20 pages
Car Audio and 12V Install Guides
Longer explanations for the parts of a car audio install that need more than a number. Each guide links to the calculator that does the arithmetic.
Gift guide: see our Car Audio Holiday Gift Guide 2026: gifts for car audio enthusiasts by budget, or Black Friday car audio deals if you are shopping the sale.
- Big 3 Upgrade Guide A complete big 3 upgrade guide covering the three cables, CCA versus OFC, fusing the alternator run, and how the upgrade reduces e
- Black Friday car audio deals Black Friday car audio deals worth watching: subwoofers, amplifiers, car stereos, speakers and install gear, by budget, with what
- Car audio holiday gift guide Holiday gift ideas for car audio enthusiasts: head units, speakers, amplifiers, processors, wiring and stocking stuffers, sorted f
- Car Audio on a Budget The highest value-per-dollar car audio upgrades in order, from door deadening and gain setting to the big 3, before spending more
- Common Car Audio Mistakes The most frequent car audio mistakes, from sizing an amp to peak power to skipping the main fuse, and the real reason each one cau
- How Much Power Do You Need Why doubling amplifier power only gains 3 dB, how cone area often beats extra wattage, and how to size real power needs instead of
- How to Build a Subwoofer Box Build a subwoofer box with the correct internal volume math, using published driver displacement instead of guessing, so the enclo
- How to Fix Alternator Whine Diagnose and fix alternator whine by testing the RCA connection first, since most whine is a ground problem, not a shielding probl
- Fusing a Car Audio System How to fuse a car audio system properly, including main fuse placement, sizing a fuse to wire gauge, and when a distribution block
- Grounding a Car Amplifier How to ground a car amplifier the right way, from finding bare chassis metal to matching wire gauge and avoiding the mistakes that
- Installing a Line Output Converter How to install a line output converter to add an amplifier to a factory stereo, including remote turn-on wiring and factory bass r
- How to Plan a Car Audio System A step-by-step planning order for a car audio build, from source and signal to amplification, speakers, and the electrical system
- Running Amp Power Wire A step-by-step guide to running amplifier power wire from the battery to the amp, covering gauge, fuse placement, routing, and gro
- Set Amplifier Gain Correctly Set amplifier gain the correct way with a true RMS multimeter and a test tone, not by ear, so you get full power without clipping
- How to Sound Deaden a Car Door How to sound deaden a car door: butyl on about 25 percent of the outer skin, seal the inner skin, full foam on the trim panel. Too
- Tune Subwoofer Crossover and Phase Tune a subwoofer's low pass crossover, subsonic filter, and phase in the correct order after gain, using published starting points
- Wiring Two Subwoofers How to wire two subwoofers in series or parallel, what dual voice coil naming actually means, and how to match the final impedance
- Keep or Replace Factory Head Unit Weighing factory integration against aftermarket preout voltage and crossovers, plus the remote turn-on and bass rolloff issues pe
- Understanding Thiele/Small Parameters Learn what Fs, Vas, Qts, Xmax, and Sd actually mean, and how they set sealed and vented box volume and tuning frequency for a subw
- What Size Subwoofer to Buy How to choose between 8, 10, 12, and 15-inch subwoofers using cone area, typical box volume, and real vehicle space instead of dia
