Driving Sounds

Sports Car Heaven

Vauxhall Bridge

Party, party, fiesta

For people who love music on the move

Issue One £2.50

Carrera 4 hides a godly secret

Car good, Sounds great

Hot Hatch Expert

PLUS

Executive Expert Hi-fi in high-end vehicles

Italian Stallions In search of a Dancing Horse

Masterful Music Britain’s finest Car Hi-fi installers

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I have a real passion for music and although my taste is eclectic I have to admit, my preferred genre is not most peoples cup of tea. Music is extremely diverse and can invoke many different emotions and reactions from those listening to it and this is what inspired me to create Driving Sounds.

The car is a great place to listen to music, as you will find when reading about the experiences of others within this magazine. These days we spend more of our time stuck in traffic than ever before and having your favourite tunes to hand can help to overcome the frustration this can cause.

The problem with most standard car audio systems is that they are built to a price with the focus very much on style and facilities. They are primarily designed to play music in the background, not to deliver a Hi-fi experience and as a result, sound very much like listening to music in a hotel lift or shopping centre. Playing music in your car for enjoyment is much more demanding and requires a system that can reproduce the total musical experience created by your favourite artists faultlessly. After 23 years in this industry, I can tell you this is a tall order but when done properly, it can completely change your attitude to driving.

Many people feel a huge attachment to their cars and my own experience leads me to my final few words. I brought my car to drive as explained on pages 4 and 5. I had never considered upgrading the audio despite working in the car audio industry but, it was the best thing I have ever done.

Through our FOUR MASTERS strategy we have brought together a group of incredibly talented, independent specialists who can fit great products to the highest standards and this keeps me smiling, just like everybody who sits in the front seat of my car.

Brian Parton, Co-Founder of

FOUR MASTERS

Cars4 Car by Porsche, Hi-fi by Hertz

Germany and Italy combine for a heady mix of

performance engineering and flamboyant sound

8 Mercedes Opera House How to turn an executive saloon into the ultimate

private music club – Inside, no one can hear you scream!

12 Careful With That Axe Eugene! Sometimes music can be more important than driving.

This is exactly the case for the owner of this Vauxhall Vectra

15 Peugeot Practicality Laura Parsons’ car for all seasons harbours some

dangerous tunes!

16 Powerful Performance Italian Stallions on parade! This pair, need regular

exercise

20 Spanish by Name, Spannered by Experts A dream ride equipped to thrill. Johnny Ward shows us

around his “mint motor”

Features11 Teutonically Speaking

A German Car Hi-fi company inspired by natural sound

married to innovative materials makes for a colourful

in-car experience

14 Plenty of Italians without Stallions Elettromedia uses the latest home produced technology

to wow the world

18 Experts in Their Field Licensed to thrill, FOUR MASTERS are a talented group of specialist technicians who

know more about how to get good sound from a car than anyone else

Offers and Actions6 Hi-fi not Sci-fi

The FOUR MASTERS offering makes it simple and

attractive to put great Hi-fi in your car. They know

everything so you don’t have to! Read about other

benefits of dealing with them

7 Deep Joy This fantastic reader offer will fill your hearts and ears

with joy

CONTENTSForeword4

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Driving Sounds and FOUR MASTERS are registered trademarks of FOUR. FOUR MASTERS (UK) Ltd, 1 Arcadian Business Centre, 42-43 Enfield Industrial Estate, Redditch, Worcestershire B97 6DE

Porsche material. I was extremely pleased with how well integrated the system was and although I could easily see the changes, many people I have shown the car to since have failed to spot where factory finish ends and aftermarket work begins.

I knew that the speakers would improve with a good few hours “playing in” as with most good car Hi-fi products and I was not too concerned that I would have to live with something less than great to begin with. I listened to Massive Attack’s Angel, from Mezzanine and was totally blown away! To this day, the thought of that first experience puts a huge grin on my face, I was completely overwhelmed. We listened to a couple of other tracks which I had taken along and then the installer got some of his discs out and started playing tunes that I have subsequently had to go out and buy, because they sounded so good.”

We wanted to know what Brian thought after living with the system for a while, he is still enthusiastic “I use the car as often as I can now. OK, for the purist, it has been modified, for me it has more than doubled the joy I get from driving the car. I did return to my FOUR MASTER and have a larger subwoofer put in. The initial 6” was completely hidden under the dash, but I wanted more bass particularly when

listening to acoustic and orchestral music. I have been telling people for over 20 years how rewarding car hi-fi- can be, now my own install leaves them with no doubt!” <<

rian Parton has owned his Porsche 911 “964” for five years now. He has recently had an “Audio Heaven” system fitted, Driving Sounds spoke with him to find out more;

“I originally bought the car to celebrate some modest success I had with a business enterprise. I had always liked this particular model and eventually found mine, which had been on the fleet of watch manufacturer, Rolex. It had been well cared for and had few miles on the clock, but had stood still for quite a while and various things required replacement. My original intention was to use the vehicle as Sunday best, however, I so enjoyed driving it that it quickly became my favoured form of transport.”

So, why fit an audio system to his pride and joy we ask? “I have been involved in the Car Hi-fi Business for 23 years and always enjoyed music, and because of this, had to explore the possibility that the car stereo could be upgraded to compete with the engine and road noise typical with this sort of car. As a member of the Porsche Owner’s club I was particularly keen that the car remained in stock condition and was

confident that my local FOUR MASTER could live with this demand.”

Brian could not be better placed to lay down his requirements for a system install as FOUR MASTERS was his brain child (see foreword). FOUR MASTERS offer three quality levels of system called Audio Joy, Audio Heaven and Audio Expert - They do this to avoid customers from having to learn all there is to know about products and install techniques. “I thought the system names were helpful in defining the level of system without requiring customers to research heavily themselves. - I try never to purchase “bottom of the range” and so plumped for an Audio Heaven system but made it clear that the car had to look as stock as possible and have the ability to be returned to stock condition for resale. We agreed a price and I booked the vehicle in.”

We asked Brian what he felt on hearing his new install for the first time and he was extremely enthusiastic in his response; “I took some of my favourite discs with me when I collected the car so I could give the system a good work out. Firstly, I was shown around the install, the work was to the highest standard as expected with great attention to detail, even the door speaker builds were covered in original

1 Angel - Massive Attack Mezzanine

2 Real Life - Joan as Police Woman Real Life

3 Whole Lotta Rosie - AC/DC Let There Be Rock

4 Suddenly - XTC English Settlement

5 Jeff Buckley - Dream Brother Grace

”“

Tracks on the Move

4 Driving Sounds Driving Sounds 5

Heaven’s in the FrontSeat of my Porsche

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22/6/09 09:48:19

Porsche material. I was extremely pleased with how well integrated the system was and although I could easily see the changes, many people I have shown the car to since have failed to spot where factory finish ends and aftermarket work begins.

I knew that the speakers would improve with a good few hours “playing in” as with most good car Hi-fi products and I was not too concerned that I would have to live with something less than great to begin with. I listened to Massive Attack’s Angel, from Mezzanine and was totally blown away! To this day, the thought of that first experience puts a huge grin on my face, I was completely overwhelmed. We listened to a couple of other tracks which I had taken along and then the installer got some of his discs out and started playing tunes that I have subsequently had to go out and buy, because they sounded so good.”

We wanted to know what Brian thought after living with the system for a while, he is still enthusiastic “I use the car as often as I can now. OK, for the purist, it has been modified, for me it has more than doubled the joy I get from driving the car. I did return to my FOUR MASTER and have a larger subwoofer put in. The initial 6” was completely hidden under the dash, but I wanted more bass particularly when

listening to acoustic and orchestral music. I have been telling people for over 20 years how rewarding car hi-fi- can be, now my own install leaves them with no doubt!” <<

rian Parton has owned his Porsche 911 “964” for five years now. He has recently had an “Audio Heaven” system fitted, Driving Sounds spoke with him to find out more;

“I originally bought the car to celebrate some modest success I had with a business enterprise. I had always liked this particular model and eventually found mine, which had been on the fleet of watch manufacturer, Rolex. It had been well cared for and had few miles on the clock, but had stood still for quite a while and various things required replacement. My original intention was to use the vehicle as Sunday best, however, I so enjoyed driving it that it quickly became my favoured form of transport.”

So, why fit an audio system to his pride and joy we ask? “I have been involved in the Car Hi-fi Business for 23 years and always enjoyed music, and because of this, had to explore the possibility that the car stereo could be upgraded to compete with the engine and road noise typical with this sort of car. As a member of the Porsche Owner’s club I was particularly keen that the car remained in stock condition and was

confident that my local FOUR MASTER could live with this demand.”

Brian could not be better placed to lay down his requirements for a system install as FOUR MASTERS was his brain child (see foreword). FOUR MASTERS offer three quality levels of system called Audio Joy, Audio Heaven and Audio Expert - They do this to avoid customers from having to learn all there is to know about products and install techniques. “I thought the system names were helpful in defining the level of system without requiring customers to research heavily themselves. - I try never to purchase “bottom of the range” and so plumped for an Audio Heaven system but made it clear that the car had to look as stock as possible and have the ability to be returned to stock condition for resale. We agreed a price and I booked the vehicle in.”

We asked Brian what he felt on hearing his new install for the first time and he was extremely enthusiastic in his response; “I took some of my favourite discs with me when I collected the car so I could give the system a good work out. Firstly, I was shown around the install, the work was to the highest standard as expected with great attention to detail, even the door speaker builds were covered in original

Subwoofer – Hertz HSK 200

A weighty 8” sub replaced a discretely installed 6”. The sub is built into a hand crafted, sealed box for optimal performance. A sub woofer level con-trol is mounted nearby, providing extra bass when required.

Door Speakers – Hertz MLK 2

This two-way system is mounted in the stock locations, although the door pockets have now been filled with boxes which house the mid-frequency speakers. The door panels were stripped and treated with Skinz sound deadening material, Wave diffuser and Moisture guard to ensure that as much of the sound as possible ends up in the cabin and not resonating in the door panels. Treating the panels also reduces road noise which eats bass frequencies! Despite the relatively low tweeter position, the sound stage sits at ear height, exactly where it should.

Amplifier – Audison LRx 5.1K

This five-channel amplifier is power-ful enough to offer good dynamic control of the two-way component speakers and sub woofer. It has loads of beneficial technical features which you don’t have to find out about if you don’t want to, but which ensure a rich, powerful and natural sound across the whole audio spectrum. All connections are made with good quality Audison Connections cables and accessories.

I listened to Massive Attack’s Angel, from Mezzanine and was totally blown away!

1

Grace

”“

Top: Amp up front - The Audison unit nestles neatly under the bonnet

Above Left: Even the door speaker builds were covered in original Porsche material

Above Right: Good quality after market head unit slots straight into factory position

Below: Five-channel Audison amp ensures a rich, powerful and natural sound

Opposite: Feels like Heaven - The front seat of Brian’s Porsche is a good place for ‘Angel’

Opposite Bottom: Subwoofer level control is mounted nearby, providing extra bass when required

Top Five


Heaven’s in the FrontSeat of my Porsche

B


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DIFFERENCEFour Masters are craftsmenThe FOUR MASTERS are a national network of award-winning craftsmen, dedicated to matching all of your wishes with our products and their expertise. You can spend as little or as much as you have on an audio system and may even consider building it over a period of time.

Four Masters for the finest after sales supportBecause we are national, all of our products are installed to your car with a 3-year NATIONAL parts and service guarantee. If anything untoward should happen whilst on holiday, for instance or if you move to another area of the country, we will find a local FOUR MASTER to honour our promise.

Four Masters for excellent equipmentFour only stocks specialist brands which are world renowned for excellence in the field of Car Hi-fi. These companies design and produce their own product and are all in the business of using the latest technology to create products, which recreate music with the utmost integrity. This is what makes them special.

The same product criteria are used when selecting suppliers of cables and accessories and sound treatment systems like those produced by Skinz.

Four Masters are proud of what they doFOUR MASTERS are encouraged to train to nationally recognised, automotive standards. They share high levels of practical skill and in-depth technical knowledge of automotive electrical systems as well as understanding how to get the most out of audio products fitted to a vehicle.

By working together, FOUR MASTERS bring much needed self-regulation to an area of increasing complexity, ensuring that all work is carried out in the best interest of the customer whilst avoiding unsafe practices. Their willingness to share knowledge means they always have the best information/support to hand.

FOUR MASTERS work together at shows, demonstrating car audio to an audience that wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to be exposed to it. You may well talk to an installer who is perfectly happy to pass your enquiry or lead on to another. This unique relationship helps FOUR MASTERS to grow and improve its collective offering to better serve the public at large.

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Visit www.fourcars.co.uk and watch a FOUR MASTER in action!

T

READER OFFER


22/6/09 09:48:27

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In order to achieve the euphoric revelations you have read about in this magazine, you need to invest in a complete system incorporating: Component Speakers, Sub Woofer, Amplifier, Wiring, Subwoofer enclosure, sound treatment of doors panels, integration with the vehicle and system set-up. Your local FOUR MASTER can offer you all of this with our Driving Sounds, Audio Joy system.

This system from Hertz is very similar to the one fitted to the Peugeot featured on page 15 and was developed in consultation with some of our FOUR MASTERS. It will deliver plenty of performance for those wanting a significant improvement upon a factory fitted pair of speakers.

The system we are offering comprises a pair of Hertz Energy component speakers, Hertz Dieci Subwoofer and enclosure and Hertz EP4 amplifier connected together with a Connection Audison amp kit, Skinz sound treatment system and the experience, skill and knowledge of your local FOUR MASTER. At the time of going to print, the cost of the system is £899. As a reader of issue one of Driving Sounds, you can get this system for just £599!

The system price includes full installation and is provided with a 3-year national product and service warranty.

All you need do now is select the FOUR MASTER of your choice from the directory on page 22 and take your copy along and request the Driving Sounds, Audio Joy system to be fitted to your car.

We guarantee the system will vastly improve your driving pleasure!

Exclusive Offer for Readers of Driving Sounds!

here is no single component that you can change in your car which would give you the full Joy of a true Hi-fi system on the move. T

READER OFFER


We attended a modified car show called ISTS at Castle Donington in 2008 and met an extraordinary FOUR MASTER called Paul Ellis. He spent a lot of time with us explaining what he does and what makes good Hi-fi. He demonstrated a couple of cars to us and both my son and I were so impressed we decide there and then that car Hi-fi was what we needed in our lives! I immediately booked Ryan’s car in for a system build and within days of its completion, booked my beloved CLK in for an even better one! I put a budget limit of £6K on the system which ended up costing £8K. I found that once the process began, I wanted as much input as possible, listening to equipment and adding my own personal touches to the system. One thing I would have never thought possible, was sprung on me by Paul. When I went to finally collect the car the boot install had been finished in the identical Napa Leather used by Mercedes for the interior of the car! It was this sort of attention to detail which convinced me that I had been lucky to find one of a group of the finest installers in the country, prepared to go that extra yard to deliver customer satisfaction.

I have very broad musical tastes, which developed through hearing dad singing around the house and listening to some of the most emotive singers that have ever recorded and it was during this time that I discovered that the better the performer, the more detail was missed by inferior reproduction. I have now come to the conclusion that the attention to detail shown during the installation process, coupled with good quality equipment helps to bring out the detail within the music and particularly virtuoso performances such as that of Placido Domingo’s “Nessun Dorma”. I can now only play this track when the road is clear in front of me in case my vision becomes impaired by tears of sheer joy!” >>

rew’s opera singing father travelled all over the UK and Europe performing opera.

It always seems odd to think that one of music’s highest art forms has traditionally carried some of the poorest wages which is why Andrew Patterson Senior never achieved his lifelong ambition of owning a Mercedes CLK. On his passing, Drew determined to carry that dream through by working all hours and saving everything he earned in order to get the car of his father’s dreams.

It took quite a few years with many diversions along route, but finally Drew visited his local Mercedes dealership in 2005 and purchased a shiny new CLK in Silver. Initially, spending a significant amount of money on Hi-fi was not on Drew’s radar, as he told us; “I was quite happy with factory fitted stuff, or so I thought, it sounded OK for a car, which I now think is the problem. People don’t expect much of factory fit car stereo. They listen to some drive time chat, news and traffic information on medium wave radio and that’s it. But, when you start to play music you love in a car, most

of it fails to deliver the same emotion as it does on even a modest system at home.

Drew had a protracted route into car Hi-fi; “My first son and I had done everything together, from partaking in and watching sport to films and all sorts of other bonding activities, however my youngest son, Ryan, was a little more reserved and as a teenager began to drift away into a virtual world of computer games and MSN etc. I felt that perhaps I hadn’t got as much involved in his life as I had with my eldest and set-out to find some common interest we could pursue together.

I was quite happy with factory fitted stuff, or so I thought...when you start to play music you love in a car, most of it fails to deliver the same emotion as it does on even a modest system at home.”

“

Left Bottom: Original Mercedes head unit integrates nicely with the dashboard and was felt to be of high enough quality to remain. The output of this runs through an Audison Bit One signal processor where pre-determined equalisation curves are flattened out.

Below: Rainbow vanadium 2-way components speaker set provide a warm and typically European sound and are mounted in seamlessly modified door cards which feature very subtle “string lighting” which helps to put driver and passenger in the mood!


Expert Hi-fi for a Tenor!Sub-Post Master turned Tree Surgeon, Drew Patterson inherited a dream.

D

22/6/09 09:48:31

We attended a modified car show called ISTS at Castle Donington in 2008 and met an extraordinary FOUR MASTER called Paul Ellis. He spent a lot of time with us explaining what he does and what makes good Hi-fi. He demonstrated a couple of cars to us and both my son and I were so impressed we decide there and then that car Hi-fi was what we needed in our lives! I immediately booked Ryan’s car in for a system build and within days of its completion, booked my beloved CLK in for an even better one! I put a budget limit of £6K on the system which ended up costing £8K. I found that once the process began, I wanted as much input as possible, listening to equipment and adding my own personal touches to the system. One thing I would have never thought possible, was sprung on me by Paul. When I went to finally collect the car the boot install had been finished in the identical Napa Leather used by Mercedes for the interior of the car! It was this sort of attention to detail which convinced me that I had been lucky to find one of a group of the finest installers in the country, prepared to go that extra yard to deliver customer satisfaction.

I have very broad musical tastes, which developed through hearing dad singing around the house and listening to some of the most emotive singers that have ever recorded and it was during this time that I discovered that the better the performer, the more detail was missed by inferior reproduction. I have now come to the conclusion that the attention to detail shown during the installation process, coupled with good quality equipment helps to bring out the detail within the music and particularly virtuoso performances such as that of Placido Domingo’s “Nessun Dorma”. I can now only play this track when the road is clear in front of me in case my vision becomes impaired by tears of sheer joy!” >>

rew’s opera singing father travelled all over the UK and Europe performing opera.

It always seems odd to think that one of music’s highest art forms has traditionally carried some of the poorest wages which is why Andrew Patterson Senior never achieved his lifelong ambition of owning a Mercedes CLK. On his passing, Drew determined to carry that dream through by working all hours and saving everything he earned in order to get the car of his father’s dreams.

It took quite a few years with many diversions along route, but finally Drew visited his local Mercedes dealership in 2005 and purchased a shiny new CLK in Silver. Initially, spending a significant amount of money on Hi-fi was not on Drew’s radar, as he told us; “I was quite happy with factory fitted stuff, or so I thought, it sounded OK for a car, which I now think is the problem. People don’t expect much of factory fit car stereo. They listen to some drive time chat, news and traffic information on medium wave radio and that’s it. But, when you start to play music you love in a car, most

of it fails to deliver the same emotion as it does on even a modest system at home.

Drew had a protracted route into car Hi-fi; “My first son and I had done everything together, from partaking in and watching sport to films and all sorts of other bonding activities, however my youngest son, Ryan, was a little more reserved and as a teenager began to drift away into a virtual world of computer games and MSN etc. I felt that perhaps I hadn’t got as much involved in his life as I had with my eldest and set-out to find some common interest we could pursue together.

I was quite happy with factory fitted stuff, or so I thought...when you start to play music you love in a car, most of it fails to deliver the same emotion as it does on even a modest system at home.”

“

Left Bottom: Original Mercedes head unit integrates nicely with the dashboard and was felt to be of high enough quality to remain. The output of this runs through an Audison Bit One signal processor where pre-determined equalisation curves are flattened out.

Below: Rainbow vanadium 2-way components speaker set provide a warm and typically European sound and are mounted in seamlessly modified door cards which feature very subtle “string lighting” which helps to put driver and passenger in the mood!


D

Due in part to the way Drew discovered Car Hi-fi, his install maybe less discreet than many would want. This was deliberate as Drew intends to show his car to as many people as possible and has already attended car sound competitions in order to share his pride and joy with the general public. Although not built to compete, Drew has already taken silver wear in the European Mobile Media Association’s (EMMA) sound-off format. This enables him to expose the car to other competitors and followers of the format who appreciate more than most, the achievement of home Hi-fi quality sound in a car. Drew is keen to point out that it took some persuasion to have the installers carry out this kind of an install into such a classic car as it is far more common for customers of such vehicles to want everything hidden away. This was suggested and Drew was shown examples of Hi-fi installs of similar equipment installed behind existing trim panels.

We asked Drew if he was tempted to change any other aspect of the vehicle; “Not really, I did consider a DTM body kit, but frankly, that seemed a little bit young for me and it also involves carving away some of the existing body work and I really don’t want anything done which would affect the car’s resale value and this is the other point that escapes most car owners, all of the work that has gone into improving my vehicle can be reversed if I ever wish to sell the vehicle. I suppose it is true that I would never realise the full value of the system as part of the car, but I can remove it and have it all installed in my next one” <<

1 Somebody to Love Queen

2 Adagio for Strings Testio

3 Nessun Dorma Placido Domingo

4 Gangster’s Paradise Coolio

5 Tonight Genesis

Top FiveTracks on the Move

Above: Two Rainbow 10” subwoofers offer plenty of bass extension, particularly important for reproducing deep bass on acoustic/orchestral music and also capable of providing a pleasing kick when listening to dance music. The mirrored enclosure is built to optimise performance and also offers extra visual impact on show days.

Middle: The special edition Audison VRX Shadow amplifiers are built to perform at the highest level whilst adding dramatic visual impact to the installation.

More subtle electric blue lighting is included both under car and in the front foot-wells

10 Driving Sounds

ermany’s love affair with music goes back many

centuries which can be said for many other countries of the world.

However, what is less common is the nation’s shared appetite and appreciation for live music which is as strong now as it was back then. All the major cities in Germany are peppered with concert halls, theatres and shrines to live music of all types but their love for orchestral and choral music may be greater than any other nation worldwide.

Rainbow was established in 1984 in Bad Rappenau, Southern Germany. It was founded on a desire to build audio equipment which would match perfectly the “European” preference for natural, rich, warm and rounded sound as opposed to the harsh, almost rude brashness of product coming from the Far East at that time.

The word “Colour” when used to describe sound is not always a positive thing. In sound as with vision, taste and other senses, we require balance and a rainbow is a great analogy for the clarity of sound, where each element is balanced perfectly with its neighbour allowing every nuance and timbre of each instrument to be identified within the whole musical spectrum.

The company recruited acousticians to analyse the internal sound characteristic for many cars and after copious painstaking

measurements under laboratory conditions, set to work to produce a range of amplifiers and speakers which enhanced what was good and compensate for what was bad in the results they had measured and logged.

When it came to engineering, no corner was cut or element compromised to reach established market price points. In fact the early hand-built Rainbow products were often seen as a little too extravagant, until critics got to listen to them. Rainbow still builds many of its high-end products by hand in order to guarantee perfect results.

Even the earliest products were heralded and celebrated for their unique acoustic qualities, it seemed that finally, someone had managed to overcome the limitations set unwittingly by car manufacturers and make car audio products that provided a natural sound.

A long history and background in noise suppression techniques helped place Rainbow amplifiers amongst the finest that have ever existed. iPaul, introduced in 2007 for instance, is a range of just three amplifiers which were built as a tribute to one of Rainbow’s founders, Paul Jelko and has taken its place alongside their speakers as the critic’s choice for natural sound reproduction.

Some years on, and Rainbow still applies the basic principles of testing and retesting its products in the environment in which they are meant to be heard, taking extraordinary amounts of time to

audition and compare products. They also innovate, as they say in their blurb; “We are not afraid of being different or out of the ordinary. We look forward to every surprised face!”

It is this underlining desire to impress which leads them to question convention at every step of the design and production process and to try new materials in order to get closer to the holy grail of perfect sound in a car. Cone materials, for instance, have been developed using crushed rock, Paper, Aluminium, hemp and natural rubber and research into combinations of all these materials takes them closer to their goal. But it is ears that make the final decision on what works and what doesn’t and no product goes beyond prototype stage unless it brings a smile to the face of the listener. <<

22/6/09 09:48:40

10 Driving Sounds

ermany’s love affair with music goes back many

centuries which can be said for many other countries of the world.

However, what is less common is the nation’s shared appetite and appreciation for live music which is as strong now as it was back then. All the major cities in Germany are peppered with concert halls, theatres and shrines to live music of all types but their love for orchestral and choral music may be greater than any other nation worldwide.

Rainbow was established in 1984 in Bad Rappenau, Southern Germany. It was founded on a desire to build audio equipment which would match perfectly the “European” preference for natural, rich, warm and rounded sound as opposed to the harsh, almost rude brashness of product coming from the Far East at that time.

The word “Colour” when used to describe sound is not always a positive thing. In sound as with vision, taste and other senses, we require balance and a rainbow is a great analogy for the clarity of sound, where each element is balanced perfectly with its neighbour allowing every nuance and timbre of each instrument to be identified within the whole musical spectrum.

The company recruited acousticians to analyse the internal sound characteristic for many cars and after copious painstaking

measurements under laboratory conditions, set to work to produce a range of amplifiers and speakers which enhanced what was good and compensate for what was bad in the results they had measured and logged.

When it came to engineering, no corner was cut or element compromised to reach established market price points. In fact the early hand-built Rainbow products were often seen as a little too extravagant, until critics got to listen to them. Rainbow still builds many of its high-end products by hand in order to guarantee perfect results.

Even the earliest products were heralded and celebrated for their unique acoustic qualities, it seemed that finally, someone had managed to overcome the limitations set unwittingly by car manufacturers and make car audio products that provided a natural sound.

A long history and background in noise suppression techniques helped place Rainbow amplifiers amongst the finest that have ever existed. iPaul, introduced in 2007 for instance, is a range of just three amplifiers which were built as a tribute to one of Rainbow’s founders, Paul Jelko and has taken its place alongside their speakers as the critic’s choice for natural sound reproduction.

Some years on, and Rainbow still applies the basic principles of testing and retesting its products in the environment in which they are meant to be heard, taking extraordinary amounts of time to

audition and compare products. They also innovate, as they say in their blurb; “We are not afraid of being different or out of the ordinary. We look forward to every surprised face!”

It is this underlining desire to impress which leads them to question convention at every step of the design and production process and to try new materials in order to get closer to the holy grail of perfect sound in a car. Cone materials, for instance, have been developed using crushed rock, Paper, Aluminium, hemp and natural rubber and research into combinations of all these materials takes them closer to their goal. But it is ears that make the final decision on what works and what doesn’t and no product goes beyond prototype stage unless it brings a smile to the face of the listener. <<

G

Every Colour of The Rainbow

Driving Sounds 11

We let Carl tell his own story;

“The above introduction is correct in every way. I used to have a boyhood love of cars, but that left me when I realised I could never bring myself to spend a lot of money owning one. My real passion has always been for music. Having been brought up in a musical family with extremely broad tastes, it was second nature for me to pick up and learn a musical instrument. I began violin lessons age 7 and in parallel, taught myself to play guitar. The classical disciplines I learnt as a pupil of the violin were extremely important to both playing and listening pleasure as I developed an appreciation of all aspects of musical performance and later, the recording process.

I worked for many years in professional recording and broadcast studios and was exposed to a lot of very expensive equipment. I realised after some years that I had become an audio snob and the same reluctance I had for spending a lot of money on a car kept me from investing an inordinate amount on Hi-fi. In later years, I had a family and this restricted any ideas I had of investing in expensive Hi-fi for the home and, I must admit, I lost my appetite for music to a certain extent, even putting down my beloved guitars for way too long.

I have been involved with FOUR MASTERS since its inception and as part of my involvement was required to have a system I could demonstrate to the press. Still sneeringly cynical, I had a reasonable Audio Joy system installed, ensuring that I still had enough space in the car to cart my children and associated paraphernalia around on camping trips. I had, of course, listened to no end of systems but had never actually experienced owning one and I guess I became increasingly excited as I waited for boxes to be made and glue to dry and final tweaks to be carried out.

When the day finally came for me to collect my car, I took with me a number of discs that I knew very well. It took a couple of hours to get used to the system and to set it up to my tastes, but once there, I could not stop smiling. Over the ensuing weeks and months I must have revisited my entire collection (some 2000 CD’s) and then

I was amazed that the sound kept getting better and better as the speakers ran in and no matter what genre I threw at it, it performed brilliantly.”

“

12 Driving Sounds

Carl Hynes is a PR Guru and marketing expert. He works across many fields and has been involved in the in car entertainment industry for many years, however, as a refugee from the world of professional audio, he always doubted the capability of in car Hi-fi. He is not particularly into cars and has always seen his own Vectra estate as a necessary evil. That is, until he had a sound system put in.

1 Since I’ve Been Loving You Led Zeppelin

2 A Case of You Joni Mitchell

3 Can’t be Sure The Sundays

4 Cinema Show Genesis

5 Desert Pirate Thomas Leeb


Above Top Right: Luggage compartment now features 10” Hertz Hi-Energy subwoofer in a sealed box alongside an Audison LRx 4.5 amplifier

Above Left: Hertz Mille 165 components speakers in factory positions with protruding pods for the tweeters.

Doors treated with Skinz sound deadening, Skinz Wave Diffuser and Moisture Guard. Wiring by Audison connection and Chord.

started on other peoples. I was amazed that the sound kept getting better and better as the speakers ran in and no matter what genre I threw at it, it performed brilliantly.

We have two family cars and both are made by Vauxhall, but there is only one that I want to drive now, this is not because of climate control, leather seats, or that comforting bum warmer built into the seats, it is because the factory system in our “other car” sounds so poor in comparison to the Audio Heaven system in the Vectra that I cannot bare to be in it for long! It is fair to say that my driving habits

have changed or at least my attitude to travelling. I now relish a long journey and feel completely relaxed in traffic jams and must admit to finding any excuse to sit in my car when I purchase a new CD. But the effect has gone well beyond driving, I am discovering new music again and most importantly, have got all my guitars out and play them on a regular basis, albeit in the garage!

The experience has reawakened my passion for music and I would struggle to find any better justification for car Hi-fi!” <<

Driving Sounds 13


We let Carl tell his own story;

“The above introduction is correct in every way. I used to have a boyhood love of cars, but that left me when I realised I could never bring myself to spend a lot of money owning one. My real passion has always been for music. Having been brought up in a musical family with extremely broad tastes, it was second nature for me to pick up and learn a musical instrument. I began violin lessons age 7 and in parallel, taught myself to play guitar. The classical disciplines I learnt as a pupil of the violin were extremely important to both playing and listening pleasure as I developed an appreciation of all aspects of musical performance and later, the recording process.

I worked for many years in professional recording and broadcast studios and was exposed to a lot of very expensive equipment. I realised after some years that I had become an audio snob and the same reluctance I had for spending a lot of money on a car kept me from investing an inordinate amount on Hi-fi. In later years, I had a family and this restricted any ideas I had of investing in expensive Hi-fi for the home and, I must admit, I lost my appetite for music to a certain extent, even putting down my beloved guitars for way too long.

I have been involved with FOUR MASTERS since its inception and as part of my involvement was required to have a system I could demonstrate to the press. Still sneeringly cynical, I had a reasonable Audio Joy system installed, ensuring that I still had enough space in the car to cart my children and associated paraphernalia around on camping trips. I had, of course, listened to no end of systems but had never actually experienced owning one and I guess I became increasingly excited as I waited for boxes to be made and glue to dry and final tweaks to be carried out.

When the day finally came for me to collect my car, I took with me a number of discs that I knew very well. It took a couple of hours to get used to the system and to set it up to my tastes, but once there, I could not stop smiling. Over the ensuing weeks and months I must have revisited my entire collection (some 2000 CD’s) and then

I was amazed that the sound kept getting better and better as the speakers ran in and no matter what genre I threw at it, it performed brilliantly.”

“

12 Driving Sounds

Carl Hynes is a PR Guru and marketing expert. He works across many fields and has been involved in the in car entertainment industry for many years, however, as a refugee from the world of professional audio, he always doubted the capability of in car Hi-fi. He is not particularly into cars and has always seen his own Vectra estate as a necessary evil. That is, until he had a sound system put in.

1 Since I’ve Been Loving You Led Zeppelin

2 A Case of You Joni Mitchell

3 Can’t be Sure The Sundays

4 Cinema Show Genesis

5 Desert Pirate Thomas Leeb


Above Top Right: Luggage compartment now features 10” Hertz Hi-Energy subwoofer in a sealed box alongside an Audison LRx 4.5 amplifier

Above Left: Hertz Mille 165 components speakers in factory positions with protruding pods for the tweeters.

Doors treated with Skinz sound deadening, Skinz Wave Diffuser and Moisture Guard. Wiring by Audison connection and Chord.

started on other peoples. I was amazed that the sound kept getting better and better as the speakers ran in and no matter what genre I threw at it, it performed brilliantly.

We have two family cars and both are made by Vauxhall, but there is only one that I want to drive now, this is not because of climate control, leather seats, or that comforting bum warmer built into the seats, it is because the factory system in our “other car” sounds so poor in comparison to the Audio Heaven system in the Vectra that I cannot bare to be in it for long! It is fair to say that my driving habits

have changed or at least my attitude to travelling. I now relish a long journey and feel completely relaxed in traffic jams and must admit to finding any excuse to sit in my car when I purchase a new CD. But the effect has gone well beyond driving, I am discovering new music again and most importantly, have got all my guitars out and play them on a regular basis, albeit in the garage!

The experience has reawakened my passion for music and I would struggle to find any better justification for car Hi-fi!” <<

Driving Sounds 13

22/6/09 09:48:48

Driving Sounds 1514 Driving Sounds

ack in 1979, three engineers working in different electronic fields, with the same passion for high fidelity, shared a dream called Audison.

Audison was officially born in 1984 with the launch of its first amplifier, HP 110, after some years of research and experimentation. The Audison name derives from the fusion of the Latin words “audio” and “sonus”. Together these two words represent the historic roots and philosophy of this company, which was founded in a part of Italy strongly connected to music. Musical instruments known and appreciated all over the world have been produced in the Marche region of Italy for two centuries, by highly skilled and committed craftsmen and leading-edge electronic industries later.

Elettromedia’s very existence is testament to the hard work, passion and extreme care shown by its employees for the products they create. Every new product is developed in response to the demands of car audio enthusiasts. The aim of this continuous feedback is maximum customer satisfaction. New products are created through sophisticated project procedures utilising unique simulation software. Engineers develop a product from a theoretical model created with virtual simulations which leads to the production of a prototype, which is subjected to rigorous laboratory testing before embarking on exhaustive tests in the listening room. Here, they are tweaked and adjusted and improved by engineers with a mix of exceptional musical ears and engineering know-how and experience which is fundamental to ensuring the characteristic Audison sound.

Products are then tested in a car, where they will actually spend their working life and only then, is the product ready to be

developed for production. After this point, products are sent to groups of selected customers for further in-situ testing of sound, cosmetic and functional features.

This process is the same for both amplifiers and speakers.

Audison Cable was launched in 1987 as the first high quality connection cable and accessories line manufactured in Europe, thrilling enthusiasts worldwide. In 2005 as an evolution of the Audison Cable line, Elettromedia launched the Connection Audison program. A range of high quality, futuristically designed products to enhance its audio credentials.

In 1998 Elettromedia created the Hertz brand which gave voice to its amplifiers and quickly became a world leader in the loudspeaker market. Hertz quickly introduced important innovations in driver design technology, like the double wave surround used in all products and now copied by many competitors, and the neodymium motor originally employed in its 2002 Eisa award winning Space series.

High efficiency car speakers followed, giving everybody the chance to enjoy good music and high dynamics, even with low power systems.

Even Elettromedia’s head office is full of ground breaking technology, providing comfortable and bright “Open Space” underlining the company’s philosophy of utmost transparency in terms of decisions and relationships. The building features a high level of automation, with light, heat and air all controlled centrally to conserve energy. Heat is collected as a by-product of plant and refrigeration units and helps to reduce the fuel required to run the boilers.

A state-of-the-art 60 seat “theatre” with multimedia video-conference systems, is

used for customers, suppliers and company meetings and seminars. Including FOUR MASTERS who held there third annual general meeting there in 2008.

The ability to react quickly to changing market trends along with customer lead technological development all go toward making Elettromedia one of the world leaders in the development of consumer electronics and it is their passion for music that drives them on! <<

World Leading Car Audio from Italy’s Finest

Above: Elettromedia’s style runs from it’s products right through to their state of the art designed offices

Top: The Thesis Amplifier

B

L

Founded in 1987, Elettromedia is a world leader in the production of car audio amplifiers, speakers and accessories for professional installations.

22/6/09 09:49:02

Audio Joy for a Girl or a Boy

Laura likes to drive to her favourite tunes and was disappointed with the reproduction or her factory fitted CD Tuner and speakers. Advised by her boyfriend, who had recently received the FOUR MASTER treatment and had also spied a special offer for an “Audio Joy” system in a lads motoring magazine, Laura took her prized possession to a FOUR MASTER, Source Sounds, in Sheffield with the same trepidation that a man may feel when visiting a ladies lingerie shop!

Laura picks up the story; “From the moment I walked through the door, I knew that all I had heard about FOUR MASTERS was true. I was greeted and made to feel completely welcome and within minutes I was perfectly happy to be lead by the specialist who approached me. I have no time or inclination to become an expert in car audio so, having access to such a knowledgeable sales man was just what

I needed. I took the magazine with the promotion in it, which had attracted me in the first place and the FOUR MASTER did the rest. This involved demonstrating differing levels of equipment and explaining what I would get for my money. I was pretty fixed budget-wise and the offer in the magazine looked like a great deal to me. The FOUR MASTER confirmed that it was and explained that the concept of buying “Audio Joy” meant that they could put together a system for me immediately and were certain that for my budget I could not do better!”

“Any remaining doubt or suspicion was put completely out of my mind when they lead me through to their workshop, which looked neat and tidy and, joy of joys, featured a fellow female, installing equipment. For the sake of solidarity I chatted with her and asked her opinion of the “Audio Joy” system I was interested in – her response matched perfectly, what I had already been told and I was sold there and then.

I booked my car in and eagerly awaited the big day. I was invited to watch the install taking place, but unfortunately, had to go to work instead. I had been told exactly what was going to happen anyway and felt completely comfortable that a good job would be done”

Laura returned at the end of the day to

find the system getting a couple of final sound tweaks. “I was really impressed with the clarity and power the system provided and the install looked really good also – Thank you FOUR MASTERS, you have changed my life! I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a purchase so much before. Great experience, great service and great result!” <<

aura Parsons is the proud owner of a black Peugeot 206. To all intents and purposes it could be described as fairly ordinary. It does not have the highest spec engine or trim level, but never-the-less it is relied upon and loved by its owner who uses it on a daily basis to travel to and from work and clocks up a good few leisure time miles also.

Main Picture: Laura was happy to have a sleek looking Hertz subwoofer box mounted in her luggage compartment next to a Hertz EP 4 Amplifier

Above: Laura was shown a FOUR MASTER promotion which appeared in a magazine she wouldn’t normally read – Hopefully!

Left: A pair of Hertz Energy speakers are fitted to the factory fit positions, so not a lot on show – This can help with security - Smiley faces all round!


ack in 1979, three engineers working in different electronic fields, with the same passion for high fidelity, shared a dream called Audison.

Audison was officially born in 1984 with the launch of its first amplifier, HP 110, after some years of research and experimentation. The Audison name derives from the fusion of the Latin words “audio” and “sonus”. Together these two words represent the historic roots and philosophy of this company, which was founded in a part of Italy strongly connected to music. Musical instruments known and appreciated all over the world have been produced in the Marche region of Italy for two centuries, by highly skilled and committed craftsmen and leading-edge electronic industries later.

Elettromedia’s very existence is testament to the hard work, passion and extreme care shown by its employees for the products they create. Every new product is developed in response to the demands of car audio enthusiasts. The aim of this continuous feedback is maximum customer satisfaction. New products are created through sophisticated project procedures utilising unique simulation software. Engineers develop a product from a theoretical model created with virtual simulations which leads to the production of a prototype, which is subjected to rigorous laboratory testing before embarking on exhaustive tests in the listening room. Here, they are tweaked and adjusted and improved by engineers with a mix of exceptional musical ears and engineering know-how and experience which is fundamental to ensuring the characteristic Audison sound.

Products are then tested in a car, where they will actually spend their working life and only then, is the product ready to be

developed for production. After this point, products are sent to groups of selected customers for further in-situ testing of sound, cosmetic and functional features.

This process is the same for both amplifiers and speakers.

Audison Cable was launched in 1987 as the first high quality connection cable and accessories line manufactured in Europe, thrilling enthusiasts worldwide. In 2005 as an evolution of the Audison Cable line, Elettromedia launched the Connection Audison program. A range of high quality, futuristically designed products to enhance its audio credentials.

In 1998 Elettromedia created the Hertz brand which gave voice to its amplifiers and quickly became a world leader in the loudspeaker market. Hertz quickly introduced important innovations in driver design technology, like the double wave surround used in all products and now copied by many competitors, and the neodymium motor originally employed in its 2002 Eisa award winning Space series.

High efficiency car speakers followed, giving everybody the chance to enjoy good music and high dynamics, even with low power systems.

Even Elettromedia’s head office is full of ground breaking technology, providing comfortable and bright “Open Space” underlining the company’s philosophy of utmost transparency in terms of decisions and relationships. The building features a high level of automation, with light, heat and air all controlled centrally to conserve energy. Heat is collected as a by-product of plant and refrigeration units and helps to reduce the fuel required to run the boilers.

A state-of-the-art 60 seat “theatre” with multimedia video-conference systems, is

used for customers, suppliers and company meetings and seminars. Including FOUR MASTERS who held there third annual general meeting there in 2008.

The ability to react quickly to changing market trends along with customer lead technological development all go toward making Elettromedia one of the world leaders in the development of consumer electronics and it is their passion for music that drives them on! <<

World Leading Car Audio from Italy’s Finest

1 Placebo Sleeping With Ghosts

2 Nine Inch Nails Echoplex

3 The Cult If

4 Incubus Have You Ever

5 Foo Fighters All My Life


DancingOne owner wants a Formula One car dressed for the road, while the other is attracted by the style, finesse and eye-catching good looks as well as an engaging out of the ordinary drive. But, what do they have in common? Both owners enjoy music and have replaced the factory fitted systems in order to enjoy better sounds. After all, for a music lover it can seem as much of a travesty to fit a £500,000 car with anything less than a FOUR MASTERS Expert system as it can for the purist to consider changing anything on their factory condition motor.

If pushed, both owners would accept the analogy between optimising the performance of a car to that of optimising a performance on stage or in a recording studio. Both require dedication, specialist equipment and years of hard work.

A luthier for instance may travel the world to find just the right slice of wood from the right tree to use for the sound board of his hand-built instruments just as Ferrari may spend years looking for the right metal alloy to use in a vital component in its cars. Similarly, luthiers will know, through experience and skill, which attributes of their instruments will be able to make a musician smile and his audience cry whilst the car designers will have the same feel for the drop-dead gorgeous good looks which compel a car fanatic to stare wistfully at a car for hours and even buy a print of it for the wall of their home!

These two contrasting cars have similarly, contrasting reasons for ownership. Balls-out performance versus boyhood dream.

Ferrari’s F430 houses a 4.3L V8 engine hailed as the fastest V8 Ferrari engine ever! Capable of 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, with launch control, its top speed is 197 mph. The owner is of course, drawn by the cars amazing performance but also by its ’drop-dead gorgeous’ good looks.

As with the owner of the Porsche featured elsewhere within this publication, it took a huge amount of persuasion to get permission to have a crack FOUR MASTER team to install a system. In the end, they were allowed to under the condition that the car could be returned to stock with not a mark or a screw hole anywhere!

Obviously, as a music lover, the owner already had a good idea of how his dream system would perform and equipment selection was the quickest part of the process.

The car is very much a prized possession and is used for leisure driving only which makes the performance of the system even more important and perform it does. Only a privileged few get to share in this experience and all step out of the car with a look of wonderment on their faces. I think it is fair to say that between both cars and Hi-fi, big performance is guaranteed.

Ferrari F430

1 Mundian To Bach Ke Punjab MC

2 Grind Alexander O’Neal

3 Let’s Make Tonight the Night Luther Vandross

4 Get Off Prince

5 Gin and Juice Snoop Dogg


In Search ofDancing


The F50 was introduced in 1995 to celebrate the company’s 50th anniversary. This £500,000 beast has a 4.7 litre naturally aspirated 60-valve V12 engine that was developed from the 3.5 litre V12 used in the 1992 Ferrari F92A Formula One car. Capable of accelerating from 0-60 MPH in 3.7 secs and then reversing the process from 60 -0 MPH within 36 meters it will also career along at a top speed of 202 MPH. One of the key features of such a car is the noise it makes. Although, a product of the blistering performance it surely adds to the excitement of the drive. The car is also roof-free and therefore a powerful audio system is required if only to hear the traffic reports above the noise. However, the owner of this car appreciates his music which is why he has had a FOUR MASTER add an amplifier and upgrade the door speakers whilst adding separate tweeters in the bulkhead behind the seats as well as a powerful subwoofer in the passenger foot-well. We could not guarantee that this would provide Hi-fi as we know it, with the engine at

full chat, but for “crawling” around at the national speed limit, the system offers a vast improvement on the standard equipment in terms of both volume and musicality.

The FOUR MASTER has made all of his modifications behind the existing carbon fibre door panels. The exception is a 10” sub woofer, built into a custom carbon fibre enclosure, which has been left on show as it matched in very well with the rest of the carbon fibre on-board and also because there is literally nowhere else to put it! <<

Ferrari F50

HorsesHorses1 Ace of spades Motor Head

2 U2 Beautiful Day

3 Nerd Rock Star

4 Faithless We come one

5 Verve Bittersweet symphony


F50 (above)

Top left: Tweeters for near field high frequencies mounted in the bulkhead behind the seats

Middle: Upgraded door speakers sit behind the carbon fibre door cards

Bottom: Carbon-coned sub in custom carbon enclosure

F430 (left)

Top: Two shiny Audison VRx Shadow, chrome finish amplifiers provide Ferrari like power to the system

Far Left: Rainbow Platinum 2-way component speaker set - definitely audiophile quality

Left: Rainbow tweeters sit in the dead space by the wing mirrors delivering high’s to the driver’s ears

Left bottom: Hertz Hi-Energy 8” sub woofer delivers plenty of tight, punchy bass extension

In Search ofDancing


22/6/09 09:49:33

You are not only buying the equipment but also the knowledge and skill of the installer. He will have to fabricate parts and treat panels to ensure you get the best out of the system. However, your car can be returned to stock condition and the equipment used in a new install.

The install featured in this article features a pair of Hertz Mille 165 2-way component speakers for the mid and high frequencies while the bass is taken care of by a Hertz Hi-Energy 10” subwoofer all driven by a single Audison LRx 4-channel amplifier.

Quality begins with the selection of the

best equipment you can afford. FOUR supplies only specialist car hi-fi brands all of which manufacture high performance, durable products built specifically for the hostile environment of the car. FOUR does not sell the front end of the system, commonly known as the head unit. Many head units fitted during manufacture of a vehicle are quite good enough and are heavily integrated with other vehicle systems. This is not a problem for a FOUR MASTER as he has many methods of converting the signal from a head unit into something that can be used by a proper hi-fi quality amplifier. Power is very important

as it allows for better control of the sound delivered to the speakers and does not always mean higher volume, particularly with regard to bass!

The classic Hi-fi system will emulate the system you may have at home and consist of a two-way tweeter/woofer combination with a discrete crossover. The higher the frequency, the more directional sound is and so it is quite common for a FOUR MASTER to build special pods to house tweeters. These should ideally be placed at ear level where as most factory positions are low down. The particular speakers

FourMasterClass

A car Hi-fi install is a considerable investment.

used in the install you see here are better at dispersing high frequencies than most and simply needed the factory positions to be adjusted to fire toward the driver and passenger rather than across the dashboard. It is by no means essential to use factory positions, many of these are flawed and a FOUR MASTER will be able to move these and leave little or no trace of the work they have done.

Sub-bass reinforcement is very important in a vehicle as road and engine noise may effectively cancel out these low frequencies. Many view sub-woofers as a bit showy and only really necessary for modern dance music - this could not be further from the truth. A sub woofer is absolutely essential if you like soft acoustic or orchestral music as the car environment

will subdue any bass content which exists in the music. Fortunately, low bass is non directional which means that a subwoofer can be mounted wherever a suitable space can be found. The same non-directional characteristic means you only need one subwoofer, even for a stereo system.

Finally, the system needs to be wired together using high quality cables. This is particularly important for in-car use due to other high current circuits running close to audio cables which could possibly cause interference. Similarly, a system’s performance can be completely undermined by the use of inappropriate power cable as without the correct power supply, the sound may well distort.

Before installing the equipment, a car must be sound treated to combat inherent problems with metal panels which vibrate or flex. This can cause sound to be lost or to reflect and reduce the efficiency of the speaker. Treatment is by way of an adhesive bitumous membrane which is applied to the panels behind the speakers and the addition of a “wave diffuser” which breaks up the sound radiating from the rear of the speaker to minimise any reflections.

FOUR MASTERS are passionate about music, but also about cars. A typical FOUR MASTER will go to extreme lengths to ensure that the integrity of a vehicle is not compromised by an installation, but if you have any particular requirements, these are best thought about and communicated before the job is started.

An installation will include the fabrication of a box for the subwoofer. This is usually a sealed enclosure with a specific volume stipulated by the manufacturer of the subwoofer. Enclosures are usually constructed of MDF which may be spray-painted or finished in a number of ways. Most people want the system to blend with the vehicle interior, although highlights can be gained by using Alcantara, leather,

vinyl or other finishes such as fibre glass or carbon fibre. Speaker mounting “rings” may also be required these will also typically be cut and shaped from MDF.

Most equipment may be hidden completely from view, with service hatches subtly built-in for system set-up and servicing. However, many drivers choose to highlight their system by using specialist finishes and even introducing lighting effects. A FOUR MASTER will be guided by his customer on finish, all you need to know is that his skills will be many and varied and if he does not have the in-house expertise to deliver your wishes, he will find another FOUR MASTER who does.

Once the equipment is installed a standard set-up will be found which offers a nearly flat response, this means that no frequency dominates over another. This does not often give the most pleasing and musical effect however. If you want the car to be set-up to suit you, provide the FOUR MASTER with a list of music you like to listen to, or even better, some discs. He will then use his talent to provide a set-up which delivers the best from that particular type of music. It is quite likely that the characteristic of the system will vary after the first 30 hours playing. Book your car in for a final tweak or learn how to do this yourself then rediscover every note you have ever enjoyed, find a traffic jam, and enjoy! <<

car Hi-fi install is a considerable investment.A


Class

A car Hi-fi install is a considerable investment.

used in the install you see here are better at dispersing high frequencies than most and simply needed the factory positions to be adjusted to fire toward the driver and passenger rather than across the dashboard. It is by no means essential to use factory positions, many of these are flawed and a FOUR MASTER will be able to move these and leave little or no trace of the work they have done.

Sub-bass reinforcement is very important in a vehicle as road and engine noise may effectively cancel out these low frequencies. Many view sub-woofers as a bit showy and only really necessary for modern dance music - this could not be further from the truth. A sub woofer is absolutely essential if you like soft acoustic or orchestral music as the car environment

will subdue any bass content which exists in the music. Fortunately, low bass is non directional which means that a subwoofer can be mounted wherever a suitable space can be found. The same non-directional characteristic means you only need one subwoofer, even for a stereo system.

Finally, the system needs to be wired together using high quality cables. This is particularly important for in-car use due to other high current circuits running close to audio cables which could possibly cause interference. Similarly, a system’s performance can be completely undermined by the use of inappropriate power cable as without the correct power supply, the sound may well distort.

Before installing the equipment, a car must be sound treated to combat inherent problems with metal panels which vibrate or flex. This can cause sound to be lost or to reflect and reduce the efficiency of the speaker. Treatment is by way of an adhesive bitumous membrane which is applied to the panels behind the speakers and the addition of a “wave diffuser” which breaks up the sound radiating from the rear of the speaker to minimise any reflections.

FOUR MASTERS are passionate about music, but also about cars. A typical FOUR MASTER will go to extreme lengths to ensure that the integrity of a vehicle is not compromised by an installation, but if you have any particular requirements, these are best thought about and communicated before the job is started.

An installation will include the fabrication of a box for the subwoofer. This is usually a sealed enclosure with a specific volume stipulated by the manufacturer of the subwoofer. Enclosures are usually constructed of MDF which may be spray-painted or finished in a number of ways. Most people want the system to blend with the vehicle interior, although highlights can be gained by using Alcantara, leather,

vinyl or other finishes such as fibre glass or carbon fibre. Speaker mounting “rings” may also be required these will also typically be cut and shaped from MDF.

Most equipment may be hidden completely from view, with service hatches subtly built-in for system set-up and servicing. However, many drivers choose to highlight their system by using specialist finishes and even introducing lighting effects. A FOUR MASTER will be guided by his customer on finish, all you need to know is that his skills will be many and varied and if he does not have the in-house expertise to deliver your wishes, he will find another FOUR MASTER who does.

Once the equipment is installed a standard set-up will be found which offers a nearly flat response, this means that no frequency dominates over another. This does not often give the most pleasing and musical effect however. If you want the car to be set-up to suit you, provide the FOUR MASTER with a list of music you like to listen to, or even better, some discs. He will then use his talent to provide a set-up which delivers the best from that particular type of music. It is quite likely that the characteristic of the system will vary after the first 30 hours playing. Book your car in for a final tweak or learn how to do this yourself then rediscover every note you have ever enjoyed, find a traffic jam, and enjoy! <<


internal wiring to make him look for so much more? Johnny tells us; “I have owned loads of Car Hi-fi in my time, and was never really happy with any of it. I purchased equipment I saw at shows, read about in magazines and heard about from friends but it didn’t really get me going. I never really appreciated the importance of having equipment fitted correctly, I now know exactly what an installer means when he says “40% kit, 60% fit” The preparation and design of a system is absolutely crucial. A lot of cars I listened to did a reasonable job of rattling the windows, but you couldn’t really listen to music in them. But, I guess, like many young drivers, I had no idea of how to get what I wanted from the audio equipment I purchased and felt that a specialist installer was completely out of reach.”

Johnny was fortunate to meet his FOUR MASTER when he did as he had been invited to attend a workshop with the Chord Cable Company who make very high-end audio cables for both home and car. As part of the FOUR MASTERS membership, Chord had invited Luke along to find out about their cables and to take part in some listening tests and Luke invited Johnny to go along. Johnny picks up the story; “I was a little bit confused by the cable thing, I couldn’t really see how wire could affect sound. I figured that at each end of the scale there could be a bit of difference but thought that good cables were simply ones which didn’t catch fire. We auditioned loads of types of cables under studio conditions and the difference in sound was incredible. Not only that, the engineers at Chord could tell you whose cable was being used just by listening to it!” The experience had a huge impact on me and turned me into a discerning audio customer.”

“I was in no real hurry to get my car done initially. I had a very respectable budget and wanted the best!” continues Johnny. “I knew that the more time I gave Luke, the more products he would be able to fit and audition for me and this was an important part of the process. I learnt about audio as the job went along.” However, there came a point when Johnny realised that the specification of the equipment needed to fit in with the context of a 21-year olds Ford Fiesta and he stopped looking for better gear and instead invested on better

quality install. “I decided in the end to go for a fairly modest equipment list, given my budget, but spent loads on acoustic treatment for the car” It is usual and necessary to treat the door panels behind the speakers, but Johnny chose to have the whole car lined with sound deadening material, even the roof. This means that the car is eerily quiet even when driven at speed along a motorway.

Johnny concludes; “The car looks fabulous and I love showing it off at cruises and car shows. This was a secondary requirement however, the car is for me, and I simply love the experience of driving it with the system turned up to a reasonable level, lost in the music!” <<

Johnny Ward is just 21 years old and has already been fortunate enough to live out every young man’s dream.

No, He hasn’t slept with a beautiful teen film star, nor appeared on stage with a famous band. He has, however, managed to spend a lot of money moulding a basic Ford Fiesta in to the car of his dreams.

Johnny came into some money, and set to work to spend some of it on creating a car which would become a ground breaking statement of his individuality and a magazine cover star. Unusually, for a project of this kind, it was the Hi-fi that set the scene for all of the many modifications the car has accrued.

“I went to see FOUR MASTER, Luke Massey practically the day I picked the car up from the dealership. I had seen his installation work at many car shows and in lots of magazines. He is about the same age as me and a complete genius. He manages to make Hi-fi look as good as it sounds and

both of these things were very important to me” Says Johnny. “My dad used to play in bands when I was young and we always had loads of music playing in the house. Mainly 60’s and 70’s Rhythm and Blues and Rock stuff also. This left me with a need for music in my life, although I have developed my own taste now”.

There is a huge difference between listening to music and simply having music on in the house as many music lovers will tell you. Music has become a cheap throw away commodity of late, but there are still millions of music lovers who find the thrill of well recorded music reproduced through a decent system, an absolutely captivating pastime. Live music is probably the ultimate thrill but being able to hear every nuance and feel the atmosphere of the original recording comes a very close second.

Most 20 something year olds, are quite happy to simply embellish their factory fitted system with a cheap amp and sub woofer and maybe a pair of 6” X 9” full range speakers on the back shelf to get their kicks , so what happened to Johnny’s

The preparation and design of a system is absolutely crucial.”

“

20 Driving Sounds

FiestaNo Siesta!

Driving Sounds 21

internal wiring to make him look for so much more? Johnny tells us; “I have owned loads of Car Hi-fi in my time, and was never really happy with any of it. I purchased equipment I saw at shows, read about in magazines and heard about from friends but it didn’t really get me going. I never really appreciated the importance of having equipment fitted correctly, I now know exactly what an installer means when he says “40% kit, 60% fit” The preparation and design of a system is absolutely crucial. A lot of cars I listened to did a reasonable job of rattling the windows, but you couldn’t really listen to music in them. But, I guess, like many young drivers, I had no idea of how to get what I wanted from the audio equipment I purchased and felt that a specialist installer was completely out of reach.”

Johnny was fortunate to meet his FOUR MASTER when he did as he had been invited to attend a workshop with the Chord Cable Company who make very high-end audio cables for both home and car. As part of the FOUR MASTERS membership, Chord had invited Luke along to find out about their cables and to take part in some listening tests and Luke invited Johnny to go along. Johnny picks up the story; “I was a little bit confused by the cable thing, I couldn’t really see how wire could affect sound. I figured that at each end of the scale there could be a bit of difference but thought that good cables were simply ones which didn’t catch fire. We auditioned loads of types of cables under studio conditions and the difference in sound was incredible. Not only that, the engineers at Chord could tell you whose cable was being used just by listening to it!” The experience had a huge impact on me and turned me into a discerning audio customer.”

“I was in no real hurry to get my car done initially. I had a very respectable budget and wanted the best!” continues Johnny. “I knew that the more time I gave Luke, the more products he would be able to fit and audition for me and this was an important part of the process. I learnt about audio as the job went along.” However, there came a point when Johnny realised that the specification of the equipment needed to fit in with the context of a 21-year olds Ford Fiesta and he stopped looking for better gear and instead invested on better

quality install. “I decided in the end to go for a fairly modest equipment list, given my budget, but spent loads on acoustic treatment for the car” It is usual and necessary to treat the door panels behind the speakers, but Johnny chose to have the whole car lined with sound deadening material, even the roof. This means that the car is eerily quiet even when driven at speed along a motorway.

Johnny concludes; “The car looks fabulous and I love showing it off at cruises and car shows. This was a secondary requirement however, the car is for me, and I simply love the experience of driving it with the system turned up to a reasonable level, lost in the music!” <<

Johnny Ward is just 21 years old and has already been fortunate enough to live out every young man’s dream.

No, He hasn’t slept with a beautiful teen film star, nor appeared on stage with a famous band. He has, however, managed to spend a lot of money moulding a basic Ford Fiesta in to the car of his dreams.

Johnny came into some money, and set to work to spend some of it on creating a car which would become a ground breaking statement of his individuality and a magazine cover star. Unusually, for a project of this kind, it was the Hi-fi that set the scene for all of the many modifications the car has accrued.

“I went to see FOUR MASTER, Luke Massey practically the day I picked the car up from the dealership. I had seen his installation work at many car shows and in lots of magazines. He is about the same age as me and a complete genius. He manages to make Hi-fi look as good as it sounds and

both of these things were very important to me” Says Johnny. “My dad used to play in bands when I was young and we always had loads of music playing in the house. Mainly 60’s and 70’s Rhythm and Blues and Rock stuff also. This left me with a need for music in my life, although I have developed my own taste now”.

There is a huge difference between listening to music and simply having music on in the house as many music lovers will tell you. Music has become a cheap throw away commodity of late, but there are still millions of music lovers who find the thrill of well recorded music reproduced through a decent system, an absolutely captivating pastime. Live music is probably the ultimate thrill but being able to hear every nuance and feel the atmosphere of the original recording comes a very close second.

Most 20 something year olds, are quite happy to simply embellish their factory fitted system with a cheap amp and sub woofer and maybe a pair of 6” X 9” full range speakers on the back shelf to get their kicks , so what happened to Johnny’s

The preparation and design of a system is absolutely crucial.”

“

20 Driving Sounds

1 Sugar Flo Rida

2 Poker Face Lady Gaga

3 Revelry Kings of Leon

4 The Fear Lilly Allen

5 Ulysses Franz Ferdinand


Left: Two Hertz HP amps are mounted in a motorised box which is activated from Johnny’s watch. Once lifted out of the way, a secondary battery can be accessed for servicing – it also looks pretty cool!

Power fuses for the system are on show because they look good but also to ease replacement if Johnny gets carried away at a show!

Top: Two Hertz 10”, Hi-Energy subwoofers sit snuggly in the rear quarter panels. As bass is non directional, it seems to come from the dashboard of the car, and there is plenty of it to hand!

Top Right: Door Cards have been completely remodelled to house the Hertz MLK 165 2-way component speakers. These have been mounted for optimum delivery of sound to ear.

Above Right: Separate switches allow the head unit to be powered when the ignition is switched off at shows, the specially fabri-cated panel also houses switches for cooling fans and detail illumination LED’s as well as a bass boost control

A row of buttons on the underside of the rear hatch allow for rudimentary control of the head unit, including volume and next previous track

Driving Sounds 21

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1 Ray Smith Car HiFi Abbeyhill Industrial Estate, Edinburgh EH8 8HL Tel: 0131 620 4444

2 Audiowise Ltd Unit 8 Coldvilles Park, East Kilbride G75 0GZ Tel: 01355 222 333

3 Turners Alarms and Audio 9D Carrmere Road, Sunderland SR2 9TW Tel: 0191 521 2901

4 Autograph Cars Parker Lane, Burnley BB11 2BY Tel: 01282 433 344

5 RAM Mobile Electronics Ltd Westgate End, Wakefield WF2 9RL Tel: 01924 201 884

6 RAM Mobile Electronics Ltd Therm Road, Hull HU8 7BF Tel: 01482 589 522

7 K and M Acoustics Seven Stars Road, Wigan WN3 5AT Tel: 01942 820174

8 Auto Audio (Manchester) Ltd Woodford Road, Stockport SK7 1NZ Tel: 0845 300 6465

9 Source Sounds and Security Thorncliffe Park Estate, Sheffield S35 2PH Tel: 0114 257 1550

10 The Ice House King Street, Stoke on Trent ST4 3ND Tel: 01782 574 900

11 In Car Systems St Michaels Street, Shrewsbury SY1 2ES Tel: 01743 234949

12 L&J Audio Ltd Norton Green Lane, Norton Canes WS11 9PR Tel: 01543 278808

13 Plush Automotive 126 Station Road, Broughton Astley LE9 6PW Tel: 0845 450 1594

14 Platinum In Car Barras Green, Coventry CV2 4PA Tel: 024 7645 5111

15 Ultimate Audio 5a Sherwood Road, Bromsgrove B60 3DR Tel: 01527 837 847

16 Ice Direct ICE House, Peterborough PE1 5XB Tel: 08006 12 12 10

17 Norwich In-car Entertainment 47 Dereham Road, Norwich NR2 4HZ Tel: 01603 666876

18 Peter Doidge Car Audio Unit 3 Southtown Road, Great Yarmouth NR31 0LA Tel: 01493 441 627

19 Audiomotiv Ltd Unit 81 Leyland Industrial Estate, Wellingborough NN8 1RT Tel: 01933 443 277

20 Cambridge Car Audio 122-126 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8HE Tel: 01234 342 300

21 Autotronix 206 London Road, Bedford MK42 0PT Tel: 01234 342 300

22 The Car HiFi Centre 436 High Street, Cheltenham GL50 3JA Tel: 01242 263103

23 B&B Audio Concepts Penarth Road, Cardiff CF11 8JQ Tel: 01234 342 300

24 Ice Design Car Audio & Security Ltd St Annes Road, Bristol BS4 4ED Tel: 0845 370 0423

25 LM Audio 9 Station Road, Knebworth SG3 6AP Tel: 01438 812 444

26 Impulse Trading Ltd 447 St Albans Road, Watford WD24 6PR Tel: 01923 231 358

27 Audiocar Equipment Ltd 4 Prospect Business Park, Loughton IG10 3TR Tel: 020 8418 8918

28 Car Audio Visual 25 Upminster Road, Hornchurch RM11 3UX Tel: 01708 442 884

29 Sextons 328-334 Old York Road, London SW18 1SS Tel: 0208 877 1148

30 Car Audio & Security Unit 6 Bilton Way, Hayes UB3 3NF Tel: 0208 569 1543

31 The Sound Gallery London Road, High Wycombe HP11 1LH Tel: 01494 464670

32 John Kleis Car Hi-Fi 248 Basingstoke Road, Reading RG2 OHN Tel: 0870 770 2860

33 SCR Audio and Window Tinting Centre Shield Rod, Ashford TW15 1AU Tel: 01784 420563

34 Xquisite Automotive Unit 6 Brookmead Industrial Estate, Croydon CR0 4TS Tel: 0845 310 2727

35 Orpington Car Stereo 15 Godstone Road, Caterham CR3 6RE Tel: 01883 343 393

36 Accutek Electronic Services Services Unit B Foundry Yard, Winchester SO23 7QG Tel: 01962 886 900

37 Huets Car Audio & Security 195-199 Heene Road, Worthing BN11 4NN Tel: 01903 237707

38 Huets Car Audio & Security 135 Trafalgar Road, Hove BN41 1GU Tel: 01273 430533

FOUR MASTERS are all independent specialist installers bought together by a common aim, to provide high quality Hi-fi for drivers and passengers in a professional and highly service oriented manner.

INDEPENDENT NETWORK

Natural Beauty

CS 260.30

The Audio Experts Reference

www.rainbow-audio.de22 Driving Sounds

Natural Beauty

CS 260.30

The Audio Experts Reference

www.rainbow-audio.de

PART OF ELETTROMEDIA

www.audison.eu

connect, customise, control.

Hi-level input channel summing for ultimate OEM integrationAutomatic de-equalization of hi-level input signals

Coaxial digital and optical inputs, eight channel digital outputAnalog multimedia inputs

Internal equalization for each output and each auxiliary inputIndependent crossover and accurate time alignment for each channelDigital Remote Control for finger tip management of the audio system

Proprietary PC software for total control of tuning functions

Over 20 years of producingthe finest Mobile Electronics in the World

22/6/09 09:47:49

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Driving Sounds

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