Right Place - Right Time

I was made an offer today that was just interesting. Amazing if it turns out to be true, but interesting none-the-less. Ever since completing the component speaker installation in my car, I have been looking into possibly competing in a sound design (quality) competition. I think that the performance of my stereo is noteworthy and I would be interested in entering my car into a competition just to see how it is appraised. Don't get me wrong, the quality of my car is likely not going to be award winning as it is now. The guys that compete in the MECA circuit take their audio very seriously.

I have taken the time to read the rulebook for MECA and don't think I'll place highly at my first go of things. The things they are looking for in the performance of the system are very specific. So specific in fact that I don't think I have enough time, money or proficiency yet to be on their same level.

Let me quantify for a moment as to why I say this. Some of the aspects of the system they are looking for is realistic representation of the sounds being played. They are looking for correct locational representation of the sounds (front, back, left, right, center). Location of the sound is what is called the soundstage. The soundstage is supposed to represent being in the presence of the group to which you are listening. The difficult part of this is the generation of the mid, low mid, and low frequencies. Typically (and in my car) these frequencies are dedicated to the back and trunk speakers. How in the world do you manage to put those sounds in front of the listener? That I don't know and am anxious to find out.

Interestingly enough, one of the things they are looking for (which I do have) is an explanation of the equipment and purpose of the equipment in the system (as you can see from the folowing list).

Once I have my system completely reassembled, my system will comprise of:

• Speakers:
  
  • PowerBass Extreme 3XL-6C Component Speakers 3 Ohm set
    • 1.25" tweeter (two)
    • 6" mid range driver (mounted in a Car-Speaker-Adapters.com provided universal 6X9 to 6" adapter - two)
  • Audio Art 3-way 6x9 full range 4 Ohm (two)
  • PowerBass Extreme ES 10Dv.2 Dual 4 Ohm low range (subs)(two) 10" speakers with each coil wired in complete parallel presenting a 1 Ohm load


• Signal Processing:
  • Eclipse Headunit - CD 5425
  • Crossfire cx231 Crossover
  • MTX Thunder 404 400w 4 Channel Class AB Amp
  • PowerBass Extreme Passive Crossover (Part of the 3XL-6C component set - two)
  • Crossfire vr600D 600w Class D mono bridged amp


• Interconnects
  • RCAs
    • Stinger 17' SHR17 Hyper Series RCAs (two sets - headunit to crossover)
    • Phoenix Gold 17' RCAs (one set - headunit to class D amp)
    • Moster Prolink DJ (M DJ-RA-2M) Gold 6' RCAs (two sets, straight to 90 degree terminals - crossover to class AB amp)
  • Power Wires
    • Rapter 4g wire battery to battery w/ 60a fuse link
    • Rapter 0g wire (battery to fused power distribution)
    • Rapter 0g wire (battery to chassis)
    • Lightning Audio 4g OFC wire positive (fused distribution block to class D amp)
    • Rapter 8g OFC positive wire (fused distribution block to class AB amp)
    • Lightning Audio 4g OFC wire negative (both amps to battery)
  • Speaker Wires
    • Speaker wire for sub speakers, Rapter 12g OFC and Rapter 16g OFC
    • Speaker wire for rear speakers, Rapter 12g OFC
    • Speaker wire from 4 channel amp to passive crossovers, Rapter 12g OFC
    • Speaker wire from passive crossovers to speakers, Lightning Audio 15g OFC
  • Other Interconnect Devices
    • Optima Red Top secondary battery
    • Blackmore Blackice IFB-12M Fused Power Distribution Block
    • Mc Laren Sound Systems MLF-80A AFC fuse (two)

On top of all of that equipment, I also have a CompuStar 1W900FMR security system installed with the remote starter (noted because I am driving a 5-speed). A custom built and installed sub box with 1 cu foot of volume per speaker and a rectangle port tuned to 60 hertz (I think, I'll have to double check that one) in conjunction with an amp rack. In reflection, this is a ton of after market equipment in my car. I can't and won't deny this claim. Thankfully, I didn't try doing all of this all at one time. This has been a project in the making for several years and I'm not certain now that my dream design is complete that I'm done.

If the competition bug sticks this time and I take up these MECA Sound Quality competitions, I can see additional equipment in my future. The first two things that come to mind include a massive amount of Dynamat and an external equalizer. I was looking around today at EQs, while I was out, and wasn't able to find anything exciting, however, the prices seemed promising. Although, I was just looking at Kicker and Clarion. I have a feeling when I do find that which I'm looking, it will be higher grade and more expensive.

Anyway, enough about my car. Lets get on with where this story was headed.

Well, regarding the rulebook, I realized that my wiring didn't meet the requirements. There were not any fuses between my secondary battery and my amps. This was not my fault. When TNT installed my custom box, they removed the fuse block that I had in place. I don't know why, but they did. Therefore, if you look at my list above, I have purchased and will be installing a new block & fuses into my car. This purchase is what prompted this discussion.

So, I was doing some online research about the block that I wanted to purchase. During this search I kept finding StreetWires as the manufacturer that created a product hat I could use. Using their dealer search, I found a shop over by our old apartment that might carry what I needed. After making a call to the shop and finding out their hours, I reluctantly made the trip over there. As I had expected, the shop was less than useful for the parts that I needed. However, while I was over in that area, I decided to stop over at a shop that I swore that I wouldn't again patronize.

The last time I went to this shop, the guy running it was so rude that I never wanted to go back there. For instance, I asked them if they carried Crossfire and he said no, but go check at Best Buy to see if they carried it. I wanted to scream. There is no way that Crossfire would ever certify the installation shop for Best Buy to install their equipment. Also, Crossfire is too expensive for the typical shopper to purchase at Best Buy. Crossfire is just too high end. To further my aggravation with this shop, I had inquired about getting my fog lights installed. To my surprise, the guy claimed that they don't get into electrical work. I was floored. It is a stereo shop which is natively electrical. Also, I didn't bother pushing the point because his attitude was so bad, I was done with them.

However, I decided to give this shop another chance and am I glad I did. They had everything that I was looking for today and more. I purchased the 1/0G wire, battery terminal, fused distribution block and fuses from them. While I was there, I got to talking to the guy. I came to find out that he's the owner of the shop. I was asking about any known local competitions though he didn't know of any. I also mentioned my intention of attending one of these competitions in Alabama and apparently the wheels started spinning for him. He also agreed to check out my car. After checking out my trunk (not hearing it) he made me the offer. After hearing my interior 6 speakers he emphasized the offer again.

So, Victor from eXtreme Car Audio (5045E Singleton Rd. Norcross GA 30093) said that he would do some Dynomat work just to put a sticker on my car at a future point in time. If he is serious about doing this that would be some crazy expensive work done on the cheap. I don't know if it will come to being, but only time will tell. Also, I'm not certain the extent that he is willing to Dynomat for me in this deal. Regardless of just the truck or my trunk and interior it will certainly save me some serious dough. With how friendly he is and if he keeps his word, I can certainly see a mutually beneficial partnership here.

Anyway, any future interaction is purely speculation at this time and how "deep" his discounts are will greatly sway what I can and will do with him. I'm not looking to spend another $2k on my car stereo but there are several things I can see myself getting into depending how this comp goes. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the way my system sounds right now, but better is always good. An additional constraint will certainly be the checkbook. More equipment, features, perks, or modifications to my car will all cost money. I have to make sure that we're focusing on our futures before I can play with anything more. My bonus with my re-enlistment with the army will make that decision almost immediately.

Edit: 3/9/2008 5:15 PM
Reorganized the parts inventory and added the Monster RCA cable set.

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Gaming's Godfather

I just discovered some very sad news. One of the co-creators of the gaming genre that I have come to enjoy has passed on. E. Gary Gygax was a name with which I was not previously familiar. Upon perusing my typical comic strips for my latest fix in RPG comedy, this name was presented very reverently. Well, at this time I haven't even finished my comic reading when two of them made distinct references to him. Therefore, I had to find out who this guy was and why he was important.

I'm not going to bore you with the details as to who he was, you can check out the Wikipedia link if you want all of the details. Suffice it to say that he created role playing gaming as we know it today. He co-wrote the predecessor and first couple versions of Dungeons & Dragons. To this I am grateful for his existence and am greatly saddened at his loss.

As being involved in the pursuit of a piece of this genre myself, I think that it is pretty likely that I will one day reap benefits from this market that he loved so much and worked so hard to create.

R.I.P. E. Gary Gygax

I have to say, I love the illustration that was so tastefully created by the guys at Penny Arcade.



A direct quote from the Wiki page on Gary:

Gary Gygax was commemorated in webcomics series xkcd's comic #393 "Ultimate Game", penny arcade's "Bordering On The Semi-Tasteful" and Dork Tower's "Thanks for the Worldbuilding Rules", on Order of the Stick and in GU Comics' "The Journey's End".

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AAR - Component Speaker Installation

For those of you that are not militarily minded, AAR means "After Action Review". I would like to break down the good, bad & areas that would require improvement in the future (should I ever do this again for whatever reason). This is meant more as a message of closure than a true AAR, but well see how it turns out once I'm done.

• What was the task being executed: Installation of component speakers into my car (With a subtask to fix my passenger front seat).


• Who was executing the task: Me.


• What happened: Speakers were installed in my car.


• What went well:
  • The speakers were installed with as much attention possible payed to the acoustic and practicality designs taken into consideration.
  
  
  • The car was disassembled and reassembled in a timely fashion (I met my deadline of having my car ready for next drill.)
  
  
  • The car is 100% functional after being reassembled
  
  
  • The passenger seat is now able to be adjusted front to back as required at the whim of the passenger.
  
  
  • An additional subtask of installing seat covers was completed during the state of disassembly.
  
  
  • One of the results expected to be obtained in the installation of the component speaker set was to shift the soundstage from the center of the car to be in front of the listener.
  
  
• What went poorly:
  • A interior piece got broken due to negligence during the installation process. (Driver's side sun visor clip)
  
  
  • Lack of attention lead to the exclusion of a dashboard item from being reinstalled (not really a negative as I wasn't going to put the 6 disk changer back, however, I was anticipating on replacing the shroud for it anyway.)
  
  
  • Due to poor planning & tunnel vision one of the tweeters were installed in a less than favorable aesthetic method. (See my previous post Too Many Answers)
  
  
• What could have been done better:
  • Better planning and execution of the determination of where and how the tweeters were to be installed in the car.
  
  
  • Complete the task at hand without the damage to any unrelated body parts.
  
  

So, there you have it, a quick & dirty summary of what occurred and what I thought about the process.

Now, let me tell you about the results.

The acoustic difference is amazing. I told Exile about it and came up with this comparison.

A set of headphones gives you a centrally located sound stage, there is not a front or back, just side to side. This is how my car was previously setup. The soundstage was tat the center of the car, right about the location of the front passengers. I thought it was a good layout until I finished with this install. The soundstage is now at front like that of being at a concert or within the field of a properly setup surround sound system. The difference is night & day. I am so happy with the results. The only thing left to do is get my sub amp replaced (got my RA number today) so I can get it repaired.

Once I get the sub amp back I will have to re-tune the entire system but I think I will be able to call my system complete until I get the drive to install a preamp or EQ. Only time will tell, but I'm feeling pretty damn good about what I've got setup right now.

I will eventually (maybe only once) enter my car into a Psychlone comp. I would love to see what people think when I pull a convertible up to a SPL competition (pretty unusual to say the least). However, the comp is new for this year and it may take a while for it to catch on locally. Time will tell.

Peace!

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Too Many Answers

Well, as usual... I done screwed something up. The speaker installation is complete but there was a much easier answer stareing me in the face. If only I had talked it thru with someone I would had detected this issue much earlier. Programming is not the only arena in which a single problem can have multiple solutions. However, just like programming there are usually solutions that are ill advised or better done otherwise. If you hadn't guessed it yet, this is about my component speaker installation.

Let me explain where my head was before I tell you what I did. The tweeters are best installed as a flush mount (cone being on the same plane as the surface to which it is mounted). However, after evaluating all of the options that I had available to accomplish this task, I was unable to successfully find an acoustically friendly and physically safe to do so. These locations included the A pillar (the vertical structure that supports the windshield and acts as a part of the door frame) or on the doors.

In my car, my A pillar covers do not contain enough space between the covers and the pillar and the pillar is also rounded off, therefore, a flush mount would not be possible. Subsequently, the door was also not an option because of the presence and location of people in the car will interrupt the signal. Also being a smoker, the door was not an option because of the potential of water damage due because of smoking while driving in rain. Having a window open to vent the smoke & ash permits water to enter into the car and potentially to the cone of the tweeter because of its direct exposure that the 6.5" mid-range driver does not exhibit. The location entertained for this placement was between the door lock indicator and the unlatch handle for the door.

Another option that I considered was to have Car-Speaker-Adapters.com create another custom adapter to house the 6.5" speaker and the tweeter. However, in doing so, the separation of speakers would have been nullified and I might as well have bought a 3-way 6x9" speaker with an adjustable tweeter direction. Also in putting the tweeter in the same location as the 6.5" mid-range speaker would have introduced major interference with people sitting in the seats. With the passenger always getting an interrupted signal and the driver being interrupted anytime there is a passenger. This was just unacceptable.

Provided with my component speaker set was an angled mounting bracket. One of the keys of this bracket is that it is surface mount. However, all of my focus had been on the surface mount options for the speaker. Therefore, unfortunately, with this tunnel vision in mind I made a poor decision. I decided that I would manage a way to surface mount (or as closely as possible) the angle bracket housing for the tweeters. The action that I intended to take was to cut a hole in the dashboard that would be just big enough for the speaker to pop through.

Well, when the time finally came to cut the hole and try to find that perfect fit, I got impatient and measured too wide (about 1/2 the width of a sharpie all the way around mounting bracket. So, instead of a close fit I've got a gaping hole in the dashboard that allows the insulation, wires, mounting spring to be visible from outside the car. the aesthetic view of the installation of this speaker is piss poor. I will have to revisit this one in the future.

It wasn't until I was done completely screwing up the first speaker I had a revelation. I realized that this mount was inteneded to be a surface mount and I would have just needed to drill 3 holes (1 for the wires & 2 for screws). The second speaker has thus been mounted this way.

So, if you have a look at the following pictures, you can see the disparity between the heights of the speakers (BTW, I prefer the "submerged mounting" appearance from the seat but I don't like it when looking down on it). I might replicate the efforts of the lower speaker on the surface mounted one, but not until I figure out a way to make that method blend better with the dashboard. I have an idea how to accomplish this right now, however, am not sure where to obtain the materials to do so.

(BTW, please take the time to view all of the pictures, I just added more pictures to the photoset from the first post on this topic. Therefore, the pictures regarding the final installation will be at the end of the slide show.)

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