When buying a used car, you still need to do the important test-drive to make sure you have the right purchase. If the car has its own built-in audio system, you need to test that system as well. car audio systems Passaic County NJ, whether up-to-date or outmoded, are part of your prospective car’s package price.
The tests are easy to do but implementing them should be hard and no-nonsense considering that your only instruments are your eyes and ears. The tests should go beyond the standard practice turning off the radio to listen for unusual sounds in the engine, or checking if the seats and steering wheels are simply fine.
What you see
Use your eyes to check on signs where low-quality instruments were used, components are mismatched or if the speakers are different from one another and are not a set. Check under the panels for left-behind wirings, unplugged holes for screws or enlarged cuts on metal panels to insert large speakers and the like.
Check if the foams of the speakers are brittle (sign of old age) or not. Speaker covers deteriorate under the sun if they are installed in the dashboard or at the rear. Speakers installed in the doors are susceptible to water damage.
Speakers
Checking the speakers individually can help narrow down problems. Begin by fading the system to the rear, and then check the balance on the left and right speakers. If there is a multi-component speaker system (one each on the doors and tweeters on the dashboard, perhaps), you need to check if each one is working.
Most car audio systems Passaic County NJ have a CD player. Play back a familiar CD to check on the functions of the CD player, listening to the system at normal level and then at different levels (lowest and highest) for comparison.
Do a quick check on the integrated iPod (if there is) or other functions like video and navigation. You can ask for an owner's manual to make your checks more thorough if you are not familiar with the added devices.
Systems check
This is simply making sure the whole system works. First, you need to power up the head unit and check if it turns on and works and makes a sound. If a power antenna is around, check if it operates properly.
Next, see to it that the head unit displays are working as they should. Turn on the headlights and check if the backlighting also works (it lights up). It’s easy to see if the radio and the clock displays are working just as well.
Sound check
Do the radio reception first. Test to check if the radio tunes into the right stations as they should. Turn on the engine. Try to listen to some engine-created noise coming out of the speakers (whining, ticking, and scratchy noise) which change in volume when the engine changes rpm.
If there is a noise, this might be caused by poor wiring or maybe the component itself is defective. This does not happen often, but it does. Car audio systems seldom do some big changes all at once. If you’re happy with what you see and hear, there‘s no reason to sweat it out.
The tests are easy to do but implementing them should be hard and no-nonsense considering that your only instruments are your eyes and ears. The tests should go beyond the standard practice turning off the radio to listen for unusual sounds in the engine, or checking if the seats and steering wheels are simply fine.
What you see
Use your eyes to check on signs where low-quality instruments were used, components are mismatched or if the speakers are different from one another and are not a set. Check under the panels for left-behind wirings, unplugged holes for screws or enlarged cuts on metal panels to insert large speakers and the like.
Check if the foams of the speakers are brittle (sign of old age) or not. Speaker covers deteriorate under the sun if they are installed in the dashboard or at the rear. Speakers installed in the doors are susceptible to water damage.
Speakers
Checking the speakers individually can help narrow down problems. Begin by fading the system to the rear, and then check the balance on the left and right speakers. If there is a multi-component speaker system (one each on the doors and tweeters on the dashboard, perhaps), you need to check if each one is working.
Most car audio systems Passaic County NJ have a CD player. Play back a familiar CD to check on the functions of the CD player, listening to the system at normal level and then at different levels (lowest and highest) for comparison.
Do a quick check on the integrated iPod (if there is) or other functions like video and navigation. You can ask for an owner's manual to make your checks more thorough if you are not familiar with the added devices.
Systems check
This is simply making sure the whole system works. First, you need to power up the head unit and check if it turns on and works and makes a sound. If a power antenna is around, check if it operates properly.
Next, see to it that the head unit displays are working as they should. Turn on the headlights and check if the backlighting also works (it lights up). It’s easy to see if the radio and the clock displays are working just as well.
Sound check
Do the radio reception first. Test to check if the radio tunes into the right stations as they should. Turn on the engine. Try to listen to some engine-created noise coming out of the speakers (whining, ticking, and scratchy noise) which change in volume when the engine changes rpm.
If there is a noise, this might be caused by poor wiring or maybe the component itself is defective. This does not happen often, but it does. Car audio systems seldom do some big changes all at once. If you’re happy with what you see and hear, there‘s no reason to sweat it out.