Dateline: 1964, Poughkeepsie, New York – inside my family's 1961 Plymouth station wagon. On the AM radio crooning their hearts out were Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons; the song was "Rag Doll."* My parents were astonished that I sang along – my sisters hysterical. But there it was – my first love jones with car audio.
In 1965 I accompanied the Beatles with their number one hit – ironically "Ticket to Ride" – and vocalized explosively in 1967 with the Doors idyllic "Light My Fire." During late nights on the New York State Thruway, I heard only sportscaster Howard Cosell's Speaking of Everything and catchphrase "I tell it like it is" inside my spartan 1970 Mustang.
Not long after I scrutinized the rotating car stereo display at Jocko's Speed Shop. I opted for a slick 8-track deck. And then there was a coming of age with Crutchfield mail order, and the razzle dazzle of Circuit City, Best Buy and Crazy Eddie. But I digress.
Car stereo has advanced quite a bit since this 1978 AMC Matador 8-track unit! Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/CZmarlin.
Listening to music in our cars is a near-universal pleasure. How much better can it get? I talked with Brent Phillips of California dealer Advanced Car Audio Solutions, who succinctly drove home the point I alluded to earlier: "The technology will keep changing, but the magic is the same: that moment when the right song, in the right system, gives you goosebumps." The factory stereo incorporated inside my latest Mustang is mundane, so I wanted to find out how much better car audio can be. I spoke with a number of people in the industry to gain their insights and opinions, beginning with Phillips. And I still enthusiastically rejoice and harmonize with Mr. Valli.
Brent Phillips: Car audio is definitely a subject that’s both overlooked and deeply fascinating, especially when you consider how far it has evolved in the past few decades.
Joe Caplan: Does a car buyer of today pick a vehicle based upon the brand of stereo, or not?
BP: I think most car buyers don’t really look for a particular stereo system – it’s more of a shiny feature that comes along with the model they want. People with money usually just buy the top trim, and the stereo brand is just part of the package. Most don’t actually care much about the audio at the time of purchase because the dealer salesperson is talking their ear off, and you don’t really get to experience the system until you’re driving alone.
In my opinion, car makers [look for a competitive advantage] with recognizable names like Bose, Harman Kardon, or Meridian because brand recognition adds credibility. But the reality is they [typically] build the system with the least expensive components that sound " good enough" to the average customer.
One unique example is Tesla – they let you take the car out for a real test drive, sometimes even for a full day, without a salesperson riding along. Customers notice how quiet the cars are (no engine noise) and how much power they have, which makes the factory sound system stand out even more. Tesla has been unbelievably good with their audio tuning. Land Rover with Meridian and many Harman Kardon OEM systems are also among the best factory setups you’ll hear.
The Meridian immersive audio system in an AVATR 06, featuring proprietary DSP processing to precisely tailor the sound. Courtesy of Meridian Audio press release.
JC: Do you foresee a wider integration of artificial intelligence in future automotive audio?
BP: Yes; I think AI will be taking over most aspects of human life, and automotive audio is no exception. DSPs (digital signal processors) already listen and adjust tuning for the cabin, but AI could take this much further. I see car makers using algorithms to recognize the individual driver, then automatically tailoring the sound to fit their preferences, mood, or even the type of drive – commute, road trip, or late-night cruise.
It could also adapt based on the number of passengers: one driver alone, a driver with a passenger, or a full car. If people are talking, the system could subtly lower certain frequencies to keep voices clear, then shift back when the focus is on music. Essentially, the audio experience will adapt in real time to what’s happening in the vehicle, creating a personalized and dynamic soundtrack for every drive. We’re just scratching the surface.
JC: What feature is most sought after by consumers: power (watts), number of speakers, or integration of cell phones, GPS, etc.?
BP: For most people, the first thing they want is Apple CarPlay – if they don’t [already] have it, that’s the top priority. Once they’ve got CarPlay, the next thing is always more bass. There’s never enough bass. Then they want a knob to control that bass. Once they have that, they realize their highs can’t keep up. So they add better highs, and at that point DSP becomes necessary – even though most customers don’t know what that is.
If the local shop knows what they’re doing, that DSP turns the system into a true concert experience that gives you goosebumps on every drive. If they don’t, the customer ends up hating car audio altogether. When it’s done right, though, people can’t stop showing it off to their friends – usually by playing " Hotel California" (the MTV live edition) way too many times.
JC: What was the single greatest car stereo flop other than 8-track?
BP: First, I wouldn’t call the 8-track a flop – it was actually a big step forward at the time, giving twice the music capacity of the 4-track (and for a while, it was revolutionary). That said, one of the most memorable true flops was the Alpine Blackbird navigation system. It was marketed as a portable GPS that could dock into Alpine head units, blending portable convenience with in-dash integration. On paper, it sounded brilliant. In practice, it was plagued with bugs, expensive map updates, and reliability issues. By the time it launched, Garmin, TomTom, and eventually smartphones completely leapfrogged it. For a company like Alpine, known for bulletproof head units, it was a rare misstep that dealers.
JC: Do you foresee a future where automotive audio rivals home audio, or are we already there?
BP: We’re already there in some cases. A well-designed aftermarket system in a car can outperform many home setups. The car cabin is a small, controlled environment with the advantage of DSP correction, making it possible to achieve a true high-end listening experience that feels immersive in a way home audio often can’t.
That said, home audio and car audio are very different experiences – you really can’t compare them. Home audio is the pursuit of perfection. If you’re a trained listener and love home audio, you’ll never get that same " perfect" experience in a car. You also won’t get the same level of product refinement in a vehicle that you do with high-end home components.
However – you’ll never get the same dynamics in a living room as you do in a car. A properly built car audio system can make a grown man cry. It can pull out emotions you didn’t even know you were holding inside, or make you feel like a superhero as the music locks in with the energy of driving. There’s a cocktail of brain chemistry happening – dopamine, adrenaline, and more – that just doesn’t hit the same way in a quiet room.
With home audio, you get emotion and refinement, but you’re sitting still, waiting for the music to come to you. It’s intentional, often ritualistic – maybe enjoyed with a glass of wine or bourbon in hand. In a car, it’s different. You drive every day, whether it’s to work, to the store, or to pick up your kids. That means you get to escape into your music – even if it’s just one song on the way to the grocery store. It’s a stress relief, a reset. You can be alone, or you can share it with someone riding with you. And unlike home audio, in a car when you turn up the volume and bass, everyone with you is along for the ride – they have no choice but to experience it with you.
In my opinion, you need both – but the magic of car audio is that it blends into everyday life. That’s what makes it so powerful.
Light up your driving experience: subwoofers in a high-end car audio system. The entire vehicle was equipped with this level of extreme tech. Courtesy of Frank Doris.
JC: Have car stereo manufacturers such as Pioneer become more profitable, or even survived, by becoming OEM suppliers to vehicle manufacturers?
BP: This is a hard one to answer. I think the car audio industry as a whole is dying a slow death. Many of the players selling product aren’t educated in how to actually run a business, nor are they putting in the work to learn the integration skills that are required today to be successful. Customers often don’t understand the labor involved in even the simplest upgrade, and the costs are rising to the point where it’s difficult for manufacturers to move the volume they need to stay profitable.
Since most brands aren’t public, and unless you’re an insider, you can’t really see their financials, [so] it’s tough to say who’s profitable. What I do see, being back in the car audio industry, is a market in transition – and tariffs have only accelerated that shift. Products are better than ever, but at the same time China is tempting people to buy cheap, private-labeled gear. On the surface it looks like anyone can start a brand, but all it’s doing is saturating the market with subpar product, frustrating customers, and weakening the industry as a whole. It quickly shows that building a reputable brand is not as easy as it looks.
To succeed in car audio today, you basically have to be an accountant, engineer, salesperson, and installer all wrapped into one – or have enough revenue to pay staff in all those roles. There are a handful of shops and brands that are doing it right and getting stronger, but they’re the minority. The love of music, however, is constant, and that’s what will keep the industry alive.
Looking ahead, I think there’s going to be a real battle between manufacturers, dealers, distributors, and DIYers over the next five years. Amazon, Crutchfield, and Best Buy give customers access to gear, but they don’t give them the hands-on experience. At the end of the day, most people don’t want to tear apart their $80,000 new car just to try something themselves – that’s where real shops and real expertise matter.
JC: Lastly, how far will automotive audio progress, in your opinion?
BP: I think most of what people want is already available now. The big changes I see coming are DSPs getting easier to autotune and integration becoming simpler as car makers’ CAN-bus (Controlled Area Network bus) systems and other protocols are better understood.
Amplifiers will get more efficient in how they use voltage, and I think vehicle electrical systems will shift toward slightly higher, more efficient standards. Speakers won’t change much – lower-quality ones will eventually catch up to what we call high quality today – but I do see subwoofers improving. They’ll play lower, hit harder, and do it in smaller enclosures than ever before.
Funny thing is, 30-plus years ago an older installer told me I should stay in college because in the future everything would hook up wirelessly (this was even before Bluetooth). Yet here we are, decades later, still running wires – more wires than ever, actually! LOL.
Brett’s Final Thoughts
Car audio has always been about emotion – making you feel connected to the music while you drive. The technology will keep changing, but the magic is the same: that moment when the right song, in the right system, gives you goosebumps. That’s the future we’re building toward.
The way the car audio industry survives, though, is to better sell customers on this experience – not just on price. And the only way we get this opportunity is if manufacturers support local dealers by educating, training, and helping them succeed with their products. That will be the gating factor, because big business usually doesn’t work that way.
The iconic brands of the ’90s were built on passion, but their founders have died or are dying, and many of those companies aren’t carrying the torch the same way. Rockford Fosgate isn’t what it once was. It will be interesting to see what Garmin does with JL Audio. Where is Sony? What is Alpine going to do? Who will become the next brand customers look to with excitement?
The industry doesn’t have the cult following it did in the ’90s, or the boost it got from a cultural phenomenon like The Fast and the Furious in the early 2000s. Meanwhile, automakers are creating more hurdles than ever [for customers] with increasingly complex systems. So the question becomes: what keeps this industry moving forward and evolving?
It’s both a scary and an exciting time – but one thing hasn’t changed: people still love music, and car audio still has the power to move them.
*In 2010, radio station WCBS-FM in New York City rated the Four Seasons' "Rag Doll" as the number one song of all time, as voted on by its listeners.
Header image: HARMAN debuts the world's first in-vehicle display using Samsung Neo QLED technology in a Tata Motors Harrier.ev. Courtesy of Harman International press release.
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