Car Audio Systems Then and Now

When Motorola launched the first car radio that had been commercially successful, the start of an invisible running contest began. Initiated by youngsters with cars, the competition was more on whose radio was the hottest-looking, has the loudest speakers, has the best sound, and other things. In years, it evolved into today’s car audio systems Hudson County NJ.

The system had three major components that make up its total composition all in the service of producing sounds. There’s the head unit, the amplifier, and the speakers. Each one cannot be absent because each has a definite function.

Head Unit

In the beginning was simply the radio, playing the sounds supplied by the top AM radio stations in the area. After 80 years or so, this evolved into the audio system that we know today with three important interdependent components. Topmost of the three is the head unit.

This is the one that controls everything in the system and the one that gives out the audio signal. It houses the radio tuner, the CD player, the pre-amp, and the amplifier. The primary function is the control of whole system and the many audio sources inside the car.

Multiple sound sources

First, the only source was the radio. Nowadays, the radio is still an important sound source, only this time it receives satellite feeds from subscription services and the enhanced HD radio with fantastic sound qualities.

Further, it plays sound from other sources and others.  Media players like the iPod, smart phones, USB, and sounds from Bluetooth sources crowd out the services of the head unit. The pre-amp and the amplifier are housed inside the unit.

Amplifier

car audio systems Hudson County NJ must have the necessary amplifier or there is no system at all. The amplifier is the one responsible for the increase of power of an audio signal from any source and makes it strong enough for the speakers to make us listen to the sound that we know.

Sound amplification is done in two levels. First, there’s a pre-amp. It slightly boosts the signal from the main sources (radio, USB, phones, iPods, etc.) and prepares it for further amplification by the amplifier.

High-end audio systems usually have separate power amplifiers that are mounted separately. This is mainly due to their sizes (getting bigger and bigger) and avoidance of the heat they generate when running.

Speakers

Basically, the speakers take in the amplified signals and make it into a mechanical energy interpreted by the vibrations in their cones to create the incredible sounds that we hear. To produce the most realistic sounds nearest to the natural ones we hear, several speakers are used in combination with one another.

Woofers and subwoofers are both large speakers that reproduce only low-frequency bass sounds. There are also midrange drivers handling the middle-range frequencies. The tweeters are the smallest of the drivers that reproduce the upper treble sounds.

Together, during playback of the sound (usually music), the combination creates a life-like quality that one usually hears naturally, only this time, it can be played high or low, depending on the whim of the listener.

Today’s car audio systems have certainly come a long way since the first car radio in 1930 played songs coming from some AM station.