Not all the best car audio guys are on the West Coast. Plenty of talented customizers are east of the Mississippi. Jeremy Katz of Advanced Audio Designs (AAD) in Sharon, Mass., is one of them. The proof is in the type of clients he gets-a steady flow of high-end car and car audio aficionados and their luxury rides. Bucking the trend of "fiberglass and paint explosion" installations, Katz created a subwoofer system for a client with artfully carved MDF. After posting the construction and finished pictures online, it caught the eye of another customer, who was looking to create a unique masterpiece with his Mercedes-Benz. The AAD crew was naturally ready for the challenge of making an ultra high-end audio system worthy of an SL600.
Of course, it would be ridiculous to use mediocre products in a high-end car, so Katz selected gear befitting the SL. That included the now defunct Alpine F#1 Status head unit and processor, Audison amps, and Hertz component speakers and subwoofers. While the beauty of most installations is only skin-deep, the beauty of this installation extends behind the scenes. Check the build pictures in the photo layout. Painstakingly fabricated metal brackets and mounts are used throughout the installation, properly securing all of the products for safety, reliability, and serviceability. The wiring is worthy of being displayed in a museum. Custom fuse and power distribution blocks were machined and gold plated, exemplifying the level of planning and detail the AAD crew carries out.
Rack 'Em
Five Audison amplifiers (LRx 4.1k and LRx 2.9k) are mounted to an elaborate rack, which was fabricated with steel tube stock and attached solidly to the vehicle. The compact form factor reduces the space that the amplifiers occupy, while maintaining serviceability. Two LRx 4.1k's are for the interior speakers and three LRx 2.9's juice the subwoofers. One of the 4.1k's runs the door speakers and tweeters with the door speakers receiving 250 watts at 2-ohm stereo while the tweeters get 230 watts at 2-ohm stereo. The other 4.1k runs the rear speakers and center channel, with the rear speakers receiving 140 watts at 4-ohm stereo and the center channel 130 watts at 4-ohm stereo. The 2.9k's produce 900 watts at 4 ohms into each 10-inch Mille subwoofer. The total wattage for the system is a very respectable 4,200 at 4 ohms.