Hi Matt!
-> If all car audio buffs are a$$hole bassheads with no greater purpose
-> in life than to crumble buildings that they drive by, then I suppose
-> High End Audio buffs are arrogant blue-nose tweaks who spend their
-> lives trying to find exactly the right shade of green marker to paint
-> their CDs and determine the optimum strand diameter and oxygen
-> content per millimeter of speaker cable for proper imaging (and they
-> know when it's imaged properly because if it ain't, the cellos in the
-> orchestra sound a half-inch out of place!)
 While I understand that you are trying to be mocking, you also know
that I and most here don't subscribe to most of the above tripe. In a
way, you have made some of my very points for me in your message, where
rather than debate the issues, you use name calling and insults.
Cars were never designed to keep sound in, nor was it ever designed to
expect sound levels to be produced, nor does hardly any car stereo shop
even have the slightest consideration for those outside, in their
designs, seldom to they think of keeping the sound in, their job is to
sell you as much garbage as possible.
At least a house has some mass betweem the walls, and most have some
insulation in there, too, where the energy is turned into heat because
it can't overcome the inertia of the walls. The majority of the sound in
a car stereo has no
barriers. So when you go for concert levels inside the car, everyone on
the block gets to hear it too, regardless of the precautions. Do most
(any) have any consideration of this? Most are usually only guilty of
mass stupidity that this is happening at all.
 Most with car stereos are considered bassheads because that is mostly
what is able to escape the enivronment, the mids and highs do mostly get
eaten up be interior except when the windows are rolled down, which
then fades in and out as it goes by, usually demonstrating that the
highs ARE fairly balanced from "the listening position". Usually also
demonstrates a total lack of discerning when distortion levels are well
beyond any kind of taste.
Therefore, when installing one of these monster stereos in a car, the
majority, during use, demonstrate a lack of care that the sound levels
they like are deafening those within 100 yards in the process. The act
of installing it itself is a crime. Using it should be treated the same
as a loaded weapon in a court of law.
 -> the proverbial "weakest link" is probably the tweaker's ears anyway)
 While this may be true, and especially can be if you've been cooped up
in one of your creations for more than a few minutes.. There are many
with very critical hearing, and a knowledge and training to be able to
discern that which they hear (a good musical education helps immensely
for training the ear) is not that uncommon. The raw capablity to hear
that things are not right exists in many more. A good judge of stereo
buying is that if you can't hear the difference between components of
different ranges in price, then buying the cheaper one is prudent.
In the case of green markers and special particles in the wire, I don't
hear it, so I don't buy it. If you need an ego stroke, and something to
talk about, but them and use them, so you have something to tell your
friends about at "show and tell". If they can't hear it, then their
ears must not be good enough, thus giving you an ego stroke of
superiority.
I prefer to LISTEN to the music, rather than talk about it, now
normally in specially treated rooms called control rooms where I have
a fairly good idea that what I'm hearing is actually what is on the
recording media. I save ego strokes for audience responses when playing
my music live. The high I get from a responsive audience is as good as
the finest drug, better than just any listening experience can ever be.
As far as car audio, I used to use my Altec A7-500s in my van between
gigs with the insulated and paneled walls, and have seldom heard that
good of sound from almost any car stereo since. When I had that setup,
I almost never pushed it hard enough to be as loud as even the lamest
thumpmobile of today, although those A7's were plenty efficient, and I
had 15 watts per channel to hit it with.
 Bonnie *:>
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