Most home audio/theatre systems today consist
of high end and high tech equipment. While it's not uncommon
to see many competitors entering sound quality events, many use today's
standard equipment in their cars. Many use MTX components, Alpine, Kenwood, Clarion,
Orion, and many many more. I use to say, and even did on
this page that this equipment couldn't be used to win, but after trying
out so much equipment, I think winning comes down to speaker placement,
and knowing how to tune what you have, as a badly tuned car
that has the best gear in the world just will not cut it. What I want to introduce people to
though is stuff that isn't seen in everyday cars, or in the shop thats on every
block. Most stores carry name brand, because thats what people have heard
of, and thats what they want. Many surf around the web to find opinions on
gear they have never heard of, maybe only seen in a competition car or in the
Buyer's Guide that comes out from CSR or CA&E. It's sad to see that
companies who make great gear such as Blade Audio go under because they aren't
in every store. But, maybe thats why some people like them, and maybe
thats why they are that good. They are not mass produced. At the
moment, I run PPI amps in my car, a mass produced amp which I believe suits my
needs just fine. All I am telling people to do is read about different
things on the net, don't just take the word of your local store's
salesman....it's very hard to find one you can trust. (NOTE: All specs are in PDF format. You need
Acrobat Reader to view these files. All specs are from the Madisound website and are also available there.
All specs are for the respected companies home drivers. Each makes car drivers
also.) Vifa,
8" Woofer--Check out the Vifa
Specs Vifa is a fine product from a Dutch
manufacturer. Vifa components are very rich in sound and are pretty well
balanced between the mid and highs. Vifa is a pretty inexpensive line that
is really a great product, especially for the price. I have also heard
that they designed the OZ equipment made here in America so if you know anything
about OZ, then you will know about how Vifa sounds. Scan
Speak 5.25" Mid--Check out
Scan Speak Specs Scan Speak is the high end line from Vifa. These
drivers feature paper cones. Excellent sounding drivers. A
friend of mine use this in combination with a
Dynaudio tweeter and hand-built butterworth crossovers and they sounded great. Scan Speak drivers
were also used in the Soundstream Exact components. Dynaudio
6" Mid--Check out the
Dynaudio Specs One of the most well respected
manufactures today. These drivers are used throughout many award winning
systems. During any given event, you can see and hear these wonderful
units. Dynaudio is like no other, no matter how you view them. Eton 6"
Mid--Eton specs coming soon.... One of my favorite lines
of speakers is Eton. Eton is the high-end division of LPG.
German made drivers, their top of the line units incorporate hexacone technology
first used by Eton. Many have read about this company online as
the 1998 Diamond drivers were Eton, and JL uses an Eton 4" midrange
in their 3-way setup. I use their 4" home driver in my car right
now. I love them. Eton car component sets are no longer availible in America,
or not right now at any rate.
You can also check out specs on the following drivers:
Audax
specs Focal specs Morel
specs Peerless specs What some consider to be the best amp in the world,
Genesis. Genesis is a very clean well defined amp, and is used by some of
the best competitors around the globe. Peter Lufrano, Owner of the
Autophile has said, "Well, the Milbert WAS my favorite amp. I used them in my
system for a few years. But then I auditioned the Genesis Monoblocks.
Immediately I replaced ALL of my amps with the Monoblocks. I have never heard
another amp that can compare with the Monoblock......." The monoblock that
Pete is referring too was built primarily to be the world's BEST car audio amp
made. This amp is slated to put out 250x1 at 4 Ohms, but Pete has informed
me that this amp can produce almost 400x1 at 4 Ohms and an amazing 1200x1 at 1
Ohm! Check out Genesis site for the Monoblock and their other fine
amps.
Check out the Genesis Site at:
Zapco makes a fine
amp, which I have used twice in the past. Zapco besides making
probably one of the three best amps in the world today, also produce Equalizer's
like no other, magnificent crossovers, and their own line of cable, the
Symbilink cable to name a few things. Check out their site for other great
products from Zapco.
Check out the Zapco site at:
Check out my links page for a few links to other fine
audio equipment....