Evolution of car stereo's

Picking the Best Stereo for Your Car: How to Make the Right Choices

If you spend a lot of time in your car – and if you live in the UK and commute, we’re sure you do –, it makes sense to have an in-car stereo. You can listen to your favourite music, listen to your favourite podcasts, and listen to talking stories. It’s a much more enjoyable way to travel. Choosing car stereos is relative easy, but there are a few things that you need to consider. Here, we have provided you with a brief guideline to help you to make the process easier, and to help you to make the best choices.

Set Your Budget

There are thousands of car stereos on the market. This makes it difficult to make a decision. With so many options, we can get confused and this, unfortunately, can lead to making some wrong decisions. One way that you can help to reduce your choices is by setting yourself a budget. You know how much money you can afford to spend, so you set this as a limit. There are a few things that you need to remember:

1.       Remember to account for all the accessories, as well as the stereo itself.

2.       Remember to buy the highest quality equipment that your budget allows. Quality will affect the sound quality; the lower quality audio equipment will not produce as crisp a sound as the higher quality equipment.

3.       Remember that quality and price are not necessarily linked. Sometimes you pay over the odds for a low quality system because it is made by a certain brand. Other times you pay less for something that is much more valuable. Therefore, we recommend that you do some research into good quality car audio systems, rather than basing your decisions solely on the price or on the brand.

4.       When setting your budget consider that you may have to pay for an installation service, which can be expensive.

Think about the Connections

With car stereos there are now two general formats: mp3 & cd. In the past, you could buy mini-disc players and tape decks, but these are now largely obsolete. Modern stereos often have USB connectors, and we certainly advise buying such a stereo because you can then connect your phone, mp3 players, tablets, and various other accessories directly to your in-car audio systems. Both CD and mp3 stereos can have a USB connection – we recommend that you make sure your model does. USB is going to be around for a while, so the technology is unlikely to become obsolete…unlike CDs, which are well on their way out.

Another type of connection that you can get is Bluetooth. With this, you can connect compatible devices (such as your tablet & phone if they run on Bluetooth) wirelessly using the Bluetooth technology. This means doing without USB connections entirely. However, the technology is not quite up to scratch to warrant a Bluetooth device with no other type of connection, such as USB.

We hope that you enjoyed this article. If you would like to enquire about car stereos, then please visit Incarmusic.co.uk. 

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What You Can Do With Your Phone in Your Car

The title does sound a bit off to be fair, but we’re talking about everyday things that you can use your phone for in the car. These are things that you may not think your phone capable of, or that you might have overlooked as a function. Phones, as you know, are no longer used exclusively for their phone function, and there are many ways in which they can help make your driving life more interesting. Here, we’re going to look at some of the ways that your phone can help your driving experience.

Satnav

If you’ve every bought a satnav, you’ll know that they're fairly reasonably priced. A basic satnav will cost, on average, between £60 & £200. However, even though they may be fairly cheap (although, many of us would struggle to purchase even the lower end models) they're an expense that you don’t have to have. Instead, you can use your phone as a satnav. Most modern smart phones allow you to download satnav application. You can then use a docking station to mount the phone and use it as a satnav. Before you do this, though, research your phone and research potential apps, as they are not all equal: some apps are better than others are, and certain services may incur roaming charges, so do check.

MP3 Player

This is one that you all should know, but your smart phone can act as an in car mp3 player. Some people will connect their phones to their stereos using a USB connection (with modern stereos, at least), but the best way to get high functionality is to use an interface kit, such as the iPhone car interface kits. The iPhone car interface kits allow you to have much more control over the phone via a control panel. You can then play music the same way that you would through your phone.

MP4 Player

So, most people know that they can plug their phones in to their stereos and play mp3 files, but modern cars will also allow people to connect their smartphones and tablets and play mp4 formats (video & sound). Being able to play video in your car will increase your driving experience tenfold. But, you can’t watch videos and drive; so unfortunately, the benefits are to the passengers only.

Unlock Your Car

Did you know that you could use your phone to unlock your keys if you accidently leave your keys somewhere that there is another person who has access to a phone (that sounds incredibly convoluted!). For instance, say you're at work and you leave your keys on the desk, you’re colleague in the next desk down has access to your keys. You can phone your colleague, tell them to get the keys and then instruct them to press the unlock button down the phone. The signal will travel down the phone and will open the car. This sounds mad, but it has something to do with the infrared spectrum.

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How You Can Improve In-Car Entertainment System

For some of you your car is something that you don’t think about very often. You probably prefer to use public transport, and leave the car for longer trips. But, for others of you, you will spend a lot of time in your car: the commute, picking the kids up from school, driving in to town to do your shopping, taking drives, etc.

For the latter group, you’ll understand the importance of in-car entertainment. It can become very boring sat in a car for too long, especially if you happen to live in one of the largest cities where gridlock is commonplace. For you, your in-car entertainment will be paramount to your journeys. A good system will help to stave off any boredom you may feel.

However, many cars are ill equipped in terms of their entertainment systems. They may have poor car audio, there may be no mp3 player, etc., and there is a reason for this. Many manufacturers know that people buy cars based on their performance, rather than on their on-board entertainment. They spend a lot of time developing various aspects, such as drivability, manoeuvrability, handling, breaking systems, and so on. This means that they tend to neglect the entertainment aspect. This is secondary to most people’s concerns when buying a car, and so they do little to accommodate it. If you want a decent in-car entertainment system, then you have to do it yourself.

Here are a few ideas about how you can improve your driving experience, besides matters best left to the engineers.

MP3 Compatible Head Units

There are four types of head unit:

1.       Tape decks

2.       Mini-disk players

3.       CD players

4.       MP3 players

You can find players that combine two or more options, but these are the basic configurations. The first two in the list have largely become obsolete, and the third is on its way out. In terms of technology, number 4 is by far the best. If you don’t have an mp3 compatible car audio system, then it’s definitely worth upgrading. MP3 have many benefits:

·         You can skip between tracks without needing to fast-forward

·         You can have a much larger playlist. Even the most basic players have storage for thousands of audio files

·         You can create playlists

Bluetooth and Wireless Technologies

You can choose between USB connections and Bluetooth or wireless connections. Bluetooth and other types of wireless connections are superior to USB connection. There are no wires, for a start, which means that anyone in the car can control the music from a distance. There is less interference because no wires means no erosion, and erosion leads to bad sounds.

DVD Players

You can buy DVD players to install in your car. Unfortunately, this is not available for the driver…well, actually, we mean fortunately, because it’s would be dangerous to watch DVDs and drive. Your back seat passengers can benefit, and that’s great if you have kids.

Games Consoles

As well as being able to install DVD players, you can also install games consoles. Several models of car come with PlayStation 4! Again, you can’t play if you’re the driver, but if your wife makes you stay in the car when you're shopping, they're ideal! Also, great for kids.

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