Purists can have their ear-bleeding, correctly staged upper-ranges as clear and bright as they like, but everyone knows that a car stereo rig that stirs the soul has to have asphalt-pounding bass. There's more to getting deep, tight, spine-tingling bass than throwing an amp and a couple of subwoofers in your trunk and calling it a day. If you want your low end to knock harder, hit deeper and shake the ground, here's what you need to do.

Cone Size Matters

For deep, hard-hitting bass, there's one thing you should value above all other. When you are shopping for subs, the cone size is the most important variable to consider. You can't expect to make your car's windows flex by piping some bass through a pair of 8-inch midranges. It just can't be done. A pair of 10-inch woofers is a good start, but a pair of 12, 15 or 18-inch subwoofers will hit all the low notes.

Of course, as cone size goes up, so does speaker cost and the amount of space you will need to properly load them into your car. The larger the cone, the more air a speaker can move. If a speaker is suffocated, however, it won't be able to push as well as it could. Apart from cone size, you will also need to consider the enclosure you will be placing the speakers in.

Tune It Up 

Take one look at any of the amplifiers capable of driving your chosen subs, and you will no doubt see a bunch of knobs and switches. These are more than just little touches to make an amp look more complicated. They actually serve a very important purpose. They control the gains and boosts that can make your car stereo really thump. Improper adjustment, or ignoring them completely, can result in distortion, crackling or hissing. 

Different amps all have different methods of adjustment, so refer to your user's manual that came with your amp for details. Car audio professionals often use an oscilloscope. It can also be done by ear, adjusting each component in the system until everything is playing nicely.

Invest in Sound Deadening Material

Everyone's experienced a poorly installed car stereo system at one point or another. Think of the last time you were at a stop light, and instead of hearing that trademark low thump you heard a bunch of metal rattling. Failing to install sound deadening material to the metal surfaces around your vehicle can have that effect. Not all cars are made the same, but each has a certain frequency that will cause them to resonate and rattle. That sound not only takes away from the audio experience, but it makes your speakers and amplifiers work harder. Invest in sound deadening material, and cover anything that rattles when you boom.

For help getting your car as low as it can go, come see our staff at Soundz Good Stereo. Come in with $40, and we'll finance the rest of your dream system with no interest for 18 months. Don't sacrifice your whole tax rebate on an awesome sound system. Get your system professionally installed by us.