The ABC's of Car Audio
A Glossary of the Most Popular Terms
If you’ve never stepped foot into the world of car audio before, it can be easy to get lost in all the foreign terminology and “inside baseball” talk. Here at Car Stereo City, we try to keep the jargon down to the absolute minimum so that we can get on the same page as our customers. After all, upgrading your car stereo or performing car audio installation shouldn’t require a translator.
However, there are certain terms that are used so frequently that it makes sense to get familiar with them, especially if you’re in the market for car audio products. Learning a few simple terms and how they play into your overall car audio set-up will help you out in the long run. Educated buyers have a much easier time finding the products that appeal to their listening preferences and work with their current car audio.
To give you some industry insight, the following list is a glossary of some of the most commonly used terms in car audio.
A - Amplifier
Referred to as an “amp” for short, this piece of equipment amplifies the signal coming from your car stereo so that you can get louder, clearer playback on tracks.
B - Built-In Amp
This is the same concept as an amplifier; the difference is that built-in amps are already included in your existing car stereo. This means that no additional equipment is required. Keep this in mind when shopping for car stereos.
C – Coaxial and Component Car Speakers
When shopping for car speakers, you’re going to hear the terms “coaxial” and “component” used quite frequently. Those are the two categories that car speakers fall in. Coaxial speakers are an all-in-one speaker design, meaning the tweeter, woofer, and crossover are all packaged into one unit. Component speakers, on the other hand, break out those elements separately.
The advantage of coaxial speakers is that they are much easier to put in when performing car audio installation. However, component speakers are far more customizable and usually yield superior playback.
D - DIN
DIN is an acronym for Duetsch Industrie Normen. It refers to the 2” x 8” standardized space that your radio fits into inside your vehicle. In recent years, the DIN space has been expanded to accommodate newer multimedia stereos. If the space is 4” x 8”, then it’s referred to as a double DIN. This is terminology you’ll definitely need to know when discussing car stereo installation.
E - Equalizer
Often abbreviated as EQ, this is an audio filter that can either be hardware or software. An equalizer isolates certain frequencies, allowing the user to either boost or lower them, which promotes a more customized listening experience.
F - Frequency Response
Frequency response is the range of frequencies a component or piece of stereo equipment can reproduce.
H - Head Unit
In the car audio industry, head unit is one of the many names that are used to refer to a car stereo or in-dash receiver.
I - Imaging
Have you ever wanted to feel like you’re sitting front row at a live show within the comfort of your own vehicle? If so, then you’ll want to keep this next term in mind when shopping for your car audio. Imaging is an accurate recreation of sound that is intended to emulate its original production environment, right down to the placement of instruments. Stereo systems with great imaging are the hallmark of a true audiophile.
J - Joule
A unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second.
L – Lows
When you think of lows, think of sound frequencies that are below 500 Hz. Car speakers that handle lows are subwoofers, which can either be part of a coaxial speaker or isolated as its own element in a component set-up.
M - Midrange Driver
This refers to a loudspeaker that captures the mid-range frequencies that occur between the lows of a woofer and the highs of a tweeter. The range is approximately 300 to 5,000 Hz.
N – Noise Floor
Measured in decibels, this is the measure of signal that is created from unwanted signals and distortion.
O - Ohm (Ω)
In car audio, ohms is the term used to represent the impedance of a speaker, which is basically electrical resistance.
P - Plug & Play
Plug & play means that there’s no formal installation that needs to be completed in order to start using the product. All you have to do is plug it in and you can start enjoying your car audio.
Q – Q
The ratio of reactance to resistance in a series circuit, or the ratio of resistance to reactance in a parallel circuit.
R - RCA Connectors
These are connectors that carry audio and video signals. The male ends of the connectors are traditionally red, white, and yellow.
S - Sealed Enclosure
When referring to car speakers or car audio that does not allow the pressure generated by the back wave of the speaker to exit, this is known as a sealed enclosure.
T – Tweeter
Also known as a treble speaker, a tweeter is the component in a car audio sound system that captures all the high frequencies (5 kHZ to 20 kHz range). Tweeters are traditionally offered in the following varieties: cone, dome, bullet, and horn.
U - Unloading
Unloading is the tendency of an enclosure to produce either no spring or no pressure on the woofer. The result is the speaker will exhibit very low power handling when producing lower frequencies.
V - Video Output
Video output is a good term to know if you’re going to have rear seat entertainment installed on the back of your headrests. The video output is what’s used to connect additional video monitors.
W - Woofer
Short for subwoofer, a woofer reproduces all of our car audio’s low and midrange frequencies. When you think of bass, think of woofers.
X - Xmax
Xmax refers to the distance a speaker can move while keeping a constant number of voice coil windings inside the magnetic gap of the speaker.
Z - Zero-bit Detector
When a series of zeros are detected in the digital bit stream, this results in a lack of audio signal coming through upon playback.
It’s Time to Elevate Your Car Audio
Are you searching for car audio installation near you? Look no further than Car Stereo City. We have some of the widest selection and largest stock of aftermarket car audio in the San Diego area. Whether you’re looking to upgrade your car stereo or give your car speakers a complete overhaul, our team will be able to find products that sync up with your listening preferences and budget. We also regularly feature specials for those of you looking for a great deal on car audio.
Car Stereo City is conveniently located at 8252 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. in San Diego. You can either stop by our shop directly, contact us via our contact form, or call us at (858) 277-1823 to speak with a member of our team.