im new to the forum but i have been installing since grade 9 of high school. and my experience is. get an spl reading. one sound can drowned out another. if your highs stay clear through a higher SPL reading then the guy comparing to. your quality is probably better. but overall quality is about balance between lows mids and highs. if one sound drowns out another. i wouldnt consider that quality sound...

 

For me, it's SQ when the sound is so clear that if you closed your eyes it would seem like the sounds weren't being reproduced.

 

As John stated, the dBDrag Psychlone scoring system does not include ANY SQ judging. They measure frequency response on an RTA, but that means right next to nothing as far as SQ goes. As stated, it is a way to measure a car that does not allow for any human discontinuities, but as far as SQ goes you may as well take the air pressure of the tires and see how close they are to what it says on the sidewall...

 

SQ competitors are such emotional creatures... LOL When you talk about a flat response, the idea is that the system can reproduce each frequency in the audible range with equal accuracy and loudness. The ultimate, and key factor in any SQ system truely comes down to how the material was recorded to begin with. The main difference is timbre, I think. It can only be created by the original production, as the impact from the instruments will change depending on how the player is playing. Also, with compression associated with most of our media mediums today, it has the potential to make this even worse because that generally gets lost in favour of more convenient and cost effective approachs. It's a compressed, uniform reproduction that creates a uniform presentation. This however, is different from the actual live performance, so if the initial recording is done to capture as many nuances as possible it will be completely and 100% true to that recording when played through a system that can handle all audible frequencies present in the recording with equal impact. I think the real trick to SQ is being in agreement with how the original artist feels the music should sound as a final product... Whether it be a synthesised, completely digital creation that doesn't take into account any form of ambiance in relation to where it comes from, or a literal recording of a live studio/venue performance, where ambient noises and natural feedback from instruments comes into play. The recording process isn't standardized, so SQ remains subjective. And because every artist/individual wants to be unique in what they are creating, SQ is bound to remain subjective forever. Oh, and on top of all that, no two ears are created equal... So not one human being can hear a flat response, as we all will have different frequencies we hear better than others. I won't compete in SQ for this reason... I build my system so I can get as close to a flat response with my ears, and no one else will hear it the same way so I'll build my audio to make me happy

 

^^^wow.... didn't realize that was going to turn into a book... Sorry guys

 

I'm not reading that...

 

I'll be honest, thats all I read.

 

But yet you will waste your time posting about it....

 

Well, I have to agree that sound is always a subjective thing, and hence, what I perceive as being true SQ, is whatever sounds best to the individual.

This being said, getting a flat response is not necessarily what people will consider SQ, and there are many things that are not taken into account such as stereo imaging, ambiance, transience, etc that also have an impact on how a system sounds.

My .02$

 

I concur Mr. Whitford