TalkAudio – Like Loaded Used To Be When It Was Good!

Still a little footsore and knackered from T17, our annual beanfeast in a field in Oxfordshire and that was without haranguing the people all day, letting the bass contest boys have their space. (I only talked two batteries for the radio mic to death.) Despite there being a big show in Edinburgh the very next day and a few other mega shows like Bug Jam happening the same weekend, the truly hardcore ice fans came in droves.
We had some amazing collections of cars, with the Rockford Fosgate brand especially well represented. A row of three badass VERY Rockford installs complete with a van on Lambo-style scissor doors and the whole payload taken up by a diamond bass tunnel.
Not as completely hatstand as Am Singh’s Chevy Astro van in scale, though. For one, the very vehicle is an SPL legend, being the choice of all the most awesome bass installs in the USA but also there’s twelve eighteens in it! A fabulous wall of SPL Dynamics power amps and exotic batteries at the back and funky retro Seventies paint and running on billet wheels. It was only just built in time and it was still far from finishing the bedding-in process that all serious systems undergo. Amazing levels of craftsmanship and quite literally bonkers.
The ‘Propper Droppers’ crew were there and shared car testing facilities with dB Drag, as did myself when it was realised that there was no way I could get the entrants lined up for the competitions without a PA. So we moved over to their canopy with the competition formats and chipped in on their PA just to get the 64 warm bodies needed to sit in cars and win huge prizes. It was hectic but two big prizes were awarded, the JBL 660GTi component speakers and the JBL GTO24001 amplifier as well as two big boxes of bass kits from Mutant. A keen young geezer called Mark (as yet systemless) acted as runner for me in return for being bribed with the RE Audio 12-D4 subwoofer. He was so chuffed and it’s gone to a brilliant home.
Meanwhile, last week I went to see Celsus Ice. I am delighted through to my very roots to tell you that JL Audio, MTX and Dynamat are brands that are now once again going to be associates of Talk Audio, following the BBG merger-acquisition by Peerless Industries. We never stopped their coverage, with stuff on the new square MTX Jackhammer and the Galpin Scythe coming out of Vegas even while we were between times. Now it’s official and I can tell you that Celsus are going to take these brands right back up there with rampant keen enthusiasm and a streak of uncompressed nuttiness that makes ’em determined to have fun while they do it.
I have a couple of interesting subwoofers lined from MTX as a result. The offspring of Jack. Both parents, round and square, have borne speakers with their DNA and attitude. Just for less than $10,000 US. Also, I have a JL Audio W/O but in fifteen inch size. I have a beta version of the SNG Audio SQL Pro series sub here in the same size and I’m going to do a vid on the JL with the SNG in the box, prior to testing both back to back to see what happens.
It’s the beginning of year three on the mag and so I have to go out and do some meetings but will also strive to get a set of time-sensitive reviews fully written up from the DLS Summer Performance Package.
But as it IS time-sensitive and I’m up against it, I figured I would do something unprecedented and publish just the pointy bits here first.
DLS CA31 Performance series 3Ch amplifier
Sound Quality              8
Power                          9
Features                       9
Build Quality                10
Value For Money         9

DLS C60 6.5 in Performance series component speakers
Sound Quality              9
Build Quality                9
Power Handling           8
Efficiency                     10
Value For Money         10

DLS KW10 Performance series 10in subwoofer
Sound Quality              8
Build Quality                9
Power Handling           8
Efficiency                     8
Value For Money         9

Overall the whole DLS package adds up to a lovely high quality sound with some real power and earns a Talk Audio Recommended flag collectively. There is far more than the above for the £500 ticket with some sound treatment products, a wiring kit and a couple of quality extras like the natty DLS metal keyfob and it’s well worth every penny.
With plans afoot to make more car features, it’s all go at TA Towers.
Adam Rayner – Online Editor
This week’s strap line by Mr. Foom