Ali je zamenjava radia najboljši način za izboljšanje kakovosti zvoka?

Od poznih 80-ih je industrija avtomobilskega zvoka doživela neverjetno rast. Nova tehnologija in funkcije so razširile naše možnosti za izboljšanje kakovosti zvoka in izboljšanje zabave. Kar se ni spremenilo, so glavni gradniki oblikovanja zvočnih sistemov.

Vsak sistem se začne z virom. Temu pravimo glavna enota, izvorna enota ali radio. V več kot 99,9 % vozil izvorna enota vključuje AM/FM sprejemnik, skupaj s predvajalnikom CD-jev ali vrati USB za predvajanje digitalnih medijskih datotek, kot so datoteke MP3, WMA, AAC in FLAC. Izvorna enota običajno vsebuje tudi nadzor glasnosti za sistem.

Nekoč je veljalo, da je nova izvorna enota prva komponenta, ki bi jo nadgradili na poti izboljšanja ozvočenja v vozilu. Z vidika izboljšanja kakovosti je tega vse manj. Berite naprej, če želite izvedeti o prednostih in omejitvah zamenjave tovarniškega radia v vašem vozilu.

Ali lahko zamenjam?

Poglejte vozilo, kot je BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz ali celo Mazda. Njihovi radii sploh niso samostojne enote. Mazda 3 je odličen primer sodobne porazdeljene izvorne enote. Na armaturni plošči je zaslon, CD-mehanizem pod klimatskimi napravami in nadzorna plošča na sredinski konzoli. Nobena od teh komponent ne ustreza nobenemu standardu velikosti za poprodajni radio. Če želite nadgraditi zvočni sistem v tem vozilu, ne boste kupili novega radia.

Na srečo ima ta radio večino funkcij, ki si jih ljudje želijo. CD, MP3, SiriusXM, pomožni vhod in pretakanje zvoka Bluetooth so takoj dostopni viri signala. Sistem vključuje prostoročno telefoniranje in vgrajen navigacijski sistem, ki temelji na GPS-u.

Na žalost pa sistem ne vključuje integracije pametnega telefona Apple CarPlay ali Android Auto.

Ali se lahko integriramo?

Če želimo nadgraditi zvočni sistem, lahko prodajalec mobilne opreme na signal, ki prihaja iz radia, priključi ojačevalnik in nove zvočnike. Z nekaj finimi nastavitvami in dobro izvedeno namestitvijo zvočnikov se bo kakovost sistema izboljšala. You will also be able to turn your music up louder.

If you want to take things to the next step, then add a digital signal processor (DSP) to give your installer all the tools required to flatten any peaks or dips in the system’s frequency response and adjust for different path lengths between the listening position and your speakers.

The Sound Quality Upgrade Path

Let’s look at another popular compact car:the Subaru Impreza. Subaru manufactures durable, reliable vehicles, but their sound systems are not at the forefront of technology. In fact, several models of the Impreza are begging for sound system upgrades. Luckily, improving the sound systems in these vehicles is easy. Let’s look at what’s lacking and how to fix it.

Add Bass, More Power and New Speakers

The recipe for improving the performance of an audio system does not vary much from vehicle to vehicle. The first step most retailers will recommend is to add an amplifier and a subwoofer. Adding a subwoofer will not only bring more bass to the system to make it sound more lifelike, but alleviates the need for the smaller speakers and factory amplifier to try to reproduce those frequencies. The result:Everything sounds better.

The next step is to add more power to the factory speakers with an amplifier. Many people will combine the addition of a subwoofer with a multichannel amplifier that can power the factory speakers at the same time. Five-channel amplifiers are an excellent choice for a single, easy-to-install upgrade. Multichannel amplifiers have built-in crossovers that will eliminate bass information from the smaller speakers, so they sound better.

The last step in upgrading the sound system is to replace the factory speakers. Now, if you have listened to a factory Subaru stereo, this might be your first step. There is no right or wrong when it comes to the upgrade path you take. Keep reading to find out why we often leave this step to the end.

We often suggest upgrading the speakers last because high-end speakers aren’t typically as efficient as the cheap speakers that come from the factory. New speakers provide smoother frequency response and much less distortion, and can handle a lot more power and play louder. When connected to a factory radio, there isn’t have enough power to experience all of the benefits of the new speakers. A speaker will only play loud when it is driven with adequate power.

Wait – What about the Radio?

You will notice that nowhere in the upgrade path did we suggest replacing the radio. The factory Impreza radio has a reasonable feature set and provides perfectly flat frequency response that we can use to improve your system. When looking at the goal of improving the sound quality of the system, the source unit is the last thing to change (unless you want to add high-resolution audio playback).

I Want More Features!

We touched on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. These technologies, along with Siri Eyes Free, FLAC file playback, Pandora and much more, are great reasons to upgrade a factory radio. However, these are not specifically performance improvements – they are feature enhancements. We could nit-pick about FLAC files sounding better (in a future article, we will analyze high-resolution audio in great detail.) If you want better sound, all the other upgrades offer a larger increase in performance for your investment than an aftermarket source unit.

Experience Better Sound

When it comes time to upgrade the sound system in your vehicle, visit your local specialty mobile electronics retailer. Let them know what your goals are for the system and work with them to design something that meets your expectations and your budget. Following our suggested upgrade process can yield impressive improvements with a reasonable investment at each step. Each upgrade will produce immediately audible benefits.

Have fun improving your mobile sound system!