Guide to Car Audio Systems

Head-Units – They used to just be called “the radio” but today the component that sits in your dash is called the “head unit”. Head units used to be just one piece too but today you are are likely to see the main unit separated from the display part. When checking out a new car, spend a good amount of time looking over the display and if it has touch screen controls make sure all your basic audio functions are easy to see and control.

Radio Features – All car radios have basic features such as seek and scan tuning and the ability to save favorite stations as presets. Some carmakers use traditional knobs for tuning and control and others use buttons and switches. Make sure that the radio features include Radio Data Service (RDS) that shows artist and song information.
Bluetooth – Bluetooth audio is another feature that’s very popular. The technology wirelessly streams music from a compatible device to a car with Bluetooth audio. And if you have an Internet-connected smartphone with the feature, you can stream Internet radio stations like Pandora. Many other devices now offer Bluetooth audio too.
Hard Drives – A hard-disk drive (HDD) is another music source available in some vehicles. You record music files to an HDD, a USB drive or other sources. Many HDD systems also allow you to create playlists repeating tracks or albums. Recent vehicles have a time-shift feature that stores live-radio content to a hard-drive, similar to DVRs offered by some cable and satellite TV providers. Depending on the vehicle you can store and replay audio programs and some cars record these programs when the car is parked. Read More :AutosModel.com