Car Audio City

A car audio installation shop located in National City, San Diego

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Best Car Subwoofers and Amp Packages

Everybody knows that the only way to experience genuine, chest-thumping bass is to put a dedicated subwoofer in your car. But it’s not just about the low-end speaker, it’s also about the power. Lower frequencies pull more relative energy out of your car stereo’s amplifier, and when your stock system diverts too much energy to bass response, it subsequently thins out your mids and highs, which may result in underperforming car audio, from top to bottom.

The best way to avoid this is to have a dedicated amplifier for your subwoofer. To that end, several of our favorite car audio brands offer subwoofer and amp packages, whether option for integrated power or finely matched components ensuring you get the most efficiency. Here are some of the best options, depending how much room your vehicle might provide for a dedicated subwoofer and amp.

Best under-seat subwoofer and amp package

Built into powered enclosures under 3-inches in height, under-seat subwoofers are designed to fit bass where the sun don’t shine. The tradeoff for sharing space with an internal amplifier yet still being small enough to tuck out of sight is that under-seat subs don’t shake the earth — the way other speakers on this list do. But the best under-seat subwoofer and amp packages can bring plug-and-play power to the low end of your playlist, even small cars and truck cabs where subwoofers wouldn’t seem to fit.

Take the Rockville RW8CA, an active powered 8-inch subwoofer, built into a stable enclosure able to slides into spaces under a square foot, yet still brings 600 Watts of peak power. Rockville’s design is compact enough that most cars should fit the 10-inch RW10CA upgrade. Its only slightly larger speaker and enclosure comes with a boost to 800 Watts. Both compact subwoofer deliver frequency response down to 20 Hz.

Best shallow enclosure subwoofer and amp package

To deliver bass response you can truly feel, a subwoofer wants to be in a rigid enclosure large enough to push some air. However, considering most passenger vehicles don’t have the ideal amount of space for such a subwoofer and amp package, powered systems designed within a shallow enclosure provide a valuable intermediate option. Having a larger overall footprint gives them more volume and power than under-seat models, while shallow depth still allow them to fit where more traditional enclosures won’t.

A fine example is a subwoofer and amp package offered by Kicker, pairing its 48TCWRT122 slim enclosure with a 2000 Watt Rockville amp. Its 10-inch sub driver will reproduce all bass in human audible range, and give some real oomph, while the enclosure easily fits behind truck seats, or within a trunk — without taking up all the storage space.

Best loaded enclosure subwoofer and amp package

If your passenger vehicle has room for it, the ideal subwoofer and amp package will feature a loaded enclosure, generally meaning a box big and deep enough to push a large volume of air, even at the lowest frequencies. By rule of thumb, the more space you can devote to your subwoofer and amp package, the bigger bass you get in return, and usually more bang for your buck. Eventually, enough to rattle the block. 

Consider the MTX Terminator series subwoofer system, which packs dual, 12-inch drivers, paired with an amp capable of 1200 Watts peak power. A 32 x 16 x 16-inch box takes up a reasonable amount of room, just enough to turn your ride into a lean, mean bass machine.

Ask about subwoofer and amp packages at Car Audio City

We can help you find the best solution to deliver impressive bass to your car or truck. Contact us in National City today at [phone].

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The 5 Best Marine Speakers For The Money

What should you pay for marine speakers? Obviously, a marine radio must be loud enough to hear over wind, waves, and engine noise. Less obvious is how much you have to pay to accomplish this. 

Turns out, giving your boat radio a reliable set of durable marine speakers doesn’t have to break the bank. Some very well-made boat speakers may be found for surprisingly low prices — sometimes 30- to 40-percent lower than models offering comparable performance! 

That’s true whether your stock marine stereo systems require in-boat 2-way speakers, or tower speakers, and covering several different speaker sizes. Whichever size waterproof gear best fits your vessel, check out these best five marine speakers for the money.

Best 6.5-inch Speaker Deals

To get the marine stereo volume you seek for the least expensive, you could consider marine speakers built by Pyle, beginning with a pair of PLMR60W 6.5-inch Dual Marine Speakers, which deliver 150 Watts of power to your boat radio. However, at this price point, it makes more sense to step up to the next model! Pyle PLMR62 speakers deliver 200 Watts for only a few dollars more. Either set of Pyle speakers gets your marine stereo humming for under $40.

Best Bang For Your Buck 6.5-inch Speakers

For well-priced marine speakers by one of the best-known and time-tested brands in audio electronics, opt for a pair of the Sony XSMP1611. With efficient, 140 Watt performance, these dual cone speakers blast a wide 45–20000Hz frequency from your marine radio system, justifying the $70 list price while delivering the quality that earned Sony its global reputation.

Nice 5.25-inch Marine Speakers For The Money

For more compact marine speakers that deliver big sound for little cost, look to a pair of 5.25-inch Lanzar AQ5CXW marine speakers. Though sized to fit smaller marine radio installations, they’re engineered to deliver up to 200 Watts of power, list for as little as $40.

Powerful Tower Speakers For A Steal

Those with boat radios and a place to mount tower speakers will pay a bit more to hear the value brought by a larger and firmer speaker package, but you can save a bundle going back to the budget-friendly Pyle brand, and its PLMRLEWB46B marine speakers. The highly-rated, weather-resistant speakers deliver great durability and a whopping 300 Watts for a list price of just $85, well below what comparable models go for.

Install These 6x9-inch Marine Speakers To Save

If you like the sound of packing 3-way coaxial speakers into your boat to optimize your power across high, mid, and low frequencies, consider going with 6x9-inch marine speakers like this Polk Audio DB692 model. The three-way coaxial speakers deliver an enviable 30- to 22k Hertz frequency range, while being resistant to water, dirt, UV, salt-fog, and humidity. These speakers require a larger cutout and list for $129 a pair (less if they’re on sale), which compares favorably to competing models in this marine radio format.

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Can You Vinyl Wrap A Peeling Car?

Every year, more and more drivers choose vinyl car wrap as an alternative to investing in a new paint job: usually because it’s less expensive, and because it opens the door to a wide variety of different color options. But not so fast — often the cars in most dire need of a paint job, have problems that can’t be solved by a vinyl car wrap. A vinyl wrap won’t hide dents, for example, and cannot stick to rust. However, not all bad paint jobs are created equal. While some paint problems run too deep to hide beneath a thin vinyl wrap, there may be hope for a car with a peeling outer coat.

Paint Problems That Can’t Be Solved With Vinyl Car Wrap

As much as we’d all love vinyl car wraps to fix any blemishes to your car’s exterior, some common paint problems can’t be fixed. Let’s look at deep scratches and chips. The success of a sleek, vinyl car wrap installation requires a smooth, even surface for the vinyl to bond to. A deep scratch, or just chipped paint, mars this surface, and will lead to bubbles and other distortions in the vinyl. As mentioned, a paint job so worn the car body has started to rust, also creates a problem spot that vinyl can’t cling to. Most vinyl wraps are too thin to actually cover up that sort of thing anyway. For similar reasons, poor pain jobs resulting in too much paint — the dreaded, pebbled texture of orange peel paint job — cannot be cosmetically fixed with a vinyl wrap.

Many of these conditions are especially ironic because vinyl car wraps are actually outstanding at protecting a car’s paint job. If the car had benefitted from a vinyl car wrap in the first place, its original paint job would probably still be in great shape.

So, Can You Vinyl Wrap A Peeling Car? It’s Complicated.

The good news for those with a peeling car is: the short answer is yes, vinyl wrap can be applied to a peeling car. Especially if it’s peeling clear coat. BUT! Doing so requires an extra step. Peeling and flaking paint lead to all of the same issues as chips, scratches, and rust. However, in the case of peeling paint, the painted surface can be corrected by getting it sanded, or feathered, by a body shop. This eliminates all the peeling or flaking areas and smooths out any edges, so in the hands of an expert installer, the vinyl will bond to the surface as intended.

However, while feathering a peeling paint job may successfully prep a car for vinyl wrap, that doesn’t mean every vinyl wrap will look good. When wrapping a peeling car, it helps to know which kind of wraps to choose, and which to avoid.

Wraps That Are Not A Good Choice For A Peeling Car

Though most vinyl car wraps are thick enough to change your car’s color and finished appearance, they may too thin to obscure drastic changes in surface color or texture. Many vinyl wrap options will not adequately conceal paint peels, even after they’ve been sanded. Glossy vinyl wraps, for example, get their appeal from looking shiny, perfect, and new. But they can’t accomplish this if the paint beneath exhibits uneven color and texture.

Other popular vinyl wrap effects that will struggle over peeling paint include the shimmering, two-tone look of color flip, or color shift, wraps; and chameleon wraps, which appear to change color depending on which angle you look at them. Despite their two-tone appearances, these looks will fall flat in areas that have been sanded over peeling paint.

Wraps That Can Work Well For Peeling Car

So which types of vinyl work well to wrap a peeling car? Usually, those featuring their own patterns or graphics. Carbon fiber wraps, for example, tend to be a little thicker, and also obscure any underlying colors or textures due to the small, repeating geometric patterns that make the look so appealing. Any camouflage pattern should also work, as uneven colors and shapes are baked into its design. Of course, graphic vinyl wrap applications may obscure whatever is happening beneath the vinyl, especially the notorious sticker bomb pattern, which can make it look like thousands of stickers have covered your ride, bumper to bumper. If you’re looking for a solid vinyl wrap to cover paint peel, some peel jobs may be obscured by a thick, black matte finish, if it’s dark enough and flat enough that below-the-surface differences can’t shine through.

Find Out Whether Your Car Is Ready For A Vinyl Wrap

Do you have a peeling car in need of a vinyl wrap? Come see us at Car Audio City in San Diego, CA to find out if it can be made ready for a vinyl car wrap! Give us a call today at [phone] for a free quote,

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Is Kenwood Better Than Pioneer?

For decades, Kenwood and Pioneer have been two of the most popular and successful car audio brands on the planet, and with good reason. For starters, both electronics brands offer high-quality car audio systems and components across a range of price points. And both Kenwood and Pioneer have embraced technological advances in car stereo and entertainment systems, at times being at the forefront of innovation. When it comes to consumer awareness, Pioneer may have the edge. But when it comes to quality, is Kenwood better than Pioneer? 

Kenwood VS Pioneer - Comparable histories

Both Pioneer and Kenwood are Japanese audio manufacturers with histories nearly as long as the automobile itself. Pioneer first launched as a speaker manufacturer way back in 1938. Kenwood followed in 1946, specializing in amateur, 2-way radios. Both companies quickly found a niche in car audio radios and speakers, and both have made names for themselves, worldwide, over the past half century. When it comes to brand recognition, Kenwood may not be better than Pioneer, but it’s pretty close.

Kenwood VS Pioneer - Single DIN receivers

For decades, the base car audio unit is what they call the single DIN receiver. All this means, is the car stereo receiver fits into the standard 2- x 7-inch slot found in every car’s dashboard. When it comes to single DIN receivers, Kenwood is better than Pioneer in the sense it offers a greater breadth of options. At roughly the same price point, Kenwood offers single DIN car stereo receivers with options to suit your various needs. You’ll find models with or without: CD players, HD radio, Sirius XM satellite radio, Amazon Alexa voice control, the ability to play lossless audio digital formats, internet radio, and iPhone/Android smartphone compatibility. Most Kenwood single DIN receivers are Bluetooth compatible, and in the case of the popular KDC-BT282U, you can find a 13-band graphic equalizer for greater control over your audio output.

While Pioneer offers similar options at a comparable price point, it offers fewer models to choose from, making it less likely to find your preferred range of features. However, at the extreme high end, Pioneer offers innovative single DIN receivers including the DMH-WT8600NEX — models that fit into the single DIN slot, yet also provide a pop-out touchscreen display usually only found in double-DIN models. 

Kenwood VS Pioneer - Double DIN receivers

For dashboards that can fit them, all the best car receiver options these days are double-DIN — meaning double the height of a single-DIN slot at 4- x 7-inches. These have taken off in popularity since the advent of smart-phone compatible touchscreens that truly brought car audio into the 21st century. 

As one might expect, these models are inherently higher end, and stack most desirable modern features, including Bluetooth and smartphone compatibility, lossless audio playback, plus HD and satellite radio compatibility. They also tend to offer video camera connectivity, most commonly employed as rear view cameras now standard in all new car models. Pioneer is known for exceptional quality across all its double-DIN models. But again, Kenwood is better than Pioneer in this category, by a hair, in that it likewise offers a better range of models at the lower price point. However, Kenwood truly proves itself at the high end of the double-DIN market, with the Kenwood Excelon Reference DMX1057XR, a top tier double-DIN model offering a large, 10.1-inch video display, compared to the 6.7-inch standard.

Make your best car receiver choice with Car Audio City

Whether you decide Kenwood is better than Pioneer, or vie-versa, you’ll find many quality options for your car stereo upgrade when you pay a visit to Car Audio City. Contact us today to find out which brand is best for you

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Is Skar Audio Good? Yes, And Here Are 5 Reasons Why

If you’re shopping for car stereo upgrades, you may have come across the name of a newer player in the car audio market: Skar Audio. Why are people talking about Skar Audio? The reasons are numerous, ranging from reports of durability to quality to great bang for your buck price. In fact, here are 5 reasons why Skar Audio is good, emerging audio brand.

1. It Still Has Under The Radar Value

In the competitive car audio market, Skar is still relatively new and unknown, compared to widely known brands like Pioneer, Kenwood, and JL. So even though the Florida company, founded in 2012, already manufactures car audio products good enough to hang with the big boys, they sell for a fraction of the price. This could be changing, though, as Skar was recently named one of the “Best Trending Online Shops” of 2021 by Newsweek magazine.

2. Skar Offers A Speaker To Meet Every Need

By classifying its coaxial and component car speaker offerings as being Good, Best, or Insane, Skar Audio playfully lets customers know the trade-offs in each model’s value vs. quality. But Skar does more than let you balance your budget concerns: its coaxial speakers come in variable size and shapes, in order to suit the needs of your vehicle. It offers 4-inch, 5.25-inch, and 6.5-inch round speakers, in addition to 4x6, 6x8, and 6x9 elliptical designs.

3. Skar Also Offers Subwoofer Options

It bears repeating that Skar Audio offers variable size and power when it comes to bass speakers, too. This proves especially useful when finding a space to fit a sub in your vehicle. If you’ve got room to spare, you can get that massive and deep 18-inch sub of your dreams, but if you’re looking at a tight fit, you may opt for a compact, 8-inch subwoofer just big enough to get the job done. Better yet, whether you decide on an 8-inch, 12-inch, 15-inch, or 18-inch subwoofer, Skar Audio still gives you a choice in power, with models delivering 500, 800, 1200, 1600, 2500, 3000, or even 3200 Watts!

4. Yes, You’ve Got Options At Amplifier Too

Often overlooked by car audio dealers or even manufacturers is that some vehicles may not offer much space for the added audio quality boost given to speakers when bolstered by a strong aftermarket amplifier. Along with a range of Better and Best amplifiers ranging up to a potent 4500 Watts, Skar offers an assortment of compact amplifiers, some less than half the size. Though not as brawny as Skar’s most powerful amplifiers, they still produce a respectable 400 to 900 Watts. 

5. Strong Customer Support

Being a relatively small, homegrown business born in the internet age gives Skar Audio greater agility than the big brands, when it comes to customer service. Not only does the company offer strong online support, but it’s earned a reputation for efficient order fulfillment and responsive problem solving, while offering a solid warranty for products that have been built to last.

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What is a good single DIN radio?

Are you looking for a good single DIN stereo? You might be, and not even realize it. Typically, only two types of people even know what single DIN means: car audio geeks, or those who have actively shopped for a single DIN stereo. It certainly doesn’t help that the acronym DIN stands for a German term: Deutsches Institut für Normung.

That mouthful translates to German Institute for Standardization, the organization that originally created the standard size for in-dash car stereo receivers, now used by all car manufacturers. In other words, single DIN refers to the size and shape the hole in the dashboard should be to slot a receiver into: about seven inches wide, and two inches high. 

In the days of old, before in-dash touchscreens became commonplace, virtually all receivers were single DIN radios. These days, double DIN receivers, which are four inches high to make room for touchscreens, are more common. But whether your dashboard only has a two-inch slot for a single DIN radio, or you prefer to lower the profile of a single DIN radio, Car Audio City can help you find plenty of terrific single DIN options. It’s just a matter of knowing what makes a good single DIN radio.

The basic model: Pioneer DEH-S1100UB

Any online search for a good single DIN radio will undoubtedly lead you to the Pioneer DEH-S1100UB. It combines a 50 watt amplifier with an easy to use, backlit interface, and many features standard to a single DIN receiver. It still plays CDs and CD-ROMS, including various audio files, and can also play audio through USB or auxiliary connectors. It’s a good single DIN radio, but you might miss functions including wireless Bluetooth compatibility.

For the modern user: Kenwood KMM-BT325 + ALPHA

A more updated example of a good single DIN radio is this Kenwood model. Though this digital source unit has done away with the CD player, it likewise offers 50 watts of power and both USB and auxiliary inputs. But this Kenwood also boasts Bluetooth connectivity as well as better support connecting to smart phones, whether iPhone or Android. Or both, as it turns out. This unique single DIN receiver will actually connect two phones at once via Bluetooth, allowing you to make and receive calls from, say, both the driver’s and passenger’s phone. Or, you may use this feature to switch between each phone as an audio source, which means the driver may accept incoming calls while the passenger creates the perfect playlist. 

The next step up: Pyle PLTS78DUB

Just because you need a single DIN radio, doesn’t mean you have to give on the dream of an in-dash touchscreen display. The Pyle PLTS78DUB single DIN radio can behave like a double DIN receiver thanks to a retractable, 7-inch touchscreen display that slides out from the single DIN slot to pop up above the receiver. This provides a more intuitive interface for a receiver with both smart phone and Bluetooth compatibility, including effective navigation as well as audio and video playback. 

Get the best single DIN radio at Car Audio City in San Diego

Contact Car Audio City today, and our experts will guide you to the perfect single DIN radio that fulfills all of your needs.

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What's The Best Head Unit For Sound Quality?

If great sound quality ends with your car speakers, it starts with the head unit where your audio files originate. And we say audio files recognizing that most drivers these days prefer streaming audio or audio files on a USB stick to CDs. That’s why many of the best head units for sound quality place a strong focus on wringing the most detail and control out of your preferred digital audio source. Here are a few popular models that the web considers the best head units for sound quality.

Pioneer DEH-80PRS

When looking for the best single DIN head unit — meaning a 2-inch by 7-inch slot in the dash — a receiver that gets high marks is this one from car audio innovator Pioneer. The Pioneer DEH-80PRS affordable head unit gets its best sound quality status in part by offering refined control over its output, including a 16-band EQ and subwoofer level control. 

Alpine UTE-73BT

The Alpine UTE-73BT affordable head unit applies an additional approach to getting the best sound, starting with a 24-Bit DAC. That refers to its potent digital-to-analog converter, which translates digital audio files to wave sounds pushing through your speakers. A better translation equates to richer tones. Further improving the audio signal is the head unit’s ability to play FLAC files. These Format For Lossless Compression files pack more information, for more detailed sound.

If you’re thinking such a head unit would make a physical CD player obsolete, Alpine thinks so too. This “Mechless” receiver has taken the space a CD mechanism might go, and put it to better use. Especially for a vehicle with room for a single DIN receiver only, this the best head unit without a disc player.

Kenwood DDX26BT

Moving into more visually stimulating, double DIN (4-inch by 7-inch) head units, reviewers often point to the Kenwood DDX26BT model as among the best head units for sound. It boosts the signal with a dedicated pre-amp, while also offering the ability to play FLAC files. In addition, it processes audio through low and high pass filters to great greater punch in your subwoofer.

Pioneer AVH-W4500NEX and Kenwood Excelon DMX706S

Once you get to these higher-end touchscreen models, you find head units that offer it all, from Bluetooth and internet connectivity to smartphone compatibility and touchscreen. The Pioneer AVH-W4500NEX and Kenwood Excelon DMX706S head units from two of the world’s premier car audio brands incorporate touchscreen controls of graphic equalizers, plus timing alignment controls to effectively “position” the sound within your vehicle. Add adjustable high/low pass filters, and FLAC file support, and it’s plain to see why these are some of the internet’s favorite head units for sound quality.

Get the best head units at Car Audio City in National City, San Diego

Car Audio City technicians in San Diego, CA will help identify the best head units for your vehicle, install them, and tune them for the best sound quality. Contact us today!

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Why The Avital 3100LX Car Alarm Is So Good

Cars are more valuable than ever, meaning a reliable car alarm system also more valuable than ever. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use the most expensive car alarm systems on the market, if you shop wisely. At Car Audio City, we often recommend the relatively affordable Avital 3100LX system. With a simple key fob affording remote arming, keyless entry, and auxiliary functions that may be customized by the installer, this system makes excellent use of the car alarm basics. But to find out why the Avital 3100lx car alarm is so good, you’ll want to read on!

Dual-Zone Impact sensor

The Avital 3100LX car alarm doubly protects a car from break in and theft by offering a dual zone sensor. This means it includes an on-board impact sensor that, when armed, will trigger the alarm when it senses heavy impact on the body of the car, in addition to being triggered by attempts to unlock the door or start the ignition. The impact sensor may be triggered by attempts to break a window, external attempts to move the vehicle, or other situations where a would-be thief is trying to gain entry to the vehicle while bypassing door switch or Ignition trigger.

Fault-proof starter interrupt

Even in the even a car thief ignores your vehicle’s alarm system continues in the attempt to steal your car by hard-wiring or otherwise starting the ignition, the Avital 3100LX still has you covered! Its starter interrupt — also called a starter disable — function takes away the ability to start a car while the security system is armed — even with a key. This ensures a car will remain where you parked it, even if a would-be thief has not been deterred by the alarm warning system.

The advantage of Warn-Away chirps

As for alarm warning systems, we’re all well aware that any one may become a nuisance. For example, an alarm may be sensitive to impact triggers that do not result from a break-in, leading to a false alarm. Or an alarm may trigger if a driver has failed to fully disarm the system before attempting entry. Even a legitimate break in attempt on some systems will create loud, loud nuisance noises long after the thief is gone, causing neighbors to wish the car had been stolen after all!

The Avital 3100LX offers solutions to such problems, beginning with its lack of a siren response. Rather than a series of siren noises, the Avital 3100LX connects to a vehicle’s horn system, responding to triggers with a series of loud honks instead of whoops. Even better, it employs a warn-away system, which emits a series of audible, yet lower-volume, chirps for a few moments before the beeping starts. This has the advantage of scaring away a thief, letting the vehicle’s owner know to disarm an alarm system — all before the alarm wakes the whole neighborhood!

Nuisance Prevention® Circuitry

A more likely scenario of a false alarm is for a car alarm impact system to be triggered by something unrelated to theft, such as might be caused by thunder and storm systems, jackhammer activity, or airplanes taking off or landing nearby. For this, the 3100LX offers Avital’s Nuisance Prevention® Circuitry (NPC®). This neighborhood-friendly anti-false alarm technology recognizes when the alarm system’s impact trigger is activated multiple times within a short time frame (while door and ignition triggers remain undisturbed). 

When such repeated triggers are detected, the impact sensor disarms itself for 60 minutes to allow the impact disruption to pass.

Find the Avital 3100LX at Car Audio City in National City, San Diego

Our experienced installers know how to optimize your car alarm needs with reliable Avital models, as well as others. Contact us today at [phone] to ask about the 3100LX, or the advantages of different models today!

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Is Pioneer A Good Brand For Car Audio? Yes & Here's Why

The name Pioneer is all but synonymous with car audio, and for many good reasons. The venerated brand has proven a literal pioneer in the development of car audio systems going back decades. In fact, Pioneer has shown a high-level commitment to advancing audio technology since 1938, and has done so again and again for nearly 85 years since! Pioneer has always been a good brand for car audio, and shows no sign of stopping any time soon… and here’s why:

Pioneer’s early history in Japan

Starting a tech company out of your home garage has practically become a cliché since the 1980s. But that was long before Pioneer’s founder, Nozomu Matsumoto, started building dynamic audio speakers in his home garage in 1937. The use of magnets to drive speaker cones was still a new technology at the time, so Matsumoto found plenty of opportunities to improve on loudspeaker quality and efficiency. His efforts resulted in the A-8, Japan’s first high-fidelity dynamic speaker, behind which he would form the company that would eventually become Pioneer. First, it was called Fukuin Shokai Denki Seisakusho, and way back then it primarily marketed speakers to phonograph makers and, before long, transistor radio manufacturers.

A history of firsts for the Pioneer brand

It wasn’t until 1961 that Matsumoto’s company adopted the name Pioneer, through it first started laying claim to the Pioneer trademark in the 1940s, as its speaker operation expanded along to include large theater speakers, amplifiers, and — long before car stereos came along — the realm of aviation audio. 

As for when car stereos did come along, that would be November 1975, when Pioneer introduced the world's first component car stereo, the first car audio product that could amplify sound wired to discrete speakers placed around the car. It would hardly prove Pioneer’s only innovation. In October 1984, Pioneer marketed the world's first car CD player. In June 1990, it became the first to integrate a GPS navigation system for the consumer market, and in 1996, the first to include a DVD player. 

Car stereo technology has been evolving in fits and starts for well more than half a century, and Pioneer has been there to push the boundaries and forge new ground, repeatedly proving itself a good brand for car audio, every step of the way.

A commitment to research and development

As car stereo and entertainment technology has grown in leaps and bounds, staying at the forefront of what’s possible has cemented Pioneer’s status as a major car audio brand. Much of Pioneer’s track record for success can be attributed to its persisting investment in research and development. From the moment Nozomu Matsumoto started working out of his garage in 1937, his enterprise has never been one to settle, and has remained in constant pursuit of the next step. To this day, Pioneer’s policy is to invest seven percent of its annual revenue back into R&D, maintaining its status as a good brand for car audio through successive waves of car entertainment technologies that have seen such functions as Bluetooth connectivity, touch screens, streaming audio, and built-in navigation with real-time traffic become the norm.

Pioneer is a good brand for every part of your car audio system

Even as its embrace of advanced video and connective technologies has kept Pioneer in the forefront of car audio and entertainment electronics, its chief calling card remains its dedication to high fidelity audio reproduction. The component audio producer manufactures its own, high quality receivers, amplifiers, car speakers, and subwoofers, which work together to create some of the best car audio systems on the market.

Contact Car Audio City today at [phone] for advice on the best Pioneer products available for your next car audio installation.

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Best 5 Waterproof Marine Audio Products

Serving a beach and bay audio city like San Diego, Car Audio City knows performance audio is just as important out on the water as it is in the car. So of course we have plenty of experience the best waterproof marine audio products on the market. From waterproof boat speakers to a new generation of smartphone compatible marine receivers, we strive to work with only the best, including the waterproof marine audio products below.

Kicker 45KM654 Marine Speakers

Rubber surrounds and fully sealed enclosures ensure that the motors driving these 6.5-inch, 2-way speakers won’t be damaged by the inevitable spray. The UV-treated polypropylene woofers and polyetherimide thermoplastic dome tweeters make sure the sun and wind won’t get them either. Best of all, the balanced soundmakers rate a high, 90 decibels in sensitivity, which allow them to project volume strong enough to cut through engine noise.

Kicker 45KMF104 Subwoofer

Delivering quality and durability on par with Kicker’s 2-way speakers, this 10-inch subwoofer likewise installs within round speaker ports, bypassing the need to find room for subwoofer enclosures within limited space available aboard most marine vessels. It adds up to 175 watts of power to bolster the low end of your seafaring soundtrack.

BOSS Audio Systems MGR350B Marine Gauge Receiver

Featuring both USB and Bluetooth connectivity, this affordable marine receiver offers plenty of options to let you play MP3s or streaming music. It’s also got onboard support for the most popular streaming services, Pandora and Spotify. The streamlined receiver reports an IPX 6 waterproof rating, and powers up to four channels with 50 watts.

Fusion MS-RA70NSX Marine Entertainment System

A popular choice for many boating enthusiasts, this midrange marine audio receiver boasts a robust IPX 7 waterproof rating. It’s also equipped with USB support, MP3 playback, Bluetooth connectivity, and smartphone compatibility with Apple and Android — all must haves in today’s marine audio receivers. Where it differs from others is it works with Sirius XM. Satellite radio makes a terrific option when you’re boating outside reliable cell tower range.

Kicker KMC5 Premium Marine Media Center

With 240 watts to power 6 channels, this high end Kicker receiver delivers real volume to two zones, while rating IPX6 weather resistance. It can play MP3s from a USB, stream smart phone audio, pick up satellite radio, and even take a camera input. All of this plays through a full color, 3.5-inch LCD screen. Like a lot of Kicker stuff, it’s one of the best waterproof marine audio products going. 

Contact Car Audio City for the best marine audio products in San Diego

Whether you’re planning to ride the highway or the high seas, turn to Car Audio City for all your aftermarket audio needs. Our expert installers will guide you to the best available products that meet your needs and your budget, every time. Give us a call today at [phone] to get your estimate.

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Expert Tips Tuning Car Audio For Better Sounding Music

Properly tuning your car’s audio system can make music playback sound better — if you’ve ever explored your receiver’s various knobs and settings, that much is obvious. It’s finding those proper settings that proves a challenge. In the hands of an expert, tuning your car audio can make your music playback sound much, much better. The following expert tips will give you an idea of what you’re dealing with.

Make sure your car speakers are in phase

Car audio experts like to describe the stereo listening experience as a sound stage, meaning that a properly tuned car audio system should create the illusion that a band is playing in front of you, with lead instruments coming from the left and right, and with the rhythm section and vocals centered right in front of you. If your speakers don’t create this impression, the culprit may be your speaker wiring. When the positive and negative wires connecting your speakers don’t match, one speaker will be vibrating forward while another vibrates backwards. 

This is what’s called being out of phase, and it can suck a lot of the color out of your stereo playback, especially in the lower frequencies. An easy way to diagnose this issue is to turn the balance knob on your receiver all the way to the left or right while playing a piece of music. While listening closely to how it sounds, turn the knob back to the center. The bass should sound noticeably louder when your balance is centered. If it doesn’t, then your speakers are out of phase.

EQ for clarity

When listening to any piece of music, the goal is for the bass, mid, and treble frequencies to play in balance to one another, so that the music sounds most natural. To check your balance, start playing a piece of familiar music, and listen to the lead instruments and vocals. If they sound dampened, or like they’re playing in the background, your mid-range is out of balance. Using your car stereo’s equalizer, add boost to your mid-frequencies (around the 400-1000Hz range) to bring these sounds forward, to preserve your sound stage.

Conversely, if the drum cymbals in the recording lack sizzle, or sound muffled, you may need to boost higher frequencies. Higher range frequencies don’t travel as far or fill space as much as lower frequencies do, so depending on the configuration of your car, the problem could be that the tweeters are physically installed too low to compete with other components, so rather than a boost, the best solution may be installing discreet, dedicated tweeters. 

Find the right amount of bass

We’ve all witnessed that car with huge subwoofers, driven by a proud someone who turns the bass up so high it vibrates the whole block. That’s a fun idea, but it’s not how experts would tune a stereo to bring the best sound out of the music. To set the proper amount of bass, use your equalizer to turn down the low frequencies all the way. Then, while listening to a favorite piece of bassy music, slowly raise the bass level until it the song sounds full again, and the sound stage sounds complete. You can always bump a little higher if you’re looking for extra boom, just make sure it doesn’t drown out your midrange again.

Meanwhile, if you have a dedicated subwoofer that makes it sound as though the bass is coming from in front or behind you, you may need to adjust its crossover frequency. Even following the sound stage model, when it comes to true bass frequencies, generally in the 20-100Hz range, you should be unable to tell which direction the bass originates. If you sense which direction it’s coming from, then some of your mid-range is coming through your subwoofer, which will. Make it tougher to accomplish that expert tuning.

Car Audio City In San Diego, Ca Will Fine-tune Your Car’s Audio System

Whether it involves keeping your speakers in phase, or fine-tuning your crossover frequencies, the expert car audio installers at Car Audio City will make sure your car stereo installation remains in tune, every time. Give us a call today at [phone] so we can help tune your car!

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What Is The Best Sound Setting For Car Equalizer?

Finding the best sound setting for a car equalizer is an often overlooked part of upgrading your car's audio and entertainment system. Whether you select a car stereo system for best quality or value, correctly adjusting the equalizer can get the best performance from your discreet car speakers, and overcome natural drop offs created by the shape of your vehicle’s cabin. 

What does an equalizer do?

In simple terms, an audio equalizer raises or lowers the volume of specific frequency ranges of the audio signal going to your speakers. It might boost the volume of the lower frequencies, for example, to add more bass to your car stereo’s mix. Or it might reduce the power of higher frequencies, to limit distorted or shrill treble when you’re playing music at higher volumes. One way or another, the EQ offers a greater degree of volume control to help get a car’s best sound setting.

What kind of equalizers are available?

The equalizer of budget car stereo receivers, including some factory stock units, offer only two or three frequency bands covering unspecified frequencies: bass, treble, and sometimes mid-range. Raising or lowering these wide frequency bands can help a little bit, but it’s kind of like trying to sign your name with a crayon. More sophisticated graphic equalizers filter the audio into anywhere from five to 16 and even to 31 bands centered around a specific frequency. These allow the adept listener to make finer adjustments, though at some point, more bands means more opportunities to throw a car stereo’s existing balance out of whack.

What is the best sound setting for your car Equalizer?

So what is the sweet spot with EQs? At times, there is value in adjusting car equalizer settings to accommodate recording quality, say of oldies versus modern recordings. Often, a listener might adjust the EQ depending on a musical genre. That’s why many car stereo receivers, particularly after-market models, feature equalizer presets such as jazz, rock, or vocal pop. 

But for everyday use, the best setting for a car equalizer is one that addresses any uneven frequencies resulting from your car audio system installation. If your subwoofer overwhelms the middle ranges of your car speakers, the best equalizer setting might boosts those frequencies to send more effective power to the tweeters. If you have a multiple channel speaker system, a multi band equalizer can be used to adjust the signal around the crossover frequencies of your vehicle’s speakers, to a prevent a spike or drop off around those notes when you listen to music. Are there tools to help fine tune your EQ settings?

With up to a five-band equalizer, most listeners can feel their way around the settings to achieve a sound they like. But to find the best settings for your car’s EQ, the surest way to precisly attune a car equalizer involves playing a pink noise signal through the speakers, and using a frequency analyzer to determine which frequencies need equalizer adjustments. The idea is to achieve a smooth curve across all frequency ranges of the pink noise, with no peaks or valleys. That will ensure the most natural sounding sound reproduction specific to your vehicle.

Where to get the best settings to your car equalizer

In San Diego, go to Car Audio City in National City to find expert installation, and equalization, of a new car stereo and speakers. Contact us today at [phone] for a free quote!

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How Can I Secretly Track My Car?

Do you know where your car is? It used to be, when someone else drove off with your ride, the best you could do was hope everything made it back in one piece. These days, there are tech-savvy ways to track your car, wherever it goes. And in case you have a private concern about wherever it is the person with your car has gone, you can secretly track your car, as well.

Why secretly track my car?

There are several good reasons you will want the ability to secretly track your car, not the least of which are car thieves! But there are other circumstances the ability to secretly track a car may be useful. One example would be that you have a teenager who likes to borrow the car on weekends, and knowing where your child is can either bring peace of mind, or give you good cause to call them home. Or, maybe a significant other who can’t or won’t explain their whereabouts. The reason needn’t be troubling — maybe you’d just like the ability to figure out how close a commuting family member is to returning home from work.

How Can I Secretly Track My Car?

By far, the best way to secretly track a car is to install a LowStar device. Powered by GPS technology, LowStar links to an app on your smartphone, which allows you to accurately pinpoint the exact location of your vehicle in real time, even while it’s still moving.

Better yet, a LowStar device is small enough to be installed in various locations within your vehicle, ensuring it remains out of sight and undetectable. Potential car thieves don’t have to know it is there, and neither do friends or family who might borrow your car. With a LowStar installed in your vehicle, you can always secretly track your car’s location — which, hopefully, will provide some peace of mind.

When is a good time to install a GPS tracker in my car?

In addition to making it possible to track your car in real time, installing a LowStar tracker in your ride may benefits in decreased insurance costs, and always with improved security. In other words, there’s no time like the present to install a LowStar device in your car. To help make the decision easy, Car Audio City offers the option to finance the LowStar installation , offering very friendly terms, such as the chance to finance 100 days, same as cash. Especially during the covid-19 pandemic, financing terms can really help, especially after taxes are considered.

Install LowStar in San Diego at Car Audio City

Located in National City, Car Audio City is proud to offer the added vehicle security offered by San Diego based company, LowStar. Contact us today at [phone] to schedule your installation, and to find out how you may finance installation for 100 days, same as cash. You can secretly, or not so secretly track your car in no time!

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Does Car Amplifier Affect Sound Quality?

There are several upgrades that will improve the sound quality of a car stereo, but one of the most important is a component that operates behind the scenes. While speakers and receivers get most of the glory, a car amplifier affects sound quality in several ways, without ever being seen by the car’s passengers. Here are some of the ways a car amplifier can affect sound quality and equip your ride for a more premium audio experience.

A car amplifier can overcome road noise

Whatever car stereo configuration you have, your music and podcasts will be in constant competition with road noise. Lousy car speakers will struggle to be heard over the sound of the engine, bumps on the road, and just the rubber rolling over asphalt. Even quality after-market speakers will sound thin inside a loud vehicle — unless they have enough power to produce optimal output.

Good aftermarket speakers with greater sensitivity can produce enough volume and clarity to stand out, despite highway noise. However, they may only do so with the right amount of amplifier power. Even a single channel amplifier can improve output over the built-in amplification of a factory stock receiver. But to truly make your speakers sing, opt for two or more channels to provide dedicated power to speaker components. It’s the best way to achieve sufficient volume, without the distortion of low power systems.

A car amplifier can increase headroom

A volume knob can make speakers louder, but if they don’t have enough headroom to handle the natural rise and fall of volume in audio recordings, they will distort and limit the output of what should be the most exciting parts of a piece of music.

Headroom basically refers to the amount of buffer a speaker has before this happens. With the power of a dedicated amplifier, a good speaker will produce a strong audio signal at a recording’s average volume but will have plenty more decibel range to draw upon when volume levels within the recording increase. What this ultimately means, is that with the right amount of headroom, you should clearly be able to hear the quiet parts of a recording, but also enjoy clarity in the loud parts, without distorting or overwhelming you.

Power subwoofers

Where a car amplifier can really affect sound quality the most is by creating more bass. The longer waves of low frequencies require a lot more energy input than higher pitches, which is why low-quality stereos rarely offer bass response below 40 or 50Hz. Meanwhile, humans can hear and feel bass response down to 20Hz.

Hearing lower frequencies doesn’t always require a dedicated subwoofer, but it usually requires a dedicated amplifier channel that reserves energy for bass. Otherwise, all the power is used up by mid and high level frequencies, and there’s not enough juice left over to give low frequencies the volume they deserve. To properly operate a dedicated sub channel, you need a dedicated amp channel, and that’s something you’ll rarely find in an in-dash receiver, especially one that comes standard with a vehicle.

Contact Car Audio City in San Diego to discuss amplifier options

There are several ways a car amplifier can affect sound quality, and depending on your car’s audio system, there are several amplifier options that will help. Contact Car Audio City in National City, San Diego at [phone] to pick out the right car amplifier for your ride.

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Can You Track Your Car if It's Stolen?

What can you do if your car is stolen? Most of the answers to this question aren’t good. You can, and should, file a police report. You will also want to give notice to your car insurance company. Next, you will likely wind up spending money on alternative transportation until you can replace your ride. 

But what if you can track your car when it’s stolen? Short answer: you can.

GPS Device for tracking

Finding a stolen car used to be all but a lost cause. Despite all the aforementioned headaches and paperwork, police could not likely allocate the resources needed to recover it, and would probably struggle to find leads if they could. A car owner would have to file a stolen car report, then wait. And wait. And hope their car insurance acted fast, and hope their policy carried a low deductible.

But the 21st century offers a more appealing alternative, provided you have installed a GPS tracker in your car. A GPS Device for tracking can lead you, and law enforcement, directly to your stolen automobile. It won’t get you out of filing a police report, but it will greatly increase the odds you’ll get your vehicle back, fully intact, and ready to ride again.

How do GPS tracking devices work?

Just like their names suggest, GPS devices work with the network of satellites making up the Global Positioning System. A GPS device sending and receiving signals from these satellites can be located virtually anywhere in the world to precise geographic coordinates, usually within fifteen feet! 

Hidden within the inner structure of your vehicle, a GPS tracking device may be located after the car is stolen, enabling law enforcement to track the vehicle and its movements in real time! Better yet, unlike the previous iteration of car tracking devices, such as LoJack, the police won’t need to devote extra resources to triangulate the stolen car’s signal. Technology does most of the work.

Can you track your own car if it’s been stolen?

Right now, the best technology for tracking your car is called LowStar. Not only does this GPS tracking device allow law enforcement to accurately locate your vehicle, it can let you track the car yourself with your smartphone! 

LowStar works intuitively, revealing the vehicle’s location on a map, and continuously updating its movements. You will still want to contact law enforcement, and still need to make a stolen vehicle report, but with this newer technology in your pocket, you’ll be able to specifically let the police know where your ride is, and where it’s going. Doing so will significantly speed up the recovery and return of your car, mitigating your need for alternative transportation, and in many cases letting you avoid that whole deductible question altogether.

Car Audio City offers the best GPS Tracking & Car Security in San Diego

Combined with a smart car alarm system, a GPS tracker can make your vehicle virtually theft-proof. Contact us today to find out more about protecting your investment! Give us a call today at [phone] to get a free estimate on LowStar GPS Tracking and installation.

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What is the Difference Between a Car Stereo and a Receiver?

As drivers, most of us only tend to see one part of a car audio system: the part with all the screens, knobs, and buttons. Obviously, there’s a lot more going on behind the dashboard, even more than the terminology suggests. When you are shopping for car audio installation, helps to know the names of everything, starting with the difference between a car stereo and a receiver.

But first, what is the head unit?

The head unit is that part of the car stereo you see from the driver’s seat, with all the knobs and buttons. When the first radio tuners were installed in cars back in the 1930s, there was no reason to call them anything other than car radios. But over time, new ways to listen to music came out: first cassettes, then CD players, and all the way up to the current day, when smart phone compatible touch screens are the norm. While most head units still feature radio tuners, calling the audio and video technology in your dash “car radios” would be decades out of date.

What is a car stereo?

One early advance in car radio technology still gives us a term we use today: the car stereo. Short for stereophonic, “stereo” refers to sound coming from two speaker channels (or more than two, as we see nowadays in more advanced car audio systems). Even just two distinct speaker channels, left and right, can make an audio recording sound closer to live performance, by making it sound like individual instruments are different positions in the room.

This means for a car stereo to work, there has to be at least two amplified speakers in the car. So, the term car stereo refers not just to the head unit or radio, but also the speakers, as well as the amplifiers powering them. In other words, your car stereo is your entire car audio system.

What is a receiver?

Meanwhile, if head unit has become the generic term for what you see in your dash, whether it’s a touch screen or less sophisticated media player, what is a receiver? The distinction here is that a receiver includes a built-in amplifier to power the speakers. Combining the head unit and amp simplifies the channel outputs, and lets the head unit centralize control of all its media sources.

Put more simply, a car receiver is a component of a car strereo, which may be connected to a speaker array to provide stereo sound. When looking to install new, after market car audio and video, the quality of the receiver is the first place to start. Speaker upgrades and supplemental amps can come later.

Quality receivers and whole car stereo installation available in National City

At Car Audio City, we’ll help you identify the components and technology to upgrade your car stereo system. Contact us today, and the road will never sound the same. Get in touch today at [phone].

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DIY Car Window Tint Vs Professional

In San Diego, car window tint is a no brainer. Window tint isn’t just stylish, it improves quality of life and preserves the resale value of your vehicle. By installing a quality window tint, you’ll better manage your car’s internal temperature, reduce glare, and keep your interiors from being bleached by the sun. The only real question is whether you install car window tint yourself, or seek out the help of an experienced professional.

When considering DIY car window tint vs. professional installation, here is what you need to consider:

Convenience

Applying window tint isn’t rocket science, but it is considerably more difficult than, say, applying a bumper sticker. A first-time window tint installer can expect an hours long project, with plenty of potentially frustrating moments, presuming you even have the right tools for the job. Meanwhile, hiring a trusted professional installer ensures a quality installation, without the headache!

Quality

Speaking of quality, a professionally installed car window tint will be smooth and error free. An inexperienced installer runs the risk of uneven application, leading to rough looking angles or even bubbles. A single speck of dust can cause bubbles, and while pre-cut kits might ensure your DIY car window tint is the correct size and shape for your vehicle, achieving a steady, even application is a skill that takes practice. Half the point of car window tint is that it looks great! Shoddy results will look worse than no tint at all.

Legality

How to physically install tinted film isn’t the only concern when it comes to DIY car window tint vs. professional installation. You must also be sure your window tint is legal. California has laws delineating how dark car window tint can be, depending on which part of the car — for example, the windshield — is covered. A professional car window tint installer will know the regulations well, and will be able to guide you to the correct level of tint from a reliable window film brand. A DIY installer may wind up successfully installing the film, only to get a ticket and be forced to remove it soon after.

Cost

There’s no question a DIY car window tint installation can be done at lower cost than enlisting the services of a professional. However, that’s only the case when you successfully install your window film on the first try. Once you tally up the cost of tools and hours spent creating a clean enough workspace to install your car window film, the true costs will be closer than you think. Crucially, the difference in price will be negated if you improperly apply your window film, then have to remove it and start over. A professional installer will net you guaranteed results!

Consult the Pros for window tinting at Car Audio City

Located in National City, Car Audio City is staffed by experienced, professional car window tint installers. We know which tinted window film is most presentable, legal, and certain to protect your car’s value. Contact us today for a quote, and save yourself the hassle of a DIY car window tint installation!