?
- Does the system provide search and scan tuning and the ability to store favorite stations as presets?
- How many presets are there?
- Does the system use traditional radio tuning buttons or knobs and switches?
- Does the radio display to mimic an old-fashioned radio dial, so you can measure where you are within range of frequencies, or is it just to see station frequencies?
- Does the system offer Radio Data Service (RDS) that the artist and song information, stations and groups per category showing, so they are easier to find?
- Does the system offer a "time shift" feature that stores live radio content to a hard drive?
- Is it easy to quickly tune to the satellite radio channels and categories that you like?
- The system will notify you of a favorite song played on a satellite radio channel?
- The system can block explicit content on satellite radio by setting parental controls?
CD and DVD functions
- Does the system play / pause have forward / back, fast-forward/rewind, repeat and random play disc-based formats?
- Will play MP3 files burned onto recordable discs?
- The system will play DVDs and CDs? If so, it will play DVD movies when the car is not moving?
- Will it play DVD-Audio discs? If so, does it play in high resolution, multi-channel surround or the "down mix" of the audio to two-channel stereo?
Music player, Bluetooth audio and hard drives
- The system has an aux-in jack?
- Does the system you can connect portable players like an iPod? If so, it is through a USB cable or own? (For more on this subject, see the story, "How a Music Player System Test-Drive."
- Does the system you can plug in a thumb-type USB flash drive with music files?
- The system has Bluetooth for wireless music streaming audio from a compatible device? (For more information, check out the story "Wireless Audio Streaming:.'s Second Act Bluetooth"
- The system has a hard disk drive (HDD) for storing music files? If so, it allow you to add music from a CD, a USB stick or both? Is the catalog files in a format similar to that used by an iPod and you can view playlists, repeat tracks or albums and tracks in random order?
Car Audio System Features
- The system using digital signal processing (DSP) to combat environmental noise by increasing the volume relative to the vehicle speed and the amount of road and wind noise?
- Provides the DSP, such as Dolby Pro Logic II and Logic 7 stereo recordings to a surround sound effect?
- DSP is used to optimize the sound for only the driver and front seat passengers or all passengers?
- Does the midrange and subwoofer level controls in addition to bass, treble, fader and balance?
- Does the car have steering wheel audio controls? If so, it allow you to change audio sources and turn the volume up / down, forward / backward on a CD or switch radio stations?
- Does the vehicle have voice activation that allows you to control aspects of the audio system?
Let your ears right
Of course, the most important aspect of a car audio system is how it sounds. So bring your own music and spend time listening to the system while driving to see how he performs. You also need a sense of how easy to get - or how difficult - the audio controls are operable while you're on the road. If your ears to judge the sound and your other senses to determine if you are pleased with the operation of the system, you will come to an informed decision about a car audio system.
Of course, the most important aspect of a car audio system is how it sounds. So bring your own music and spend time listening to the system while driving to see how he performs. You also need a sense of how easy to get - or how difficult - the audio controls are operable while you're on the road. If your ears to judge the sound and your other senses to determine if you are pleased with the operation of the system, you will come to an informed decision about a car audio system.
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