05 JBL stock performance questions

[SolaraChihuahua]

Alright, I have the 05 SE V6 with the JBL system. I have a small/simple student car show coming up at my school for part of the homecoming celebration.


I'm figuring I won't win any of the awards they'll give out (best exterior, best interior, best audio quality...etc) since my car is totally stock, but a friend convinced me to make a half-assed run for the best audio quality . So basically my questions are:

How can I get the best sound out of my stock system? I'm likely going to play some rap (with some fairly hard hitting bass) when the judges come by because that seems to sound really good in my car compared to a lot of metal I usually listen to.

Also how loud should I have it set to? I tried a quick trial run in my driveway with the song I have in mind and slowly got it up to 50 and it sounded really good, but I was scared to go any further.

If anyone can give me some tips, or recommendations for settings, I would be very grateful!

[Sentinel]

Set all of your bass/treb/mid to 0 (middle). If in doubt: turn it down. If a judge hears distortion you'll lose.

Figure out who th judges will be, and play to their music tastes. Play the best sounding, most articulate music you can. Metal usually sounds like a mish-mash of fuzz when turned up. If you play "Bass Rap" make damn sure your license plate dosn't rattle.
(Repeat: Do NOT turn up the bass, the sound engineer recorded the CD the way it was meant to be heard)

Don't DARE use an MP3 recorded to CD. They usually sound like crap to the trained ear.

Figure out how to get your "door is open" warning to not go off so you can have the doors open.

[SolaraChihuahua]

Ok thank you very much for those tips!

I'll clarify some things for all of you too, when I did this quick trial run, I was using an MP3 burnt to a CD. It sounded good but I may go pick up some rap CD from Best Buy tomorrow then. The settings when I tried it out were Treble +5. Mid +2 or 3 Bass +2 and in my opinion it sounded good. Any other tips?

[woa_its_j3ff]

off topic but good luck to your show. hope you win.. something

[Sentinel]

Put your EQ settings back to Zero.

Get a real CD. MP3 is a compression algorithm. While it is possible to have a giant MP3 with next to no loss, you will still lose some information. Most MP3s are ripped for small fie size, NOT sound quality. That might be why you feel like you have to screw with the EQ.

A CD can hold ~600-800 MB of data, if you rip a CD to MP3 and it is only 100MB, where is the rest of the audio information? it is GONE!

[SolaraChihuahua]

thank you for the tips! And maybe I will win...something haha. But what about volume? is 50 a safe setting for when the judge comes by?

[theprodigy79]

DEFINITELY use an original CD, and no form of further compressed audio (or even burned CDs)... As Sentinal stated, keep your "EQ" at 0... I would honestly avoid rap... what sounds "good" to you in your car will probably not appeal to judges who have any experience with true car shows (unless it's gonna be other students rating the show). Find a level sounding music that appeals the a good portion of the frequency range... Smooth Jazz has a very good variety and balance in it's range, and it's not offensive to many people... If you don't want to feel like an old man, go for some good techno or dance (Crystal Method, Chemical Brothers and Prodigy are three high SQ, full range artists that appeal to more than just techno freaks).

I hate to say it, but the stock 6x9s on the factory headunit sound like sh!t when turned up, especially with the hard hitting bass (not to mention our cars are rattle boxes)... Keep your volume at a modest level (high 30s max). You already know you ain't gonna win any bass competitions, so go for levelness or clarity (a lot of "students" cars with "systems" are only bass oriented, and may actually sound worse than a decent factory system for sound quality and levelness)... The judges don't care about loud (unless you're going for SPL)... they're going for quality of output.

One other adjustment you MAY want to make is to stage your audio toward the front a stop or two (fade). Your rear should technically be fill only, and should not contribute a large portion of the sound in your car.

Good luck!

-James

[SolaraChihuahua]

Ya the judges are just going to be students, and perhaps a teacher or two...no one with any real audio competition experience so. I'm guessing rap will be alright to play seeing as how much of my school is composed of white people who think they're gangster.


Alright tips so far:

Eq settings- all zero
Fade- +1 toward the front
30-40 volume
Real/Non-Burned CD
Doors open (????)

Anything I missed or anything to add?

[MikeATL]

You might want to get a chick with a nice badunka-dunk to stand in front of your car and shake it.

(The audio in our car isnt all that great, so dont be disappointed if you lose. Just have fun.)

[SolaraChihuahua]

Ya I'm definitely just going for fun, I wasn't even going to try for an award until my friend convinced me too. And I already have a girl for the job haha.

[SolaraChihuahua]

Alright! anything else I could possibly do? I got a good CD to play, the instrumental version of "Chain hang Low" by Jibbs haha. Heavy beats and melody with out all the rapping.


Any other last minute things?