What is spl competition?
The Car Audio Sports Organization is MECA (Mobile Electronics Competition Association, Inc.) started in 1999. Web sites are: www.mecacaraudio.com and www.mecaevents.com
HBO VICE News feature from 2017 Finals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5TrgEOrZ1Q&t=54s
SQL (Sound Quality League) focuses on high performance musical systems: Sound Quality (SQ and SQ2), custom installs, and RTA Freq-Out contests. Vehicles are classified by audio system complexity of design. There are seven classes overall in this category. They are Stock, Street, Modified Street, Modified, Modex, Extreme, and Master. Each class has certain restrictions, with the most being in Stock, and the least in Master. MECA utilizes a standard test tracks, which feature various songs to test different aspects of sound quality, for all of its judging at competitions. The TermLab Magnum is the official 4X points contest RTA Freq-Out meter. For 4X points Sound Quality contests, 3 Judges evaluate the audio system separately, and the scores are averaged to determine the winners in 7 classes. There are 4 Install classes. They are Stock, Street, Modified, and Extreme. Certain criteria must be met to receive the best score possible, and these are outlined in the rule book. RTA Freq-Out has no class separation. MECA added Dueling Demos to the contest list in 2013, and there are 3 classes: Street+, Modified, and Extreme.
MECA released the "Tantric Tuning" CD in 2017 with licensing from Chesky Records. The CD is available in the Shop at the MECA web site.
SPL (Sound Pressure League) focuses on audio systems that are created to reproduce loud bass, notes and music, with Sound Pressure and Park & Pound contests. State and World Champions and USA National Points Champions are credentialed each year. Vehicles are grouped according to the "Pressure Class" method which separates the vehicles by complexity of audio system design, combined with the potential of the audio system to make "bass". The "Pressure Class Formula" adds woofer cone surface area with sub amp(s) power. Woofer cone surface area is measured in square inches. For example, a round 12" woofer is 113 sq. inches and a square 12" woofer is 144 sq. inches. Power is determined by the TermLab Magnum meter. The TermLab meter is the official MECA decibel contest meter. There are 18 SP (Sound Pressure) classes and 5 Park & Pound classes. Sound Pressure is measured inside the vehicle. Park & Pound is measured outside the vehicle, 6' from the passenger side, with heavy-duty bass music tracks, for example: BassMekanik 808 CD released 2009.
"Show & Shine" car/truck/motorcycle contests. Judging based on cleanliness, attention to details, and modifications (done properly and part of an integrated theme).
MECA Kids events for youngsters and their parents, include Sound Pressure, Park & Pound, Dueling Demos, and Show & Shine for powerwheels type toys.
The Rule Book is free on-line at www.mecacaraudio.com/2019SQLRuleBook.pdf and for SPL www.mecacaraudio.com/2019SPLRuleBook.pdf. Social media sites include www.facebook.com/mecacaraudio, and www.twitter.com/MECA_Car_Audio
As a music curator, here I’ve selected a list of my own music selection for SPL car audio competition uses. These are bass-heavy music and also can be used for sound quality tests for chest-thumping bass and clear midrange.
Each song might sound different and might need special tweaking or sound tuning on the system, so choose a few songs that might work with the setup.
I don’t have any car competition equipment but I do have the basic car audio setup for beginners.
Apparently, I’ve tested out most of the songs and I’m sure it worked on a high-end car audio system. For anyone who is looking for car competition music and successfully landed on this post, these are the songs to be included in your car competition playlist.
The best audio format is using a CD or Hi-res Audio. Although some of the songs are quite old and hard to find, these songs can be found via Discogs while Juno Download is the best music platform to find the latest banger dance music.
When it comes to car audio competition, Hip Hop music is mainly used in the USA as well as in other regions, while in Thailand, they have their own unique Thai music remix for competition or car shows.
Below is the editor’s pick for the best music for car competition.
SPL (Sound Pressure League) focuses on audio systems that are created to reproduce loud bass, notes and music, with Sound Pressure and Park & Pound contests.
SPL is a complex and difficult concept to deal with. It consists of the sound pressure level, which is the average change in atmospheric pressure caused by sound. The unit of measurement used for pressure is the pascal (Pa), while the unit of measurement for sound is the decibel (dB), therefore, the SPL is measured in dB which is dimensionless and relative. Another important concept is the measurement of noise as instantaneous, maximum, and peak.
The calculation of the sound pressure level is the pressure level of a sound which is the relationship between the absolute sound pressure and a reference level of sound in the air. When measuring, the air is taken as a reference with a value of 20 x the Log 10 of the relationship between the path mean square of the sound pressure and the sound pressure reference.
When measuring, the air is taken as a reference with a value of 20 x the Log 10 of the relationship between the path mean square of the sound pressure and the sound pressure reference.This means that the sound pressure level is expressed as 20 times the decimal logarithm of the ratio of the sound pressure to the determined reference pressure.
Overall, it can be summarized that the sound level is the sound intensity expressed in dB, which varies between 0 dB and 120 dB. This range is the level that should be considered as the maximum volume since that´s where the threshold begins for people who are being exposed to this sounds.
As in other sound measurements, a sound pressure meter is used, which is usually a sound level meter. Sound enters the device through a microphone and the meter evaluates the sound waves converting them into electrical information which will be transformed into measurement values in decibels.
These measurement devices are portable, mobile, and lightweight, so measurements can be taken from both inside and outside the vehicle to have accurate data where noise level may be causing a problem, and if necessary, taking some action to mitigate the damage. For example, complaints from neighbors who are being bothered by the noise or potential competitors wanting to improve the quality and sound level in the case of participating in car audio competitions.
In competitions there is a category of SPL, where the maximum intensity or volume of the car's sound system is evaluated. The SQ category is the one in which the acoustic quality achieved by the equipment is evaluated.
In many competitions, they are analyzed separately, but in others they integrate both into the SPL-SQ category. This way, they can easily evaluate that the audio equipment has a good intensity or volume, without losing acoustic quality or vice versa: that the equipment has good acoustic quality without losing intensity when the volume is turned up.
As mentioned in previous blogs, to have quality sound you need both the choice of quality equipment and a correct installation, where the wiring is well distributed, do not interfere with the battery, and have wire protectors to Isolate them from possible contact with metals, or with accidentally spilled liquids.
Another recommendation is choosing a suitable subwoofer for car audio. These can be powered, passive, or amplified; powered subwoofers have their own power source, while passive subwoofers use the car's system receiver to receive power.
Boosted subwoofers allow you to adjust the sound and filter out high frequency sounds for better sound quality, thus influencing the SPL. Remember that the purpose of the subwoofer is to reproduce the low frequency sounds (from 20 Hz to 100 Hz) that conventional speakers cannot reproduce on their own: low thumps, thunder and explosions are the sounds that fall into that frequency level.
On their regard, powered subwoofers have an integrated amplifier, therefore, they reproduce low frequency sounds with no distortion at all vs other speakers. They are ideal because they use little space, reproduce sounds without distortion, and allow a better appreciation of music, which will also improve the SQ value. You can check these models of amplified subwoofers that we have at your disposal on the following link.
