# Advanced SQ Seminar - Austin, TX - September 26 & 27, 2009



## Mark Eldridge (Jul 23, 2008)

We have official dates and a confirmed location for the Advanced Sound Quality Seminar in Austin, TX. The dates are Saturday and Sunday, September 26 & 27, 2009. The location will be at Stonebridge Plaza, at the intersection of Mopac and 183. 

So, get your schedule arranged to be at this seminar if you can!

We start at 9:00 AM each day, and usually wrap up around 6:00 PM each day, depending on how deep everyone wants to get into the topics.

You can check out the outline for the class at the bottom of this post. We cover everything from the human hearing system through final system tuning. It's 30+ years of learning, experience, research, etc, all crammed into two days, and it's more information than you'll find anywhere else, regardless of how long you look and research.

Pricing for this class is $495 per person for both days, which includes the very extensive ASQS notebook, tuning CDs, t-shirt, etc. An advance pre-registration fee of $125 will reserve your spot. 

Whether you are a competitor, installer, judge, manufacturer, or an SQ enthusiast, if you are serious about high-performance sound quality car audio, we promise you, attending the ASQS will be a very smart investment in advancing your skills, tuning techniques, and overall knowledge. We're very comfortable in saying "Just ask those that have attended previous seminars what they think about the class." You will get a lot out of attending this class!

If you are interested in attending, please give us a call or shoot me an e-mail, and I can send you detailed information, the flyer, and the outline via e-mail.

(918) 810-2535
[email protected]

Let us know if you want to attend the seminar, and we'll get you pre-registered. There are many people interested in attending this particular seminar, and it will likely fill up quickly. So if you want to attend, get registered as soon as you can.

Regards,

Mark Eldridge
Mobile Soundstage Engineering



*Advanced Sound Quality Seminar - Two-day Curriculum*

*Introduction and Overview *
Why Do We Do What We Do???
Seminar Curriculum Overview
What Really Matters… 

*The Many Parts of Music *
Definitions and Terms
Instruments and Vocalists
Amplified and Un-Amplified Performances
Performance Venues: Studios, Clubs, Concert Halls, Etc.
The Emotional Involvement - What is it about the music that gets our blood pumping?

*Our Audio Reference *
The standard with which we compare audio system performance 
What is an appropriate reference, and how do we get one?
Live Performances
Live vs. Recorded Music
The Recording and How It Affects What We Hear
The Listening Room and Environment 
Near-field, Far-field, Car-field?
The Sound Reproduction System - Studio, Home Audio, Headphone Systems, Etc.
So what is the “perfect” reference system?
Listening Critically to Recordings

*Using Your Ears 101 *
A simple setup to teach yourself how to recognize acoustical problems
Equalization, crossovers, Signal delay, etc.
Comparison of analyzer measurement techniques with adjustments made by ear

*Tools, Tools, Tools…….* 
CDs and Software
Acoustical Analyzers: (RTA, TEF, etc) How they work, how to use them, how to interpret the data 
Other useful tools – oscilloscope, Radio Shack amplifier, DVM, etc.
Books, Articles, the Internet, and other sources of “information”
Your Ears - Definitely the most important and effective tool in your arsenal!!!!!
Using the Tools Most Effectively
Analyzing the Data

*The Human Hearing System *
Why We Hear What We Hear
Anatomy and how each part of the hearing system contributes to the aural experience
Do We All Hear the Same Things?
Hearing loss and how it affects what we can hear
Frequency Threshold Shift (a.k.a Listening Fatigue)
How We Localize Sounds – Spatial Responses
Localization Demonstrations
What is Ambience, anyway???
Perception of Frequency Response
Loudness Effects
Psycho-Acoustics
Distortion – How much is too much? 

*The Vehicle’s Acoustical Environment *
Defining the Problem Areas
Reflective surfaces, absorptive surfaces, cats and dogs living together….
Near Field vs. Far Field – What do we really have?
Pathlength, pathlength, pathlength
Relative locations of tweeters, mids, and other drivers
Comb filtering, and other acoustical issues
Reflections Good and Bad…

*Acoustical Treatments *
What’s the purpose?
Types of Acoustical Treatments
Basic Acoustical Treatment Philosophy
Controlling “Bad” Reflections 
Controlling Speaker Dispersion Patterns
Recognizing and Finding Reflections
Diffusion

*Car Audio System Design *
Vehicle Selection – If you have a choice
Important vehicle interior considerations
Basic System Configuration
Two-seat vs One-seat system designs
How many speakers are really needed?
What are your goals for the system?
What are you willing to give up to attain your goals?
How Far Are You Willing to Go?
Equipment Selection Questions
Speaker Locations - General Philosophy
Speaker Locations – Specific Recommendations and Techniques for all speakers

*Speaker Placement Experiments and Testing*
(This is a very extensive part of the curriculum, and must be covered in great detail with lots of time dedicated to hands and ears on demos and experimentation)
Enclosure design, size, and construction considerations

*Component Selection *
Signal Processors
Front Stage Speakers
Subwoofers
Mid-Bass Drivers (if needed)
Everything Else…

*System Level Setting and Gain Structure *
What is it?
Why is it so important?
The Important Factors
Tools Needed
The Steps on How to Do It

*System Tuning Tips and Techniques *
Crossovers
Equalizers
Signal Delay
Dynamic processors
Multi-channel specific tuning
Using psycho-acoustics to your advantage

*Speaker/Enclosure Frequency Response Testing *
Consistent and realistic measurement techniques
Interpreting the data
A realistic approach to addressing some response problems
Transfer function testing and measurements

*The Listener/System Interface *
Keep it simple
Make it easy to deal with
Ear/Hand coordination
Computers and analyzers are great, but learn to trust your ears!

*Competition Specific Topics *
Installation Presentation
RTA / SPL Tuning and adjustments
Photo Book guidelines
Specific rules interpretations

*Additional Topics Determined by the Class*
You name the topic, and we’ll get into as much detail as desired


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## dcdynasty (Apr 18, 2009)

Wow, that sounds amazing, I wish I could attend!


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

Mark,

It was great talking to you at Heatwave last month and I will be emailing you regarding attending the seminar.

Shiv


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

maybe you can start one in houston? id love to attend this time....


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## Mark Eldridge (Jul 23, 2008)

We just did one in Houston last month, ans were only aboe to get 5 people to attend. It may be a long time before bringing it there again, unless there will be at least 12 people attending.

Austin is only 2-1/2 hours away, and hotels aren't that expensive, especially if you share a room with someone. Come on up to Austin. I'd bet that this seminar will be the best one so far, with the caliber of people that will be attending from all over the country. Plus, Austin has some of the best live music in the World, so we will get some great live music listening time Saturday night.


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## SouthSyde (Dec 25, 2006)

yea i understand but that weekend i was part of a wedding...  yea school prevents me from going to austin but i will try my best and see...


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## Mark Eldridge (Jul 23, 2008)

We're a little more than two weeks from the Austin ASQS. We've still got plenty of slots available for the class, but pre-registrations are coming in every day, and I bet it will fill up in the next week or so. 

So, if you are planning to attend, e-mail or call ASAP, pre-register, and get on the hard list to attend.

[email protected]
(918) 810-2535

Also, I have been looking at live music possibilities for Saturday night, Sep 26. The very best option is Monte Montgomery, an electric-acoustic guitarist who does things with the guitar that should be absolutely impossible. If you have never seen or heard him play, this will be a totally rewarding experience. I know, I know... It will be an amplified performance, but the level of talent and playing skill Monte and his band have makes it worth while. 

Tickets are on sale now for the Saturday night show. If you are going to attend the ASQS, and also want to see Monte Saturday night, let me know that as well. I will purchase tickets a week prior to the ASQS for everyone on the list, and get reimbursement later. Tickets are only $20, and I promise you, worth every penny. 

And yes... You must be an ASQS attendee to go with our group to see Monte...

Going to Austin, TX... Talking about Sound Quality... And going to see Monte Montgomery too.... 

Man, what a great weekend!


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## matdotcom2000 (Aug 16, 2005)

SouthSyde said:


> yea i understand but that weekend i was part of a wedding...  yea school prevents me from going to austin but i will try my best and see...


I will drive you down if you pay my admission


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

Mark, 

I already sent you a deposit. Definitely want in on the Monte show. I have heard his CD. Amazing guitarist. Please grab me a ticket and I'll pay you for it.

Shiv




Mark Eldridge said:


> We're a little more than two weeks from the Austin ASQS. We've still got plenty of slots available for the class, but pre-registrations are coming in every day, and I bet it will fill up in the next week or so.
> 
> So, if you are planning to attend, e-mail or call ASAP, pre-register, and get on the hard list to attend.
> 
> ...


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## Mark Eldridge (Jul 23, 2008)

Got you covered, Shiv! 

I just heard from Larry Fredrick. He just confirmed he will be attending as well. For those of you who don't know Larry, he is one of the original car audio dinosaurs who helped get everything we have come to love about car audio going in the right direction when it all got started some 30 years ago. I'm sure he will have some excellent inputs, different techniques, and lots of entertaining stories to add to the class. The entertainment value for this seminar just went way up!


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

I wish they had one of these on the East Coast


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

Ooh, I am getting so excited. Plus, my car sounds quite good now so I'm looking forward to suggestions to improve it even more ...


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## couchflambeau (Apr 18, 2006)

I'm in...

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

-Brian


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## snaimpally (Mar 5, 2008)

In terms of topics, I would be very interested to hear how to tackle smaller vehicles. I think those with bigger vehicles have an easier time as they have a lot room for equipment.


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## greybush (Apr 29, 2009)

man if I only had 500 bucks I would be there 2 days early......


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## DanMan (Jul 18, 2008)

MaXaZoR said:


> I wish they had one of these on the East Coast


Yeah, man. For such a happening part of the country, there aint much happening as far as sq related events....


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## Mark Eldridge (Jul 23, 2008)

DanMan said:


> Yeah, man. For such a happening part of the country, there aint much happening as far as sq related events....


We did an ASQS in Atlanta in February. I tried to put one together in the New England area earlier this year, but couldn't get enough people to attend.

If you guys are serious about bringing an ASQS to your area, let me know, and we can put it together. We would need at least 15 people attending, and 20 would be better to make it really work. 

Anyhow, only a couple of days until the Austin ASQS... Fun times in Austin!!!


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