I asked this question earlier about getting a car system for my 2008 Dodge Charger. I don't know anything about audio systems and requirements. I just need help on finding a good audio system for less than $500 if possible a Kicker, Alipine, or Infinity. If you could list the name of each part of a system I should get like the sub, amp, etc. Please help me. Thanks.

Amps:
An amplifier does exactly what the word implies. It amplifies/ enhances your music. The enhancement is along the lines of making your music louder and more clear no matter what the volume is set to while getting rid of any type of distortion.

Amp Types:
Mono, 1 2 3 4 5... channel amps refer to how many watts of power a particular amp supplies over an "X" amount of channels. For example, an amp has 100 watts and its is a 4 channel amp then it will provide 25 watts on each of its four channels, splitting up the wattage.

You use mono amps to power subwoofers
You use multi-channel amps to power speakers
Also, when choosing amps for speakers and subs, make sure the rms wattage matches between the amp powering the subwoofer
and matches between the amp powering the speakers.

And one of the main things to know when considering amps, speakers, and subwoofers is the RMS wattage. The RMS wattage tells you how many amps a product can provide or take without pushing the risk of frying that product. Don't pay attention to the max wattage because it means nothing (it's only for advertisement).

If you have a one (mono) channel amp with a RMS wattage of 1000 and you want to power 2 sub then each sub would get 500 watts RMS each.

Amps are obvously very important. Without a great amp, your system will suffer.

Crossover:
Is simply a filter. It is a device that regulates high, low and mid range frequencies and sends these frequencies to the proper speaker (mid-range freq) subwoofer (low freq) or tweeter (high freq) in order to create better sound quality.

As far as the number of amps you can have all depends on your power supply (alternator and battery) and bank account. Most people have 1-3 amps on average (one and two is more likely).

Good amp companies:
Alpine, Rockford Fosgate, Hifonics, JL audio, Kenwood.



You also need to upgrade on you factory speakers for improved sound. It is best to get component speakers in the front doors and coaxial speakers in the rear deck/back of car. But you can get all components or all coaxial. Whatever you want.

Component speakers: are speakers that come with separate tweeter and amplifier (better).
Coaxials: is just a woofer with tweeter built on to it. (not as good as coacials but sufficient).

Good speaker companies:
Alpine, Polk, Infinti, Pioneer

You need subwoofers to provide the deep heart-pounding bass.

Good companies for subs:
Alpine, Infinity, Kicker, JL audio, Kenwood, MTX, Rockford Fosgate, Pioneer to name a few.

You also need an enclosure for the subs. Mainly there is sealed and ported/vented.
Sealed enclosure provide more accurate, precise sound that not as loud but loud enough, whereas ported provides louder more boomy bass while loosing some sound quality. Your choice. Also, If you can, always go custom with the box, but prefabricated boxes are okay.

To wire everything up you also need an amp installation kit. You will at least need to get a 4 gauge amp installation kit. If you decide to get multiple amp get a dual amp kit. I suggest Rockford Fosgate to provide more power I suggest the RFK4 or RFK4X for one amp install. The RFK4D is good for a two amp install. RF's wires are pure copper so you'll have a better electric current flow thus more power. Streetwires is good as well.

Decks are very important as well. If you don't have a pretty decent deck to man your whole operation the sytem will suffer too. You might possibly need a mounting kit (maybe). You also will need a wiring harness to install the deck.

Good companies:
Alpine, Pioneer, Eclipse, Kenwood, JVC

For better sound you should also get your car insulated. You could do the entire car. At least get the trunk of your car insulated.This will reduce the rattling caused by the sound-waves/bass. There is nothing more embarassing than to be rollin down the street and all you hear is a damn rattle box pretending to be a true system. I suggest Dynamat Xtreme. Yes it is pretty expensive but it gets the job done. There are other alternatives to sound dampening material as well. I just don't know too many.

Cost:

Here's my take on the whole money thing. In car audio 99% of the time you get what you pay for. I always tell myself if you want something you're going to pay for it. If you want top quality it's not going to be cheap. With that being said. A quality system to me is one that costs about $800-$1200 or more. My system was $1300 dollars for everything including install. I did some the install myself and saved a good bit of cash. My entire system is Alpine by the way. I love them. But there are ways to get quality merchandise without breaking the bank. You can try pawn shops or talk to some buddies and see if they will sell their stuff.

Ebay is great. There is also craiglist.com, crutchfield.com, onlinecarstereo.com, sonicelectronix.com. Crutchfield is the best company on the internet. I spent a lot of time on their site.

For quality brands at a great price try all of the companies I mentioned and there are many more but they are the one I suggest to people. If you're on a budget I'd lean towards Kicker, Pioneer, Kenwood, and MTX.

But for all your stuff look on ebay. You will save a ton of money as opposed to buying reatil in a store like bestbuy or circuit city or some local shop.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Being a girl, naturally i know nothing about cars espesh car audio systems. What do i need to know, in general about buying a new system that is inexpensive but still sounds good. I know nothing about it so the simpler the better. What are subs, amps, face plates- yada yada yada.

I'm a girl, and its not complicated at all,
Basicly,
Sub woofers are for bass. Depending on what kind of music you listen to will vary the size of the sub.(eg. 10inch is for hard hitting bass(dance), 12 is for deeper bass(hip hop/rap, 15 inch is for competition pretty much.
Amps power everything, they are the extra power to run more speakers/subs. There are special amps designed just for subs, they are called mono block.
Decks/face plates, are your cd player/mp3..whatever, the face plate is the part that comes off for security.

Tell me what kind of car and music you listen to/ and price range and I will edit.