Car Audio Equalizer: The Best Component of Your Custom System
Choosing a car audio equalizer can be one of the toughest custom decisions you will make. Choosing to install one, though, is also one of the best decisions you will make. Equalizers electronically change the signal to make it sound better. It is the tone control mechanism for your entire system. It adjusts the frequencies, low, medium, and high, for the music you are listening to. There are a number of different kinds of equalizers. Some choose a built-in unit with an amplifier or receiver, but the best equalizers are the ones you install separately. You can find equalizers that will mount in your dash or in your trunk. They usually have graphic, parametric, or quasi-parametric processing capabilities. The most common form of equalizer that you will see is the graphic type that fits in your dash. It is super easy to adjust, which means most people screw it up and don't use it they way you are supposed to. You should only set an equalizer once to deal with the inherent problems of the car. You may have to periodically adjust it after that to tune the system, but messing with your equalizer too much can cause some serious damage to your system. The most likely candidate for that damage is your speaker system. In competitions, thirty band trunk mounts are the most often used because they work best. Remember, your goal with any equalizer is to cut a frequency, not boost another one.
Once you've chosen the best equalizer for your car, you are ready to install it. The first thing you should do before any installation is read the manual that came with the merchandise. To get it installed, you are going to need a Phillips and a flat-head screwdriver, screws, a soldering iron, a socket, a wire stripper, and an electric drill with a good selection of bits. The equalizer will be installed between the amplifier and the receiver. Mount it where you can get to it to make adjustments at a later time. If you mount it on steel, though, you are going to have some serious sound problems, so avoid that mistake at all costs. Your first step is to locate the turn on lead to your receiver. Connect it to your equalizer turn on lead. Don't forget to ground it to a metal surface. You will need to route RCA cables from your receiver's preamp outputs to the equalizer's inputs. Once you've done that, you are ready to go.
Adding a car audio equalizer can be a bit difficult from start to finish. Once you do, though, your car will never sound the same.