Car Audio on a Budget? What should you upgrade first and last for YOUR SYSTEM?

So you want to upgrade your car audio system but your budget has you wondering what you should get first if you plan to upgrade the amplifiers, subwoofers, speakers, radio and more in stages... What is the best order?

In this video I explain what car audio gear I think you should get first and last if you are upgrading in steps. We discuss head units, subwoofer and speaker amplifiers, subs, speakers, line output converters and more!

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Car Audio Fabrication – Master Car Audio – Design, Build, Install

[cheapme]

For us DIY guys, upgrading the head unit is the first thing to do for several reasons. The first is because it’s often the easiest thing to do and you see, hear and use the results immediately. A new radio in an older car will give you the incentive to do even more upgrades. The second is because the new radio will make it a lot easier to do future upgrades, for example, it’s easier and more straightforward to use RCAs for a subwoofer than tapping into stock wiring or using various converters or harnesses.

[fd]

HU, Sub + Amp + Sound Deadener for the trunk, Speakers + Amp + Sound Deadener for the doors, then Electronic Crossover + EQ or DSP. I usually buy everything piece by piece, then install everything at the sametime.

[vdubjunkie]

Certainly there are many variables, affecting this choice. Taking my son's car as an example, I'm going to recommend he begin with the head unit. This gives him the ability to integrate with his phone, and provides line output, eliminating the need for a converter. Next will depend on whether really clean, and distinct details are more important than sub. Personally, I was never able to make it to the sub. I only ever had a head unit, small-ish amp and a REALLY nice set of MB Quart mids and tweets. I still use those speakers today, roughly 30 years later.

[xhuff]

Glad to see Audio Control is still making high quality stuff. Crazy to see how far it’s come.

[kashwesterfield]

I could never get sick of these videos

[mosiowaty]

In my case I'd say: sound treatment first! It really teaches you a lot.
So, I had an old 1999 Micra with an old 1-DIN head unit (no auxiliary!) and 1-way speaker system. Also, little experience with car audio - just one basic build in the past.
That's why I went in a completely different direction and I can recommend this approach - I was trying to make sure my install is good enough to handle higher power, and also to benefit from better speakers in the future.
So: I started with quite solid sound treatment of the front door + 100 EUR Kenwood head unit (importantly, with 6 preamps and basic DSP functions, active 3-way crossovers) + 100 EUR Steg component speaker set. I took my time to sound-treat 75% of the outer door skin with single layers of: 2mm alubutyl + 9mm closed-cell foam, and then added hydrotreated 35mm egg crate foam directly behind the speaker.
What made probably the biggest difference was covering all holes in the inner door skin with treated MDF (I might swap for ABS later, this is a proof of concept). For this tip thanks Mark.
Then I covered 75% of the inner door skin with alubutyl.
This gave me really nice, flat, deep bass even without the amplifier, however at times I crank up te volume to 30dB out of 35 available (even though this is a very small car), so I should make sure your head unit isn't clipping.
What I don't really love right now is how distored guitar solos perform, however it's not so tragic, and any electronic music sounds... well, really freakin' good.

[jamievandalen]

My cheap route - Start with a 4ch amp and a sub.. 2 channels to power stock front speakers, and bridge 3/4 channels to power the sub (leave rear speakers on deck power). This gets you bump to start AND a bit better speaker power. Next up, headunit for control. Then replace speakers to take advantage of the amps power. Finally get a second, dedicated mono amp to give the sub more power while then allowing to unbridge the 3/4 channels for the rear speakers. -- Or a 5 channel + sub cuts out some steps.

[KleyDeJong]

I did a head unit first mostly because it was critical to get better functionality to use my phone as a source. That's just because my car is fairly old and the stock head unit was really trash.

I did a subwoofer and sub amp second and would absolutely agree it was a massive upgrade for sound. The stock speakers simply don't produce low frequencies, so adding a sub really improved the overall experience.

Upgrading the other speakers and adding an amp is my next objective, but I'm fairly happy with where I'm at now.

[Penguinnoly]

I'm gonna say radio first for me because... my car doesn't have one

[thaSHZA]

I’m not even close to being considered a pro, but I can say with absolute certainty your path to an ideal sound system is flawless.

[davidmiller]

I just did a whole audio upgrade in my car recently and I will be the first to say for the average person, avoid dsp headaches. For one you gotta learn what they do and how to make them work which is a pretty daunting task for beginners but also in my case they created noise in my system. After weeks of trouble shooting and trying different DSPs I’ve finally got my system in a nice state.

I would say stick with adding a sub and amp. That gets you the most quality increase! Only change out stock speakers if you’re feeling cheeky or they’re damaged. It starts to get hectic the deeper you go and the type of vehicle mixed with what the stock audio looks like causes so many different options for so many people so it’s hard to narrow issues down sometimes.

Good Luck Everyone!

[brando]

Great topic! But I think your vehicle plays a huge role as to what you do first. As a teen in the late 90's, we drove trucks from the 80's and early 90's. Buying a new deck was always the first thing, usually followed by new 6x9s in the doors, and then subs. The stock head units and speakers were complete garbage back then, so we didn't have much choice. You would never get away with doing a sub and amp first. Alot different today with stock head units controlling temp. controls and big touch screens. My 2016 ram is a good example, lots of guys just do the subs under the rear seat, and leave the rest as is. I did JL c1 6.5" components in the front, 3way 6x9s in the rear, ran off a Hertz 4ch and Audiocontrol LC7 i first, and did the subs last.

[brown]

95% of people don't need most of these components. Putting a good 2-way speaker set in the front doors, a replacement head unit and a 50-100w per channel amp (5 channel if you want an amp) and you'll have $400-700 and it will be massively better and be good enough for most people. The holy grail is a dedicated amp. It produces so much cleaner sound.

[theNanoxicGaming]

The timing on this video is amazing. Got my drivers license last week and looking to buy my first car right now. I do want some good sound in it, so this channel is a heaven!! :)

[ketillundsrensen]

1. HU for getting the features you need like hands free, Streaming and so on.

2. Sound deathning for speakers. To give them a cabinets to play in.

3. a good subwoofer in a good cabinet with matching amp.

4. Sound deathning for of the trunk and other parts.

5. amp for speakers.

6. Speakers

[anthonyziti]

It's totally different for everybody, but me what I'm doing always, first head unit, then save go for amp something like 4 channel amp if you are on the budget with component speakers for front door, and also sound deadening for front door, then you have good front scene, never started with sub, maybe only if it's only thing that's coming to system, but sub goes last then you polish sound get used to quality, then you kinda how big you want and what enclosure and tuning for box, in my opinion that's the correct way to start with audio 😊

[grimakastatik]

Thanks for your videos man. I've been watching you for over 4 years. I love what you do. Don't ever stop.

[jhickok]

Mark- I've been reviewing AND enjoying the hell out of your how-to videos for several years, and I've got to say your presentations lack the usual bias so many car audio videos are prone to suffer from.
Brand allegiance, for many enthusiasts, is simply based on what the creator has taken the time to install in their own ride. This can, and HAS, confused so many beginners to the point of giving up on their own ideas and copying an IMO based on this self flagellating & ego boosting nonsense.
You present builds backed by specific build requirements and preferences. You offer top notch advice and step by step instruction for amazingly high quality builds, and you don't make the instructions mysterious to keep the finish look personal for yourself.
I hope you never stop creating videos, and remember: "F#@% the naysayers, they don't mean a thing!"

[jk]

In my experience, it’s always best to start off with a sub upgrade and evaluate what you want to do next. The couple of times I’ve just went with a head unit, mostly for functionality gains (CarPlay, Navigation, etc.), I always felt the sounds quality suffered. It forced me to do a full system upgrade very soon after.

My F150 with the base audio system sounded terrible. I started with am amp and stealth box & wow was their an improvement. I actually considered leaving as is but ultimately ended up going all out with speakers, amps, DSP and even eventually upgraded at a 10 inch head unit (took almost a year before there was an option to upgrade head unit.

[allanwighton]

For my install, I went for HU first, as the foundation and establishing available connections with tidying up all wiring looms (my car was secondhand), then sub amp, amp with wiring, then speaker amp and then door mid and high speakers with fast rings and sound deadening at least in the door panels. This is to enable the focusing of sound into the cabin. For my install, I have skipped a DSP, as it is not necessary for my level of build.