MECA SQL competition/SoCal audio
 

So I went out to my first MECA SQ competition ever today. I was 1/4 points away from the first place winner, who has been doing SQ comps for quite a while now. So I placed second. All in all, not too shabby for a first time out.

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Most of the install and tune was done by Scott at Bespoke Mobile Audio (bespokemobileaudio.com). So hit him up if you need some audio work done.
Had we known that SQ judges were looking for less mid-bass, we would have easily taken first. I got a chance to listen to some high-end systems, including a prior world champ in the modex class, and the mid-bass is barely there. It's definitely not how I like to listen to my music on a daily basis..

We're going out for the tri-state championship in Las Vegas in the next month. Hope to see some other Zs out there.

Congrats on the trophy

Congrats! Any chance of getting some details and pics of your system?

BTW, that's one of the things I don't like about competitions. You have to tune your system to the judges liking. Sorry, but I build and tune my system to my liking as I'm the one listening to it. But as you said, it's easy enough to tweak the system to gain points, and easy enough to set it back to your own liking afterwards.

Congrats man, what is your setup?

I have some pics of the system in another thread: Do you need video/audio work done in SoCal? The system looks stock, minus the temporary MDF sub box I have sitting in the hatch, which looks pretty ugly. So I'd prefer not to post more pics right now... haha. System details below. One of the subs will eventually go where the wicked CAS box sits and then one on the passenger side.

I completely agree with the subjectivity in the competitions. I had never planned on doing a competition when I first started getting a system together. I just wanted good sound. My installer convinced me to go compete and then I got curious how the system compares to others. I figured I'd do one more just to see how it goes.

Zapco ST-4X SQ and ST-XM850 ii
Zapco DSP-Z8 IV
Audible Physics Brahma 6W woofers
Audible Physics Brahma V2
2 Hybrid Audio Clarus c8sw

The V2's are extended mid-ranges. We're going 3-way before the tri-state with some Audible Physics T1 tweeters (so it'll actually be the full set). I'm thinking we'll throw them on the a-pillars. Maybe I'll bite Ron's set-up and put them in the sail panels :p.

I had a dayton um10-22 sub in the car before, but my wife managed to flip the sub enclosure while driving, and didn't realize the sub was placing on its face. The sub lasted one week. I was sad at first, but I'm actually happy she did because I like the clarus much more than the ultimax.

Nicely Done !

Well it's been a long weekend, but the new audio build is coming together. Should be enough time to get ready for the tri-state MECA coming up this weekend. I'm itching to destroy the guy that beat me last time.

I ended up replacing my Zapco ST-4X with a Z-150.6LX to support my new tweeters, and to improve the sound quality. Since the amp is too big to place behind the rear strut under the carpet, I decided to chuck the spare and surrounding foam. The Zapco DSP was replaced with an audison bit-one. The Zapco DSP was good, but the interface for the audison is much easier to work with.
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The ZLX amp made a noticeable difference in Sound Quality. More crisp, clean, and detailed sound. Absolutely zero floor noise. Very happy with it. After working on the car for 8-10 hours, listening to the ZLX brought back my energy.

I had originally tried using one tru technology t4 amp and one t2 amp the day before. For being high-end hand-made amps, you would expect great quality control. Both of the amps wouldn't output signal to the speakers, so they are being sent back to tru tech. I ended up trying another t4 amp that same night, which did work, but there was a ridiculous amount of floor noise even with the gains all the way turned down. Pretty pissed about the tru technology amps since they were wired to go behind the driver and passenger seat. One whole day down the drain, along with all the wiring since it was cut/made to length.

Instead of going with the Audible Physics T1 tweeters, I put in some Hybrid Audio Legatia L1pro tweeters into the sail panels. I went with the sails instead of the a-pillar to keep the soundstage wider. I think they look pretty good. I'll eventually wrap them in vinyl.

Attachment 124195

No clue why the heck the pic is posting upside down. Anyways...
The tweeters are pretty bada**. I bought them used so they were already broken in. More jingle and detail than small format scanspeaks, but it can't compete with the full-size scanspeaks, which imo would look like complete crap in the Z. The vocals are nice and smooth as well. One of the best small format tweeters I've heard. Of course I've yet to hear the stereo integrity ones. I'll probably try the SI tweeters after the competition, since they are relatively cheap.

After some more tuning this week, I'm ready to kick some butt at the tri-state championship!

Wow...good job and congratulations on the trophy!

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MECA Tri-State (AZ/CA/NV) Finals. 2nd place in street class again.. Damn it! I lost to the same guy again. Last time I had too much mid-bass. This time I had too little... lol. Two judges dinged me hard for it.

Now that the season is over, it's time to learn a lot more about tuning. I can't have the Z take second place over and over.

another job well done, sir. And a mid 70's score is nothing to sneeze about!

Thanks! I was a bit scared how you knew I scored a mid 70 until I remembered about the MECA website. I'm really trying to hit an 80, but that is much more difficult than I thought.

I'm also curious why you decided to stop competing?

Too Busy with work this year.. Maybe next year.
also, not many shows close to home this year... all 4 or 5 hour drives.
Good luck getting 80.... Its a difficult # to achieve...