Why Have A Car Sub Woofer?
Why should you have a car subwoofer? First you need to learn what one is. Well a subwoofer is a speaker that is powered by an amplifier tuned in to and plays back low-frequency sound or bass. Subwoofers create low-frequency sounds and contain those low notes that are missing from most car stereo systems. They are heavily used in the streetcar-tuning scene; many cars out there have massive I.C.E (In Car Entertainment) installs. There is even a whole range of music designed to push subwoofers to their limits and give them a thorough workout. The genre is known as “the bass track”.
The Many Types Of Car Subwoofer:
Subwoofers are either passive or powered, with the passive systems drawing power off of the car’s head unit, and the powered systems have an independent powerline hooked up to them, usually right off the battery. Car subwoofers are mounted in boxes and placed in the boots or trunk of the car, or in other places such as the cars parcel shelf or the space beneath the car’s rear window. Car subwoofers also vary dramatically in size, on average from 6.5 inches all the way up to 60 inches in the crazy monster subwoofer category. There are plenty of relatively inexpensive subwoofers that are available, however the car subwoofer is a bit of a luxury item, so buy the best you can afford.
A Typical Car Subwoofer Setup:
The car subwoofer is mounted in a box made of MDF usually, although some of them come in tubes, known as bass tubes. Typically they are hooked up to a single channel amplifier set with a low crossover to provide the bass tones. Independent amplification is necessary, because the amount of power subwoofers need, can be too much for the car’s standard audio equipment. Since the car subwoofer is usually mounted in a box, they can take up a lot of room. If you want to fit a subwoofer you must be ready to sacrifice a substantial amount of space in order to house this specialty item. However, there are systems these days that place the car subwoofer and unused nooks and crannies of the car, these are specially built pod’s if you like and can be found for most popular makes of car.
Getting A Subwoofer Of Your Own:
A car subwoofer is a must in the overall high-end I.C.E setup. It is wise to choose the best product that you can afford, and not sacrifice price for quality. However that said, because of the big business there is in car audio products and subwoofers in general you can often find a bargain. My advice would be to search on the Internet and the online auction sites and see what you can pick up.
Gavin Drake is a self proclaimed “Petrol Head” and loves fast cars. He races a number of cars in various championships in the U.K and also runs http://www.fastcarsinfo.com A site dedicated to fellow petrol heads, where they can chat, share photo’s and catch up on the latest automotive news.
Regardless of your car audio listening habits: broadcast radio, satellite radio, or CDs, finding the desirable speaker combination for your automobile will make your audio experience a positive one. Finding the right system may take some effort and research, but it will be worth it. Improved components which add greater functionality of car audio system means you should know about certain components. These components are speakers, sub woofers, tweeters, amplifiers, ipod adapters and more.
Speakers
Speaker approaches are very important because they are the units that actually reproduce the sound from electrical energy. The right speakers for your auto audio system are extremely critical, given that they are reproducing the actual sound from the stereo itself. When buying speakers, only consider the higher end. Here is what you need to know, and what to look for:
First, let’s start with the types of speakers that you’ll encounter in the car audio world.
A woofer is a large speaker which will reproduce the lower frequencies. The mid speaker is, as its name implies, a medium sized unit which reproduces the middle frequencies. And the tweeter is small and will reproduce the higher sounds.
A sub woofer will give you another dimension in bass: they reproduce the lowest spectrum of the sound. And there is a also a supertweeter which will give you the highest sound in the spectrum.
When you buy speakers, you may be actually buying a "package" of speakers, encompassing some or all of the above. Or, you could purchase them separately.
There are other variations of these speakers available as well. If the car sees a lot of use as well as wear and tear, then buying higher quality components is a great idea.
There are many factors that need to be considered in placing the speakers in the correct position. Basically, they split music signals into separate frequency ranges and sends them to speakers that are designed to best reproduce each frequency range, you can vary the crossover points and adjust the level of separate speakers to achieve the best overall sound in your vehicle.
Power
Amplifiers are devices that take a teeny tiny audio signal from a pre-amp, some power from your battery, and pass it on as a big audio signal to drive speakers. To get the cleanest sound, it is absolutely essential to have as much power as you can afford. It delivers power with clarity.
Factory fitted radios (standard fit radios) in the past had relatively low power outputs of about 3 to 5 watts. Compare this to after market radios where the basic models start at a power output of 45 Watts x 4.
By providing a maximum power of 45 watts, they belong to the class of highly efficient amplifiers that are up to 90% power efficient. It makes the most efficient use of power when compared to other amplifier classes.
Components
A car audio system is a combination of components such as head units, amplifiers, speakers, and auxiliary input devices. A word of advice: if you are supposed to be paying for new car audio approach from an after market dealer, make sure you see the box, the price and installation materials before the company installs the your car audio approach. This way you are assured of getting what you paid for.
If the quality of the audio in your car is important to you, be sure to consider these ideas. Many of us spend a great deal of time in our cars. It is worth the effort to make sure you get what you want.
Yvonne Volante, author, loves to listen to music of all kinds. She understands the importance of a good audio system. See more audio articles over at http://www.foraudio.com
Driving Sports announced today the launch of Driving Sports Video, a new on-demand video series that provides auto enthusiasts with entertaining and insightful coverage of new cars, modified tuner vehicles and extreme motorsport action.
“In less than 20 years the print magazine as we know it will be obsolete. With the success of the Apple video iPod, Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP) and the emergence of video-capable mobile phones, transportable video on demand is clearly the future for enthusiast media,” commented Ryan Douthit, Director of MediaSpigot LLC.
“We had long considered re-launching Driving Sports as a print publication, but the opportunity to take extreme driving experiences beyond the written word–to show the action in all its tire-shredding, clutch-grinding glory was simply too irresistible to pass up.”
Each episode of Driving Sports Video features both in-the-field and studio segments. “I’m really excited about this show,” said Alison Dudek, who recently lit up primetime television as a contestant on ABC’s “The Bachelor: Paris,” and is a confirmed car nut. “I already called dibs for when we get a Mercedes SLR to test!” [PRWEB]
Driving Sports Video on Google shows the debut vehicles with car subwoofers that are so technically sound as to give the feeling of real home theater systems is a vehicle. These hi-fi integrated systems produce the sounds and images as sharp as any top brand of flat panel tv with the help of the built-in car amplifiers