Rebuilding the A4

By: Ben Vollmer Car Audio Nationals / Team SoundDomain

After having a competition audio system in my Audi A4 for about 4 years, I've decided it is time for a refresh. There are some parts of the system that I love, and some parts that have driven me nuts. And then to top it off, I blew a couple of the caps in my ancient Phoenix Gold MS Series amps. So instead of patching the system together, the decision was to redo the majority of the system but remain competitive in the classes that the car competes in.

Since my family moved recently, taking it back to Benchmark Audio in Upstate NY wasn't practical. It went from a 6 hour drive to a 15 hour drive, which just isn't going to happen.

So after looking at a ton of shops, the decision was made to take the car to Acoustic Images in Mooresville, NC.  The crew at AI employs a number of veteran competitors including Bryan Wilkinson, Jason Syner, Mark Worell and other well known industry installers.

I also got a little help from some great manufacturers: JL Audio, Second Skin and AudioControl have all helped out with the project. We will be covering each of those sponsor's products usage in the rebuilt system.

The goals of the system were pretty easy:

1. Run the front stage 100% Active, getting rid of the Alpine F#1 Passive Crossover Networks
2. Install New Subwoofers
3. Replace Existing Sound Dampening Materials

Over the next couple of weeks we'll post up pictures of the trunk being redone, the kicks and doors being rebuilt, and some general rebuilding of the car. It's going to be quite a process, but I'm really looking forward to the results. Stay tuned!

JL Audio Rockin' at Hard Rock Park: More Details, Video, Pics!

So we did a little more digging into the JL Audio/Hard Rock Park partnership and we've got a few more pics and a video of one of the coasters in action! Here's what we found out about the Zeppelin ride from JL Audio:

"On the Zeppelin ride, each train has eight rows of four seats (32 riders). Each seat has its own component system (an M770TCS in its own sealed enclosure). Each train has four specially modified HD600/4 amplifiers for a total of sixteen 150 watt channels, so each channel powers two component speaker sets with 75 watts each. Total power is 2,400 watts. That's a "Whole Lotta Love", baby."

Pretty impressive! Follow the jump for a few more pics and a video of the Zeppelin in action!

JL Audio to Rock Hard at Hard Rock Theme Park

JL Audio just announced a unique partnership with Hard Rock Park, a new Hard Rock theme park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to provide the audio gear for a few of the parks' key attractions. JL speakers and amps will make up the on-board audio for the Led Zepplin, Moody Blues, and Eagles-themed rides. JL will also supply the audio equipment for a "British Invasion" themed ride called "Maximum RPM!", where riders will cruise a roller coaster in "English-style sports cars" (which we understand will resemble MINI Coopers), each equipped with six JL speakers and a 600 watts JL amplifier. Truthfully, I'm not much of a theme park kinda guy, but based on the press release and the descriptions of the rides, this theme park just made it on my "To See" list! Complete press release with many more details after the jump!

JL Audio Announces Six New Subwoofer Systems

If you don't want to spent top dollar on a custom-built subwoofer box for your system, but you also don't want to settle for a generic pre-fab box that falls somewhere within the manufacturer's specs, then choosing a solution like JL's pre-built subwoofer systems is a pretty solid choice. JL tests and measures many different designs until the "perfect box" is discovered: maximum output, minimal distortion, maximum satisfaction. It really is amazing how much better the perfect design can sound.
Fit and finish on a JL box is pretty impressive too. They use premium carpet on all exposed surfaces, and all corners are rounded and edges lipped, which makes moving the box easier.The HO boxes include aluminum bars to protect the woofers (and look stylish doing it!). Follow the jump for the full press release, pricing, and pictures.

in the forums!

Hot Car, Hot Sounds: JL Audio JL-350

JL Audio has always brought their A Game to CES, and this year is no exception. For 2008, they featured a Ford Mustang nicknamed the "JL-350". Their gang down in Miramar, Florida went over this puppy from top to bottom, adding a world class stereo, building all-new door panels, and wrapping every interior panel in gorgeous suede and leather. I especially liked how they chose to keep everything  subdued—it's not until you look closely that you can actually see the incredible attention to detail. Of course, appearance isn't everything, and you can always depend on JL Audio to bring a car which sounds as good as it looks. After Sean and I got a chance to listen to the system's new HD amps and TW5 slim mount subwoofers, we were very impressed with how great it imaged. The subs are extremely accurate and you'd never guess that such a shallow sub could produce such rich, low bass.