Factory speakers are the bane of every music lover's existence. They're just not built to withstand the conditions inside your car over time. Fortunately, we carry all kinds of aftermarket speakers that are built to survive - and thrive - in these harsh conditions.

Factory speakers usually sound fine when they're new, but they deteriorate over time. We compared speakers of different ages to see how badly they fare.

If you want your music to sound great, you can't ignore your car's speakers. Dollar for dollar, new speakers are one of the best ways to improve your car's sound.

A brief video covering the basics of installing car speakers.

With so many speakers available, it's important to understand what to look for. Keep these points in mind, and your system will sound its best.

When you're shopping for speakers, don't forget the tweeter. It's shape and the material it's made from have a direct impact on how your music sounds. Tweeters reproduce the upper frequencies in your music — they're what makes your highs sparkle and come to life, and they're vital for proper soundstaging and stereo separation.

A 5-minute video that shows the basics of installing a component speaker system in a car.

Component speaker systems are the best way to get high-quality sound in your vehicle. You'll find lots of choices at Crutchfield, with some important differences among the models. If you keep a few important points in mind, you'll it's easy to make a smart choice.

Installing tweeters in your factory tweeter locations, or custom-mounting them on the upper part of your doors, will give you better stereo imaging and raise the soundstage to your ears. You'll hear better placement of instruments in recordings, and you'll enjoy more depth of sound. And they might not be as difficult to install as you may think.

Factory speakers are not built to last, so over time they'll deteriorate to the point where they sound truly awful. We set up a blind listening test in our Labs and invited some of our most critical listeners to drop by and see if they could tell a difference in the sound.

Getting the right speakers to fit your car doesn't have to be confusing, thanks to Crutchfield's extensive research and database.

Installing new speakers is the single most cost-effective improvement you can make to your vehicle's audio/video system. Not only are aftermarket speakers relatively inexpensive, they are typically not difficult to install.

Achieving great imaging is a matter of understanding your components, and how they interact with your vehicle and the people sitting in it. Properly tweaked, your car or truck can be a dynamic "listening capsule" - a fantastic place to listen to music. But in order to get your vehicle to provide that type of environment, you need to compensate for some of its natural limitations.

What kind of a difference do new speakers really make? How difficult will my new speakers be to install? Will my factory radio power aftermarket speakers? Plus other common questions about adding new speakers to your car.

Learn about the features and technical specifications you'll find included in car speakers.

Confused about what's in the speakers you're thinking of buying? This glossary examines the materials used in constructing car speakers as well as some common speaker design elements.

Sound Ordnance car speakers are your best option for replacing your factory speakers on a tight budget. Watch this quick video to learn more about them.

Many customers note that sometimes Crutchfield's classification of a car speaker's size is different from what the speaker manufacturer states. This is especially true in the case of 6-1/2" versus...

While most speakers feature the same basic components, the materials used, the quality of the construction, and the sophistication of the design can greatly impact how a speaker sounds. Here's a close look at what makes Focal speakers sound so good.

Factory speakers tend to be made from materials that can't handle the extreme conditions found in a car. Over time, they deteriorate, distorting high notes, strangling bass, and robbing the sound of power. Aftermarket speakers are built to deliver sound as pure as the dawn after a stormy night.