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How to choose a car audio system

Consider speaker count, be circumspect about brands and trust your ears

Car stereos | Autoblog's 4 favorites

Looking for the best radio to blast your favorite songs through? Here are our favorites.

Looking for the perfect car stereo to kick out the jams? Here is a list of some of our favorites.

ETC
Smart wants to rock the block party 'till your hair turns gray [w/video]

Smart and JBL are teaming up in Europe for a custom ForTwo called the Forgigs with a 5,720-watt, 16-speaker sound system. It's going on tour this summer.

Official
Nissan Leaf's new Bose sound system cuts energy use in half

The Nissan Leaf doesn't exactly rank up there with Snoop Dogg's '64 Impala when it comes to thumping sound systems, but at least the Japanese automaker is bringing the all-electric's stereo in line with the car's energy efficient approach.

Report
Distracted driving scourge a repeat of 1930?

The more things change, the more they stay the same. According to a report at carinsurance.com, Department of Transportation chief Ray LaHood isn't the first person to take on distracted driving.

Video
The other way to get snow off your car

There are plenty of automotive phenomena we don't entirely understand. Take sound system competitions, for example. We just never saw the practical use for a stereo worth more than your vehicle, especially when the largest fraction of that investment gets channeled into bowel-wobbling subwoofers. That is, until now. The owner of this particular Pontiac Grand Prix has found a unique way to shed

Report
Aston Martin gets the Bang & Olufsen treatment

The era of the luxury exotic with a so-so sound system is nearly over. Bang & Olufsen worked with product developers at Aston Martin to create the BeoSound DBS audio system that is specifically tuned to 007's cabin. Thirteen speakers -- five tweeters, five midrange, and three woofers -- are located in ten places around the cabin. Of course a sound system for the DBS is not just about sound -- it is just as much about looks. Two of the tweeters are mounted on the dash and ascend when the car

The mobile audio equivalent of a Howitzer: Subwoofer Truck

The naming is appropriate for a low-frequency addicted BAMF - Sub Mofo. If you're looking to jiggle the teacups in Aunt Millie's breakfast nook over in the next county, this

Good riddance: The demise of the in-dash CD player is nigh

A few short years ago, getting a CD player or better yet, a multidisc changer in your car was an upgrade. Now, the little silver disc has taken up residence with cassettes as cast-off technology. Even with the cheap digital to analog converters that are in car stereos, CDs have a sound advantage over lossy data codecs like MPEG, but only us geeks seem to care that hi-hats sound like someone whisking an egg. Besides, portability and flexibility easily trumps esoteric sound quality. Truth be told,

Microsoft angers NYC residents with a beat-blasting Zune FJ Cruiser

Microsoft, looking to get the message out about it's Zune doohickey, has turned a Toyota FJ Cruiser into an urban assault vehicle. The test run occured in a New York City neighborhood in the wee hours of a Sunday morning with the FJ Cruiser blaring out music at such a volume that it could be heard inside nearby apartments with the windows closed. Being young and living in the city doesn't mean you like obnoxio

Striking a chord: Panasonic and Fender planning branded car audio system

Fender guitars rock. Even the cheapies are easy to play and sound good in the right hands. Panasonic and Fender are teaming up to create an audio system that will be offered to auto manufacturers. Nigel and Slash have already been snagged by Volkswagen with their First Act package deal (buy a VW, they throw in the guitar that plugs into the car's audio system). We're guessing that the pitch for the Fender/Panasonic system will be along the same lines, though; and aimed at the younger demographic

Audi developing audible news reader for your auto

Audi is pushing the envelope in audio entertainment with a new research project that aims to deliver news reports audibly that are custom configured by the driver. Audi says the system, known as MACS My News, allows the driver to become “editor-in-chief” by choosing what type of content to hear and for how long. World news, sports and weather are a few types of content the system will be able to deliver, and it will all be controlled via spoken commands or Audi’s MMI (Multi Med