By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Hehe… I’m just going to leave this one alone. The last time we got between a couple of Cali car clubs by making fun of their SEMA rides, we ended up having to shut down the comments and start banning fools. People’s moms got involved. There were a lot of caps. It wasn’t pretty. So I’ll just let the pics speak for themselves. Hey, for what it is, it’s actually really impressive–I thought the captain’s chairs were an especially nice touch. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Noktastrophe" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

This RX-8 in the Vibe Audio booth sure did a lot of flashing and blinking and thumping and carrying on, so it was kind of a letdown to find that all of its features were just for show. Like, those bubbling mineral-oil-filled amps? No functional purpose whatsoever. The rotating-ball sub in the trunk? Nothing but a gimmick. Nothing too impressive under the hood in terms of mods, just a lot of dress-up and neon. I guess that’s often how it is with sound-stage cars. Oh well, at least it put on a show–go below the jump to see the video.

Continue reading "Vibe Audio RX-8 Screams For Attention" »

There’s a lot of faux-vintage car audio equipment on the market, but what’s cool about this Becker unit is that it boasts iPod compatibility, internet connectivity, turn-by-turn GPS navigation, and voice recognition capacity—all in a package that’ll blend seamlessly with the interior styling of your vintage gullwing 300SL. Becker is the erstwhile supplier of factory stereos for Mercedes (they mostly use Alpine now, Sean tells me) and was known for some pretty high-end stuff back in the day—this piece is actually modeled upon the pinstripe-design radios they started producing in the 60′s. At around 2300 bucks, it’s more than a little pricey, and so far it’s only available in Europe. A US version is being developed for later in the summer.

Source: Dvice via AutoMotto

Well, according to the weather report on my handy iPhone, Seattle has snow, sleet, and rain in the forecast for tomorrow and the entire weekend…. Good thing I’m heading to Daytona, Florida tomorrow for Spring Break Nationals! SBN is one of the largest and most anticipated car audio events of the year, and we’ll be bringing you coverage of the event all weekend long. That’s right, more bad ass cars, bikinis, sun, and custom car stereo systems than you can shake a stick at! Keep checking back!
For more details on the show hop over to the Spring Break Nationals website!

I know you were all worried about not seeing a SoundDomain Sound-Off post to keep you informed of what’s going on in the Mobile Electronics World, but not to worry folks, the Sound-Off is back! I had to step away from the office for a while to take care of some family matters, but we’re back in business! So what’s going on in the world of car audio? Take a look!

• Hybrid Audio has finally released the details and production photos of their newest competition tweeter, the Legatia L1 Pro Series. This bad boy features a machined all-aluminum body, a damped rear chamber, silk-dome tweeter powered by a neodymium motor. Not only do they look sexy as hell, but based on Hybrid’s previous tweeter success, these should stomp the competition!
• If you need some power wire for your amplifier install, Elemental Designs is currently offering 40% off their 4 gauge and 8 gauge power wire. It’s sold by the foot so you can get the perfect length and with this savings you’re practically getting it for free!
• Sirius and XM just had their merger blessed and approved by the Department of Justice and are now waiting on the FCC’s approval. Sorry about your luck commercial-ridden FM radio! So what does these mean to you and how are you going to benefit from this deal? Hop over to SoundDomain and find out!
• After a brief new-product-hiatus, high-end car audio manufacturer Xtant has just revealed their new product line-up. Wood-cone component speakers, leather-wrapped subwoofers, and customizable wood-paneled amplifiers make these products some of the sexiest on the market. Amazing looks and great sound quality… What more could you ask for?

• They keep the good news coming: Six new JL Audio W3V3 subwoofer systems are now available. The 10" FlatWedge box caught my eye – less than 5" deep, but packs a JL W3V3 woofer!
• Bassform’s "Does Your Box Rock" Challenge at the Spring Break Nationals in Daytona is ON. Competitors will showcase their vehicle-specific custom fiberglass enclosures for a chance at cash prizes. Bassforms locked down a great line-up of judges, we’ve got the list.
• Gotta Zune? Play any good games on it lately? You will be soon!

• Aliph, makers of the cool Jawbone Bluetooth headset, released details on three limited edition Jawbones designed by the the device’s creator. Sweet Talk, Dirty Talk, and Trash Talk are pretty simple, but I appreciate that they don’t have that modern "Matrix" styling a lot of manufacturers have taken on. The trucker lady emblem is my favorite. Do ya dig?
• CarDomain member e34zoui’s e34 5-Series BMW is off the charts. I was surfing through the Top A/V Installs on CarDomain when I came across this kitted-up starch white BMW beauty queen. He’s completely reworked the interior: kick panels, custom consoles, a complete A/V system, carPC… And the quality is straight-up outstanding.
• Don’t forget!! If you live in the Vancouver, BC area, Varad is searching for a booth car for the Lordco Trade Show! You get a slew of free gear and your car featured in the blog! Get all the details!
• Speaking of contests– Sirius is taking entries for a free trip to the Winter Music Conference in Miami with guest host Paul Van Dyk! If you’re an electronic music music junkie like myself, this is a killer opportunity!
• Audiojunkies got the scoop on some new amplifiers from Italian amplifier manufacturer Tec. The sleek and simple design will look awesome flush-mounted or on full display!

• T3 Audio has made a name for itself in the SPL Competition world…. Not only do they have insanely loud woofers, but they seem to be quite good at blowing up windshields at every competition due to the immense pressure inside their competition vehicles! Check it out, we’ve got a ton of pics and a video of a windshield actually blowing up at USACi nationals last year. Crazy.
• I’m not sure why every other Auto Blog website is claiming that this Lexus rear seat entertainment system for the RX series is such a hot item?? We think it’s absolutely hideous and way overpriced. Read the rant and see what you could actually get in the aftermarket for that same cash!
• The install crew at Alpine are a creative bunch of mad scientists. Not only do they build the hottest demo cars in the Mobile Electronics industry, they’ve also figure out ways to better dispose of their trash. We’ve got video of their homemade 5-gallon cash crusher!

• If you’re looking for a SMOKING deal on a single amp to power your entire audio system, Elemental Designs is closing out their NINe.5 five-channel amp and have knocked $150 off the price!
• If you own a 2004+ Toyota with the Premium Sound or JBL Premium Sound upgrade and you’ve tried to upgrade the radio, then you know it’s not a cheap or easy install, until now. Premium Sound/JBL-equipped Toyotas use a data turn-on for the amp rather than a standard 12-volt system. Removing the radio used to mean rewiring the entire system or bypassing the factory amp completely, but now Scosche offers a device that will interface with the factory amp and provide the data turn-on. And we’ve got a video for you showing just how easy it is!
• Polk Audio’s new home Sirius tuner is out, and a sexy piece of equipment it is! This full-sized component will look right at home in your home audio stack, and offers on-screen metadata to your TV as well as Time Shift and an optical out. Did you know Sirius actually broadcasts in 5.1 surround sound? Now you do, and now you can take advantage of it!
• Zapco’s new iForce amps are out! These amps feature a similar design to the rest of the Zapco family, keeping it simple and sleek. But they also took this somewhat-entry level series and added Symbilink technology so you can take full advantage of Zapco’s amazing sound quality!

• Ben was reminiscing about the good ‘ol days and flashed a few pics about his first car audio system. It was a pretty impressive system for day: two 12" Pyle subs, an Autotek amp, Boston Speakers and a Panasonic head unit. Mine system was in an 87 Civic Si: a single JBL 8" woofer, Pioneer amp,  Blaupunkt speakers and Sony CD player. We’ve all come a long way since then…. Do you remember your first system?
• Home audiophiles come up with some pretty crazy stuff to stretch out every last dB of sounds quality from their systems. Some even resort to using video RCA cables rather than audio RCAs, assuming the lower resistance allows for better flow of the audio signal. Is this a good idea for a car audio system?
• CarDomain member OneCrazy95Civic has been modifying his Civic for a few years now. Once he was "satisfied" with his first award-winning design, he ripped it all apart and has been building out an even crazier all new design. The system list is enough to put almost any system to shame, and the install… Well, you just have to check out the videos. Seriously.
• Throwing down a paint job on a project using rattle can leave a lot to be desired when it comes to accuracy and precision. Unless you really enjoy sanding, you should check out Alsa’s Killer Cans.