What should you look for when choosing a car stereo?

The Pioneer AppRadio series are among of the most fully-featured app mirroring receivers on the market.

(Credit: Antuan Goodwin/CNET)

When most people think about a “car stereo,” they’re actually thinking about the receiver. Also known as the head unit or deck, the receiver is both the brain and heart of your car audio system and the bit that you’ll directly interact with from behind the wheel. When you choose a receiver, you’re also locking in your available audio sources, features, and the expandability of the rest of your car audio system.

So what should you look for when choosing for a new receiver? Here are the 7 attributes that we consider when recommending a car stereo, along with a few of our top picks to get you started on your search.

Audio sources

The most important bits that you should look for are the audio sources that you most often use.

Do you need a CD player? Will you be using your receiver for DVD playback when parked? Have you ditched discs in favor of digital media? Depending on your answer, you’ll have to decide whether to go with a traditional CD-receiver with a slot for your discs, a larger A/V receiver with a color screen, or a mechless receiver that ditches the drive and all of the moving parts that come with it.

Even if … [Read more]