Why a New Car Stereo?

A stereo is the main component of any car audio system. It is often called the radio, receiver, or head unit. To understand how a stereo functions, it's helpful to think of a car in-dash stereo as having three different parts: source, preamp, and amplifier.

The source is the part that lets us choose what we want to hear. Sources may include a standard AM/FM tuner, CD or DVD player, satellite radio, iPod® or smartphone, or a USB input. The Preamp is where all sound adjustments are made. A preamp includes controls ranging from simple volume, balance, fader, source selection, and tone adjustments to sophisticated crossovers, equalizers, and time correction. The amplifier section boosts the small (low-voltage) audio signal coming from the preamp section into a larger (high-voltage) audio signal that's sent out to the speakers.