Tag: Factory Radio

So, you’ve got a car or truck and want to “live in the now”, huh? Seems like with more folks hanging on to their vehicles these days, there’s been a greater interest in such options as Satellite radio, Bluetooth wireless or even getting that iPod to play your music. I wrote a blog some time ago on some of the options that were available and will revisit some of that stuff alongside what’s new and readily available now.

In the years since its inception, the pathway to integrating the factory radio with aftermarket components has been riddled with cheap methods, noisy adaptors and countless failures. The usual method if you wanted to add an amp to your car’s factory system involved the use of a high to low level adaptor, which worked “enough” at the time, although there was inherent noise and a huge lack of performance from this band-aid.

I average about 15 calls per week from clients who have a factory radio that they say has broken and needs to be repaired. The problems range from bad tuners, failure to play CD’s and even no power at all. Generally, they've already contacted the car dealer and were told either nothing or that they could simply replace their radio at a substantial cost. It's at this junction that I always recommend replacing that tired factory radio with something current that- in most cases- offers much more in the way of integration and features, not to mention better performance.

With the increased emphasis on better audio quality in the car audio arena, we’re proud to now offer the full line of audio interfaces and processors from the great folks at Audio Control.

Audio Control has been around since 1977 and produces some of the finest audio processors and interfaces around. Some of you may have run across the famed “Epicenter” bass enhancer through the years, which set new standards when it came to enhancing and providing killer bass response.

1.)   Can I keep my stock head unit and still get great sound?

2.)   I want to keep the interior looking very stock…can you do that?

The answer to both of these questions is a great big yes, and in the design and execution of the system for my new Mustang GT we are going to do both.  I want to keep the Sync system in place both for looks and because I have learned to really like the voice commands.  As for the rest of the car; I just really want to keep a stock look.