High SQ install

[PMG]

Hi again Phil (wow, two posts from me on a subject must be a record),

You keep assuming that I still defend Alpine as the ultimate in car audio - even after I took the trouble to explain my previous role there, my relative objectivity and even paid homage to the brand you market in Oz - Audison.

Over too many years in this industry I have listened to (sometimes under quite controlled conditions), used and installed many brands and products - initially for homes, studios and clubs/concerts but mostly for cars over the last 25 or so. We even got to compare some car stuff directly with extreme quality recording studio gear while making reference CDs and training videos.

I've also had the pleasure of visiting product manufacturing plants on several continents (not just Alpine, and admittedly not Elettromedia) and have spent time with some of the more acknowledged design/engineering gurus in the global audio and car sound business - again not just at Alpine.

While I respect your stance, it is simply a mistake to assume that larger companies (like Alpine who I knew well, but also several others whose people I've met and products I've heard) are not capable of performance and specs well beyond what may appear in their normal consumer range catalogues.

Unless you have seen some of their R&D resources, heard their prototypes and know some of their people, it is hard to imagine what they can achieve when market reality is not involved. But the cold hard facts are that most buyers, certainly in this country, are reluctant to pay for sonic performance and specs the average ear cannot hear, or quality they cannot see/touch.

My comment about Alpine (your italics) was simply to point this out... again, it is a mistake to assume that because sales/marketing may dictate what a product's packaging, performance and price must be to provide a realistic return in investment, that a brand's capability doesn't exist for a lot more.

A company's size has little to do with it's actual tech expertise - there are engineers at Alpine and I know at other larger companies doing stuff that would fry the average person's brain (like mine). Sadly, little of it sees the light of day, because they still have to keep the robots whirring and the payroll covered churning out gear that the vast majority of buyers want.

Which fortunately for you, me and others who still give a damn about extreme audio performance, leaves a door open for those small, lovingly hand-made brands from around the world too - some of which we use and install on a pretty regular basis here nowadays (yes, even over and above Alpine).

Altec Lansing huh? I ended up with a Voice of the Theatre system once, but don't recall any favourable impressions, although it was long ago. And by the way it's Linn - don't tell me you're a vinyl fan too? Kind regards, PMG