bigboybanshee Posted August 10, 2004 Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 Well, I'm going to be entering my first USACi competiton for sound quality rather than SPL and was curious to know if any of you on here have entered one? If so, is there anything I should be looking out for? i.e. anything the judges might check on or anything that might impress the judges a little more? I read up some on their rules for the competition but I still wanted to ask on here if anyone has been in one of these. Thanks for any help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted August 10, 2004 Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 ive done SPL only, but i have no idea how sq is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted August 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 ive done SPL only, but i have no idea how sq is done. Yeah me too, figured I would try something a little different...Thanks for the reply though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredish Posted August 10, 2004 Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 (edited) SQ is much more than just SQ; you get points for a lot of different aspects of your whole system, installation, and sound. The below is full points available, but it can be hard to get all of them. Also, I believe USAC's site is soundoff.org. Basically like this: Installation (Total 60 Points) - Power Source Design (15 Points - Batteries installed correctly, vented correctly, terminals are of proper size, fused properly.) - Equipment Integrity (10 Points - Mounted properly, installed properly, wired properly, i.e. drywall type screws are considered improper.) - Speaker Design (10 Points - Properly mounted and protected, i.e. grills for protection is important) - Amplifier Integrity (10 Points - Properly mounted and cooled, generally require forced cooling unless in the complete open) - Overall Cleanliness (5 Points- No McDonald's trash and such) - Ease of System Maintenance (5 Points - Ease of replacing a component should a problem occur, and how accessible the items are.) - System Knowledge (5 Points - You'll have 7 minutes to present the vehicle, the system components. You need to go over and explain the system and details. Your allowed an assistant to help, but only you will be judged. If you go over 7 minutes, one point is deducted per minute.) Sound Quality Judging (80 Points) -This judging is to evaluate how well the audio system duplicates or recreates the original music performance. Edited August 10, 2004 by sredish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted August 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 Very interesting sredish...a lot of that I have seen but there were a few "key" points I haven't seen. I REALLY appreciate the input!!! If anyone has any more to add, I'm all ears! Thanks everyone!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredish Posted August 10, 2004 Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 Very interesting sredish...a lot of that I have seen but there were a few "key" points I haven't seen. I REALLY appreciate the input!!! If anyone has any more to add, I'm all ears! Thanks everyone!! No prob. SPL is fun for the boom, but SQ is way more involved and IMO kickass. Anyone can throw an amp and subs and kick SPL, but to get the SQ awards, you have to take time to do your shit right and get it tweaked just perfect and you have to love your shit. It's hella fun, but I'm too lazy anymore to try that hard. We used to wire up 4 1000 watt amps and wire them down to 1 ohm, pack them in dry ice and freaking pound the SPL class, it was fun as hell. Later bro, let us know how you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted August 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 No prob. SPL is fun for the boom, but SQ is way more involved and IMO kickass. Anyone can throw an amp and subs and kick SPL, but to get the SQ awards, you have to take time to do your shit right and get it tweaked just perfect and you have to love your shit. Right on! I feel the same way...I'm definitely a die hard fanatic about my sound, I just hope that what sounds good to me sounds good to the judges!! I'll definitely post the results once I get them...the show is on the 5th of September so if I get to tuning now I should be alright. Thanks again for the help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racer Posted August 10, 2004 Report Share Posted August 10, 2004 i used to love SPL. its so involved getting the ports correctly sized and for the air space of your car and the thiele small parameters of the speaker. not to mention braggin rights. i had the loudest single speaker in a school of 2200 with a kicker L7 12". that was until some jack ass got his daddy to buy him the $1500 10,000 watt max 18" kicker solo X as well as the 12 amps it took to run it, and the extra batteries and 0ga. wiring. fuckin cheater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boonman Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 0 guage? In my Beretta, I had 2/0 welding cable in there for power wire. I never got it into an IASCA show, they were always too far away. My front stage consisted of a 6.5" mid driver, and a 5.25" midrange driver in each dooor, 4" plates in the kickpanels, and 3.5" coax's in the dash. Talk about the front stage, you'd swear the shit sang at ya from the headlights....... U.S. amps, A/D/S EQ, AudioControl timing equipment, Pioneer deck, Earthquake subs, and Polk components...... I loved that car. SRedish hit the nail on the head with what they are gonna look for. I was into it for a good long time. Haven't been into it for a few years. Oddly wnough, since I got my shee...... Good luck, and make sure your shit is clean as a whistle. Grounding properly is essential. (can we say ground loop problems, they REALLY suck). Make sure you have a larger than factory wwire going from your batteries negative terminal to the engine, and to the chassis. This is often overlooked in a non-professional install. And will cause you some headaches. Make sure your amps can't overheat. Good RCA's and a clean signal is worth every penny you have to spend on it. A good, clean vehicle will do you wonders when you get the Judges in there...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted August 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 Thanks for the advice boonman! You had a hell of a setup man! U.S. Amps were the bomb shit...I loved how they were all quarter ohm stable; you could make some massive power out of them. I'm having my doubts on how I'll do, I think my front staging is gonna hurt me...I know nowadays people have head units that have 5.1 dolby surround and I just have my trusty ol' pioneer deck that's been with me since 2001. I'm running that Pioneer deck, MB Quart 6.5" components up front, Pioneer 3 way 6x9's in the rear, 2 Kicker CompVR 12's with all Phoenix Gold amps and wiring. I love being able to say I built it all too. (enclosure/install) I figured out I'd be in the 251-500 watt class; unless I had too much to drink when doing my figuring It sounds pretty killer but I know there's gonna be someone there that's gonna stomp me! Oh well, I'm still gonna try and have fun while doing it..Thanks again for the advice/encouragement!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sredish Posted August 13, 2004 Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 Disconnect the tweets on the rear 6.9's and/or fade them forward a tad to take some of the rear presence out, they should only be fill unless it's a 5.1 track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigboybanshee Posted August 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2004 Ya know I never thought about that but it makes a whole world of sense...I can hear them in the rear and was wondering how I could soften up the tweeter but still keep the solid mid from the 6x9....You da man!!! I'll try that tonight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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