Every car has speakers for playing music and radio shows during your drive. But there are so many different speakers out there, and some are better than others. You may be wondering how you can figure out what speakers are in your car.
Here are five tips for how to tell what speakers are in your car:
- Car speaker sizes
- Car speaker brands
- Number of speakers
- Types of speakers
- Elements of car speakers
There are many ways you can tell what kind of speaker you have in your car based on the size, quality, and more. Once you determine what kind of speakers are in your car, you might decide that you want new speakers, so I will also look at the benefits of getting new speakers. I also have resources in the article to help you figure out what speakers are in your car and what speakers would fit best.
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1. Car Speaker Sizes
The good news is that figuring out what speakers are in your car is easy since cars will only fit different size speakers.
When determining what size speakers you have, consider a few things.
- You need to determine the diameter of the speaker. Figuring out the diameter is hard because car speakers are not all measured universally. Sometimes speakers are measured on a diagonal from hole to hole, and other speakers are measured by their entire diameter.
- You also need to know what depth your speakers are. The depth is how far back into the wall or door of your car the speakers go, which is hard to know if you don’t want to remove your speaker and don’t have a manual for your speakers that gives you the dimensions.
Pioneer Electronics has a great fitting guide that will tell you all the measurements for your car.
Different size speakers can also produce different sounds, so you may be able to figure out what your speakers are based on how they sound. This video on Youtube from JC Installs explains the difference between different size car speakers and how powerful sound and sound waves can vary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t65WgRx04WA
2. Car Speaker Brands
Determining the brand of your car’s speakers can be hard, depending on if you have a new or used car.
If you bought your car new from a dealer, you would have to check with them to see if they put a specific type of speaker in their cars. Otherwise, you can just assume your speakers are manufacturer-made.
If you have a used car, figuring out what speakers you have in your car can be trickier because they might not be the ones that came with your car. They can be the manufacturer’s ones, or they could be any other brand that makes speakers for your car.
If it’s easy enough and you know how to do so, try taking out a speaker and see if you can find a brand name or other identifying information on it. If there’s a model number or brand name, you can look it up online and try to find the type of speaker. Look at images of speakers of that brand and ones made for your car until you determine which speakers you have.
You can also look through the materials that came with your car and see if there’s a speaker instruction manual or other information about the speaker that came in your used car.
3. Number of Speakers
The number of speakers in your car is also a good factor in determining what kind of speakers you have installed.
Car speakers come in different sets, usually two or four speakers, but they can be any number. If you know you have two speakers in your car, and they match, you can eliminate any speakers or sets that come with more than two speakers when determining what speakers are in your car.
Alternatively, if you have four speakers, usually two in the front and two in the back, you can search for speaker sets with four speakers until you determine which ones are in your car.
Remember that certain speakers only fit certain cars, so you can search for your specific car model on the internet and determine how many speakers fit, and where in the car they are so you can analyze them further.
Another option is to ask your car dealer or mechanic to take a look. They can show you exactly how many speakers you have, where they are, and even possibly the type and model.
If they don’t know the specifics, they may at least tell you a brand, or what kind each speaker is so you can narrow down your search even further.
4. Types of Speakers
There are two different types of car speakers to consider: full range and components.
Full-range speakers, also called coaxial speakers, have everything in the speakers altogether. So the woofer, tweeter, and any additional drivers are all connected.
The other type of speaker is the component speaker. These speakers have each component separate from each other, hence the name.
The woofers, tweeters, and everything else are separate, which means the components can be in different parts of the car. So, if your speaker’s components aren’t in the same place and are separate, your speaker is a component type.
5. Elements of Car Speakers
Now, let’s look at the different elements of speakers. Some speakers have more elements than others and are made of different materials. If you know what materials your speakers are made of and what elements they have, you will have an easier time identifying what type of speakers you have. And, you can see what materials you like or don’t like if you know what you have in your car.
Your tweeter’s material is important in determining what kind of sound it produces. Soft materials will make your tweeter produce mellow, soft sounds. If your tweeter has a hard material, like metal, the sound will be more snappy.
If you have a nice speaker system with tweeters, it may come with a set of tweeters that pivots or swivels. You can move these around so they point towards the driver’s seat or other seats in the car, so the sound is even better.
Next, your woofers are usually made of lightweight paper materials. These won’t last as long as more durable materials, stiffer materials you will find on better woofers. The materials surrounding the woofer are either rubber, which is the best, or foam or cloth, which also works well.
Crutchfield has a great video on Youtube that explains the different parts of car speakers like size, power, fit, frequency, tweeters, and woofers. And, they go over the materials used in these aspects of the speakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xky9BhBXjcE
Getting New Car Speakers
Once you know what type of speakers are in your car, you might realize they’re old or cheap, and you may want to get new ones. And, now that you know what size and material your current speakers are, you will have a better time finding new ones. Let’s look at adding new speakers to your car.
When deciding whether or not to get to replace your car speakers, you should consider how long you will have the car. If you’re not planning on keeping it for long or are just looking for something slightly better than the speakers that came with the car, you can get a cheaper but still improved set of speakers.
But, if you’re going to keep your car for a long time, or you’re fixing it up to sell and want to add to the car’s value, you should go for something that has a really good sound. The best speakers are also the most expensive. However, if the speakers are going to last you a long time, it’s worth the cost, and the longer life will offset the cost over the many years that you use the speaker.
Once you decide how nice or budget-friendly new speakers you want, you need to decide how many you want. You can get as many speakers as you want, and more speakers mean better sound. But, you also need to remember that more speakers mean more installation time, and you need to play with the sound settings to get the best sound in your car.
If you cannot decide whether or not you want to get new speakers in your car, check out this video from Donut Media on Youtube that will help you decide if upgrading your speakers is worth it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADFOAAN9SIA
Tips to Consider When Getting New Car Speakers
No matter how many speakers are in your car, you should have the same brand of speakers throughout your entire car. You don’t want to have different speakers in the front and the back of the car because it will affect the sound quality. If you have different speakers throughout your car, you should get new ones.
And, if you have different speakers throughout your car, you have to use this guide to determine what each different speaker is. They may all be the same brand but different models or completely different brands altogether. If you have different types of speakers, it will take longer since you have to identify different types of speakers. But, it will be worth it so you can get all your speakers to match.
You also need to determine which parts of a car speaker you want. The most basic car speakers have a tweeter and a woofer. The better these two features are, the better your audio will sound.
You can also add on a subwoofer, which highlights the lower bass sounds in your music, and gives you more of a surround sound. If you listen to a lot of music with a strong bass or just want to enhance your car speaker system further, you should add on extras like a subwoofer.
Best Car Speakers
Here’s a full-range set of audio speakers that you can get for your car. The Full Range DS18 Speakers from Amazon come in four sizes ranging from 3.5 to 6.5 inches (8.89 to 16.51 cm), plus a six by nine-inch (15.24 by 22.86 cm) set. These come with a woofer and go in your door.
CT Sounds sells a Meso Car Speaker Set that fits a 6.5-inch (16.51 cm) car that comes with tweeters and speakers and is some of the loudest component speakers you can get for your car. The company promises distortion-free music no matter how high you turn up the volume.
Next, the 4, 3 Way Car Audio Coaxial Stereo Speakers from Rockford Fosgate is a set of four speakers that goes up to two hundred watts and each speaker is six inches in diameter with a stylish, soft-touch material. These speakers fit an extensive range of cars. To make sure they fit yours, check the Q&A section on Amazon.
Finally, try out the Skar Audio SDR Series Subwoofer. This subwoofer comes with a complete amplifier set that will give your car sound very high-quality audio. The peak power is more than two thousand watts, and it is eight inches long, which is bigger than most car speakers which means louder sound.
Final Thoughts
There are five great ways to figure out what speakers you have in your car. You can look at the speaker sizes, the brands, the number of speakers, the types of Speakers, and the elements and materials.
If you know all these ways to figure it out, determining the speakers in your car should be easy, even if you have different types of car speakers in different parts of your car. Then, you can figure out if you want to get a new set of speakers that may be nicer or all-match.
