Once you’re ready to tune your car stereo, get in the driver’s seat and follow these steps:
Step 1: Turn on Your Stereo
When tuning your stereo, make sure your car is parked. It goes without saying that this is not a job you should do while driving. Set aside some time to tune your stereo. It can be a fun experience, so there’s no need to rush through it.
Step 2: Play a Favorite Song
Play one of your favorite songs on the car audio equalizer, something you know inside and out.It should also be a song that you don’t mind listening to over and over again, since you’re going to need a good reference point for tuning your stereo.Also, make sure this song has sonic variety, with plenty of different sounds that include:
*High notes—brass, flutes, and cymbals
*Mid-range sounds—guitar, piano, and vocals
*Low notes—bass and drums
Step 3: Tune the Fade Control
Tune the stereo’s fade control until the music is only coming out of your front-most speakers. Next, adjust the left-right balance until you’ve got a sound you enjoy.
Make a note of these settings, either with a piece of paper or on your phone.
Now go the complete opposite with the fade control so sound’s only coming from your rear speakers. Once again, adjust the left-to-right balance until you are pleased with the sound and take note of this setting.
If the balance settings are the same for both the front and back speakers, that’s great. You can leave them as is. If not, you’ll have to compromise between the two different settings. Find a suitable balance for quality sound from both the front and rear speakers.
Once again, adjust the fade control all the way to the front. Then slowly turn up the rear volume with the fade control until the music has a satisfying depth, but still sounds like it’s coming from in front of you.For head units that let you control tone differences between the front and rear speakers, tune the rear speakers so they have a little less treble than the front speakers. This helps the music sound like it’s coming from the front speakers, even when the volume is high.
Step 4: Set the Tone
Sit back and listen to the music for a moment. Are all the notes present—high, mid-range, and low? Are the notes balanced?
Take note of what is wrong with the tone before making adjustments.For stereos with EQ presets, such as equalizer sound booster, or equalizer and bass booster, test the presets to see if they make the music sound better. Fine-tune the sound with the bass, treble, and mid-range controls, and other EQ adjustments if needed.
Try different combinations of EQ presets, cuts, and bass and treble boosts until your music sounds just rightThe high notes should be clear but not piercing. The mid-range notes should be clear and smooth. And the bass should be full, but not loud booms.