Best Car Speakers for Bass and Sound Quality

If you’re like most folks, you’ve probably noticed the speakers in your car and loosely believed that only a professional should think about replacing them. After all, what kind of specs do they even list for these accessories? You never see them when you walk into most stores, and you might not catch yourself wandering back to the corner where they sell them. If we’re totally wrong about you, well, this article is no less for you than the common not-quite-audiophilic individual.

In truth, many of the components in your car can be replaced easily, and speakers aren’t terribly complicated if you stick to the basics. We’re going to run down the types of speakers that you can purchase, what to look for and why it matters. To keep it sweet for the intro: You’re probably someone who’s still using the stock speakers in their car and looking to upgrade to a set with, say, more bass. It’s a classic case, and you can’t go wrong with a little boom in your tunes, so this will be one of the areas that we emphasize in this review.

While there are many complex metrics and numbers you could keep track of when shopping for a new audio array, we’re here to tell you that not everyone needs to understand what all of these numbers mean. However, you might be more interested in component speakers, which are a little different from your average and will also be covered here. They’re considered the “superior breed” but vastly more complicated and pricey compared to coaxial speaker counterparts. You don’t need to memorize this detail; we’re about to draw the distinction for you further down.

Comparison Table

Product Reviews

JL Audio C2650 6-1/2″ — Exceptional Audio at a Price

JL Audio yields a respectable site to behold, which should tell you a thing or six about their prominence. They’re no small dog, and that means you probably can’t go wrong checking out everything they have to offer. They have a plethora of products for other purposes such as home audio, power sports and more.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

As a component speaker set, these are going to tough to work with if you don’t know what you’re doing. The specs match their complexity with two woofers that are constructed from polypropylene to prevent distortion at higher volumes and two tweeters that have been optimized to prevent that high-pitched squeal or screech that can drive you up the wall within minutes. Two crossovers keep it all tied together.

Other specs to note are the 4-ohm impedance factor, a frequency range of 59-22,000 Hz and grilles for the woofers included for your convenience. The juice-sucking factor tops out at 100 watts RMS with an unlisted rating for the max burst consumption, but this is still quite durable. The sound quality is cited to be “crystal clear” as expected of component speakers, but the tweeters may give you trouble during the installation process and while manipulating the volume.

Verdict

JBL GX600C — Best Component Speakers for Bass

JBL isn’t to be confused with JL Audio, but their impact is arguably more profound. The moment you visit their site, you may instantly recognize their logo and the “Harman” title beneath it, indicating — you guessed it — Harman Kardon lives here. To be clear, Harman is the company that owns JBL and Harman Kardon, so we have to nod quietly when you ask us just how reputable these folks are.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

So, this array of component speakers is designed to be as stylish as it is profound in terms of audio quality. We’re fine with that; after all, that’s the trend, right? Well, maybe you’re just sticking them in an oldie, but that’s perfectly fine because the double polypropylene woofer cones, double soft dome tweeters, and double crossovers mean double the cool factor in whatever you’re driving — or something. This set offers an unusually low 2.3-ohm impedance factor, a decent frequency response of 50-21,000 Hz.

Admittedly, it’s not a trunk-mounted monster blaster, but most component speakers aren’t. In fact, at just 70 watts RMS and 210 burst, this is a tame little beast that’s good for keeping the rap, rock, and opera close to the soul on long drives without sharing Eminem’s beef with Jah Rule from across the city. Naturally, woofer grilles are included for cool points. What’s not so cool is the vagueness of the instructions for installing the tweeters, or worse, the fact that correctly installing the woofers can yield underwhelming bass — at least for component speakers.

Verdict

CT Sounds Meso — Quality Speakers from a Trusted Brand

Let us say that CT Sounds makes it pretty clear that they consider themselves a leader in the field of car stereos, and their range of site options start at home and lifestyle options with tools and technical support on the side to help you with those all-important DIY projects. The company appears to be a solid one all around with no glaring flaws to note according to reviews.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

This coaxial speaker brings mid-range goodness that combines two tweeters with two woofers and protection grilles to boot. The whole shebang is fairly inexpensive, and while the quality isn’t component-level, the composition of these speakers suggest durability and all-around reliability. Power consumption sits at 150 watts RMS and 300 watts max, meaning it’ll sustain higher outputs better than many of the other offerings on our list today.

There’s not much else that’s featured here. It’s a basic set of easy-to-install speakers that are stylish and priced well for a solid audio experience.

Verdict

Polk Audio DB691 6×9 — Coaxial Speakers with Component-Level Quality

As usual, when we want an impression of the manufacturer behind a product, the first place we check is their website. The design language often speaks to the attitude of the company, which in this case appears to be quite upscale and organic but nothing too snazzy on the whole. They offer home sound solutions too. So far, so good.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

Offering a three-way configuration in a coaxial setup sounds like a cool deal, and it appears that Polk did a phenomenal job delivering on component-esque quality in this coaxial package that includes a tweeter, woofer and mid-ranger — one for each side. Grilles are included to protect the speakers, but more interesting is the liquid-cooled silk and polymer tweeters, which should be telling of the quality that you can expect. There’s also a Kapton voice coil and an inbuilt two-way crossover network, all supported with a surround-sound construction that should assist in the immersion factor.

Warranty

How do you feel about one-year warranties? We’re all up in them, man. It’s fairly standard stuff, but it leaves a mark of confidence on behalf of the manufacturer unlike some OEMs on our list today — ahem, CT Sounds.

Verdict

Kenwood KFC-6995PS — Best Coaxial Speakers

Kenwood is, well, Kenwood. You’ve heard of them; everyone’s heard of them. Their products include car entertainment and communications devices, mainly for cars. Car speakers are one of their top products, and as such, you’re not investing in an afterthought when you try out their car speakers. We’re going to say that you’re safe with them.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

Imagine having five whole drivers for your coaxial speakers at such a low price tag. Surely, there’s a drawback of some kind, right? Well, the drivers aren’t shabby for sure, and they’ll promise a wide range of quality audio output. The range is smaller than component speakers, of course, but between 60 and 20,000 Hz isn’t a bad deal for what it is. The power sustain rests easily at 125 watts RMS, but when you get into the bursts, oh man — 650 watts at peak output.

We want to say that the burst output should promise good bass, but when you look at the actual drivers, your mind changes. The five ways of this speaker set are as follows:

• One mid-range driver
• Two “balanced” tweeters
• Two super tweeters

There’s also a harmonizer on board that purports to help with the response of audio output in the 3,000-4,000 Hz range, so your mid-range outlay should theoretically be solid. However, we’re not confident in the bass here, and other users have cited similar results with the product.

Warranty

Kenwood offers nothing less than the best with a 60-day money-back guarantee and a one-year warranty to top it off. This is how confidence is done, and Kenwood — while large enough to raise concern — isn’t notorious for playing around when you get ahold of their service representatives.

Verdict

JBL GTO939 — Best Bang for Your Buck

JBL is a reputable audio manufacturer, and their products are held in high regard in the industry. The GTO939 is considered one of their flagship coaxial offerings and should provide competition even to the component speakers on the market. If you see JBL’s logo on a product, you know it’s probably going to be good stuff.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

The aesthetic isn’t remarkable to be sure, but with that Plus One cone construction behind the woofer, bass is a priority in this speaker set. Despite this, the impedance is low, keeping the power consumption on the safe side while delivering high-volume punch. Sustained, you can expect 100 watts RMS with these speakers, which is better than average on our list today.

The three-way design is a nice step in the component-quality direction, offering a tweeter, supertweeter and woofer. This means that the mid-range sound will depend on these three to come through properly, and from what users find, it appears to do so quite nicely. Also of note is the better-than-usual frequency range: 46-21,000 Hz for those low booms and bright highs. The tweeter level can be adjusted if you find the sound is a little too tin-can for your liking.

Customer Service and Warranty

JBL offers top-of-the-line one-year warranties on their products and a 60-day guarantee for your money back if the product just doesn’t suit you.

Verdict

Kicker D-Series — Solid Speakers at a Solid Price

Kicker’s page, while utile and aesthetically pleasing for the most part, could use a course in remedial HTML compliance to help convey that professional feeling that’s so important when people come searching for a brand they’ve never heard of. With that said, we don’t doubt for a second that they’re a legitimate cool cat in the industry with their massive array of sound equipment for all places and purposes. This speaker set carries that same can-do attitude.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

Decked with a tweeter, woofer and mid-range driver set in one convenient pair of coaxial speakers, this is already probably an upgrade from the stock speakers in any vehicle that you own. The resistance factor is on the low end, and that’s with a high tolerance to sustained power over time. The RMS is rated at a hefty 150 watts, which is the best we’ve seen on this list, and the peak power is no slouch at a well-rounded 450 watts. The boom and quality, in general, are cited as satisfying.

The speakers come with grilles preinstalled. The woofer cone is made from polypropylene while the tweeter runs with polyetherimide. Altogether, it’s not a super-impressive combo, but for the price, we’re not ones to complain.

Warranty

There’s not much to see here. Kicker offers a one-year limited warranty, and that’s about it.

Verdict

Infinity Primus PR6500CS — Premium Quality in a Super Frugal Package

Infinity is a dedicated speaker manufacturer that knows all about that feeling of a new car gone old, and their speakers aim to breathe new life into the sound quality as well as the aesthetic oomph in your ride. Affiliated with Harman, they’re a sibling company to JBL and deliver comparable quality as such. For these reasons and more, this is an unquestionable name in the audio industry.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

The Primus array of car speakers are hot off the press, bringing some of the newest subtle tricks to the table. It’s only natural to expect the best of component speakers, and these are great if only because the price is obscenely low — lower, in fact than any other entry in our review except one: the JBL GX602. The price comes at a price, and you’re not getting the cutting edge of car audio here, but these will punch well beyond their weight and many coaxial sets of comparable cost.

The components in this set are as follows: two woofers, tweeters, and external crossovers. The frequency response sits at a fair 46-20,000 Hz, emphasizing bass more so than treble but doing both well nonetheless. With 100 watts RMS, you can sustain heavy output easily while the 300-watt max output allows for potent booms in between. Finally, if you’re in the market for some seriously low-resistance speakers, these will do the trick.

Warranty

As expected of a sibling company to JBL, you have a 60-day money-back guarantee and 12 months of warranty goodness to back you up.

Verdict

Pioneer TS-A1686R — Most Feature-Rich Speaker Set

Pioneer is a lot like Kenwood in that you’ve almost certainly heard of them by now, and if you haven’t, you’ve probably been living under some kind of ultra-secure tech rock, which is okay. That’s why we’re here to tell you all about these companies and their products, so let us be the ones to formally introduce Pioneer as one of the most awesome brand names out there. They, however, cater to a larger market than just the audiophile in each of us, so you can find other electronics to complement your home as well as your car.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

Let’s start by asking this: Do responsiveness and accurate sound reproduction float your boat? We didn’t emphasize these qualities so much with the other speakers in our review, so it goes without saying that you’re looking at a pair of the truest-to-life sound blasters to complement your audio expedition on those long car rides. The “multi-layer mica matrix” that’s used in the cones is said to be responsible for this, but we’re not scientists to tell you what it means exactly.

The main point is the bass and dynamic range is excellent here as these are the two talking points that define the TS-A1686R over its predecessor. That comes in addition to the aforementioned responsiveness and accuracy. The clarity really shines in the bright highs. The whole idea with the design language here is to reduce internal loss, losing as little quality as possible in playback.

Warranty

Pioneer offers a one-year warranty with this speaker and other products. You can purchase this product with confidence that you’re covered if it’s a lemon.

Verdict

JBL GX602 — Cheapest Speaker Set

It’s JBL: a no-nonsense leader in car and home speaker solutions. With good customer relations and an exceptional track record for their speakers, this incredibly affordable set of coaxial speakers deserve a second chance before judging on price alone. You might be surprised.

Hardware, Features, Bass and Sound Quality

It goes without saying that for the least expensive speaker set here, it’s probably going to make compromises here and there. It’s also a coaxial set, which makes those compromises perhaps more tangible since you’re working with a generally lower-grade speaker type. It’s true that the hardware isn’t supreme, but we can safely tell you that it’s a solid upgrade over whatever was shipped with your car, which is already a good sign. Offering low impedance, Plus One woofer cones and a soft dome tweeter, you have a standard formula for quality from the outset.

As a two-way speaker set, you won’t get the finest quality distribution across the whole range, but the frequency response is more than good enough for the price at 50-21,000 Hz.

Warranty

As expected of JBL, you have 60 days to claim a refund and one year to send the speakers in for repairs or a replacement. This aspect of the product is golden.

Verdict

Buyer’s Guide

Coaxial Speakers (Type)

Also known as full-range speakers, coaxial speakers are far easier to install and more readily available than their component counterparts. These are typically the type that are installed in any given vehicle by default, but upgraded coaxial speakers also exist. Lower on the price spectrum, you normally won’t go for coaxial speakers if you want exceptional audio quality, but for the average user, they’re more than adequate and can even be found on the high end from certain brands such as Alpine.

Component Speakers (Type)

Speakers of the component type are on the higher end and have their drivers broken up into multiple parts unlike coaxial speakers, which allows for a great deal of customization but can also make them difficult to balance for not-so-savvy users.

Component speakers are significantly more difficult to slot into just any vehicle layout, often requiring certain spatial layouts for proper installation. Even vehicles that can accommodate a specific component speaker array will usually need a great deal of time to install correctly, typically to the point that professionals are hired to take care of it instead.

(Sub)Woofer and (Ultra or Super) Tweeter

Woofers are speakers that are mechanically and electronically designed to produce exceedingly low-frequency sounds (bass), usually between 20 and 200 Hz.

Subwoofers are, as the name suggests, usually able to produce sounds that are even lower than this.

Likewise, tweeters are speakers that are dedicated to producing high-pitched, high-frequency sound (treble) in the 2,000-20,000 Hz range, and ultra tweeters normally go even higher than this.

Drivers

Drivers are the individual, specialized transducers that can be found in a speaker array:

• Subwoofers
• Woofers
• Mid-range
• Tweeters
• Ultra tweeters

Component speakers, as the name suggests, are split into multiple components or drivers, meaning they support an array of different speakers that are individually dedicated to different sound ranges.

Coaxial speakers also utilize drivers, but they’re normally built into a single speaker, projecting everything from one source instead of multiple dedicated ones like component speakers.

Sometimes, a single speaker will have only a single driver to handle everything although these are considered the basic most offerings that produce the lowest sound quality. Coaxial speakers normally have two drivers: a woofer and a tweeter.

Crossover

A crossover is what makes the audio output from the DAC and splits up the various sounds according to frequency so they can be delivered to the appropriate drivers:

• Woofers
• Mid-rangers
• Tweeters

As you’d expect, a crossover isn’t as important with coaxial speakers since individual drivers are typically built into a single speaker and have a lower quality ceiling than component speakers; however, crossovers are quintessential for any speaker layout, and coaxial types still require them to function.

Two- and Three-Way Speakers

Each “-way” of a speaker — two-way, three-way or four-way — denotes the number of drivers that are present in a speaker. The drivers are sometimes referred to as “sub-speakers” in the context of multi-way speaker setups since drivers are typically assigned an individual speaker in component speaker arrays.

• Two-way speakers, whether component or coaxial, will usually consist of a woofer and a tweeter.
• Three-way speakers will have three drivers: the woofer, tweeter, and a mid-range tacked on.
• Four-ways will often include an ultra-tweeter (sometimes called a super tweeter) on top.

Head Unit

This is the proper term for the media control display in your vehicle’s center console, typically above the ventilation controls. A head unit (“stereo” or “media deck”) may have a CD player and contains a screen, sometimes touch-based, that shows what’s currently playing while allowing you to adjust equalizer settings, switch tracks, alter connection settings and more.

You would normally connect to a head unit via Bluetooth or with an auxiliary cable, the latter producing superior analog sound quality; however, more recent units allow for media transfer through USB. Advanced head units incorporate operating environments that are similar to smartphones and implement Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to sync apps and music between mobile devices of either platform. The head unit contains the DAC that largely determines the audio output quality.

Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC)

Behaving much like a sound card, a DAC is what takes the digital representation of an audio file and converts it into analog sound that can be heard and understood by humans. Audio can’t be played in digital format since the data consists of 0’s and 1’s; a DAC is needed to interpret that binary code and translate it into actual, physical sound.

Better DACs can convert audio better and utilize more of your files’ bit and sample rates, which means a cleaner audio experience. However, audio quality isn’t solely contingent upon the DAC as you also need to use audio files that are high quality and have a decent speaker array to make the most of the output quality.

AMP

Amps are pretty much what they sound like: amplifiers for your audio output, increasing volume and power. They’re often paired with DACs so conversion and amplification can happen together before porting to the result to the speakers for playback.

Noise, Interference

Noise is an unpleasant and unintended hissing, crackling, rumbling, humming or other analog sound that occurs with audio output. It’s associated with low-quality sound and can result from literally any step in the process of introducing, converting, amplifying and playing music. If the audio file has a low bit or sample rate, then it doesn’t matter how good the DAC, AMP, and speakers are. The audio will sound terrible and produce lots of noise, which becomes more apparent at higher volume.

Likewise, a poor DAC can take a high-resolution sound file and dumb it down, making it hiss or whine when it plays. A poor speaker array can throw off the bass, treble and other frequencies in your audio regardless of how swell your audio files and DAC are.

Bluetooth and Auxiliary

These are favored connection protocols for conveying music to the head unit in your vehicle, which then uses the DAC to convert the files, the amp to improve their volume and the speakers to play it back. Bluetooth is more convenient since there are no cables, but auxiliary connections are uniformly superior because they maintain the original quality of the audio files while Bluetooth tends to lose some of the fidelity over the transmission.

Digital Audio Quality (Sample Rate, Bit Rate, Bit Depth)

Sample rate, which is measured in hertz (Hz), determines the “update” frequency of changes within an audio file, and as such, a higher sample rate means a more responsive acknowledgment of the small details in the audio as they come and go.

Bitrate, which is measured in kilobytes per second (kbps) determines the amount of detail that’s in the audio file, and a higher bit rate will lead to a higher file size but yield clearer output.

Finally, there’s bit depth, which is normally measured from 16-32 bits and determines the number of bits that can be potentially addressed in each sample.

Equalizer

This is the settings menu in your head unit that lets you adjust how deep the bass is, how high the trebles go or how profound the mid-range sounds will come out. This is an important part of maximizing what your car speakers offer in terms of sound quality.

FAQ

Do I really need component speakers for good audio?

In a nutshell: No, you don’t need component speakers. These speakers are considered an audiophile accessory and are neither cheap nor simple to set up. There are quality coaxial speakers that you can upgrade to if you’re looking to replace what’s currently in your vehicle, and they’re both affordable and excellent quality-wise for the average listener. These are what we’d recommend if you’re unsure of which offer you’ll want.

Can I hire someone to set up my car speakers?

Of course, you can! You can usually get someone from an electronics store, audio-centric retailers and even a car shop to knock that out for you. The price and availability will heavily depend on how difficult the task is, so if you’re looking to install component speakers, you’ll have more difficulty finding someone who’s willing to do it, and those who are will likely charge a higher dollar cost for it. Head units are super cheap, easy and quick to install in this manner, but you can typically do it easily on your own with a DIY video.

Do I really need to pay attention to sample rate, drivers, etc?

Chances are that if you’re asking this question in the first place, you probably don’t need to worry about any of it. We included that information in the terminology section for those who are interested in a more technically inclined shopping experience when choosing the best speaker for their car, but in reality, you don’t need to pay attention to any of these factors when settling for a basic coaxial speaker set that gets the job done. You can often read user reviews to find a better set if you want good sound quality without breaking down the numbers; however, you’ll want to look at these numbers when investing in a superb set of coaxial speakers.

How do I improve the bass of my audio without investing in a new set?

There are three ways to improve the bass of your audio without running out and investing in a new set of speakers:

1. Turn the bass up in the equalizer settings. You can do this through your head unit. Since each head unit is different in its layout and navigation, we can’t instruct you on how specifically you should access the equalizer, but when you’ve found it, it will present itself as a list of sliders that are labelled “bass”, “treble”, “mid” and so on. Turning the bass up will improve the boom, but if you turn it up too much, you’ll create noise, especially at higher volumes.
2. Use higher-quality audio files. Audio files that contain more information are able to bring out more lows in the bass, highs in the treble and detail in the mid-range sounds. You’d be shocked at the difference between 96 kbps and 332 kbps bit rates for example; the bass has much more oomph to it in addition to the other sound ranges that make up your audio output.
3. Use an auxiliary or USB cable to connect your media device. Auxiliary produces better audio quality than Bluetooth connections. USB is a fair substitute to Bluetooth although auxiliary is a tried-and-true approach that audiophiles swear by, and we have more faith in this connection choice than USB for better audio output. Whatever you do, try not to use wireless protocols to hook up your media.

Conclusion

You know what we do with conclusion sections? We get to pat you on the back for making it this far — or scrolling all the way to the bottom because you’re impatient like us and want the answer now. However, if you’ve taken anything away from our reviews today, it’s that patience is rewarded with a product that’s worth the paper, and you know what that paper consists of: time. We’re time-savers. You’re welcome.

Let’s take modesty back in for a second and scrawl out the bottom line for you here: Those specifications that audiophiles love to keep up with aren’t entirely necessary for the average Joe or Sally to keep pace with. This doesn’t mean they aren’t useful if you know how to interpret them, however. We’ve outlined terminology in the Buyer’s Guide to help you understand what each buzzword means, how it’s measured and why it matters, so hit that up if you need some assistance.

For the average reader, we can’t fly off the handle and tell you all about the technical, grainy details of what’s to come in the next decade. What we can say is short, simple and sweet: Car speakers might become a thing of the past thanks to Sound Continental and other companies that are pioneering some type of vibration technology that forgoes traditional speakers. Apparently, the cabin structure is used to convey and bounce vibrations for a surround-sound experience that’s on par or better than “any premium sound system on the road now”. We don’t understand it and won’t pretend to explain it well, but the days of the multi-driver, circular stereo speakers might soon meet its end.

However, we’re a little ways off from that, so strap in and secure yourself a new set of car speakers with our blessing. If you’re serious about your music, it’s a worthwhile investment.