If you’re lucky enough to sit in a late model Audi or Lexus or BMW, take the opportunity to crank up the sound system and have a good listen. Especially in the Lexus, you’ll be blown away by the brilliant sound system – a system with crystal clear highs, realistic mid-range and bass which is strong but never over-emphasised.

If you’ve got time, look at the components that make up the sound system. To your surprise, you’ll probably find a fairly normal looking "head" unit, a few amplifiers tucked away under seats or in the boot, and a subwoofer in the rear deck that looks paltry compared to what you probably expected.

These ex-Mitsubishi 5-inch wide-range speakers have excellent efficiency. High efficiency is vital if you are to generate adequate sound pressure levels (SPLs) without spending a lot of money on amplifier power.

By now, you will probably be wondering how come this system sounds so good compared with those owned by the "doof-doof" guys, who always seem to think that multiple 30cm woofers and about a kilowatt of amplifier power are needed to get even semi-decent sound. There will be other questions as well – such as, where are the huge cables, the gold-plated connectors and the sheer physical intrusiveness of the sound system that you thought were necessary for good in-car sound?

Of course, the answer is that if you don’t want to make your ear drums bleed. Most of that stuff simply isn’t needed!

There’s no getting away from the fact that premium car sound systems are good – it’s just that most of us don’t have the $180,000-odd needed to buy the car that fits around that type of system. In fact, chances are, the sound system budget that you’ve got to work with will be limited to just two or three hundred dollars.

But even with that sort of budget, you can do a lot better than you’d first think. So, in this article, we’ll look at the techniques and tactics you can use to acquire and install a sound system in your car that’s more than just competent. It won’t be an ear-bleeder but if you like accurate imaging, very good frequency response and excellent clarity, it’ll be just fine.

In fact, it’ll be about as good as the systems featured in cars costing around $75,000.