A good stereo is one of the most crucial parts of any car. It enhances the sound quality and adds up to a pleasant driving experience. If you also enjoy good music for your daily rides, then having decent speakers for your car’s head unit is the missed puzzle.
If you’re wondering whether to match the speakers to the head unit, then this article is for you. We’ll talk about why you should purchase a speaker, the technical aspects before buying them, and how to match them with your stereo.
Why Do You Need A Speaker?
Speakers enhance the quality and add up to the listener’s experience by a notch. If your old speakers are damaged, you will need a new speaker/subwoofer.
A speaker for your stereo is required for several other reasons, too.
- Set the compatibility between the speakers and central unit.
- The pairing of the head unit with speakers delivers a higher frequency level giving better results.
- One of the most important outcomes of this compatibility is the better sound quality which is a boon for music lovers.
If you’re going forward with purchasing the speakers, then battery, power, and some other technical requirements should be kept in mind. Let us discuss them further.
What Are The Considerations For Purchasing A Matching Speaker?
Choosing the right speaker comes with many technical aspects, but you shouldn’t worry because we will make it all a cakewalk for you. You should consider the following requirements before setting everything:
- The speaker’s material, sound, and size- You have to make sure the speaker is made of good quality material and is suitable with the head unit.
- Resistance capacity-The head units have the capability of handling decent current output. However, you should always pay a thorough check before purchasing.
- Amplifier exceeding its power limit- You should test the amplifiers before purchasing them because if they generate more power than the speaker, it will damage the speakers.
- Wattage- The power or wattage of the speakers and the stereo should be the same for the best experience in terms of sound quality and user experience.
- Connectors and cables- You need to make sure you’re purchasing the right set of connector cables to attach the speaker with the head unit.
How Can I Choose My Ideal Speaker?
Now that you have an idea of the basic requirements to consider before buying a speaker, we should move further to the variety of car speakers. Every speaker has its share of pros and cons. Let us dive into the types of speakers you can choose-
1. Component speakers
These are the best customizable speakers in the market, and you can install them at any location in your car. Component speakers are not just highly customizable, but they’re also known for best build and sound quality.
Cons–
- Expensive
- Quite a tricky installation process
- Need external crossovers and amplifier
Types of component speakers are-
- Subwoofer
- Midrange
- Tweeters
- Super tweeters
2. Coaxial speakers
Unlike component speakers, coaxial speakers are easy to install and affordable. Most of the cars come with a coaxial setup these days. They are also available for band configuration of transferring signals to different parts.
Cons-
- Build material is of cheap quality
- Sound quality is not as good as component speakers
- Not many customization options are available
Types of coaxial speakers available for use-
- 2-band coaxial speakers
- 3-band coaxial speakers
- 4-band coaxial speakers
Based on your taste in music and budget, of course, you can choose your ideal speaker from the list mentioned above.
What Should Be The Minimum Rms Value Of My Speaker?
A head unit can be low-powered or high-powered. Power handling capacity or watts (RMS) is crucial while matching a speaker to the head unit because speakers are designed to handle a certain quantity of power. RMS value of the speaker is decided based on the head unit.
However, the speaker’s RMS should be close or equal to the RMS of the head unit. Doing so is necessary to prevent distortion of the stereo. Even though the power depends on your preference, each channel can have a power capacity ranging from 50-100 watts.
Since factory stereos come with around 15-watt power, overall, about 180 watts is enough for better sound quality. It can exceed the limit to 300 watts in the case of the aftermarket stereo.
What About The Head Unit?
Since we’re talking about pairing the speakers to a head unit, we should clearly understand its requirements. It is useless to buy a speaker that doesn’t match the power handling capacity of the head unit.
If you’re choosing a speaker for a factory unit, then the speaker should be of higher efficiency instead of power. The same is the case if you’re updating your stereo system with an aftermarket unit. According to the stats, the following should be the considerations-
- If you owe a low-powered head unit of around 15-20 watts, the speaker should be 90db and 15 watts RMS.
- If you’re going for a high-powered head unit of about 100 watts, the matching speakers should be of the same power RMS.
Nonetheless, all the above technical aspects depend on your expectations from your speaker.
Conclusion
Matching speakers to your car’s head unit is not that tricky once you’ve paid attention to all the pivotal points mentioned above. Requirements differ based on speakers and their power, impedance, price, and head unit type installed.
When choosing an ideal speaker, you should ensure its power handling capacity and sensitivity are similar to stereo units. Also, the wattage of stereo shouldn’t exceed the limit of speakers to avoid any damage. So, you see, both the speaker and head unit go side by side and are an integral part of your car’s audio system.
Having a clear view of the material, power, and types of speakers determines your ideal speakers and the audio output you want. Why not get started? Follow the list and match the speaker accordingly.
