Without trying to explain the phenomenon you could arguably say that while Southern California has a lot of the hottest cars on the planet it doesn't necessarily have the best car audio vehicles in the country. One need only inquire into the backgrounds of competitors at the finals at USAC or IASCA to see that a majority of the top people are from outside the car capital of the world. But enthusiasts like thirty-two year old John Lotz are striving for the next level, combining sizzling rides with rockin' sound systems.
Lotz knows all about cars and has a particular penchant for Porsche's, probably one of the best-engineered sports cars ever to come off of an assembly line. His last vehicle was a 1999 Boxster. After driving around and catching some rays, Lotz was disappointed with the factory system. He turned to Audio Chamber in Yorba Linda for a system upgrade. He believed that he had the car that he had always wanted and absolutely cherished the Boxster, but in time he realized he wanted just a little more.
After researching aftermarket parts for his vehicle, Lotz stumbled upon information on a modified Boxster by RUF (a European Tuner of Porsche vehicles). He loved what he saw on paper and eventually purchased a Lapis Blue 2001 RUF 3400S. In typical Boxster trim, this modified version increases horsepower from the stock version by 90 to an incredible 310 horses. Zero to sixty times have been lowered by over a second on the RUF to 5.1 seconds. The original 5-speed manual is replaced with a 6-speed gearbox and a more aggressive body kit rounded off by 19" magnesium wheels finishes the RUF off. Even the interior has certain nuances and appointments that serve notice to onlookers that this is no ordinary Porsche, but that it is a RUF Porsche with a price tag as lofty as its design (try about 100K).
With the top down on the convertible the audio system was being drowned out by the louder tone of the mid-engine flat six. Being pleased with the customer service the first time around, Lotz approached Audio Chamber for a second system. Johnathan Ellis at Audio chamber was given only one parameter. Make it sound great!
Nak, NakEllis is no stranger to performing high quality installations. He has been doing them for high profile southern California residents for years. In order to accomplish Lotz's request, Ellis had to carefully plan the installation - especially since the vehicle is limited in interior space. One good way to proceed was to start with top-notch products.
Anchoring the system is a Nakamichi CD-700 massaged into the factory location. With features such as 5-volt, DC-DC power supply and dual digital inputs, this was a perfect choice. New brackets were fabricated in order to allow the unit to sit flush with the dash fascia. The trim ring was also heavily modified to adhere and complete the flush look. It was sanded, textured to match that of the dash, and painted with semi-flat black paint.
One of the digital inputs of the CD-700 is sent to a Nakamichi MF-51 Mobile Musicbank(tm) (5-disc changer). It would have been easy to throw the DIN-sized changer underneath the head unit, but instead it was installed behind the driver's seat to keep it hidden from view and to keep the area under the head unit open for future upgrades. The installation of the Musicbank(tm) required disassembling, texturing, and painting to color match the interior. Talk about attention to detail.
The second digital input runs to a Zapco Symbilink PSI-HPSL line driver. It is piggybacked to the CD-700 with the RCA's from the head unit modified to plug directly into the Zapco piece, keeping the sonic quality at its highest level.