We’ve all been there before: On our way to somewhere we need to go, stuck in traffic that stretches for miles along a three-lane highway, clinging to our sanity by a thread as our patience erodes slowly but surely. Or perhaps you’ve planned a drive that you knew would take a while, a road trip that takes anywhere from 3 to 10 hours, and you believe you’ve prepared for it adequately. But hours in, the exhaustion starts to hit, and you need anything to grapple on to in order to stay awake and alert.

Even the boring morning commute to work can be problematic for most drivers, where you’re struggling with both anxiety and exhaustion and desperately need a pick-me-up to walk through those doors with your game face on.

Enter the driver’s refuge: the solution that makes the longest drives seem short and transports you elsewhere when traffic or work threatens to ruin your day. What is this refuge? Music. 

Being able to turn on your radio or stereo, connect to your streaming library, and blast your favorite tunes is an essential coping mechanism for all of the horrors of public transportation: one that just about every driver uses from time to time. As such, if you’re considering updating aspects of your vehicle, you should definitely give your stereo system a once-over. If any part of it doesn’t work regularly, or even if you notice a significant dip in audio quality when you connect your phone to your radio via Bluetooth, it may be time to give it a much-needed tune-up. 

But what components might you need to take your audio experience to the next level? What are the aspects of improving your auto demanded by current trends, and what devices might be superfluous additions for big spenders? For a brief guide to improving your car’s audio systems, read on. The ability for your vehicle to deliver grandiose, immersive sound is within your fingertips.

Throw Out the Default Receiver

Depending on whether your car is a newer model or something significantly older, like an early 2000’s model, you may want to consider replacing your receiver and going with something with a little bit more functionality. The factory-default receiver doesn’t always have the highest quality or functions like hands-free Bluetooth calling, the ability to connect remotely and manually to all of your devices, as well as the ability to access radio programs like Sirius XM. When looking to upgrade your overall set-up, this can be a great place to start, especially if your current receiver has limited functionality.

Install New Speakers

Similar to factory-default receivers, factory-default speakers are not always built with quality or longevity in mind. As time goes on, you may find that your speakers don’t deliver the same quality of sound they used to, or worse, fizzle out altogether. As such, you’ll want to replace your speakers when you can with something a little more long-lasting; However, you’ll want to take care to make sure that your new speakers can be easily installed in your model of vehicle, otherwise it might get needlessly complicated. You will also want to check to make sure your car’s sound insulation is intact, as even the best speakers can cause your doors to rattle and clank if your car isn’t properly insulated.

Amplifiers and Subwoofers

Once you’ve improved the overall quality of the sound coming from your car’s speakers, you might want to invest in a new amplifier or subwoofer to further modify their sound. Amplifiers can take your music’s volume to new heights, far beyond the capabilities of even custom speakers, while subwoofers can add a punch of bass to your audio. While earlier models of both have tended to be bulkier, newer amplifiers and subwoofers tend to be slimmer, more compact, making them a perfect addition to any car’s sound system.

When it comes to your sound system, you have a variety of options to customize it and enhance your personal listening experience to your liking. With advances in automotive technology across the board, you can upgrade your sound system to the point where you hear deep layers of sound in every track, a cosmos of instrumentation that you couldn’t hear with your basic, factory-default speakers.