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Car Audio Discussion
General Car Audio
When did car audio die?
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<blockquote data-quote="PaulD" data-source="post: 5288705" data-attributes="member: 589636"><p>The slow death of car audio:</p><p></p><p>(I am sure there are a few behind the scenes things I know nothing about)</p><p></p><p>IASCA was a VERY, EXTREMELY, completely RUTHLESS monlolithic power that was so consumed with it's own power that it corrupted itself from within. There were 3 participants in these contests ... manufacturers, shops and competitors. Of the 3, the competitors (you know, the ones spending the money) had absolutely NO sayso in the rules making. The rules were deliberately written to make it EXTREMELY difficult for a guy in his garage to win a reaql contest, they absolutely refused .... no way, no how to have a "DIY" category. I won't even go into all of the stolen money and stuff at IASCA HQ.</p><p></p><p>Another thing that may have been forgotten (or some of you younger guys never knew) is that in days of old there was serious prize money. This brought out the big hitters. The masters tournament had a $25,000 payout (yep that's 3 0's behind the 25).</p><p></p><p>SPL - was originally designed to test the system's durability at or near full output. When you entered the lane, you were judged on sound quality, RTA curve and SPL, all in a row. There absolutley NO adjustments made between judged sections. Once the computerized signal processing appeared, cheating was so rampant they just threw up their hands. The current SPL comps are such a complete bastardization of the original intention that it has changed the comp scene forever. The biggest change is that instead of people with real money buying nice systems, you have teenagers with very little money buying the cheapest stuff they can and installs that are awful to look at and often dangerous. The other negative effect was that teenagers playing loud bass music have pretty much turned mos communities against people with custom car audio installs.</p><p></p><p>The result for the manufacturers is that they started to respond to the demands they saw, which was mostly the $100 subs and $150 1000 watt amps. If they really want to make money, they need to stop marketing strictly to teenagers. The car companies have also taken their bite. On some cars you can't even replace the radio or it won't run, others are so styled into the vehicle it would be very difficult to fabricate something that looks like it belongs there. Too many people hear a factory system and think and can't get any better than this.</p><p></p><p>Another death nail has been the internet. I can often times buy stuff over the net for less than the local shop can get it from their authorized middleman. Honestly, if the car audio dealers want their shops to survive they will have to change the way they do business. Sorry but 1980's business models just don't cut it anymore.</p><p></p><p>Then there's the music .... ever notice that most of the new music sux, and sound quality is dismal at best. Again, teens rule here. Most record companies have done away with recording engineers and after mixing they set it to sound decent in mp3 format on an ipod. I guess a logical choice since this is where most if it will end up anyway. Sound quality has taken a MAJOR hit in the last 5-10 years.</p><p></p><p>For the future I see that some things could return. I have seen a few bigger contests have fair payouts. MECA has a sound quality only division (NO SPL and install is optional as a seperate contest) and USAC seems to have followed suit. Shops will have to come up with a different business model (as opposed to 80's model where they controlled everything from on high, including pricing) to be competive but it CAN be done. Support for comps starts at the bottom, that means you have to show up if shops within an hour or two have a contest and bring a friend along. If the manufacturers start seeing a demand for higher quality stuff they will deliver it. Ok, I guess I have rambled on enough.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="PaulD, post: 5288705, member: 589636"] The slow death of car audio: (I am sure there are a few behind the scenes things I know nothing about) IASCA was a VERY, EXTREMELY, completely RUTHLESS monlolithic power that was so consumed with it's own power that it corrupted itself from within. There were 3 participants in these contests ... manufacturers, shops and competitors. Of the 3, the competitors (you know, the ones spending the money) had absolutely NO sayso in the rules making. The rules were deliberately written to make it EXTREMELY difficult for a guy in his garage to win a reaql contest, they absolutely refused .... no way, no how to have a "DIY" category. I won't even go into all of the stolen money and stuff at IASCA HQ. Another thing that may have been forgotten (or some of you younger guys never knew) is that in days of old there was serious prize money. This brought out the big hitters. The masters tournament had a $25,000 payout (yep that's 3 0's behind the 25). SPL - was originally designed to test the system's durability at or near full output. When you entered the lane, you were judged on sound quality, RTA curve and SPL, all in a row. There absolutley NO adjustments made between judged sections. Once the computerized signal processing appeared, cheating was so rampant they just threw up their hands. The current SPL comps are such a complete bastardization of the original intention that it has changed the comp scene forever. The biggest change is that instead of people with real money buying nice systems, you have teenagers with very little money buying the cheapest stuff they can and installs that are awful to look at and often dangerous. The other negative effect was that teenagers playing loud bass music have pretty much turned mos communities against people with custom car audio installs. The result for the manufacturers is that they started to respond to the demands they saw, which was mostly the $100 subs and $150 1000 watt amps. If they really want to make money, they need to stop marketing strictly to teenagers. The car companies have also taken their bite. On some cars you can't even replace the radio or it won't run, others are so styled into the vehicle it would be very difficult to fabricate something that looks like it belongs there. Too many people hear a factory system and think and can't get any better than this. Another death nail has been the internet. I can often times buy stuff over the net for less than the local shop can get it from their authorized middleman. Honestly, if the car audio dealers want their shops to survive they will have to change the way they do business. Sorry but 1980's business models just don't cut it anymore. Then there's the music .... ever notice that most of the new music sux, and sound quality is dismal at best. Again, teens rule here. Most record companies have done away with recording engineers and after mixing they set it to sound decent in mp3 format on an ipod. I guess a logical choice since this is where most if it will end up anyway. Sound quality has taken a MAJOR hit in the last 5-10 years. For the future I see that some things could return. I have seen a few bigger contests have fair payouts. MECA has a sound quality only division (NO SPL and install is optional as a seperate contest) and USAC seems to have followed suit. Shops will have to come up with a different business model (as opposed to 80's model where they controlled everything from on high, including pricing) to be competive but it CAN be done. Support for comps starts at the bottom, that means you have to show up if shops within an hour or two have a contest and bring a friend along. If the manufacturers start seeing a demand for higher quality stuff they will deliver it. Ok, I guess I have rambled on enough. [/QUOTE]
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