EMMA @ Trax 2014

First and most importantly, a huge BIG UP to EMMA’s snapper-of-the-day Mr. Phil John link who was enjoined by Roo Ackerley of the UK arm of the European Mobile Media Association to photograph the UK finals. His stuff is excellent and I am grateful to Roo for sorting it out for EMMA. The shots are EMMA watermarked but Phil was the man on the lens and damn good at it too. Here’s his website, as well, with a selection of deeply arty stuff. link
Phil:

Alpine’s new car, by Oxford Car Audio, is delicious.

It was fitting to employ a fellow to take pictures as Andrew has been striving forwards and upwards for excellence with what is the de facto leading UK sound off scene. It has gone from a smaller thing to a much bigger thing under his stewardship! For he is a master of cultivating good relationships with those that matter. Such that while we were once again located, well, here’s an extract from the article last year when we ended up there, instead of slap bang in the hot zone:
‘after a prime spot in scrutineering last year at the heart of Silverstone and Trax, this year we ended up show-location-wise, in what an hotelier would term their ‘˜last let’ room.
This is the small box room over the kitchen door, where the deliveries wake the occupants every morning, early. It’s the room you rent out last and only in desperation. At Silverstone, this actually meant a length of the hallowed track itself, actually being the Trolls Under the Bridge below the very first one over the Tarmac to gain ingress to the site. It is really close to the entrance and also close to the traditionally remote-‘˜cos-of-noise dB Drag/Propper Droppers spot to the right and thus better for visiting between all the sound off fraternity.’
And to be fair, this year, there were a couple of car clubs who had their rides all lined up around us, one even further around the Tarmac than us. But it was a lovely day, sunny and mild and the Battlewagon was impressing everyone who saw it. Lots of folks stopped to take a picture as the wall of woofers and bullets is still awfully impressive. Also, we did gather a few crowds in horseshoe shapes as Lea Harlequin ran the EMMA SPL contests, with yours truly explaining what on EARTH all the lunacy was about. You could see that folks were interested, even if slightly horrified in some cases. I know for a fact that there are a few entrants that became interested enough to take part in the sound off thing, as a result of seeing some of this stuff. You never get told on the day if someone has ignited a lifelong interest but you do find out later! People certainly trek for VFM to see as much as possible all over Silverstone if the weather is good. And for once it was.

The main thing was that the Trax show saw the last contest of 2014 for EMMA and as such made it the one to decide the 2014 LEAGUE positions and winners. To their undying fabulousness and credit and with a massive nod to their very origins in winning sound offs, the JL Audio UK and Dynamat Europe folks (in the shape of Celsus) once again, for the THIRD time running, sponsored the lovely glass league trophies.

Also, Roo fixed it with another sponsor Midbass to get the use of their fabulous rig stage for the prize giving presentation. It has a huge PA system in it but I used just two split oil drum speaker boxes and a radio mic to get my tones into them. It was a twenty minute walk from the spot we had the contest, over to the prize zone but it was well worth it.
I did my utmost not to make too many snafus and got it pretty much right, with notable multiple gongs going to a few brave types who entered more than one class, even if it meant changing amplifiers around!

Possibly the most important thing though is to thank the folks behind the whole scene. As this is assuredly a labour of love, not profit. And also to exhort you to get involved. Sound off contests are a hoot and the delight and pride in getting a podium gong is intense. And you wanna know a secret? Some classes are under-subscribed, so if there are three or less entrants in yours, you will get a trophy to take home just for having the minerals to enter! Just pick carefully.
Roo. Boss.

A huge thank you is due to the judges and backroom staff who have to do an awful lot of accounting of points and building of the whole tented HQ alike. All are worthy. Mr. & Mrs. Legg are utter stars, as is the Mysterious Presence that is Papa Bear, motive force and senior advisor to the throne. Horst Starke now works close by to my home and remains Iron Man’s undiscovered love child as well as a crucial cog in organising stuff. Lea Harlequin beavers at the ESPL judging machine. Andy Blanch and Mark ‘˜Mullet Boy’ Stringer are the SQ nuts who also judge. Kevin Hall with the lovely posh Merc and Christian Martin are also SQ judges. James Ralph is the other SPL supremo with the ten foot reach vertically with his camera If I have missed anyone out it is my fault. But I am getting on a bit
There are entry classes for utter noobs in both boom and tweak that’s pure sound quality and ultimate loudness contests – and the judges are really gentle on the new entrants. Classes are divided by what you have and even by what you spend, so you can enter against cars with the same maximum spend, at entry level, of two thousand Euros, counting the head unit and hardware. Or, for ESPL, say, just one woofer in the boot, as against a wall of fifteens as close to your ears as headphones!
The costs are keen too, as EMMA UK include the show tickets prices in the deal with the entry fees and Roo is a demon at booking cheap hotel rooms for the competition’s benefit at the big two-day, further flung shows.
As well as the actual League Rounds, the EMMA Battle Wagon also shows up just to show off and spread the word about Sound Off at various shows throughout the year, when you can talk to the boss man and find out what an approachable lot they all are and what is involved.

At peak, you can win the league and get the chance (if you can afford it, as it is one heck of a road trip, usually!) to go to the European Finals at whatever huge show they line it up alongside, to represent the UK. We have done pretty damn well in many classes at many levels in Europe in recent years, in both the sheer power of SPL classes and also the audiophillic SQ side of the coin.
It is worthy and fun and they are a cool community to be a part of. Almost all of the successful entrants show off their mantelpieces of trophies on Facebook!
So, g’won, g’won, g’won, g’won, g’won, why Doncha? Next yearSOUND OFF!
EMMA UK Facebook page: link
EMMA UK Website link
And that photographer Phil John, again: link
Or his own website at link
I did my ice bucket challenge there, at Trax. I was hilariously crap, but it WAS proper cold.

As ever, your reward for getting to the end is the GALLERY! In this case, of the shots Phil John took.
link