Are you a music lover? But feel like you’re missing out on your music? Our lives are busier than ever! With long commutes and long working hours, we hardly get to enjoy the simple things anymore, such as music. You may already own a car stereo to make those long commutes a little less painful, but the options may be limited, as its either a choice between your dusty CD collection from the 90’s or the likes of Lady Gaga on the radio. Either way doesn’t leave much in the way of choice, so why not save up those pennies and invest in a CD Mp3 player, which could open up your world – or at least make those daily commutes a little easier.
When investing in a stereo for your car, it’s important to get the right one for you, so here’s a few tips to help you invest in the perfect model for your car.
Tip 1. Brands:
Buying by name brand is very much recommended in the world of car stereos, unlike most branded items, you will get the highest quality models from the well known companies. They like to keep up with their competitors, so they will often be the first to release new technologies and improvements. Look out for re-released products too, as these are likely to be the most in demand and of the highest caliber.
Tip 2. Features:
Knowing what features you want will inform your purchase. You may want all the extra gadgets, such as touchscreen or Bluetooth or you might just want to keep it simple – either way it is your decision. However, it is still highly important that you look at the overall quality of the stereo. Usually, the quality of sound produced will tell you how good a player is, however, without dampening technology the sound of the car may well affect the sound quality, so its highly important to have both to get the best from your music.
Looks might be something else you want to consider. You probably won’t want a player that looks out of place in your car, or a stereo so visible that it says to car thieves ‘rob me’. Many stereos on the market are kept to a simple sleek black, adding only colours to the display screen to make the display easier to see when driving. But if you want something with a bit more panache, then there are a number of more vivid stereos available.
Feature 1: CD’s, Mp3’s, Radio & Bluetooth
A standard stereo will allow you to play:
(1) CD’s
(2) CD-R/R-W (WMA and Mp3 files)
You can also connect your Mp3 player or I-pod to your stereo as well as an SD/MMC flash memory card, enabling you to play your Mp3’s through your car stereo! If you want something a bit more up-to-date then invest in a stereo with Bluetooth capabilities, which will instantaneously connect your phone to your stereo.
Feature 2: the Radio
Normally, radios will provide coverage of all of the wavebands (LW/MW/FM). You will also be able to preset around 30 of your favourite stations. The simpler models will connect to the stations holding the strongest signals, whilst the more Byzantine models will strengthen weaker radio signals, so that you can listen to all the stations available.
A few good features to look out for are the:
(1) TA feature: as soon as a traffic report aired, it switches over to that station, and then when finished switches you back to the previous station.
(2) SHARX: this separates close together radio signals, so that radio signals remain clear and uninterrupted by any other signals.
(3) PTY-EON: this tool provides you with a list of similar programmes, allowing you to easily find the programmes you like without scanning through a great number of channels.
Tip 3. Make the Best of the Sound
Want to make the most of your music? A good quality equaliser is then needed. Currently the best around is the digital 6 band equaliser, which enables you to listen to very complexly layered music clearly. It also muffles any sound that may be coming from the car. This tool is, however, very upmarket but is definitely worth investing in if you want the best sound quality around