The Components You Need for the Ultimate Car Audio System

We've all heard stories about the good old days. Summer nights cruising around town. Red vinyl bench seats. One arm on the wheel, the other out the window, with the radio crackling through the dashboard.

Well, times have changed a little since then. Sure, summer cruising is still great. But luckily, the music options are a lot more exciting these days.

For some people, stock speakers and a factory head unit might be fine. But for others, those won't cut the mustard.

If you want car audio that's immersive, customisable, and loud,you'll need to make a few upgrades. But with different types of head units, speakers, amps, subwoofers, and wiring setups, it's easy to feel confused.

Here, we're making it easy by giving you a full rundown of everything you need. You'll also get some bonus expert tips -- and five great songs you can use to test out different setups.

The road to incredible car audio all starts with the head unit.

Also known as a receiver or deck, this is where the sound originates and pushes out to your speakers. Older models were often very basic, but newer ones feature many more functions and connection options.

Depending on the brand, model, and price -- you can still achieve decent sound from a basic head unit/speaker setup. But to take things to the next level, you'll need some extra equipment.

Head units feature an equalizer (EQ), allowing you to customise the audio range. You can alter the treble, bass, and mid-range sounds -- either manually or with a preset. You can also change the sound location, playing music out of particular speakers or from a certain side of the car.

Head units also include a small, built-in amplifier. This boosts the audio signal and allows you to increase the volume. As you upgrade your sound system, it's important to understand that internal amps will only get you so far.

Once you start connecting more powerful speakers or a subwoofer, you'll need an external amp. We'll cover this in more detail a bit later in the article.

Upgrading your head unit gives you a lot more ways to play your music. This can include CD, radio, DAB+ (digital radio), MP3, smartphone, or external device. You can also connect via Bluetooth, headphone jack, or USB cable -- depending on the model.

For lots of people, Spotify is the go-to source for music. For this reason, many new head units now come with built-in Spotify control. You can connect your phone and control Spotify through the dashboard, reducing distractions as you drive.

In addition toplaying music, many head units are now complete A/V systems.

With large touch screens for navigation, videos, and apps -- you can select from a whole range of entertainment options.

You can also connect your smartphone and use apps like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to access a suite of extra features. With Siri and Google Assistant, you can even use voice commands for hands-free control of your music.

After the head unit, speakers are the next step in the quality of your sound system. If you're on a budget, simply replacing the factory speakers can be enough to make a noticeable difference.

However, if you're looking for a complete package, speakers are a piece of a larger puzzle.

When you're selecting new speakers, it's important to understand the two different types:

These are the most common type -- and are sometimes called 'Coaxial' speakers. You may often hear people talking about '2-way' or '3-way' speakers -- these are full range speakers.

If you've got stock speakers and they sound terrible, it's possible they only have one driver. This means there's a single component trying to do everything at once. Treble, bass, and everything in between -- it can all come out sounding muffled and dull. Full-range speakers have two, three, or even four separate drivers. And each driver specialises in a different part of the sound.

For example, 2-way speakers have a 'tweeter' and a 'woofer' in one unit.

Tweeters emit high-frequency sounds (treble) in things like vocals and cymbals. They add 'brightness' to music and keep everything sounding crisp and clear.

Woofers pump out the low-end sounds found in bass, drums, and vocals. You'll feel these pounding in your stomach as you crank up the volume.

(Oh, and if you're wondering where these names came from -- a bird's 'tweet' is high-pitched, whereas a dog's 'woof' is low-pitched.)

Three-way speakers are the same as 2-way, but have an extra driver just for mid-range frequencies. This brings out things like guitars and keyboards, providing a more balanced sound.

Taking it one step further, 4-way speakers feature a 'super-tweeter'. For serious audiophiles, this provides even richer high-frequency audio.

Where full range speakers are 'all in one', component speakers have their drivers separated into different pieces. This allows you to configure them individually, and place them in different areas of your car.

Tweeters emit very directional sound, so they're best placed at ear level. You've probably seen tweeters before, mounted up high on the dashboard corners opposite the side-mirrors. The woofers emit low-frequency sound, so it's fine to mount them down in the door panels.

Hearing music from different areas of the car often results in far more immersive sound. If you're used to music blaring out from near your feet, you'll notice an immediate difference with component speakers.

With a better separation of the audio spectrum, individual instruments stand out much more. When you have a good component speaker setup, it sounds like the artist is performing right in front of you.

Full-range speakers are convenient as they're an 'all-in-one' solution -- and a good brand can produce terrific sound quality. But in general, component speakers are the way to go if you want incredible car audio. Their flexibility and customisation make them better for building a high-end audio system.

Be prepared, however. Component speakers can be a bit 'fiddly' and will need more planning and wiring. But for serious audio heads, the results are more than worth it. For help designing your speaker setup, talk with an audio expert.

If you're serious about taking car audio to new heights, you can't do it without an amplifier.

In simple terms, an amp gives your music more power and volume. But it also gives you more sound control, more hardware choices -- and improves the quality of your music overall.

Head units generally have small, built-in amplifiers of their own, but they're limited in what they can do. If your factory setup becomes distorted at high volume, it's tempting to blame the speakers. But often, the head unit's built-in amplifier may be the culprit. It's simply not powerful enough to give you the volume you want.

If you want bigger speakers, louder sound, or the thumping bass of a subwoofer -- you'll need an external amp.

Amplifiers have a rating measured in watts. Typically, there's a 'maximum power' and 'rated power'. The maximum power is the highest the amplifier can go, and the rated power is the typical operating output. The higher the ratings are, the more power it can put out to the speakers and/or sub -- and the louder it can go.

More power also allows you to connect extra speakers if you want truly immersive car audio.

When you're looking through a range of amps, you'll notice they have different numbers of channels. Some amps are 'mono' (single channel) and others go all the way up to 5.

In short, the more channels the amp has, the more you can connect to it. For example, a mono amp can run only a subwoofer -- but a 4- or 5-channel amp can run an entire system. The more complex your setup is, the more channels you'll need.

Amplifiers produce heat, and the more powerful they are, the more heat they can make. When you mount an amp in your car, it'll need free space around it to allow the heat to escape. With this in mind, the location of the amplifier can be important.

For security reasons, it's also best to mount it in a hidden location. The most common mounting spots are underneath the front seats, or inside the boot. Talk with a car audio expert to work out the best location within your car.

If you want gut-punching, hair-shaking music -- you definitely need a subwoofer.

Subs pump out all the low-end sounds such as bass, drums, and deep vocals. Subs work together with speakers and tweeters to separate the audio spectrum and produce a richer sound.

Subs are the largest type of speaker -- so they need the most space. This is why you'll normally find them in the boot. Blasting out such low frequencies, they need a box or enclosure that can withstand changes in air pressure. Wood is often a great material for this.

Some people opt to make their own sub boxes, but there are many ready-to-go boxes available on the market as well.

Subs produce huge sound. And to do this, they need a lot of power.

You won't be able to run a sub directly from your head unit -- you'll need an amp. Some subwoofers come with an amp built-in, but generally, you'll need a separate one to really bring it all together.

If you're looking to add a subwoofer but need some advice, speak with one of our car audio experts.

Now we're not going to lie; cables are not interesting.

BUT, if you want a sound system powerful enough to blow your hair back -- you should pay attention.

Electricity flows a little bit like water. If you're trying to move a lot of water from point A to point B, you shouldn't use the smallest, cheapest hose you can find.

And this is the mindset you need when it comes to car audio.

Quality cables ensure you're not starving your amp and speakers for power as you crank up the volume. Correctly sized cables allow the current to flow freely, and your amp to take everything you can throw at it.

After all -- what's the point of investing in great equipment if the cables hold it all back?

If you want nothing less than amazing audio, invest in good cables. You'll get a clearer, stronger signal from the head unit to the amp, and better sound out of the speakers.

Quality cables also reduce 'noise' from the electrical system of your car. If you don't know what this means, ask any decent guitar player about the importance of a clean signal. They'll tell you all about it.

When you're trying out different equipment, you need great songs to help make the right choice. Here are five songs to test different aspects of the audio range, with links to Spotify.

The Daft Punk/Pharrell Williams collaboration has a super-bright sound and is a perfect song to test out any speaker setup. If this track doesn't sound good, nothing will.

This bombastic floor-shaker has been a club staple for 10 years now. The dirty bassline at the one-minute mark is a great way to test out any subwoofer or bass-heavy speakers.

A great track for testing component speakers. Weird Fishes has a distinct spatial separation between instruments. If you've got tweeters up high and woofers down low -- it should sound like you're centre stage in a concert hall.

Tom Morello's inventive riffs are perfect for testing heavy distortion. With expansive mid-range and deep snare hits, 'Revelations' is a perfect song to test guitar-heavy music.

Axl Rose's high-pitched scream over the first 30 seconds is a great way to hear what tweeters can do. Combined with the guitar and drums going full-throttle shortly after -- you can really test a sound system's ability to come alive.

For more test songs, check out this list compiled by a Cambridge audio engineer.

Not everyone is aware of this, but you can actually change the quality of your music within Spotify. How high you can go depends on whether you have a free or paid membership.

Open Spotify, go to SETTINGS and then select MUSIC QUALITY. Here you can set the bit-rate for both your streaming and downloaded tracks. With a Spotify Premium membership, you can set your audio quality all the way up to 320kbit/second.

One thing to be aware of -- higher-quality audio files will use a lot more data! If you're downloading a bunch of tracks, be sure to do it over Wi-Fi.

As amazing and convenient as Bluetooth is, one major drawback is that it lowers the quality of music.

Bluetooth wasn't designed with high-quality audio in mind, and it adds an extra layer of compression. If you've just spent good money on a sound system -- Bluetooth won't give you the full experience.

For the best music quality, connect your phone with a cable instead - such as a 3.5mm auxiliary jack or USB connection. This avoids Bluetooth's audio compression - and delivers better sound quality.

For people obsessed with audio quality, you can even install sound-deadening mats and panels in your car.

By reducing vibration and echo, you'll hear more audio and less road noise. You can do this in the form of sound-deadening car mats, which replace your existing mats. To go a step further, you can also insulate your car doors with sound-reducing foam.