How to Make Bluetooth Louder in the Car (Simple tips)

Having a Bluetooth speaker in your car can be very handy both in terms of personal and professional use. On one hand, you get to enjoy cool and calming music on a relaxing long drive with friends and families. On the other hand, you can answer calls without having to touch your phone. However, low-sounding and bad-quality speakers can be a nightmare. So how can you make your car’s Bluetooth speaker louder while upgrading/improving and retaining the overall sound quality? Let’s find out.

The best way to make your car’s Bluetooth speakers louder is to get a new receiver since factory-made Bluetooth receivers lack enough juice to properly power them. Another way is to use 320kbps MP3 files or even better formats that do not compress the files by deleting audio data.

Let’s look at a few other ways you can make the Bluetooth louder in your car.

Disable absolute volume in your smartphone

Android devices come preloaded with a safety feature that prevents you from raising the music volume to its maximum setting. When you try to go above the 60-70% volume level, the device shoots a notification, warning against listening to higher volumes of music.

Unfortunately, the smartphone doesn’t know that you are playing music from your car’s audio system and your ears will not be damaged even if you play at max volume. So the next time the notification pops up, simply hit ok and raise the volume anyway. The same applies if you are using an aux input instead of Bluetooth.

Upgrade to the latest Bluetooth version

A Bluetooth device implements audio compression at the cost of clarity and loudness for seamless transfer. The Sub Band Codec (SBC) is the most commonly used universal codec that’s used in Bluetooth devices.

There are Bluetooth codecs that are able to compress data, without reducing its overall quality and they are available in high-end devices that support Bluetooth 4.0 and above. So if you want a loud Bluetooth sound system, check the Bluetooth version of your car speakers as well as your smartphone and figure out what codec they use. 

The devices automatically choose the highest available codec. In case they don’t, navigate to the settings of both devices and manually change the codecs to support the higher quality.

Reset the Bluetooth connection

Bluetooth technology has been around for a long time, but it still has some drawbacks. If the connection is weak, or if the devices are not compatible, both the music quality and loudness will be affected.

In such situations, reset your device and manually change the codec by going into developer settings (if you’re on Android).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyNryiXFqtI

However, the settings will revert back if your smartphone or the car’s Bluetooth receiver does not support that codec.

Opt for high-quality files

Most people either play music from MP3 files or stream it directly from Spotify. If the source audio file is of a lower quality then even a premium Digital to Analog (DAC) will not be able to produce a loud sound.

Now an MP3 file is a compressed audio format that discards a lot of data to save space. They sacrifice the overall quality to reduce the file size. You can fit more of them in your storage but they lose quality, loudness, and the music ends up breaking and crackling when you increase the volume.

So the next time you want to hear loud music, get music that’s at least encoded in 320kbps. If you are on Spotify, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid subscription for better-sounding audio.

Change your car’s Bluetooth receiver

The two most important parts of a car’s Bluetooth speaker system are the receivers and the speaker themselves. Most speakers have a factory-installed Bluetooth receiver that barely manages to do the job. The power output of cheap receivers might not be enough to support your speakers and reduce their loudness. 

So upgrading the speaker system is not always enough. You’ll have to get a new Bluetooth receiver that is capable of powering this new sound system. Also make sure it comes with a high-quality DAC (digital to analog converter), that preserves the audio quality as it is transmitted from your smartphone.

I can recommend the Bluetooth receiver from Amazon:

Invest in an amplifier

If you are truly passionate about having a respectably loud Bluetooth sound system in your car, get an amplifier. The devices can be a bit costly, but once you have installed one, you won’t be needing another for at least five years, provided you take good care of it. 

Amplifiers not only increase the loudness of your speakers but also improves the overall audio clarity, making it way easier to talk with someone or listen to music without much outside interference. In some cases, speakers seem to sound better when powered by an amplifier. There are several options to choose from, such as,

1. Mono channel– Only adds a single subwoofer. 

2. Two-channel–  Two speakers and a subwoofer

3. Five-channel– Four speakers and a subwoofer

4. Eight-channel– Custom setup

Pick one that suits your needs and let the music flow!

Get better speakers

Stock speakers that come installed are mostly low-quality products. It may be enough for regular individuals, but if you are someone who loves music, upgrading to a new set of speakers is a better idea.

Sometimes, even the best quality Bluetooth receivers or amplifiers cannot increase the loudness of your speaker system. Instead of tweaking them for little to no results, you are better off with installing a new speaker system, one that is loud straight out-of-the-box.

Adjust your equalizer settings

You must have heard from other drivers that noise created at higher speeds affects the low frequencies of a speaker system. As a result, they increase the bass of the Bluetooth speakers to offset this effect. 

However, in reality, that’s not the case. Increasing the bass puts excessive stress on your speakers and if they are cheap ones, the sound will come out all distorted. You’re better off leaving the bass dial. If need be, simply increase the volume.

One other trick you can do is adjust the treble settings a little bit. It might clear up the high-frequency vocals, but do not overdo it as it will distort the sound as you saw in the previous case.

If the problem persists, it’s time to get a new speaker system.

Install sound dampers for cars

Sound dampers are flat foam-like materials that are attached to the inner body of your car. They act as cushions, absorbing all excess noise from the surroundings. This is rather an indirect way of increasing the loudness of your car’s Bluetooth speakers.

Since the surrounding noises are being absorbed into the dampers, you can now clearly hear your speakers without much interest. You are not increasing the loudness per se. You are simply cutting out the chit-chat so you can hear better.

Consider an alternative

Do not use a smartphone to play music. Use a USB drive instead. A smartphone’s digital to analog converter is severely limited in its capacity to produce quality music. It may be better compared to a headphone, but it may not still be enough.

Conclusion

Bluetooth devices have come a long way, but they do have limitations and the aforementioned tips will make your Bluetooth louder. However, the best way to avoid such issues is to discuss your requirements with the car manufacturer beforehand. Inquire in detail about speaker specifications so that you can prepare for a suitable alternative (if need be).