Vehicle audio

The term "vehicle audio" refers to audio equipment that is built into a car or other vehicle and serves to amuse and educate the people who are travelling in the vehicle. Up to the 1950s, it was little more than a straightforward AM radio. Since then, various technologies such as FM radio (1952), 8-track tape players, cassette players, record players, CD players (1984), DVD players, Blu-ray players, navigation systems, Bluetooth telephone integration, and smartphone controllers such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have been incorporated into automobiles. They could formerly be operated from the dashboard using a few buttons, but today they can be controlled using the controls on the steering wheel or by voice commands.

Vehicle audio was first designed for the purpose of listening to music and the radio; however, it is now integrated into a variety of other systems, including automobile telematics, telephony, in-vehicle security, handsfree calling, navigation, and remote diagnostics. The same loudspeakers may also be used for active noise management to reduce noise from the road and the engine, or they can be used to enhance the sounds of the engine, such as by making a smaller engine seem like it has a larger capacity.