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What brands are good quality in 2025?

reddit.com › r › CarAV › comments › 1k7hk2h › what_brands_are_good_quality_in_2025

I’ve been out for a while too so can’t really recommend brands but from what I’ve come across, JBL/Infinity have still best value for the money. I had very poor experience with Kicker - if was a mid woofer for front doors - money down the drain! But if you want to go higher quality, there’re even better and more expensive speakers brands. Morel is one of them. And last but most important points - Receiver/Head Unit is highly integrated into car now - Bluetooth, reverse camera, steering wheel controls etc. and changing that is a highly complicated task. There’s new tech - DSP (Digital Signal Processing) in car AV world if you haven’t heard about it. It the same tech as calibration and equalization that most home audio receivers have. It does wonders. If you’re not familiar with it, I’d highly recommend you look into it too. Answer from Raj_DTO on reddit.com

reddit.com › r/carav › what is the best brand of speakers

r/CarAV on Reddit: What is the best brand of speakers

January 26, 2025 -

I am looking for speakers for my car varies sizes price range is around $1000 per pair and what sub should I go with

what recommendations

Ask 100 different people and you'll get at least 50 different answers. The first question I always ask when people are looking for suggestions on equipment is this: what's your budget? If money is no object, then you're going to get different answers than if you're only looking to spend $300 or less. Lots of subjectivity in car audio.

There are a lot of great brands, basic through exotic. Morel, Hertz, Audiofrog, Focal, etc... If I were to recommend any brand: Audiofrog Why? The owner/founder is one of the best guys in the business. He worked for Harmon/JBL before going out on his own. He's been very active on the car audio forums, helping everyone with their systems, regardless of brand, cost, etc... I bought JBL amps and the MS-8 processor based on his reputation alone. (Awesome gear!) The Audiofrog website and Facebook page is helpful, and they don't allow anyone to talk trash about other brands as a matter of respect... which I think is fantastic. I heard some AF speakers at a local audio shop and was very impressed. I've been trying to figure out how to integrate them into a couple of builds I have going on... more on that later in another post. Just my humble two cents, from a guy that has been in car audio for nearly 40 years and worked in the industry in the 90's. Good luck with whatever you decide to buy!

reddit.com › r/carav › what brands are good quality in 2025?

r/CarAV on Reddit: What brands are good quality in 2025?

April 25, 2025 -

Been out of the car audio game for 25 years and there seems to have been some changes. I think one major difficulty is that in the past different companies catered to different budgets so if you got Pioneer speakers you knew you were getting good quality and if you got JVC you knew you were getting something a bit ghetto.

Used to be a bit like this:

Receivers - Alpine>pioneer>sony>kenwwod>jvc>clarion

Speakers - about the same except but sony "explode"? was a budget option and infinity and JBL were good. I think hertz was around but was a budget offering.

Subs - JL was high end. MTX and JBL were pretty good.

Kenwood was a budget offering but that seems to have changed. Has anyone noticed any sound quality differences in Receivers from different companies?

As an old head who got back in to car AV about 5 years ago, welcome to the post-Golden Age of car audio. Tech pretty much peaked 20 years ago. Decent factory car audio and tablet dashboards all but killed the aftermarket car stereo scene. Some brands died, some got bought out by the Chinese, some only do marine audio now and some are trying to make a comeback. European brands are big thing now. Receivers: Probably the saddest category. As far as the big Japanese brands go, they’re all pretty much equal in quality, they’re distinguished now by minute features and old school brand recognition. They’re all pretty boring compared to the old school decks. No spectrum analyzers anymore 😭. None of them are really better than the other as it used to be. They’re all still vastly superior to the cheap Chinese units. Speakers: This is a tough one because there are sooo many speaker brands out there with each having their budget to audiophile models. This sub, naturally, has a bias towards the top dog brands such as JL Audio and Focal, but there’s a plethora of budget brands like Skar and CT Sounds which make great speakers. Some of the old school brands like Cerwin-Vega are making a comeback. I just finished my Jeep with their coaxials and components and they sound fantastic and were budget friendly. All your big Japanese brands still make decent speakers. I remember when Infinity and MB Quart were the top dogs. Infinity is mid tier now(but still fantastic) and MB Quart was bought by a Chinese conglomerate and now they’re cheapos. Subs: This has changed a lot and stayed the same in many ways, not much different than the speaker category. JL Audio is still top dog for SQ and Sundown is the big name in SPL. Kicker, Rockford Fosgate and MTX are still popular for normies, but there’s been a recent explosion of high quality budget subwoofers that have gotten popular over the past few years. I run a CT Sounds 10” I bought for $80 that would run over any $500 10” from 25 years ago. You didn’t mention it, but amplifiers are easily the biggest change, especially very recently. You can get decent quality monoblock amps with 3000 watts RMS for under $200 these days. You’ll get scoffed at by the a’philes, but with research you can find some quality noname gems. Amps are a lot smaller too now that most are D class. Is the game better? Not really, but it’s vastly cheaper if you want it to be. I went with a budget of $1000 to completely redo the system in my Jeep and it absolutely slaps. This same system would have cost me $3000+ 25 years ago.

I’ve been out for a while too so can’t really recommend brands but from what I’ve come across, JBL/Infinity have still best value for the money. I had very poor experience with Kicker - if was a mid woofer for front doors - money down the drain! But if you want to go higher quality, there’re even better and more expensive speakers brands. Morel is one of them. And last but most important points - Receiver/Head Unit is highly integrated into car now - Bluetooth, reverse camera, steering wheel controls etc. and changing that is a highly complicated task. There’s new tech - DSP (Digital Signal Processing) in car AV world if you haven’t heard about it. It the same tech as calibration and equalization that most home audio receivers have. It does wonders. If you’re not familiar with it, I’d highly recommend you look into it too.

reddit.com › r/askcarguys › what are the best car speakers?

r/askcarguys on Reddit: What are the best car speakers?

December 25, 2024 -

I'm getting my girlfriend car speakers for her 2017 elantra. She likes a lot of music but mainly psychedelic music. I've heard that JBL speakers are one of the best or the best.

Go on crutchfield, punch in the car info to get correct sizes, filter by budget and sort by reviews. You can't just say everything from X brand is the best. Sticking with brand names is a good start, lots of junk car audio out there.

If you don't get an answer here, I'd suggest asking r/audiophile but be ready to dish out some dough.

reddit.com › r/budgetaudiophile › best sound system i've ever heard in a car. wow.

r/BudgetAudiophile on Reddit: Best sound system I've ever heard in a car. Wow.

May 8, 2025 -

Thought I would make an appreciation post for the best factory sound system I have ever heard in a vehicle, ever.

I recently bought a used Volvo S90, and immediately fell in love with it, and especially it's sound system. For some reason, Volvo decided to go completely over the top on their flagship trim levels, and partnered with Bowers & Wilkins.

This system is equipped with the following:

• 7x 25mm aluminum Nautilus tweeters • 7x 100mm (front) 80mm (rear) Kevlar midrange speakers • 4 165mm carbon woofers • 1x 250mm frame-mounted subwoofer • 1x 12-channel, 1400 watt Class D amplifier • 19 total speakers

In addition, it comes with 3 different sound modes, with adjustable intensity and envelopment for the surround sound modes, as well as a Concert Hall mode. That particular mode only works well with certain genres of music, but it's still very cool nonetheless.

That, combined with a 9-band equalizer, results in outstanding sound quality, which is immensely difficult with an acoustic setting such as a car. I'm very impressed. I've included some pictures of the speakers themselves. Anyways, go Volvo, and ESPECIALLY go Bowers & Wilkins!

Edit: not sure why it won't allow me to post more than one picture, but oh well. If I'm doing something wrong, let me know!

The B&W systems found in Volvos are some of the best OEM sound systems found in cars outside some crazy expensive Mercedes with their Burmester Audiosysteme speakers. Only the Top trim for most Volvos have the BMW system and even then its an additional $3000 to option it, IMO its well worth it. From My understanding the only other OEM systems that come close/comparable to the B&W found in the Volvos are the Mcintosh systems found in Grand Cherokee/Wagoneers and the Full spec Revel systems found in Lincolns.

Volvo is generally well regarded for its premium audio systems, so this isn't surprising. But, I'd hardly call it budget. Acura's ELS systems are also wonderful. First OEM car audio system I owned that I felt no desire to upgrade.

reddit.com › r/carav › what are the best car speakers? wanting high quality highs and lows.

What are the best car speakers? Wanting high quality highs and lows. : r/CarAV

September 5, 2022 - Best way to go about this for DIY, is Crutchfield. See what fits the vehicle. Then your needs and budget. You will need some sound deadening for the doors. You really want to consider an amp for the front. The other way to do this. Take the vehicle and 1k dollars to a local shop and have them deal with it. ... Considering you live in the birthplace of multiple car audio brands and are on a car audio Reddit forum you might take some advice some of us old fools who have done this a long time….

reddit.com › r/carav › which brands are best right now for car speakers ?

r/CarAV on Reddit: Which brands are best right now for car speakers ?

April 19, 2022 -

hey guys,

I will be changing my car speakers in Dodge Challenger and I was thinking about Infinity, Pioneer, JL Audio, Polk Audio or Kicker ones. How are they in comparison with, for example Phoenix Gold, Morel ?

Which brands do you recommend ?

car: Dodge Challenger 2012 SXT 3.6 V6

radio: Pioneer avh-210ex (probably it will need additional amplifier)

budget: $150 - $250 - I will need 6x9 for front door (probably near $250 cap) and 6.5 for rear (probably near $150)

music: electronic (deep house (with vocals), psy-trance, techno), rock, maybe a little country

most important for me: clearness with vocal and bass

What you are asking is essentially for us to tell you what the most beautiful work of art is. What is your preference? Do you prefer a warm sound? Brighter? Do you have a sub? What is your budget? Head Unit...Amps...Dacs? Just FYI...there are multiple levels of speakers for most of those brands. And that all depends on if you even want to stay in these brands. I strongly suggest that you go out to some shops and listen to some speakers.

Just comparing the brands you listed, Morel will destroy the Pioneer/Infinity/Polk/Kicker/Phoenix Gold speakers. JL is comparable. Are you after a sound quality type of setup or do you just want it loud as you can get? Morels Tempo Ultra 602 have proven the test of time @ $300 for a coaxial set and $440 for a component set. The problem, only 120w RMS power handling, small voice coils so you can't send 200w or so RMS to them without narrowing your bandpass. If you just want to get loud, PRV has their 69MR500-4, a mid range bullet 500w RMS loudspeaker. SQ speakers won't be able to keep up at all with this, and it's cheap too, $64/ea. It's just not going to be a full sounding warm and rich tone without building up your midbass, but it'll be FUCKING loud. Pair that with some $50 150w RMS bullet tweeters and your mids and highs will be heard blocks away. If you want SQ out of the brands you listed go with morel IMO, dollar for dollar a hair better than JL and better than everything else on the list. If you are going for SPL, I wouldn't go with any of those brands besides pioneer for budget performance (people shit on pioneer but their mids and bullet tweeters are built like tanks) I highly advice you check this video out as well as this guy's channel as hell give you examples and side by side comparisons of how each popular speaker sounds, put on a nice pair of headphones or bookshelf speakers and listen to the video and see which tone you like best out of the available ones. You can EQ any speaker obviously, but that tone they come out of the box with will always set the baseline of sound to tune from. https://youtu.be/vzQ0drHkojE Also, the other guy commenting has valid questions that need to be answered as well. For example how much power at what ohm you'll be sending your speakers (which amp)

reddit.com › r/carav › which cars come with the best stock sound systems?

r/CarAV on Reddit: Which cars come with the best stock sound systems?

October 18, 2024 -

I've got around 40k to spend on a medium sized SUV to tow my bikes/boat around and am a sucker for a good sound system. What in your experience has impressed you the most in a stock car sound system?

A 37k suv with a 3k sound system

Buy the car you want and then upgrade the stereo. You will be much happier.

reddit.com › r/whatcarshouldibuy › who has the best standard audio?

r/whatcarshouldIbuy on Reddit: Who has the best standard audio?

July 12, 2024 -

I am a bit of an audiophile, but I'm trying to avoid unnecessarily high payments just to get a premium audio system.

So, who has the best and who has the worst stock audio in their vehicles?

Looking at 2020 or newer vehicles.

YouTube channel called [daily motor] he does sound system ratings and tests

volvo. the HK is good, but the bowers and wilkins is one of the best systems in any car at any price until you get to Bentley's Naim systems. there are alot of bad systems on the market... i'd say the base bmw systems are some of the worst, even their HK systems are pretty lackluster. Although the brand new cars like the i4, iX, and i7 seem to have rectified that.

reddit.com › r/carav › best speakers to play loud music in the car?

r/CarAV on Reddit: best speakers to play loud music in the car?

October 15, 2024 -

I’m 16 and just got my first car. it’s a toyota venza 2013, and i really love music. my dad said I can just buy different speakers and install them instead of the ones they come with. I wanna be able to blast music as loud as possible, and not worry about blowing the speakers. i basically know nothing about cars, so i thought i’d come on here to ask for a good set of speakers i could install.

edit: i’m basically looking for the easiest way to be able to play music louder. my budget is no more than $300 but im hoping to spend less than $200

so problem is your stock head unit only puts out so much power and honestly for blasting music super loud without blowing anything i would hook good aftermarket speakers to a good aftermarket amp and tune everything to how loud you want, in the rms range of course.

If you don't know much about car audio, this might become abit complicated so I would ask around if someone can help you or pay a professional. To play loud, you will need an extra amplifier, it needs to get power from the car battery and be connected to the audio player in the car. The cheapest upgrade you can do is a subwoofer, it will drastically improve sound and most people don't need to upgrade their front speakers because the weight added by a proper subwoofer makes the sound system powerful enough even with original door speakers. When it comes to choosing a subwoofer, bigger is better in your case since you want it loud. Unless you want to upgrade the dynamo and cables by the engine, you should look for large sized subwoofers with low power rating. The reason is that low power rating means lighter cone and suspension which result in higher output pee watt. If you buy a monster 4000w dual 12" subwoofer it won't stand a chance against a 800w dual 15" subwoofer if all your car can deliver is aroind 1000w of power.

Find elsewhere

Google Bing Mojeek

reddit.com › r/carav › best speaker for sound quality

r/CarAV on Reddit: Best speaker for sound quality

March 15, 2022 -

I would like to have your views on the list of car speakers which you think gives the best sound quality. you may give the top 5. from my side, its infinity kappa, hertz, focal, deaf bonce and pioneer.

what's yours??

"the usual problem with glasses and headphones is the clamp pressing the arms into the side of your head. the retekess ta005 is easier to live with because the cups are roomy and the stock pads are soft enough that the pressure spreads out instead of digging in. it makes longer tv sessions a lot less annoying. if you still find the stock pads not cutting it, a lot of folks swap to yaxi pads. they're softer and sit better against glasses, so you don't get those sore spots after an hour or two. between the bigger cups and a pad upgrade, you should be able to wear them comfortably without having to constantly adjust your glasses. "

What’s your budget looking like? It’ll help narrow down some options becs what counts as the best at $50 vs $150 is totally different. Also make sure you check out local retailers or online shops, amazon often has discounts. But I’d suggest avoiding the really cheap stuff tho, those start having sound or connectivity problems after a few months. I'm going to link a list with a few good options you can look at, see what fits your budget and what doesn't.

reddit.com › r/carav › what brand is best for car audio

r/CarAV on Reddit: What brand is best for car audio

June 13, 2023 -

Hi, I am installing a new sound system in my car as it had some janky wiring from the previous owner. In terms of new wiring I have already run power and phonos to the trunk for an amp, and wire from the to be amp to the doors for speakers. I am at a debate on what speakers to run alongside an amp as I have been told that pioneer will blow with an amp. I will also be installing a subwoofer and tweeters. Thanks

there really is no "best brand" for car audio. Just gotta explore your options and come up with a budget. Also knowing what your end goal is with your system is good to know (do you want it to be as loud as possible vs sounding as good as possible vs a mix of both)

Pioneer will not blow with an amp. They would not be my pick for other reasons though. There is no best brand for car audio. It is all subjective. I would suggest getting out to some car audio shops and demoing as much as you can to determine what you like. I would avoid Boss, Planet Audio, Dual, etc.

reddit.com › r/carav › looking for best car speakers

r/CarAV on Reddit: Looking for best car speakers

May 7, 2021 -

So we just bought a Honda CR-V Touring 2021 and don't get me wrong, even though the car already has a good sound system, I've always been a fan of quality music and my dad used to have a car with Bose speakers and OMG it made me love music even more, especially when I'm driving. Soooo we're trying to update it with better speakers.

I'm the type of person that really enjoys good loud music when I'm driving. So I need a little help here. What are your recommendations or what do you think between Bose or Harman Kardon? Or better ones?

ALSO, my husband enjoys when the bass is great so keep that in mind 🥺

An actual "upgrade" isn't going to be a simple as swapping speakers. OE car audio is significantly more integrated now than it ever was and is really ment to work together as a package making replacing a single component like a speaker more complicated than it was in the past. Even base model stereos on new vehicles now a days have baked in tunes and processing that ideally is ment to get the most out of the factory components and at the least is trying to protect them so you don't blow them up. The way it's done means the user has no control over it and it's designed to work only with the factory speakers. This makes almost all speaker swaps a side move if not a down grade. You say you want "better", louder, and more bass. That's ultimately going to be a whole system, not just speakers. Ideally you'd want a DSP (digital signal processor) that would allow you to interface with the factory signal and control it and correct for some of the baked in factory settings. From there you'd go into an aftermarket amp that will allow you more power for louder audio as well as some better dynamic range on lower volumes. You'd also very likely want a separate amp and subwoofer as thats ultimately where the bass is going to come from. Factory systems without a subwoofer use all of their tuning and trickery to use midbass to fake actual bass but if you want actual bass there's no replacement for a sub. And finally you'd be looking at speakers. That tends to be a very subjective part of the set up. There's really as many ways to approach that part as there are brands to choose from. So all in thats a rather expensive and total overhaul of the system. That said, there are many different ways to approach a system like that and compromises that can be made depending on your ultimate goals and expectations. As an example, a product like the kicker key can take the place of a DSP and an amp. Its a small form factor amp itself that has some rudimentary sound processing and correction built in. It isn't as capable or as loud as going a more traditional separate device route, but its cheaper and easier. Other slightly more capable and powerful options exist as well, but again they are compromising to achieve what they are. Along those same lines, instead of using a traditional amp and sub a small form factor powered sub could be used. The amp is built right into the speaker enclosure so it's all one unit and they take up significantly less space. They don't get as loud, as low, and they don't offer the flexibility of upgrading or replacing one single part of it, but aging they are cheaper and somewhat easier while still offering some added lows. Thats the compromise part of it that I mentioned. There's even a powerd sub by alpine that has their version of a kicker key built into it so its an "all in one" solution.

You won’t improve the sound by just changing the speakers. You’ll need to add an amp and if you really want great sound then some sort of processing. If the husband likes bass you’ll need some sort of a sub as well. It sounds overwhelming but if listening to music as you drive is your favorite thing in the world like it is mine, it’s well worth it. Start by visiting a local shop and listening to speakers, looking at prices. You won’t find Bose or Harman Kardan there and that’s ok, they mainly produce whole systems anymore. They also pale in comparison sound quality wise to what you can build yourself.

reddit.com › r/carav › car speaker brands?

r/CarAV on Reddit: Car Speaker Brands?

December 19, 2022 -

I went to a store to listen, and from hearing them in people's cars, I noticed that Sony, JBL, and Pioneer all sound like a crackly overly-high dumpster fire. Only good ones I heard that were nice and clean/balanced soundstage wise we're the Kicker door speakers. Any other brands comparable to or better than Kickers?

Morel, Kenwood Excelon, Focal, Rockford Fosgate, Hertz/Audison, Audiofrog. Only use component speakers up front for better soundstage, not coaxials.

Focal..... nothing else is needed

reddit.com › r/cars › anyone have a preference for what car brand has the best audio system?

r/cars on Reddit: Anyone have a preference for what car brand has the best audio system?

March 27, 2020 -

Use to work at a dealership. Driven plenty of cars from Honda’s and Toyota’s to audis and porsches.

From what I’ve heard, Honda probably has the best sound system in terms of the treble and bass boost.

I drove a premium packaged Audi Q7 2019. The bass was heavily lacking even though it was boosted.

Porsche 911 2016 S had sound that was slightly below the Honda sound system but didn’t seem like you were getting your money’s worth.

Toyota’s sound system was just not the best. And I drove a 2019 mustang GT that had only SLIGHTLY better sound.

I personally think the first generation Acura TSXs have the best sound in terms of bass boost and treble.

Savagegeese has talked a lot about sound systems in cars in his videos, and sometimes goes in depth. From my recollection after watching most of his videos, Volvo seem to have the best sounds systems currently available.

Bowers & Wilkins in Volvos. Mark Levinson in Lexus & Burmeister in Mercedes.

reddit.com › r/cars › best car audio speakers?

r/cars on Reddit: Best car audio speakers?

May 8, 2016 -

Hello all,

Im looking to put new speakers in my 2005 pontiac g6 gt. Price isnt really a concern. I enjoy listening to bass music. Anyone have any brand suggestions? I believe the front speakers are 6 3/4 and the back speakers are 6×9. Thanks!

I would go to Crutchfield and get a good brand like JBL, Infinity, or Pioneer. Something with good customer reviews. Maybe get a sub if you find the bass lacking. Dynamat (or any sound deadening) will also help a lot.

But...I wouldn’t spend more than $400 on this, honestly. A lot of the detail you gain with high-end speakers will be lost with road and tire noise. Better to get a decent system for your car and save money for a great system at home, where you can really appreciate it. This will also reduce your risk if your car is stolen or totaled.

There is a lot that goes into the word "best" when it comes to car audio.

It's all about power.

A set of crappy speakers being pushed by a solid amp. will sound a lot better than a set of great speakers running off the head unit.

Start with what is going to be pushing the speakers, head unit (factory or A/M), an amp. etc.

reddit.com › r/carav › overall best brand

r/CarAV on Reddit: Overall Best Brand

December 9, 2024 -

What do you all think the best brand in the car audio space is?

Whether it’s speakers, subs, head units, or even sound proofing. I’m just curious what brands stand out over their competitors.

For a company that offers pretty much everything, Audiotec Fischer cannot be beaten. Processors, amps, speakers, subs, etc. If I HAD to do a full system with one companys product, it would be theirs (all Brax product). That said, their speakers are their limiting factor. Theyre good, but nothing insane. Companies that offer the best in a specific category, in my experience.... Speakers: Accuton Automotive. Processing: Audiotec Fischer Amps: Micro Precision Sound Treatment: ResoNix Sound Solutions (with the data to back it) Subwoofers: Acoustic Elegance Shallow subwoofers: Illusion Audio (no longer made :( )

ARC Audio Audiotec Fisher

reddit.com › r/cars › whats the essential thing to buy for better car speaker audio?

r/cars on Reddit: Whats the essential thing to buy for better car speaker audio?

July 21, 2022 -

I have a Renault Clio Mk3 and i want to improve my sound system because the stock speakers suck - they distort a lot at high volume and just don’t have a great audio quality overall except for the bass which is acceptable.

The first thing that came to my mind was just buying coaxial speakers (2 for the front, ill leave the stock ones in the back). When i look through forums tho, many people recommend updating your radio system or amplifier first. Some others even recommend leaving the stock speakers and buying a subwoofer, but i don’t see any possibility building a subwoofer into my car.

I just want good sound quality especially at higher volumes and i don’t want to spend more than 100$ - it shouldnt be the killer setup, just something i can enjoy.

What would you recommend buying?

People in this thread are recommending things you probably don't need and giving out prices that are really all over the place. If you're speakers sound like crap at higher volume it's almost certainly because they're old and cracked/blown. Factory speakers use paper cones that wear out relatively quickly over time. Buy a cheap pair of aftermarket speakers, a pair of kenwood, pioneer, alpine or rockford fosgate will be fine. Get the correct mounting bracket and wiring harness and install them yourself for free. It's not going to be some beautiful sounding system but it's almost certainly going to fix your problem.

You're not going to gain any meaningful improvement with only $100. Audio is the weakest link in the chain. You can put bangin speakers in, but if they're driven by a shit head unit and a shit amp, it won't be much different than what was already in there. Everything needs to be up to the same spec for it to all work nicely together.

reddit.com › r/carav › clearest sounding speakers

r/CarAV on Reddit: Clearest Sounding Speakers

June 22, 2024 -

My budget is under $1000, but after driving a lot of rental cars for work, I realize it's not just the ability for speakers to get loud without distortion, or even tone. The EQ can also not fix everything. There's certain instruments in a few songs that some speakers seem to be fairly silent, and yet they are fine on headphones, so they are mastered well.

What are some top speaker brands that retain clarity but also retain instrument separation?

What do you drive because where the speakers are located can make a huge difference

clearest sounding speakers are the ones that are mounted rock solid in good locations and are processed with a capable dsp

reddit.com › r/carav › car audio brands

r/CarAV on Reddit: Car audio brands

February 21, 2023 -

I have been installing speakers in subs in all of the cars I have owned but it has always been just random “junk” speakers that I have found or bought but now that I have some cash on me I was wonder what the difference is between these brands like kicker ,sundown ,jl, rf,pioneer Memphis and so on I always hear that jl is really good for quality but I want to the about the other brands as well and what they are good or known for

Best thing to do is find a local shop and listen to a bunch of different brands. Some brands are more “sound quality” focused, some are more “SPL” focused (as in, they get crazy loud to keep up with extreme bass). JL is always a dependable choice. Morel is a nice brand if you want a fairly flat response. Focal usually does a nice job with midrange but the tweeters can sound really bright sometimes. Sundown is a solid brand but more on the SPL side of things. You might also check out Infinity, JBL, Hertz, CDT, and Polk. Pioneer is decent, but stick to their higher end lines. Pioneer and Kenwood make a lot of entry level audio products that are decent, but not what I’d go for if I was looking for something nicer.

It just depends on what you want. There's plenty of good brands and all of them excel at different things. For instance JL, focal Polk and morel tend to be some of the best at making midrange/component speakers for sound quality. Meanwhile rockford fosgate makes some of the best amplifiers in the business at every price point. Your best bet is to do some research into what components you want, then don't be afraid to mix and match brands across components. It's perfectly OK to have 1 brand of speakers you like, paired with a different brand for amplifiers and then a 3rd brand for subwoofers

reddit.com › r/carav › what brands are good for mid-budget car audio?

r/CarAV on Reddit: What brands are good for mid-budget car audio?

November 1, 2024 -

There are probably some socially-well-known good brands for stuff like DSPs, speakers, and amps in the mid-budget range; what are they?

Regarding DSPs and general car-audio electronics specifically: is AudioControl bad? I see it sponsoring a lot of YouTubers who demonstrate its products in a positive light, but there are also people in this community who say “avoid AudioControl”.

I think there are a lot of great mid tier brands out there. One audio, illusion audio, CDT audio, Stevens audio, hybrid audio, audiofrog (GS series) all come to mind. DSP-wise, the Internet consensus is to just buy once cry once with an audiotec-fisher brand (usually Helix), used they are still expensive but not terrible. I run a Dayton which everyone online says is junk but it works pretty well for me, although I did have to bypass my factory head unit due to OEM signal processing which I wouldn't have to do if I had a Helix. I believe people think audiocontrol DSPs have bad software and not a ton of features for the price which is why they say to avoid them.

I have an Audiocontrol DSP amp and the software isn’t all that bad at all. It worked wonders on a stock headunit and I absolutely would buy other products from them again. Though for $700, I’d just save up the extra bucks for the helix next time for the extra dsp options.