Sometimes I have to just admit that I have a great job. Writing about music and sound makes it easy to get out of bed in the mornings. Of course, it is not without its frustrations and at the moment I am frustrated at not being able to physically sit in a particular Audio RS6 that I have heard about. Its home is Northern Ireland and I am here in Oxfordshire waiting for the stars to align and the time to be right for a visit and I cant wait.
The car belongs to the owner of a large animal pharmaceutical company who, it must be said, through erstwhile endeavour and hard work has been rather successful in life. As such this install may always remain something to be aspired to for most of us but at least I will soon get to hear it "first ear" as you might say. In advance of this happy day, I will bring you as much information as I have in order to whet your appetite for the full article, which will appear in the next issue of Driving Sounds.
The install was carried out by FOUR MASTER; Vehicle Integration People (VIP) in County Armagh who under various guises, have been installing high- end audio into cars for 20 years or so. The owner of the RS 6 has been a customer for 15 years and is described as a "music nut" having even installed a studio at his home in which he practices his hobby of making music mixes. His taste is eclectic to say the least and includes everything from classical to dub-step and so his system had to be as multi-dimensional as possible.
The install features Audison Voce products almost throughout and includes a three-way system at the front running fully active from two Voce 4-channel amplifiers. A Voce Mono block runs a 12" subwoofer which as you can see from the picture above, is installed discreetly in the side wall of the luggage compartment in a bespoke box designed to bring the most out of it. An Audison Bit One takes care of processing and time alignment ensuring an infinite capacity for tweaking and perfection hunting although in this particular car, the initial set up has not needed much adjustment except for the usual compensatory tickle for run-in speakers.
Having just seen the pictures, I can tell that a lot of skill and knowledge has gone into this installation and I was amazed to hear from Phil Neil, co-founder of VIP that it took just four days to complete. The specially fabricated A-pillars house a 3" mid driver along with the Voce tweeter ensuring that image and soundstage are as near perfect as possible. I have heard a car with a similar approach taken and can confirm that this is almost mandatory for this vehicle as the standard position for the mids is behind the arm rest/door handle - When will they ever learn?
So, having spoken to the installer, my curiosity has definitely piqued and I think I need to get out there as soon as possible!
Look out for Issue 4 to read the result of my trip to VIP.