Ice Ice Baby....

Was at this Alpine ICE competition today, to lend support to 3 of my friends who took part. We don't really get much car audio competitions in our neck of the woods, so i was looking forward to getting a chance to talk to people and have a look at what type of setups are in vogue now. Anyway, this competition was unique since i think its the first one on our shores that has a mobile Ipod category. 2 of my friends were in the open category and one other guy was competing in the Ipod category.

Andy got top spot in the Ipod category(now thats a big trophy) but it was a shame my two other friends didn't get top three placements. I've heard their setups and i think they've got about the best thats possible in the market now. Oh well, i guess there's always one mountain higher. Now i'm dying to know the offical rankings, so at least i'll know how they fared compared to the rest. I've got this lingering feeling they just missed the top three.

Anyway, for non-competitors like me, the highlight of the day was when all of us got a chance to have a look at all the different setups and installs. I even managed to audit a Mini Cooper S who i must admit had one hell of an install. I was shocked when the owner let on that the interconnects alone were worth a whooping 6 grand. The sound was quite impressive though i didnt really connect with the subwoofer bass, too "raw" for my liking although its easily the nicest one i've ever seen.

The pic speaks for itself, really...

Anyway, there's more of where that came from. althought it isnt much and the quality is anything to shout at. well, you can't expect SLR performance since the pics were taken with my trusty handphone cam. Anyway, Its all uploaded here.

I didn't take pics of ALL the cars, just the ones i feel that really set themselves apart from the rest=) One thing i've noticed is that all the major soundshops have really raised the bar in terms of installation, workmanship as well as creativity. I see metal, veneer, paint, piano finished wood, even leather being used. There's a larger plethora of equipment being used too. In fact, i think the top three were all using different speaker models, quite a marked difference from before when its always the same speakers hogging the spotlight. its all quite a refreshing change and I'm really looking forward to the next big competition. Who knows, maybe i just might find it in me to participate=)