We at Certified Autosound & Security are car audio installation specialists. Our industry has evolved dramatically since the early days of car radio installation and car speaker installations. Today, we integrate in-dash radios with your vehicle’s data systems, allowing vehicle diagnostics information to be displayed on your new in-dash screen and letting you connect your smartphone wirelessly to your car stereo so you can stream your favorite Internet radio station through to your car’s speakers.
We also still do the standard car audio installations and perform custom car stereo installations, from “mild to wild” as we call it.
What is involved in car audio installation?
Modern car audio installation requires our installation technicians to be experts in many skills to work on a vehicle. Performing a simple car radio installation (or deck install) today starts by applying protective tape and covers to the areas where we will be working (we don’t want any marks or scratches); then the careful removal of dash trim panels; programming and wiring of data interface modules to the car’s data network and steering wheel controls; integration with any other vehicle entertainment system and backup cameras and other systems; then full testing of all sources (radio, USB, CD/DVD, Bluetooth hands-free, Bluetooth music streaming, aux input.
Once that is complete, we tune your new stereo’s equalizers, crossovers and time correction function to maximize the fidelity of your vehicle’s stereo system. Finally, we reassemble the dash and remove the protective coverings.
At this point, the vehicle is ready to be delivered to you, at which time we connect your devices to your new stereo and show you how to operate the radio’s functions. All this for a car rRadio installation!
We take the same care and attention when doing speaker installations, amplifier upgrades, subwoofer integrations and everything else we do.
What tools are required for car audio installation?
We use a wide array of tools and test equipment during any car audio installation. There are, of course, the basics one would expect, such as screwdrivers, socket sets and wire cutters. Today, the variety of those tools required to work on all makes and models of vehicles is often well beyond what you will find in the toolboxes of even the most die-hard DYI car audio fans.
We use a wide variety of specialized panel-removal tools; along with electronic test equipment like oscilloscopes, vehicle electrical system testers; scan tools and vehicle platform-specific programmers; Real Time Audio Analyzers (RTA); phase testing tools; Sound Pressure Level (SPL) meters and more.
We also subscribe to a number of vehicle information databases, manufacturer databases and integration procedure-specific databases for the vehicles and products in use. Some of these cost us thousands of dollars to subscribe to annually, but we consider them an investment – a must to properly and safely perform a car stereo installation on your modern car or truck.
Does car audio installation affect my vehicle’s warranty?
This is a common question, and the answer is No. Having a new car stereo installation performed on your vehicle does not affect your warranty, and there are laws in place that detail that out. All of our product suppliers work very carefully to ensure their products are compatible with your vehicle, and often they work directly with vehicle manufacturers for upgrades to their OEM systems.
We invite you to come by one of our locations at Abbotsford, Chiliwack, or Maple Ridge and take a tour of Certified Autosound & Security. We would love to show you how and why we do car audio installations the way we do.