What is a car trip without music? For many drivers (and passengers!), being in a car pretty much requires listening to music. These days, there are many different ways to listen to music in your car, and here are some of the best ones based on what kind of listener you are.
For short trips: the built-in radio
Virtually every car these days will come with a built-in radio. If you mostly use your car for very short trips, such as driving to the store and back, using the radio might be enough to fulfil your musical needs, and it will save you time, as the radio is usually just a button away. Many car radios have numbered buttons and will allow you to save one of your favourite stations per button, so find some good radio stations for your favourite genre (za.radio.net is a great resource for that) and they will always be just a click away.
For those who are always on the go: a smartphone
If you tend to receive a lot of phone calls while you’re in the car, using your smartphone to listen to music might be the best solution for you. Connect your phone to your car’s sound system via an aux cable (which will go into your phone’s headphone jack) and use your favourite music app, such as Spotify or Apple Music. When you receive a call, the music will pause automatically to allow you to have your conversation. This solution is also great for those who use navigation apps on their phone, as the music volume will automatically lower when directions are being given out.
For those who are really into music: an aftermarket car stereo
The stereos that come integrated into most contemporary cars are fine for the general population, but if you want a proper musical experience, you might need to buy an aftermarket stereo to replace the factory-provided one. Aftermarket stereos normally provide higher sound quality and better volume – it’s a bit like buying high-quality headphones versus cheap earbuds.
You will need to install the new stereo yourself, which takes a bit of tinkering. One of the parts you will need to buy is a DIN dash kit, which is essential in the installation process. The term ‘DIN’ refers to the size of your stereo’s chassis: if your stereo is two inches tall you will need a single DIN, whereas if it is four inches tall, you will need a double DIN (the standard width in both cases is fourteen inches). Check out thewireszone.com for a huge range of both single and double DIN kits for countless car models.
For vintage enthusiasts: a portable vinyl player
Finally, if you are a fan of the return to vinyl, there is no reason why you couldn’t buy yourself a portable vinyl player and keep it on the passenger seat. Portable record players come with in-built speakers, so you’d be set! If the idea of vinyl in a car seems strange to you, just remember that having record players in cars used to be fairly standard.
