Unified Finals

Probably like a lot of people we found ourselves saying that it was about time! A Unified Finals is what competitors and manufacturers have been looking for the last several years. Judging from the comments from various people at the show, there was both a sense of relief that it had finally happened.

The number of sound quality vehicles was higher than at a single World Finals. Practically half of the show floor was occupied by SQ teams and individual audio enthusiasts.

There was a great number of superb vehicles in attendance, many of which we hope to bring you in these pages over the next six months. In fact, two of them are in this issue, Phil Petracca's Mercedes and Chris Pate's Civic. Both are spectacular cars for their own reasons. The MBZ was clearly the standout ride/system. With the likes of Gary Biggs, Mark Eldridge and Kent Buller behind the build, one wouldn't expect any less.

Kudos to everyone that made the trip out. And congratulations to Paul Papadeas and Ralph Randall for making it happen in 2005. Hopefully, this bodes well for next year.

Competitor's QuoteOverall, I was pleased with the Unified Finals. Kansas City is a great location. It would have meant more to me if I had the opportunity to participate in the USAC Finals. Currently, USAC does not have alot of shows on the East Coast. The (inside) venue was great although too noisy to conduct crtitcal listening evaluations, in my opinion. From an IASCA competitor standpoint, the judging was very different. Some of the most experienced judges were missing. The manufacturer turnout was OK but the foot traffic was low. As always, some folks end up traveling greater distances than others. It was a 17-hour drive for me but ultimately worth it since I won my class! In a way, "unified" is a misnomer as there was no synergy between USAC and IASCA competitors. Future state is in question? -Keith Turner

A trove of new records were set with some teams setting records in each organization. Several teams made a strong showing at this unified event including Loud N Clear and Edge Audio. It is probable that Edge Audio, after showing just how strong they are at each of the finals this year, will be the team to beat in 2006.

In a surprise to many, a number of dB Drag Competitors who attended the dB Drag Finals just a week before raised their scores and beat their own records. Although they didn't have a lot of time to do so, those who raised their scores readily admitted that they did spend additional sleepless nights changing their systems and equipment.

To those voicing their opinion that the meters must have been high in Kansas City, Scottie Johnson proclaimed that "It would suck to know that I started working on the van as soon as I pulled it off the trailer from Cleveland and didn't stop till I got to Bartle Hall Friday night and someone wants to think that my gains came from a high sensor!"

Scott Owens of Edge Audio found that replacing equipment does have its advantages: he passed the 178dB barrier and set a new record of 178.9 in dB Drag, took home a new record in IDBL with a 180.3dB, and surpassed USACi SPL king Mike Jones' B&K attempt by 2.5dB for a new record at 180.5dB. According to Scott "We never turned it up as high as we did in KC." Does that mean there's more? We'll have to stay tuned to the car audio circuit in 2006 to find out! -Tara Orozco