Any Car Audio Gurus Out There?

[BrianG]

It can be quite difficult to set up an EQ properly to get the sound you want because the shape/size/materials in the car can play havoc with the sound. You could spend lots and lots of time hunting around for the ideal setting. Really, what you need to do is "calibrate" your system for your specific car, and then make adjustments to suit.

If your headunit has enough equalization bands (7 at the very least, but more is better), you could head to a shop that has a spectrum analyzer. They position a microphone in the car seat and play some "pink noise" over the system. Pink noise sounds like white noise, but while white noise is just random combinations of various and changing frequencies/amplitudes, pink noise is a combination of all frequencies at equal volumes. Then, adjust your EQ so the response curve on the spectrum analyzer is as flat as possible. Most analyzers I've seen have 31 bands, so if your HU has fewer EQ bands you might not be able to get a totally flat response, but better than nothing.

Once you get a baseline flat response, you can adjust from there to suit your preference. If your HU has the ability to store different curves, I would save that baseline configuration as profile #1 and then save your edits in a different profile so you still have your original. Or at least take a pic of your baseline EQ settings.

Be aware that replacing speakers with different size/brand, adding different carpeting, new floor mats, different HU will throw off the flat baseline response. So I would replace everything you plan on replacing and then doing the above procedure to be as consistent as possible.

If your HU only has a few EQ settings, you could get a 31-band EQ and put that between the HU and amp(s). This type of EQ has a band for each of the spectrum analyzer bands so is much easier to set right. This EQ is something that is only adjusted once and then put out of sight after you get the flat baseline curve using a spectrum analyzer - basically a calibration tool to match your car and that's it. Make sure your HU's EQ is set flat before you set the 31-band EQ though. And of course, this would only work if all speakers are amped.