Chris Green in Transit
40-something Chris has been a builder all of his working life. He started working with his father straight from school. His father, Terry, has now largely retired and handed his thriving business to his son. Employing a staff of 12, Chris is both very busy and modestly successful.
Life-long music-lover, Chris enjoys fond memories of listening to music in his mum’s car. Her broad taste very much informs Chris’s own, although he does have a love of 90s house and trance music carried over from his youth when he used to head out to the clubs of Manchester.
Chris has had a number of audio upgrades in previous vehicles and understands the limitations of factory offerings. Over the years, he has enjoyed the work of FOUR MASTER Partner Car and Home Stereo in Macclesfield.
Avid followers of the magazine may know of proprietor Tim Campling, as we have covered a number of his installs before. A dedicated music lover and musician himself, Tim is very good at nailing his customers’ taste in music and sound preferences. Chris has always been a satisfied customer and saw no reason to take his new acquisition anywhere else.
Chris had Tim install an Audison Prima system into his previous van. Although Chris liked the sound, he felt it lacked a bit of dynamic punch. He also admits to a drop-off in his hearing due to a long time spent using power tools. He has recently purchased a Transit Custom from Leighton Vans. This is a dealer upgrade featuring 20” alloys and lots of bells and whistles. The van is a double-cab, which he and his wife and two children enjoy travelling in for family outings. His wife has a car, but the Transit is definitely the family favourite.
They live in New Mills, an extremely picturesque town in the borough of High Peak, Derbyshire. He works within a 10-mile radius of home but tends to take his family further afield during much-appreciated downtime.
The van features plug-in Hybrid technology, which has significantly reduced fuel consumption. Chris was spending upwards of £70 + per week on fuel, but using hybrid technology, his fuel costs are now closer to £70 per month! An added benefit is that the vehicle is quieter than his previous van.
Soon after buying the van, he took a trip to Car and Home Stereo. He told Tim he wanted something much better than the Prima system in his previous van. At the time, Audison had just released Voce II speakers. Tim felt these would be just the ticket and so designed a system around them. He picked the top-of-the-range “P” versions. These feature astonishing cone excursion and can be driven hard all day with no ill effects (to the speakers, anyway!).
Voce II - AV 6.5 P II woofers are mounted in the factory positions in the front doors. These sit quite low down and some distance from the vehicle occupant’s ears. A pair of Voce II AV - 1.1 II 28mm tweeters sit on the dashboard in the supplied surface mount pods. This helps put them on axis. These tweeters are extraordinary, and anything that can be done to get the best out of them will reward you greatly! To get the most out of Voce speakers they need plenty of power from a distortion-free amplifier. Tim plumped for an Audison Forza AF M 8.14 amplifier. This eight-channel amplifier delivers 140 watts per channel, and Tim has bridged the outputs to more or less double this, giving Chris plenty of level. However, on first listening, Chris felt that the Voce woofers were not doing enough. Tim therefore decided to mount a pair of Voce II AV-X 6.5 coaxial speakers in the bulkhead between the cab and load space. Chris got involved by strengthening the plastic bulkhead with MDF, which he covered in a sympathetic fabric which looks very much like it was there from the factory. The coaxials had the effect of reinforcing the front speakers and also adding extra width and ambience to the overall sound. A Forza AF M4D amplifier drives the coaxials. This utilises spare DSP channels from the 8.14 to offer the same array of tweaking features as the 8.14.
No clubber would want a system without big bass. Chris’s appetite is sated in this respect with an Audison Prima APBX 10 AS. This is another remarkable product featuring a 10” subwoofer in a solidly constructed enclosure, which also houses a 400-watt amplifier.
We had chosen a spot for photography; however, upon arrival, we found that the area was blocked to vehicles, so it was back to the drawing board! Photographer of the day, Luke, suggested a spot some 10 miles away. I asked Chris if I could travel with him so that I could experience how he listens to this vehicle. I felt he was being a little polite with the volume control initially, so I encouraged him to approach his usual listening level. I now know that Chris likes to listen to his music LOUD!.
He chose a track, “Shed Your Light” by Paul Van Dyk. Featuring the major chords of A and F, the main attraction, as with much music from this genre, is the rhythm. Bass is surprisingly subdued; however, it is as important as the kick and snare. At volume, the effect was scintillating, especially at 1:00, 1:30, and 3:30, where the track breaks down then stomps back in with renewed vigour. It is easy to imagine a sizeable crowd in Ibiza with their hands in the air bopping away. I could clearly feel the subwoofer doing its work.
I was in the passenger seat and felt that the image was central to the dashboard. Later, Chris dialled up different setups with his tastefully mounted Audison DRC controller, demonstrating that a driver listening setting was also stored. Halfway through our journey, Chris pointed to the right where Manchester could be seen in all its sprawling urban glory. Somehow, despite our immediate surroundings, the vision of my parents’ hometown seemed to fit perfectly with the industrial elements of the track.
I have to say, this was one of the best in-vehicle listening experiences I have had. The Voce IIs, including the coaxials behind me, were dynamic and punchy but without the high-end harshness often adopted by those with younger ears!
On arrival at our destination, Chris and I grabbed a drink while Luke snapped away and Lauren stuffed her face with a cinnamon swirl (surprise!). I wanted to explore Chris’ music a bit further and discovered that, as well as 90s house and trance, he was all over the 90s Manchester indie scene. The Verve, Oasis then even Metallica and American grunge ( Nirvana etc.)
A system like this can often be over-focused on a specific genre, with other stuff sounding quite ordinary. I wanted to throw some old but familiar rock at the system and chose a 1968 track by Jimi Hendrix, “Rainy Day, Dream Away”. As suspected, it sounded awesome. The track begins with some very human sounds – I think Jimi had a cold or was exercising his respiratory system for some unknown reason or other! It was as if he were standing right in front of me. Timbre-wise, the guitar and saxophone sounded brilliant, sitting, as they do, on top of a slightly jazzy rhythmic groove!
We are still wrestling with the effect on music of tweeters that have a frequency response up to 40kHz, but if that is what is responsible for the fidelity in this van, then I am a big fan!
Tim has done a great job, but Chris should get the most praise for allowing him to do so!
Thank you both.
Chris's Top Five Tunes
In Bloom - Nirvana
Minefields- The Prodigy
With Or Without You - U2
Binary Finary – Paul Oakenfold
Paint It, Black- The Rolling Stones
Find out what our partner, The FOUR MASTER Network, can do to bring Hi-Fi quality to your car. Simply put some brief details into the form below.
Not ready for that yet? You can use the same form to book a demonstration at your home, place of work or with your local FOUR MASTER
