The Crutchfield story: chapter guide

Read our 50-year history decade by decade

by Crutchfield's Bill Crutchfield

Chapter 1: the 1970s — The origin of legendary car audio retail

Chapter 2: the 1980s — Growing pains and the consumer electronics boom

Chapter 3: the 1990s — A decade of growth and expansion

Chapter 4: the 2000s — Traversing the digital era

Chapter 5: the 2010s — The continuing evolution of consumer electronics

Chapter 6: the 2020s — Handling the pandemic and hitting a major milestone

Exclusive Crutchfield technology

How it works

SpeakerCompare^™ simulates the sound of home and car speakers through your headphones. It lets you compare sonic characteristics between speakers so that you can make a more informed shopping decision.

Why selecting your headphones is important

SpeakerCompare tailors your listening experience to the exact headphones you have, so that what you hear is comparable to auditioning speakers side-by-side in person. Knowing which model headphones you're using lets us remove any sonic coloring from your experience.

Two different listening modes

In an actual listening room, you'd find that some speakers play louder than others when fed the same amount of power. In equal power mode, you'll hear these differences in loudness as they naturally occur between speakers.

In equal volume mode, we've made the loudness of each speaker about the same. This gives you a more direct comparison of subtle voicing differences between speakers.

Nothing beats listening to speakers in your space

SpeakerCompare gives you a sense of the sonic differences. But performance in the real world is affected by the acoustics of your car or home, your choice of amplification, and your source material. We still believe that the gold standard for auditioning speakers is hearing them in your own environment — that's why we offer a 60-day money-back guarantee.

Listening kit

To help you choose the right speakers, we recommend using Crutchfield's SpeakerCompare Listening Kit. It includes a pair of studio-quality headphones, and a guide to getting the most out of your session, and a few other necessary items. We've carefully chosen the components of this kit to ensure a crystal-clear listening experience. It's available for a nominal rental fee, and includes a $25 Crutchfield merchandise credit.

Request a kit Request a kit

We'd love to know what you think!

Color:

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Sound profile:

Warm

Ideal for extended fatigue-free listening, because they emphasize bass and roll off the highest treble, for smooth, relaxed sound.

Neutral

A solid choice for most applications, because they prioritize accuracy, without emphasizing bass or treble.

Bright

Perfect for listeners who want to hear every detail, because they accentuate higher frequencies for a crisp, energetic sound.

Detail/Clarity score
Bass score
Vocals score

Researched & reviewed by humans, summarized by AI

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Equal volume

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The Crutchfield story: chapter guide