Define "sound quality"

i put this on another site but it needs to be here too.


ok so here it is something that all dealers need to know to be better informed.
how to sell something that sounds good.

this thread will be hard to just write something because don't put the same crap that you were told and have read in every magazine.

write things that can actually help dealers create better sounding installs.

the reason for this is.

we just had a local car show at a community college with the auto students put on the car show and the electronics students put on the stereo portion.
this show is annual and this was the 11th year. we judged stereo for the first 3-4 then a small competitor opened up and they were close to the college so they had it for about 4-5 times. when they closed the electronics club hosts it know.
here's the problem
we take cars that are of all ranges on the stereo level. from basic stock speaker locations to full custom "SQ" cars even 5.1 dts cars. now i sponser the trophies so we try to be fair and usually i don't let the bigger usac competitors run through. just to make it fair for the regular guys. but we loose. so this year i let everyone go through and how did it turn out. only one of the cars i worked on even placed. it was a 16-17 yr old explorer that has xr f,r, cen, a4300,a1800, 2 13w3 jl box.
sounds ok but nothing like the other cars. so why is it that the novice judges don't like proper sound setups?

so what is "sound quality" because everybody has a different idea and we need to get on the same page here.

A realistic and natural reproduction of a soundstage and the instruments represented in the recording. Listen live...don't use recordings for all of your references.
I like the dark smokey club sound for competing. But for rock...I like the brighter 'live set' sound with more impact. Either way, I'm referencing my two tonal curves to real life SQ experiences both as a musician and listener.

but what about the novice what makes them think it sounds good.

While it is agreed that the purpose (or should be) of any sound reproduction system is just that - reproduction. the goal has always been to re-create as close as possible the original event. However a novice listener my not have any reference to anything real and will judge good sound as anything that has visceral impact and is fun, period. That means bass you can feel, mids and highs that make your ears ring and music that they and thier freinds listen to. Too often veterans (like myself) in an effort to educate and "enlghten" a new generation expose novices to what they consider "old boring music". If you want to judge the quality of a sound system for 16-19 year olds it must be tuned to their music and listening tastes. That means let them pick the judging software and let them sit in the car while you judge it. It my not be what we like but it keeps it fun and interesting. Slowly those that are in it for the music and not just to show off will gradually understand and appreciate the original goal of sound reproduction. How many of us started off with bass heavy systems? I remember my first system consisted of two 15s and some cheap components. By my current standards it would sound terrible but I thought (and all my friends) it was the best system I'd ever heard. Just keep it fun and expose as many novices to car audio as you can. Eventually those that do it for the same reasons we do will come around.

I can't find a clapping guy...but :CLAP: Very well said!!

What's going on John? I'm working on a little surprise for you. Seems like our class is going to have another car in it at finals.

The more the merrier. Give me a call sometime Mike.