Caraudio.com Member Spotlight Fi Audio

[Flipx99 5,000+ posts]

Why do you feel bace race is the future of SPL, it is more practical, yeah. But I could also see a lotta fools go deaf because it's music not test tones.

 

[shawnfleming 10+ year member]

We see bass race the future of SPL b/c it highlights what products can do. No body on the street just burps test tones while riding down the road, but car audio consumers do play their systems do. Bass race gets potential consumers excited about products. If I go to a show and do a 166 at 65 hz, a few people are like D A M N, but if I go and do a 156 bassrace playing music, with the doors almost ripping off, and windsheild flexing a few inches, LOTS of people are excited. Pertaining to hearing damage, in bass race, you do not have to be in the vehicle, you can do it from a podium, its just most people decide to sit in their vehicles while doing their run.

 

[Fi Car Audio 10+ year member]

Shawn hit the nail on the head there (not like we dont see eye to eye on that one //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif )

Bassrace takes things to the next level for competitions. It is music, plain and simple, and that is the point of all of this.... isnt it? As for hearing damage... for something that extreme a podium is a must. Your nuts to sit in a vehicle when it is going of at a level like that. And by nuts... Im not thinking in a cool way (not that I am any sort of determiner of "cool" //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

TheSpeakerMan... SSD vs L7? Both have their place and application. Im thinking that one is somewhat of a push. Im sure they average out fairly well SPL wise with some working better in one system than the other... and viceversa. Not going to comment on much more as I have really little experience with them outside of having a good long look and hearing them in a couple installs.

SPL140.2... Warranty. Ill be ****ed if I go belly up. Simply doesnt factor into the equation. Not because I can sit and do nothing for the next couple years and be finiancially fine... but because I have the drive to never let that happen. I will fix problems and make right what might need to be and continue to have products move along. This is because I have the control to make changes immediately. Dragging things along for six months because you have to get rid of your prebuilt stock makes for a nightmare. Knowing that you have problematic products, but cant fix or change them would be an awful position to be in. This is a good reason why I will not be doing amps. Because they are prebuilt. If there is a problem Im either eating a container of them, or simply playing the odds in sending them out. I am a big fan of sleeping at night... things like that would keep me awake.

 

[Fi Car Audio 10+ year member]

btnhfan... what has impressed me. Well not a whole lot in a long time. But I look at things from an engineering stand point, not always a marketable one. If I see something that makes me go..."man I wish I had thought of that" or something that is truly clever, I am impressed... regardless of whether or not it is commercially viable.

I liked the surround/mounting scheme on the W7s. True innovation there. Others have come along with twists to things to try and do something similar... but it is simply because they are a day late and dollar short for the real thing. They nailed that idea.

Kicker for the pleats. Makes life MUCH better for surround buckling. Squares arent new, but Kicker figured a way to make them work. The problem was simply in the tight radiuses (ID to OD ratio of the roll diameters) of the corners. On a straight line, puckering is a non-issue unless you really screw up your profile. With the same surround profile on an 18 that you try to use on an 8, you will run into MAJOR problems with buckling on the smaller driver due to the larger ratio. Kicker solved that one for everything... and patented it too //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

At CES 2-3 years ago when MTX rolled out the 9500s, I liked them. Not for innovation, but for simplicity and pushing things to a limit with standard tech. They did that one right for simplicities sake.

Uh... and not too much more. Most everything else is rehash of something better that came before it. Or, is simply a cosmetic approach that really doesnt do much to the speakers ability.

Scary what you do see that is wrong... that list is far too long //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Flipx99... Shawn summed it up. This is music to an extreme. Not simply one note. Now, if we lined up all of the SPL vehicles and could have them play their one specific note and make some sort of controlled music out of them..... thatd be another story. Worlds largest and loudest mobile organ. Thatd capture my interest for at least 6 minutes. It could be done... hmmm //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

btnhfan... what has impressed me. Well not a whole lot in a long time. But I look at things from an engineering stand point, not always a marketable one. If I see something that makes me go..."man I wish I had thought of that" or something that is truly clever, I am impressed... regardless of whether or not it is commercially viable.I liked the surround/mounting scheme on the W7s. True innovation there. Others have come along with twists to things to try and do something similar... but it is simply because they are a day late and dollar short for the real thing. They nailed that idea.

Kicker for the pleats. Makes life MUCH better for surround buckling. Squares arent new, but Kicker figured a way to make them work. The problem was simply in the tight radiuses (ID to OD ratio of the roll diameters) of the corners. On a straight line, puckering is a non-issue unless you really screw up your profile. With the same surround profile on an 18 that you try to use on an 8, you will run into MAJOR problems with buckling on the smaller driver due to the larger ratio. Kicker solved that one for everything... and patented it too //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

At CES 2-3 years ago when MTX rolled out the 9500s, I liked them. Not for innovation, but for simplicity and pushing things to a limit with standard tech. They did that one right for simplicities sake.

Uh... and not too much more. Most everything else is rehash of something better that came before it. Or, is simply a cosmetic approach that really doesnt do much to the speakers ability.

Scary what you do see that is wrong... that list is far too long //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Flipx99... Shawn summed it up. This is music to an extreme. Not simply one note. Now, if we lined up all of the SPL vehicles and could have them play their one specific note and make some sort of controlled music out of them..... thatd be another story. Worlds largest and loudest mobile organ. Thatd capture my interest for at least 6 minutes. It could be done... hmmm //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

Takin a note from what has impressed you, and innovation and stuff...

What things have you done yourself, that you were like... wow... that's pretty cool? I know it might be tough to explain, and you don't wanna give away secrets and such... but //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif.

Also, did you design/engineer the new XXX? If so, how did you tackle that feat?

nG

 

[Fi Car Audio 10+ year member]

CBFryman... hmmm. Get prepared for a long winded winding answer.

Head to head tests will occur. Im not worried about my subs vs brand X at all. Funny thing is... I designed many of the brand X subs too.

My thinking is that time well tell everyone what the products will and wont do. I will be sending a couple to people because of their application and the fact that I am sure I will get an unbiased opinion. If they post, great, if they dont great. If it is a good review, great, if its a bad one, great (it simply forces me to rethink something and make it better... which is always good). I went through the worry phase of car audio and reviews and forums a long time ago. Im not looking to worry about things or to rush anything. I learned long ago not to rely on reviews to make a company... just solid products. You will always get a bad review... everyone will simply can not like your products... wont happen. You will get a bad review, and sales might slow because of it. But for the long run, in a couple of years, it wont matter.

Swapping a sub out and seeing an instant gain is somewhat of a good thing in SPL. But it doesnt speak of longevity, or the fact that that sub might have another 0.9 dB in it from tweaking... or the fact that after that tweaking that your original sub, once dropped back in... gained another 0.3 dB over the sub you were testing. True tests and comparissons take time, and lots of it. With that... I personally know only a couple people that have the ability to either accelerate this process. 1: Being due to the fact that the sub being tested against has been in their system through several iterations (of both systems and of the subs) and they know this sub better than anyone else, 2: Becasue they can actually quantify what they are hearing, not just say it is "different".

"Different" or a "change" is all to quickly summed up as good. And it might be. But for most, time is the biggest test of all. Having something in your system that You just bought something and you have a sense of pride, or that you just bought it and it WILL be better since I spent the money on it. But after having it for a couple weeks or months, things settle in and you get a much better sense of what it will and wont do, as well as if it is truly "better". Oooohh... sounds more detailed, or airy. This is good... well it might become fatiguing over a period of time or a 3 hour drive. Just doesnt bother you on your 10 minute commute to work everyday.

At this point I am truly looking for reviews for my own benefit, not to push sales faster. A solid foundation is better than jump started sales. Id rather make any changes early on if needed.(and honestly dont see the need to do any through my own testing... but you never know) Time and good products make for a solid company, it seems reviews and bandwagons make for the flavor of the week. I dont want to be in that catagory.

 

[Fi Car Audio 10+ year member]

Hmm an introspective journy into Scotts personal successes...lol

No, seriously not a lot of what I have put on the market has really impressed me. It is solid products, but not reinventing the wheel. I have made plenty of prototypes that have impressed me. Several of them recently. But none of them really have much marketability to them. Not a lot of good to me if I cant make some $$$ off it. Simply store the proto and idea away for a time when I might have a client that could use it or a new tech that makes building them 1/4 the cost.

Yes, I designed the new RE stuff as well. LOL on how that whole thing started... definitely a secret there //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif But, at the end of the day... literally the end of the first day, it was done. Only a couple of minute details or measurements changed to that one once it was put on paper/autocad. Dealers wanted something bigger and better. I asked how big... really big. Well, OK then. It had seemd that the XXX, which was the flagship for a couple of years, had be eclipsed by the MT... or atleast seen as shoulder to shoulder with it. So, I wanted to make a little bolder statement with the new XXX. I think it was too bold //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif When dealers saw the protos they loved it... then when they picked it up, the same ones that said make it HUGE, now said, make it smaller. Oh, well... so much for pleasing everyone with that one. A little unneeded honesty... I never much liked the sub. I wanted to go a different direction with the motor, but with dealer ideas and other pressures, I didnt get a chance to. I did do what I wanted with the MX and I think it is a "better" sub. Not from a pure performance standpoint, but from an overall one. I designed the basket for the XXX knowing that I wanted to do the MX (no one else knew it was an ulterior motive at the time though...) using it as well.

With the Fi stuff, I still have to make some compromises, but those are based off of the 12 spoke basket... and not dealer wants or other needs. This too is being solved... but all of it has to be looked at from the $$$ to value point of view. Trying to maximize that... and it doesnt quite work for all applications of the BTL... hence the need for a new basket for some options (that arent available yet). For the X, SSD, and Q (although the Q does push the limits of that basket quite nicely) the basket works fine. Anything more would simply be a waste.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Solid. Obviously there was A LOT of time b/w the leaked pics and talking about it, to when it was actually released. I know custom tooling takes time, but what held it back... or do you think it was timely?

I really like the basket, b/c it obviously provides for quite a bit of travel.

I'm interested in a new style basket, I enjoy the 12spoke... but something new would be great too. heh.

nG

 

[Showrides]

CBFryman... hmmm. Get prepared for a long winded winding answer.
Head to head tests will occur. Im not worried about my subs vs brand X at all. Funny thing is... I designed many of the brand X subs too.

My thinking is that time well tell everyone what the products will and wont do. I will be sending a couple to people because of their application and the fact that I am sure I will get an unbiased opinion. If they post, great, if they dont great. If it is a good review, great, if its a bad one, great (it simply forces me to rethink something and make it better... which is always good). I went through the worry phase of car audio and reviews and forums a long time ago. Im not looking to worry about things or to rush anything. I learned long ago not to rely on reviews to make a company... just solid products. You will always get a bad review... everyone will simply can not like your products... wont happen. You will get a bad review, and sales might slow because of it. But for the long run, in a couple of years, it wont matter.

Swapping a sub out and seeing an instant gain is somewhat of a good thing in SPL. But it doesnt speak of longevity, or the fact that that sub might have another 0.9 dB in it from tweaking... or the fact that after that tweaking that your original sub, once dropped back in... gained another 0.3 dB over the sub you were testing. True tests and comparissons take time, and lots of it. With that... I personally know only a couple people that have the ability to either accelerate this process. 1: Being due to the fact that the sub being tested against has been in their system through several iterations (of both systems and of the subs) and they know this sub better than anyone else, 2: Becasue they can actually quantify what they are hearing, not just say it is "different".

"Different" or a "change" is all to quickly summed up as good. And it might be. But for most, time is the biggest test of all. Having something in your system that You just bought something and you have a sense of pride, or that you just bought it and it WILL be better since I spent the money on it. But after having it for a couple weeks or months, things settle in and you get a much better sense of what it will and wont do, as well as if it is truly "better". Oooohh... sounds more detailed, or airy. This is good... well it might become fatiguing over a period of time or a 3 hour drive. Just doesnt bother you on your 10 minute commute to work everyday.

At this point I am truly looking for reviews for my own benefit, not to push sales faster. A solid foundation is better than jump started sales. Id rather make any changes early on if needed.(and honestly dont see the need to do any through my own testing... but you never know) Time and good products make for a solid company, it seems reviews and bandwagons make for the flavor of the week. I dont want to be in that catagory.

Great post. I know exactly what you are talking about in part of that. There are plenty of people out there who will give an excellent review on a product just because they spent $400+ on it. But the good products are the ones where people install them, and then after a few months write excellent reviews.

It is very hard to tell what exactly to expect from a sub, after only listening to it for a short period of time. From what I have noticed over the years, and the biggest difference between good subs, and great subs, is the amount of time that I am satisfied with them. I have had subs that I really liked for a couple day, but then a week or two later I was ready for an upgrade. And other times I have had subs for a couple days that I was just as excited with, but months later I was still loving the way they sounded. That I believe is the true test to what makes an excellent driver. One that you can be happy with for months, and not feel the desire to want more a couple weeks after hooking it up.

That is a great lesson. It is real easy to like a sub the first day you listen to it. (Especially if it was an upgrade from a pervious driver) But the true great drivers will keep you satisfied for months if not years

 

[SAG3 5,000+ posts]

so when can i order a BTL/BLT?

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

so when can i order a BTL/BLT?

Now.

nG

 

[SAG3 5,000+ posts]

ooooohhhhh

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

This is a two part question.

In your opinion, how many subs out there are pretty much the same without the brand name on them, and could you give a list of subs that have things wrong with them?

(I know you probably can't/won't, but if you could give a rough estimate of what subs you have seen that are available at this point with things wrong with them, in terms of a numerical value)

and also,

would you offer any paid/unpaid interships at fi for engineering students in the future, or preople interested in how everything ends up happening?

 

[PatFitz9 10+ year member]

This is a two part question.

In your opinion, how many subs out there are pretty much the same without the brand name on them, and could you give a list of subs that have things wrong with them?

(I know you probably can't/won't, but if you could give a rough estimate of what subs you have seen that are available at this point with things wrong with them, in terms of a numerical value)

and also,

would you offer any paid/unpaid interships at fi for engineering students in the future, or preople interested in how everything ends up happening?

or full time jobs to graduates (but that would have to be paid )

 

[Fi Car Audio 10+ year member]

ngsm13... FAR from timely. But the initial sub wasnt really meant to be in the first place. We werent planning on making it for a while.

But we went through MANY different issues with tooling, surrounds, and motors. What could and couldnt be made after being told it could. Magnets that could be made... then weeks later couldnt... then could, but only at a specific thickness... on and on it went. So having to work within the limitations of vendors... and having them discover some of their own limitations lent to tweaking things several times. Not redesigns by anymeans... just having to change little things here and there to make them work. When the spider ring couldnt be made the way we wanted it (which we went back to anyway with only having them do remeoveable pins for the tooling once they realized they could do it that way) we had to tweak the basket dims for each one. Then that lead to a clearance issue... that lead to a couple dims changing on the surrounds and then....

On and on from 1 little thing. So in order to make sure everything worked right you had to go back through and change things ever so slightly... from the ring>basket>surround>cone>dustcap... all from 1 little change.... that was discarded after they figured they could do it the way I said.

MX was a no brainer. Lots easier.

The new baskets simply allow for almost 2" more of cone, spider spacers, top plate... whatever to be shoved up into it. Only good for 4 " of p-p travel, but honestly you dont need much more than that. The XXX is good for near 5". But with all the other issues going on to get it to there, and the fact that it takes ungodly power in most applications, I think that 4" of excursion hits the right at the rolloff of usefullness for ultra throw subs.