Very Basics to a Car Audio System

Very basic car audio system information. Describes how the head unit, speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers of car audio systems work. This page is for the people just getting into installing their own systems. And those who just want to learn a little bit about how their car audio systems works.

Head Unit
The CD player or cassette deck that plays the music. Most head units will have a built in amplifier. This means you can hook-up your speaker directly to your deck. You will need a head unit with pre-amp outputs if you plain on adding an amplifier.

Speakers
Where all the sound comes from. Want to actually here the vocals in your music? I suggest you upgrade your stock speakers then.

Subwoofers
Speakers designed to play lower frequencies of the audio spectrum. Most require a box, and all must be hooked up to a amplifier. This is what gives you the thump and lets your feel the music.

Amplifiers
This will give your audio signal more power.