CA&E:What was the setup of your first competition system?
GS:I had this system installed in a '90 Volvo 780 Bertone coupe.
McIntosh MX406 AM/FM CD
Two Audio control EQT's(left/right)
Audio Control EQL (center/rear)
Audio Control ESP3 (center channel processor)
Two McIntosh MC431's (4x100)
MB Quart QM218.61Q (left/right)
MB Quart QM215.61Q (rears)
MB Quart 4-inch coaxial (center)
Two JL Audio 10W6's
CA&E:Does your job give you any advantage for competing in IASCA?
GS:There are a lot of very smart people out there in the car audio competition world so I don't know that I could claim any advantage. Maybe, since I do spend a lot of time listening to sound and thus may have a better-trained ear and am more familiar with the audio alignment technology.
CA&E:What do you think about IASCA rules in terms of how good they are for determining a sound system's audio fidelity?
GS:I haven't competed for over 10 years so I'm not familiar with the current IASCA rules. When I was competing, the rules worked well. The IASCA judging CDs improved each year. The biggest problem was the availability of really qualified judges. This may not be the case now, however.
CA&E:Do you think 5.1 for music is appropriate?
GS:Abosolutely! Again, it's not about the number of speakers playing but the creative choices in the mix.
Multichannel music mixes can be a very involving and pleasing experience. The Blue Man Group released two discs with a very interesting use of the 5.1 channels. They did not appear to be bound to any rules or conventions about multichannel mixing and just had fun with the music. Live performances are also particularly suited for multichannel reproduction. I have, however, heard remixes of stereo material by big-time artists into 5.1 that, in my opinion, were less than successful. What happens in these cases is that the mixers become so fixated on the multichannel format, that they lose sight of the heart and soul in the original song. You have to listen to the song and decide how to make it an enveloping experience while still retaining the sonic image of those elements, which are key to its emotional core. This takes a good set of ears and an intimate understanding of the music you're mixing.
CA&E:With this Mercedes, what do you think is the most important part of your signal chain? Which components do you consider most important for SQ?
GS:The Alpine F1 processors are very important to achieving the best sound quality in the car. They give you the ability to equalize the timbre of each channel, set the proper time alignment, and the best crossover settings for each driver. I was very surprised to find how much proper time alignment plays in the SQ game. Alpine did a very nice design on these processors. They sound very good and have an intuitive user interface. It's a shame this product has been discontinued.
CA&E:Did you consider using different amps?
GS:I had planned to use two Mcintosh MCC406m, but Aaron Braverman suggested I listen to the Alpine PDX line. I went to Kustom Kar audio with my favorite CDs in hand. Aaron set me up with the Morel Elates playing off a PDX-4.150. It didn't take long for me to change my mind. They are quite good sounding and the small size of the PDX's was going to make the install much more manageable. Best sound for the buck in a small size!