Does car audio (aftermarket) matter anymore?

BrutherSuperior

BrutherSuperior

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BrutherSuperior
I was recently shopping for some new audio gear and I gotta say the pickins are slim.

When I was younger car audio was a big thing and some of the shops I used to visit/shop at when I was in HS/College were jaw dropping. Now? Best Buy has wires hanging out of the wall and 2 local car audio shops I visited seemed to specialize in window tint and flea-market grade ChiCom crap.

I just wanted a new radio that didn't look goofy and to see what's new in the world of amps, speakers, subs, etc...boy I was disappointed. I hoarded some gear from past cars but some of this stuff is old enough to drink legally. (newest piece of gear is from the late 90's)

So what the hell happened? Does car audio just not matter anymore as everyone has blue-teeth, iPods, touch-screen phones, etc -or- are there still some people like myself that like appreciate good sound?
 
Pretty much, I remember it was all the rage back when I was in high school and about a year or so afterwards. It was what so many people wanted to save their money for.

Now it's just completely different. With CDs on the decline and In-Dash gear going up in price because of the new technology, it seems to have died off. Same with Best Buy here, the sections are empty.

Times have changed.
 
A lot of it has to do with car manufacturers getting away from standardized sizes, presumably so they can charge more for better equipment.
 
I definitely still believe in having a great sound for my tunes no matter where I am or what I am doing. I spent about a grand and a bit on the stereo in my Skyline for a reason...

Although I don't think what you described is happening down here; car audio still seems to be the hip and now thing for (especially modified) vehicles. Business is still booming at Tonkins car audio down here in the Mount and Alpine is showing off its new range of gear locally as well.
 
I never cared. It's extra weight and I don't need that in my car. Stock speakers ftw, small, light and good enough for radio since I only listen to that.
 
It does to guys with classic cars. I'll be looking for a player that will fit in the Mustang and have iPod connectivity soon.
 
It's hard to say. Most manufacturers are sticking reasonable systems in their brand new cars anyway so fewer people probably want to change. That and what Toronado said, as many modern cars have oddly shaped head units that make fitting aftermarket ones a real pain in the hole.

However, I've not noticed the aftermarket for audio dying out here in the UK anyway - it still seems pretty much as popular as ever.
 
I'm not suprised. after all, there's almost no such thing as a "physical copy" of music nowadays. others raiser a valid point. there's no standardized sizes for the units anymore, anyway (they've all got something integrated in like nav, now). heck, I thought the radio would go the way of the dinosaur the second all signals were switched to digital.

being an "old fogie", i don't see the point to paying for each song download (and since i got started on the net in the era before high-speed was common outside metropolitan areas in the US, I couldn't take advantage of "sneaking" one or two)

interesting tidbit: my crew bought me a CD player for my last vehicle (I traded a subwoofer for instillation) so they could have continuous music to listen to. the radio was too small for the dash hole, the speakers that came with it were too big, the car had ALREADY been audio swapped once allready (wiring had been cut and replaced, with old amp plugins left benind in the dash), and the stock speakers were almost all disabled and were too weak to be run by the radio, which had a built in amp. the poor thing had had any functionality destroyed by some kid who emphasized his window shaking speakers over anything else!
 
Stock headunits are getting better and better. Better sound quality, more power, great nav units, and all the aux and usb inputs you could want, that there's really no need for aftermarket headunits anymore unless you are going completely custom like for a show car, or you have an old car. Some will argue that in lower end cars the speakers are still crap quality though. Until car manufacturers start offering quality subwoofers from the factory though, I will always have aftermarket audio in my car.
 
The only stereo I care about is the one between the fenders. When I see/hear some yo yo with a bass sytem that sounds like it's rattling the car apart I can't help but think how stupid it is.
 
My mate just bought a Mazda CX7 with Bose system. Sounds awesome and it's from the factory.

I think as everyone else said it is becoming unnecessary to change the head unit, so all you need is an amp with speaker level inputs and new speakers if your speakers aren't up to the task.

I remember in my old Celica I spent A LOT (the head unit alone was over $1200) but I just picked up an Alpine with similar sound control features but with iPod connectivity for around a third of that price, about 5 years later mind. Amps and subs seem cheaper too, and you don't see a lot of the real high end gear on display any more.
 
Good car audio always matters. Quality > quantity. Best Buy stores don't have a very good selection usually, but online and at specialty shops you can find some pretty cool stuff. It's not the huge craze it was a few years back but it always matters.

One thing that bothers me though, it's a pain in the ass to find a radio that doesn't have a ridiculous design.

You can increase the sound quality of a stock car stereo greatly by replacing the factory speakers with 2-way speakers (woofer and tweeter combined with an internal crossover). That way you're not struggling to strike a clear balance with the factory equalizer. In a new car I probably wouldn't replace the radio. They're all plenty powerful and fairly good quality. I would replace the speakers on a car that doesn't already have a high-end stereo though, because factory speakers are still cheap and still crappy. They might be bigger than back in the day, but they're still crappy.

EDIT: CDailey already covered what I said basically.
 
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Newer head units can do everything aftermarket ones can do and more and the sound quality is good. On my Mazda 3 head unit, there's no aux jack, which make me want to buy an aftermarket one. Mazda went ahead and curved the top of it, so I cant.
 
Many new cars use the radio as in integral part of the CAN system, Mazda included. I'm not sure if you can even replace it.
 
Keef
Many new cars use the radio as in integral part of the CAN system, Mazda included. I'm not sure if you can even replace it.
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You can on some cars, the G35 is an example. Aftermarket dash kits basically remove the radio section from the board and leave a single or double DIN hole in its place.

There is also a lot of wire adapters out now that allow you to still use the stock amp inside the car with an aftermarket radio. I actually went through 3 different methods before finding the right solution.
 
I think car audio still matters and the selection of equipment available at the store you were at was just sub-par. Car audio still is a big deal and depending on where you live, people may just prefer having good sounding car audio as opposed to loud, glass breaking stereo systems.
 
Car audio is still very much in swing today IMO, I have a local Fry's close by and they have an actual three car garage car audio setup deal that people are always going to, including some of my friends. Everyone at my school also wants/has one or so it seems like.
 
Xavier2342
I think car audio still matters and the selection of equipment available at the store you were at was just sub-par. Car audio still is a big deal and depending on where you live, people may just prefer having good sounding car audio as opposed to loud, glass breaking stereo systems.
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That makes sense.

Times are changing, OEM stereos are better, and most kids want to rattle their bondo off with bass.

I'll have to hunt a bit more for good car audio. It's strange that I can drive 10min and go buy a $200,000 home theatre system yet I can't find a radio that fits in my car, doesn't look goofy, and isn't Chinese made. (I refuse to buy ChiCom audio gear)

My old radio (Japanese made) works wonderfully...just the hiss from the factory Bose amp is bothering me. I'll probably just use whatever I have in the basement, which is probably enough for 2-3 complete systems, and replace the Bose amp & speakers. I'd still like to see & demo today's "good stuff" though.
 
BrutherSuperior
That makes sense.

Times are changing, OEM stereos are better, and most kids want to rattle their bondo off with bass.

I'll have to hunt a bit more for good car audio. It's strange that I can drive 10min and go buy a $200,000 home theatre system yet I can't find a radio that fits in my car, doesn't look goofy, and isn't Chinese made. (I refuse to buy ChiCom audio gear)

My old radio (Japanese made) works wonderfully...just the hiss from the factory Bose amp is bothering me. I'll probably just use whatever I have in the basement, which is probably enough for 2-3 complete systems, and replace the Bose amp & speakers. I'd still like to see & demo today's "good stuff" though.
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lol, that's crazy that there aren't any good Car Audio shops nearby where you live. What kind of deck are you looking for? Checkout Crutchfield.com to see what's the latest and greatest. IMO, Crutchfield is expensive but it's a great site to checkout before shopping for stereo stuff. Best Buy and Fry's Electronics also have great stuff but Amazon and Ebay are where you'll get your best bang for the buck.
 
Xavier2342
lol, that's crazy that there aren't any good Car Audio shops nearby where you live. What kind of deck are you looking for? Checkout Crutchfield.com to see what's the latest and greatest. IMO, Crutchfield is expensive but it's a great site to checkout before shopping for stereo stuff. Best Buy and Fry's Electronics also have great stuff but Amazon and Ebay are where you'll get your best bang for the buck.
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The deck I was looking for was something black, classy looking, Japanese made, and sounded good. The only things I saw looked and felt cheap. I couldn't judge if they sounded good as the demo speakers looked and sounded equally as cheap. Grant it, I have some top-of-the-line stuff from way back when; I'm just a little surprised that I can't find that quality as easily as one could 10+ years ago.

I also can't believe how cheap stuff is today. I have a 4 channel amp that cost over a $1000 back when it was new and I think it's only 50 or 60w a channel. Same goes for my 250w watt 2chs. A dollar per watt used to be a pretty good deal...now it's like 20 cents a watt. A good deck used to cost $500+. I didn't see anything over $200 at the shops but unfortunately they all seemed like I would get what I paid for...which is something kinda cheap and flimsy.

It's why I asked if car audio was still relevant; I didn't see any good or expensive stuff when I was looking and that kinda shocked me. You'd think there would be a bigger market for higher-end car audio gear but from reading the posts on this thread it makes sense that there wouldn't be. None of the equipment that I heard/saw impressed me enough to plunk down a couple hundred bucks. If I bought a new car w/a premium sound system and replaced it with the junk I saw thinking it would sound better...I'd leave the shop pretty pissed off. No way would I buy new gear and I don't blame people if they think the same.
 
A few of my friends are still really into keeping up with all the new stuff. They never lack anything to talk about and seem to be checking out new stuff every couple weeks at local audio shops.
 
Xavier2342
Best Buy and Fry's Electronics also have great stuff but Amazon and Ebay are where you'll get your best bang for the buck.
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Just make sure you buy from an authorized dealer so you get the warranty that comes from the manufacturer.
 
Still matters to me, but I also have an old truck with standard size things.

New cars for sure are more complicated and I think it's turned a lot of people off. Because it used to be "buy a radio, install speakers, be happy," it's turned into "buy radio, find dash kit to fit radio, find harness so things don't mess up, hope everything works together, and then install speakers and be happy"
 
The worst part is the speakers a lot of the companies are choosing to use in order for you to purchase new ones through them if one happens to blow. All my interior speakers are 2 ohm (rare for interior speakers), with the doors being shallow depth and the subwoofer being 7 3/4" instead of 8". It pretty much forces you to either buy through Infiniti (big $$$), customize/cut at the stock location (time and $$$) or buy the 1 or 2 aftermarket speakers that are available (hard to find and usually more expensive than normal).

Even switching out the stock amp for something a little better is a huge re-wire job, so unless its necessary, no one really bothers anymore.
 
Don't tell me the intergalactic time travelling sex machine doesn't have the ballest speaker set up in the world?!

Here in the EU, if you buy a VAG group car (not Audi though) you can choose if you want rear speakers or not. When my buddy bought a brand new Golf mk5, he didn't wanted rear speakers, when he installed aftermarkets he found out that the wires and all that were there, just the speaker was left out. Easy for installing aftermarket speakers..
 
By the sounds that rattle my home's windows every so often, I'd say the answer is yes. Unfortunately, many of those same cars are lacking Dynamat, but that's another matter.

I used to be interested in car audio, but factory stereos are getting better and better, in my opinion. Sure, they don't come with a couple of 12" subwoofers that require 500 watts of juice and a 1,000,000 μF capacitor to support the constant appetite via massive gold-plated 4-gauge thoroughfares, but the average person doesn't need that. You could argue that nobody needs it for safety and health reasons.

But my old Lexus had a pretty damn fine Nakamichi stereo. Just a simple 8" subwoofer and its 6" seperates were plenty, even at 80 mph with the windows down. My present car is pretty clear-cut for my hearing as in the same scenario. Even my wife's new Mazda 5 does a good job with the factory set-up...how loud does one really need a stereo, and how much am I missing by not plunking down another 2000-3000 for the finer stuff? Nothing, really.

In an economy that's providing less disposable income, things like tuning and car stereos are some of the first things in a budget to be cut; most 5-6 year old cars have an AUX input and even an old deck with a cassette slot can give you an iPod or sat-radio fix. People with an old enough car are going to be satisfied with a $100 radio upgrade. As for the market where I live, the best places are still around, but many have also fallen my the wayside and the BestBuys of the world have taken their place, offering warranties and nationwide coverage (which I can attest, having had them install [and re-install twice] a CD-changer on my wife's old CR-V).

I'm not sure I personally went through a phase, or that car stereo got better. Probably both, although most modifications I've seen in the past 10 years usually looked like ass, because the interior designers of these cars have really integrated the radio and HVAC controls and the like very nicely compared to a generation ago. You can find nicer stuff out there, you just have to dig a little deeper than the mass-market electronic stores and the places that cater to the under-20 crowd.
 
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Carlos
Don't tell me the intergalactic time travelling sex machine doesn't have the ballest speaker set up in the world?!

Here in the EU, if you buy a VAG group car (not Audi though) you can choose if you want rear speakers or not. When my buddy bought a brand new Golf mk5, he didn't wanted rear speakers, when he installed aftermarkets he found out that the wires and all that were there, just the speaker was left out. Easy for installing aftermarket speakers..
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:lol: I've thought about replacing it, but with the cost and time associated with it, I figured I'll do it when things start to blow. The Bose system (Infinity speakers and sub) that it came with isn't that bad and is loud enough to keep up and keeps up with the two 10" 2 ohm DVC Alpine Type R's being run by a 940 watt RMS Kicker 750.1 I put in the trunk. Sound insulated, it makes no vibrations, not even the license plate...just your ear drums inside the car, lol. I ended up throwing an Alpine head unit inside the car, but I can't remember the model number off the top of my head.

I remember some of the older cars from the 80's/90's over here didn't come with rear speakers if you didn't want them. They came prewired, but it was just a hole where they would normally go, most times they were even carpetted over.
 
The other issue with car stereos is that they're integrated into the ECU anymore. This means that attempting to remove the stereo actually immobilizes the car until it can be reprogrammed.
 
Like all car modifying fads, things move on. Owners have quit filling their boots with huge oversized subs and amps with blue neon lights and now want 'stance'. Heavily lowered with huge oversized (or tiny undersized if you've got an older VW or JDM import) wheels with as little tyre as possible are the flavour of the day.
 

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