Things That Make You Go Boom.

One of my hobbies is sound. Music, generally, and I like to install high end stereo equipment into my cars. No fancy video screens or neon lights here, I tend towards two things: loud and accurate. The purpose of this article is to walk you through the process if you have never considered it before. I imagine the male audience will be more interested in this stuff but you ladies might get an idea of why this is important to us fellas.

This all began many moons ago as a teenager. I still have some of my original equipment. If it works, I use it. I have never wanted a radio in my car that would make people's eyes water from three blocks away; I want it to sound good. Unfortunately when I am really enjoying something you might hear me pull in because I like it loud, but I make every effort to be courteous. It is irritating when someone next to you in traffic is sending resonant frequencies through your rear.

Most significantly , I do this because I listen to music the way some people watch a movie or read a book. You should try it sometime. Nothing personal but it is amazing to me how many people cannot stand to listen to music without interrupting to say something. Shut up! It's good stuff!

Considerations When Installing High End Audio in a Car

It all starts in the dashboard with a CD player or other decent source. If you do not start with a clean signal (music put out to the speakers), then you will be frustrated later on. Personally, I should have opted for a unit that played MP3 tracks, but I instead chose a Sony that has a flip down face. It was a choice and I took the one that moved instead of the one that was functional. Ah well, buyer beware.

When you go out shopping for a replacement in-dash unit (also called a head unit), beware of feature glut. Do you really need dancing lights? Text displays? Uploadable pictures, for cryin' out loud? Just make sure the most important things are handy: volume, treble and bass, and preferably a mute or attenuation button. Everything else is fluff. If you can afford the fluff, great, but in practice you will often find that you do not use all those additional things.

If you can afford it, XM Satellite Radio and its competitor Sirius both offer excellent services. Never heard of satellite radio? It is one of the most innovative changes in radio these days. It requires a special antenna, but no little satellite dish (sorry). You subscribe on a monthly basis - but in return, no commercials. Ever. It will change how you listen to music. CD quality music all day with no droning or repetitive ads? I find that particularly appealing, mass advertising is way too in your face anymore. Ten bucks a month and no crap? To good to be true. What's even better is that there is no limitation on bandwidth, satellite radio can serve up over a hundred different channels and there is almost certainly one that plays what you want to hear. Imagine listening to the same radio station on a six hour or longer drive - very slick.

I mentioned that I did not get the MP3 player. My Sony unit does, however, handle all manner of CDs (except the 3.5 inch ones) - with aplomb. Since I burn short singles onto the smaller CDs, I was disappointed to find that my player rejected them. Buyer beware!

Mobile Audio, Continued: Going To The Source