Sharky's Machine
Car Sound - Aug 99

When we decided that we needed an official demo vehicle for CAR SOUND magazine that would promote both the magazine and the 12-volt industry, we knew it had to be something special. As the industry keeps growing, we wanted a system that would cover all the bases — from ground- pounding bass to multi- media bliss. With the help of various manufacturers, and installation wizard John Delorenzo of UltraSounds in Lynbrook, NY, we were able to accomplish our goal and create one hell of a system. Under the hood, a pair of Stinger SPB800 Power Master Batteries provide more than enough power. The steel sub-casings of the batteries were welded together to create the illusion of a Stinger “SPB-1600” mega- battery. Since most of the vehicle demonstrations are done with the engine running or hooked up to a power supply, a solenoid was not needed; the batteries are just hooked up in parallel. Because the batteries are identical, this setup works terrific. There’s also a Stinger 200-amp circuit breaker protecting the system under the hood, and power is delivered through Stinger 1/0- gauge Custom Pro Series Power Cable. All of the speaker wire and interconnects were also provided by Stinger. Working our way into the cabin of the Blazer is where the fun starts. An Eclipse 7001 source unit is flush-mounted into the dashboard using black Plexiglas. This motorized source unit provides a perfect start for the signal with its 5-volt, low impedance outputs. In our opinion, the Eclipse TFT cold-cathode screen is one of the nicest looking screens on the market, especially when it comes to off-axis viewing. Providing the entertainment for this awesome screen is a Sony PBD-V30 portable DVD player. The unit is mounted in the center console on matching factory vinyl. Also providing more musical entertainment is an Eclipse 12-disc CD changer mounted in a heavily-modified center console. The changer is wrapped in factory gray vinyl so it blends into the interior of the truck. Now that we had all this cool multimedia to show off at soundoffs, we needed to know how to get there. This information is provided by an Alpine NVA- N751AS navigation system coupled with an Alpine TME-COO5A monitor. The NVA- N751AS CD-ROM drive and navigation unit is mounted underneath the rear seat, but ample access was provided to switch discs. The TME- COO5A is mounted where the factory ashtray used to reside. In front of the factory cup holders are two knobs. John Delorenzo of Ultra- Sounds disassembled the circuit board of an AudioControl Epicenter and an Aura Bass Shaker Plus control unit. He then mounted the knobs within easy reach for ultimate bass tweaking on-the-fly. The Epicenter works wonders on CDs without deep bass information (and just makes the bass sound better in general), while the Bass neath the front seats of the Blazer) provide awesome bass slam, especially during DVD movie sound effects. The Blazer’s awesome soundstage is created courtesy of a slew of MB Quart loudspeakers. Before the loudspeakers were mounted, a generous application of Stinger Roadkill sound- deadening material was distributed throughout the vehicle. Then, a set of MB Quart 6- inch midbass loud- speakers were mounted in the lower doors, while a pair of 4-inch coaxials (QM 130.03) were mounted in the dashboard. The angles of the speakers in the dash were modified to minimize weird glass reflections and make the vehicle sound natural. For rear fill, a pair of MB Quart 5 1/4-inch coaxial speakers help round out the soundstage. The crossovers for these speakers were provided by MB Quart as well — the optional (and beautiful) MusiComp crossover networks are mounted in the rear, but theScare especially helpful as they’re tweaked to directly complement the awesome sound of MB Quart speakers. Now, what killer demo vehicle would be complete without a phenomenal trunk/hatch area? To make onlookers gawk and drool, John Delorenzo gave up two months of his life to put together one of the most aesthetically pleasing hatch areas ever created. It all began with figuring out which components look good in which areas. After a battle plan was formulated, wood templates were created for all the components, which would then be doused in fiberglass and sanded. The end result is a smooth fiber- glass hatch area that has a beautiful, mature look. All the components were placed so they would complement each other’s aesthetics. The highlights of the rear are two Xtant 3300x amplifiers that are angled in fiberglass molds. Xtant offers not only one of the most gorgeous amplifiers on the market, but they also provide the juice to pound the system all day long MUSICALLY. These powerplants work wonders and stay cool thanks to their wonderfully-designed fan cooling circuits (that keep them quiet). Feeding blasts of energy to these wonders are a pair of Stinger 1-Farad capacitors mounted on the top of one of the subwoofer enclosures. Next to the amplifiers are the MB Quart MusiComp crossovers (as discussed before). They are illuminated by ice blue Toucan neon. Toucan, from a users perspective, is probably the best neon I’ve ever used. Their transformers spark up the neon every time. I’ve seen some very finicky neon in the past for 12- volt applications. In front of the amps and crossovers is another conversation piece — a trio of AudioControl EQTs with all of the controls mounted on one contin- uous plate. Three EQTs are employed because two are used for Sound Quality while the third is used for RTA. They are switched via a custom switching network. People are always asking how I got a polished steel cover for the EQTs. Well, it was actually made by a machine shop and then re-silkscreened by AudioControl. It really sets off the chrome motif in the trunk. OK, by now you are all wondering, uWhat about Bass?” Well, there’s plenty of it provided by six JL Audio 10W6 subwoofers with chrome baskets. The enclosures were molded to exactly fit the sides of the car and have enough airspace for maximum slam and sound quality. The JL W6 woofers really help in delivering awesome low-frequency informa- tion without taking up a lot of real estate. Another trick Ultrasounds came up with was not to use conventional speaker wire to hook up the subs, but to use a solid aluminum bus-bar. This really looks trick, and, because the outside of it was anodized, it acts the same as an insu- lated piece of wire. As you can see, all of the fiberglass components in the trunk were sprayed the exterior color of the Blazer, and other pieces are expertly wrapped in factory gray vinyl. Behind the rear seat is a beautiful vinyl wrapped piece that houses two Stinger fuseblocks so everything has ample protection. To further protect the system, we relied on a Clifford AvantGuard Ill with all the goodies (power window modules and remote start). The Clifford alarm system has been superb, and it makes us feel confident parking the truck even on the notorious streets of Manhattan. Huge thanks have to be given to UltraSounds for dedicating four months into this project, especially head installer John Delorenzo and owner John Francisco. Next time you’re at a soundoff, if you see the Blazer, check it out! It is what CAR SOUND Magazine is all about — a killer system with killer looks to match.