How To Get The Best Price Possible
When Retail Shopping For
Car Audio Products.
Car audio items are the high value products within a retail store where the most profit margin really lies. The profit markups on this type of product is absolutely massive (30%-50% easily on most individual products, sometimes more). So if you want to gain the best value possible, shop around for the best price you can get and once you have it, make sure that you ask and get an even further discount. The reason why this type of equipment has such an enormous markup is really that few people actually know that much about it. There is such a wide variety of individual products for different purposes and such a huge variety of competing brands on the market, it really can become a bit overwhelming and confusing. That's why its absolutely a salesman's dream come true when you get the chance to sell car audio products, because the sky's the limit in how much money you can turnover at a high profit margin and how much commission you can make as a result. (Car audio is one of the products I have seen where customers just never ever ask for a discount. The reason for this is more than likely that people just have not much of an idea of comparative car audio product prices, because it is in many ways still a fairly specialized retail product area.)
My advice as you will see mentioned right across this website is to absolutely know your product. Because if you don't your money will simply and always be taken advantage of within any retail store environment.
Value Tip:
- If you are buying car audio products and you need to get it installed. (Most stores that sell this product also do installs for this product as well.) Make sure that you ask for and get a discount on any installation fee or even ask prior to any purchase, if this install service can be included free, if you decide to buy that particular retail stores car audio products.
Do you want to start to know more about car audio? ...Well here is a basic introduction.
It's A Car Stereo!
Pretty self-explanatory isn't it? It's a stereo system in a car, you say. Whoa, hold your horses, it's not that simple. Although some people like to put home stereos in their cars and vans (out of dire need for some sounds), sometimes it just doesn't work. Yeah, maybe before it could've worked just fine, all you needed was radio and a cassette player (or 8 tracks, for the inner dinosaur in you) so sure, lug those big box speakers into the back seat and you'll be blaring down the highway. But nowadays there are things like cd players and MP3 players and your popup LCD panels and all that techie knickknack you'd think they'd like to build a home theater system right smack on the console of your van. If you don't know anything about these things but would like to have some sounds in your car anyway, here are some things to know about a car stereo.
As mentioned above, at first units and speakers from home audio systems and professional markets were just simply installed into vehicles. However, they were not well suited to the extremes of temperature and vibration which are a normal part of the environment of an automobile. Car stereo enthusiasts were not satisfied with the sound quality of regular car sound systems, and with the advent of the CD player, they really had to start modifying some of these home stereos in order to work well in a car environment and voila! Now we have the modern car stereo.
If you have a new car, first hand bought, say from about 1990 to present, chances are you already have a factory car stereo in your car. It means the car manufacturer already included a car stereo system in your car, unless specified in the car model but most often this is the case. Some car manufacturers make their own car stereos, like BMW which includes a pretty decent car stereo package head unit and speakers. It is a standard which comes with all their cars (which isn't surprising considering that BMW is included in the league of luxury car manufacturers). Or like Mercedes Benz or Volkswagen, they use car stereo systems from a German audio manufacturer called Blaupunkt.
A standard car stereo (also called a head unit) usually includes an auto-reverse tape deck, a cd player and sometimes the optional changer, a device which automatically changes the cd in play. On newer car models, the car stereo can also play MP3s and other digital audio file types like WMA and AAC, whether on a cd or a memory device which can be hooked up to the head unit.
The car stereo head unit is connected to several speakers. Older car models usually just had one speaker mounted underneath the dashboard, pointing through perforations towards the front windshield. The standard for car stereo nowadays is a pair of tweeters (used to bring out high treble) on the driver side/front passenger side dashboard, a pair of normal mid-speakers on both doors, sometimes even the backseat passenger doors if it's a large car and larger speakers capable of bringing out low ends at the back portion of the backseats.
Your car stereo is probably ok as it is, as car manufacturers ensure that the audio products that come with their cars can handle most drivers listening demands. But if you think that what you have isn't enough, you can always CUSTOMIZE.
And for some more detailed information about car audio have a quick read of this good article.
Tips On Choosing A Car Audio System
Car audio has moved a long way from the old standard AM/FM Radio/Tape Deck combo. Today, in-vehicle multimedia systems include DVD video, television and navigation systems with local hotspot news.
And common to all systems is sound quality.
The quality of sound in a car audio system depends upon a number of factors, the type and quality of the media player system, the type of speakers used, the acoustics of the vehicle and interference from other devices.
Types and Quality of a Media Player System
Before we look at the different types of in-vehicle media players it pays to have a basic understanding of audio quality. When deciding what type of audio system to install, and also when comparing one make and model to another, there are two key specifications to consider:
- Signal-to-noise ratio [SNR] - a measure of signal strength compared to background noise in the signal or equipment. Measured in decibels. The higher the dB, the better. A car CD player has an SNR of 90 or 100 dB.
- Frequency response [FR] - a measure of how much of the audio spectrum, from bass to treble, gets reproduced. It's measured as a range in Hertz, and the wider the range, the better. Look for a CD player with a range of at least 10-20k Hz.
An FM radio, cassette player, and CD player all have different measurements for these specs. To help understand these two specifications, let's compare a car tape cassette player and a car CD player.
A cassette player has an SNR of 50-70 dB. This is much lower than a CD player, so the sound quality degrades at each end of the spectrum. The FR is around 30-18k Hz for a cassette player, so it does not contribute as much to sound quality as the SNR.
That's why overall, a car CD player gives a much better sound than a cassette tape player.
Media players in vehicles today are either radio tuner, CD player/changer, or Digital Audio player.
CD Players & Changers
There are a number of options when it comes to playing CD's in a vehicle:
- An in-dash CD Player - often combined with radio tuner, WMA/MP3 player.
- An in-dash CD Receiver - with a multiple CD cassette / changer located elsewhere in the vehicle.
- Or - connect a portable CD player to an existing in-dash audio unit using either a cable and adapter or a bluetooth wireless connection.
When choosing a car CD player the first two things to consider are:
- Will it physically fit into the vehicle?
- Will it integrate cosmetically with the dash and other electronics?
Most decks have standardized form factors; so fit most cars, but there are exceptions, so make sure that the deck is suited for your car.
Cosmetic integration is a little more complex, but in many cases easily resolved through customization features. For instance, many decks allow you to change the faceplates and color of the display.
Digital Audio Car Systems
With most home audio systems and portable players giving crisp quality sound using digital audio, we are no longer satisfied with the flat, bland analog sound from older car audio systems.
If you normally store your digital music files on CD, a compatible stereo or changer is a good option. Up to 10 hours of music [250 songs] can be stored on a single disc and allows the use of random shuffling and repeat options.
So now you have the media player selected, what about the speaker system.
Car Speaker System
The speaker system can be thought of in two parts: the channel amplifier and the physical speaker units.
Car amplifiers power the speakers in your car stereo system to provide crisp sound quality at high volumes. Each speaker requires one channel of amplification. This means a 4-channel amplifier, will support four speakers.
And the choice of speakers is not limited either. With a range of options for your basic stereo speakers [2-channel], you can supplement the high note quality using a tweeter and the low bass notes with a sub-woofer. This gives you a standard 4-channel sound system that will rival your home audio system.
Adding to a basic car stereo option typically involves adding subwoofers, amplifiers and crossovers to tailor the output sound to personal tastes.
This does not mean the result is the boorish, obnoxious or bass boom boxing that invades the entire neighborhood. A subwoofer adds quality and purity to music.
For details of specifications on each part of your system see:
The main factors in selecting car speakers are:
Speaker design is about the combination of sound drivers for midrange, subwoofer and tweeter. Depending upon the combination, the set is known as a two-way, three-way or four-way speaker system.
Car speaker specifications are similar to home audio speakers; the main difference in technical specification is to compensate for the lower power outputs of car stereo receivers.
The speaker technical specifications include sensitivity, frequency response, signal to noise ratio, power handling and impedance. We will look at these specification in more detail in subsequent articles.
The fittings and mountings are selected depending upon where you choose to position the speakers. Car audio speakers are either: top mounted or bottom mounted. And clearance depth is most important when installing new speakers in a non-factory speaker location. So check all of your components carefully before purchase.
With such a range of combinations available the Internet provides a valuable resource in car electronics reviews. Sites like Go-Reviews.com seek out reviews and consolidate the recommendations to give you a quick reference buying guide.
Nicola is the product reviewer for Go-Reviews.com. For reviews on consumer and business technology, the latest technology news, product releases and recalls and useful hints on getting the best from your technology. With such a range of combinations available the Internet provides a valuable resource in car electronics reviews
If you need to know even more information about Car Audio here are some really informative website links.
- CarAudioHelp.com - Is dedicated to educating the consumer and hobbyist in car audio, car stereo, mobile video and car security.
* Did You Know These Absolute Facts?
- You will always get the best price when you shop online!
- There are no offline retail technology stores that can compete with online prices!
So Do You Want
The Best Value Online Car Audio Deals?
If you are in The USA, Australia, Canada, The UK, France, Germany or in just about any other country in the entire world and you just want the best technology prices online then I recommend you visit TigerDirect.
