Db Drag Racing announced the competition class changes for 2008 today. Some changes worth mentioning are: the street classes are now limited to 50% of the power of previous years, Street Max and Extreme have been consolidated into a single class, and Super Street 5+ is gone.
All classes require will 75 points to qualify for finals (including bass race).
To see the changes, visit the page here
http://www.termpro.com/dbdrag/rules/2008/matrix08.html
Db Drag Racing world record holder Jeffrey Fernandez was kind enough to share some pictures straight off of the floor of CES (literally) of SoundStream’s new 15,000 watt amplifier. In what seems to be a recent race of who can build the largest amp in the mobile electronics industry, SoundStream is sure to create some buzz amongst car audio competitors and those who build over-the-top sound systems in their vehicles. Sporting quad power and ground connections and dozens of capacitors this seems to be another strong release from SoundStream.
SoundSolutionsAudio.com is at it again with another amazing deal. This time, Stinger RCA wiring is on sale, while supplies last, for an unbelievable $15. According to SSA’s owner Mark LaFountain, the sale is mostly of 1.5ft, 3ft, 6ft, & some 12ft A/V cables along with limited lengths of 17ft and 20ft. Mark also noted that during the first few hours of this sale he’s received dozens of orders, so get it while you can!
Visit this blowout sale by clicking here.
The Alpine 2008 Product Line Is Here
Just when you thought Alpine had given up on quality aftermarket headunits in search of the all-mighty dollar through the hands of the OEM automobile manufacturers and the bland assortment of mediocre products at the box stores, the 2008 lineup is sure to make you think twice. With the addition of 2 more IPOD ready units, a flagship double-DIN, a complete marine line with amps, a remote/Bluetooth ready IPOD display, and a new portable nav touchscreen, they are ready to take back the market share they gave up to Pioneer, Eclipse, and Kenwood. Not to mention the type-X pro components, their first 2000 watt amp, and an Audyssey Imprint add on module for frequency adjustable time-correction from the touch of a headunit button.
Click on this link for the complete PDF catalog, brought to you exclusively by FloridaCarAudio.com – Alpine’s 2008 Catalog
Australian catalogue can be found here which contains some pricing.
Kicker home audio?
According to a recent post on AudioJunkies.com, Kicker will join the realm of home audio by releasing their new line at CES 2008. Rumor has it that full-range speakers as well as subwoofers will be on display. CES will be held in Las Vegas, NV January 7th-10th. We brought you the first exclusive internal pics of Kicker’s Warhorse at SEMA, so stay tuned as we will post new information as we get it.
Who cares about words?
Do words have any meaning? Are the words we use important? What are words anyway? Aren’t words the translation of the concepts we imagine?
If words are concepts translated into sounds with assigned meanings, then words are expressed ideas.
Ideas have consequences whether or not we believe them to be true. Bad ideas yield negative consequences. If you think you can fly, and you jump off of a tall building, you will experience your last bad idea. So how do you know a bad idea from a good one?
The answer is truth. Truth is unavoidable. It exists; therefore, right and wrong exist. What is true is right. What is false is wrong. It’s possible to be wrong when you think something.
What is truth? It is that which conforms to what actually is. In case you think that the truth is not important, consider this. When you ask someone a question, are you interested in getting a truthful answer?
So, the truth matters. And since it does, words are important. Don’t you want to protect yourself from untruthful ideas?
Here are four logic tests that can typically find a fallacy in a system of thought. If a thought can pass these logic tests, then it is probably correct.
1. The Law of Identity- [A = A] or [If A, then not non-A]
This is how speech takes place. You understand words because they have specific meanings. If I say, “I drove in my car”, then you know I didn’t mean, “I flew in a plane.” You see, truth is exclusive. When you make an assertion, you exclude the opposite. If you affirm A, then you are excluding non-A.
2. The Law of Rational Inference- If A=B and B=C then A=C.
This is to draw a conclusion from a conditional base. When something is said, you can rationally infer something else. If someone tells you that they will pick you up at 5:00, then you can infer that they will do so.
3. The Law of Non-Contradiction- A cannot be non-A.
Two opposite answers cannot be made about the same question at the same time. You cannot defend an absolute negative. It is logically incorrect. Take this sentence for example; “Truth does not exist.” Is this statement true? You see, this law defines the line between what is true and what is false.
4. The Law of the Excluded Middle- Either A or non-A.
A proposition is either true or false. It cannot be both. The briefcase is either black or it is not black. Just because two things have one thing in common does not mean that they have everything in common. Fish have eyes. I have eyes. Therefore I am a fish. Surely this is not true.
Logic is undeniable and self-evident. You would need to use logic to deny its existence. Therefore it is self-explanatory. Without logic there can be no true or false statements. Truth gives a person’s words meaning. A lack of truth makes their words meaningless. Whose words do you accept as true? Choose your own words wisely.
Second Skin Audio 10% Off Damplifier Pro
Second Skin Audio is offering 10% off of their innovative sound deadner, Damplifier Pro. I’ll have to agree first hand with others who’ve reviewed this product (I have some in my car), it’s really easy to work with and simply the best on the market. I suggest you stop by http://www.secondskinaudio.com/ and buy as much as you can during this sale, hurry though, this holiday special ends January 1st
I’m still buying CD’s
Since the recent closing of a popular invite-only music website, Oink.cd (formally Oink.me.uk), I’ve been resorting to purchasing music I cannot find to download, or music I have found but am not pleased with it’s sound quality rip. Oink was an excellent source for music of all kinds, and they were very strict on the quality of rip’s that were allowed and Oink also kept a tight ratio rule for it’s users to make sure that people were giving as much as they were taking. The concept was great, and Oink had grown to a to just shy of 200,000 members during it’s short lived 3-year existence.
I’ve always been a quality not quantity type person when it comes to my music, and Oink served me well in this aspect as well as it’s flourish of FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) rips. I’m no audiophile, but I can definitely tell the difference between a CD and a poor digital audio rip. I’ve been buying CD’s for years and even though I could download FLAC versions of them online, (which is supposed to be of equal sound quality) as of lately, but it’s simply less of a hassle to have to deal with ratio contingencies and the effort of searching, waiting for download times, vulnerabilities that come with bittorrent usage (as mentioned in a previous article), relabeling files and organizing files in your file structure. You may be wondering, that option of downloading must be easier than going to the store, browsing the shelves, waiting in line and finally paying $14 for a CD right? Downloading music is cheaper yes, but online shopping is incredibly easy.
I normally use Amazon.com’s 1-click ordering when I buy CD’s online. I typically buy them used, so I get them around half the price compared to a retail store even with shipping costs. The 1-click ordering is fantastic, when you see what you want, you can literally buy it with only 1 click of the mouse (granted you have an Amazon.com account) and you’ll soon have your new CD in your mailbox. Got to have it now? Other options are in-store pickup. Circuit City offers a guarantee that if your online order isn’t ready in 24 minutes, you’ll receive a $24 gift card when you pick up your oder. I’ve actually received a $24 gift card from them because my product wasn’t ready during a pickup. Granted my main catalog of music is digital, but when I hear a great piece of music, I typically buy the CD just for sheer sound quality purposes. I’ve also purchased CD’s directly from up and coming bands that I’ve liked in my effort to support them. I do this as well with buying their merchandise and paying to see them live. Without this support, these artists simply wouldn’t exist. CD’s may be a thing in the past, but before MP3 players were affordable, it was basically the only way to listen, especially in the car. I remember driving around fumbling with my large case of CD’s popping them in and out of my CD player until I could afford a CD-ROM for my computer and I could then consolidate a couple of them onto a customized MP3 disk and not have to swap out disks as often. Times have changed and today I’d be lost without my Ipod which is excellent when you have a CD deck in the car that can control it but compared to a CD, I’d still rather pop in a disk occasionally when I want to hear some great sound quality.
The era of having to wait for album release dates are a thing in the past, over thrown by it’s digital media nemesis. It’s more like an album release date minus a month or three when it comes to downloading and the leaking of new music via the internet. I’m glad to see more and more artists are now offering their entire CD’s for free on their websites.
Before I began to write my blog post on how I’m again buying more CD’s than normal, I thought I’d research a little and see how the mighty CD is doing these days versus downloading digital media along with the help of the popularity of MP3 players. My hypothesis was true, digital media is strong, and the CD industry and sales are hurting. According to the 2006 postings on the RIAA (The Recording Industry Association of America) website, the value of a CD and number of shipments is at an all time low compared to the previous 10 years. In a pathetic attempt to cover this fact up, the RIAA released a report in August 2007 stating “the CD has become a better value than ever before” when compared only to inflation. More silly statements found in this report that are meant to win you over compare the cost of an “album” in 1967 to the cost of a CD today. According to Wikipedia, the first CD for commercial release rolled off the assembly line in 1982, a mere 15 years later after RIAA’s cited 1967 comparison. Interesting don’t you think? Talk about comparing apples to oranges! I agree that inflation is a valid argument when debating the history of cost on an item but there are also many variables when comparing time periods, especially a year like 1967 which was in the middle of the Vietnam War. In 1967 vinyl records were the popular media for music and to compare them to CD’s boggles me. Here is another incentive excerpt from the report “adjust for the buying power of a dollar in 1967 versus a dollar now, and that album would cost nearly $22″. Wow, what a bargain.. we should not be taking CD’s for granted and all go buy some!
The world’s largest car audio show, Spring Break Nationals, will be hosting it’s 22nd annual show on March 29th and 30th 2008 in Daytona Beach, Florida. There will also be a bandshell beach party on Saturday, March 29th starting at 7pm. Registration opens in January.