How to Set Up Your Car Stereo for the Best Sound Quality

According to an industry expert, you may not have to do anything at all.

Ronan Glon | 

Sep 12, 2023 | 3 min read

Aaron Miller | Capital One

Many in-car audio systems let the driver adjust far more than the volume. But an industry expert argues it's best not to change the factory settings. Here's why.

One Expert Suggests Not Changing Car Audio Settings

Christopher Herold, the director of acoustic systems engineering at Harman International, told Capital One, "When it comes to setting up your audio system, our first piece of advice is don't touch that dial! That's because the bass, treble, balance, and fade are already set to what our engineers believe provides the optimum experience."

A great deal of time and effort goes into tuning a car's stereo. The Harman team takes into account all kinds of factors (e.g., seat type, door material, interior volume) during the design phase. They dial in different settings for coupes and convertibles, for instance, because a folding roof has different acoustic properties than a fixed roof.

Once the computers have done their thing and created a model, "our golden ears take over," Herold explains. "These engineers have their favorite songs and pieces of music to test and stretch the performance boundaries of an audio system. It's a real labor of love, and many of them are musicians."

Start With the Right Tunes If You Must Change Car Audio Settings

If you can't resist the urge to play around with the car audio settings, Herold recommends car owners create a playlist of songs spanning different genres and listen to the music in the car. It'll help you determine whether a particular vocal tone comes in too loud or the bass rocks you in your seat. From there, you can typically turn to your infotainment system to tweak accordingly.

Commonly adjustable parameters include bass and tonal balance. Some systems also offer tone adjustment through graphic equalization, as well as spatial audio adjustment. "When setting your bass, look for presence, balance, and extension of low frequencies," Herold says. "The bass should be punchy and tight so that each note is distinctly present and physically moving."

To get the right tonal balance between the bass, mid-range, and treble, Herold recommends owners "set the system so that high-frequency sounds, for example, cymbals complement the mid-range without a sense of harshness or irritation."

Dialing in the spatial-audio settings to provide the best surround-sound profile requires a little imagination. "The listening experience in a car should be comparable to attending a concert," Herold notes. So sit in the driver's seat, imagine a band playing in front of you, and "set the system so that the instruments appear naturally separated and accurately spread throughout the dashboard."

Your Car Audio Quality Matters Most

Herold warns that spending money on an optional high-end car sound system is useless if you're playing low-quality music. He recommends using CDs, as they deliver excellent audio quality. The tried-and-true compact disc format is dying out, though, and the list of new vehicles equipped with a CD player continues to shrink. So if you're downloading music, make sure to get the highest-quality file available, because, according to Herold, it will help you to "experience the full joy of your sound system."

Ronan Glon

Ronan Glon is an American journalist and automotive historian based in France. He enjoys working on old cars and spending time outdoors seeking out his next project car.