Motorcycles, Custom Cars, and Car Audio

[Jacbowron]

i was having a discussion with my dad last night and up came the subject of car audio..... i told him i wanted to put a higher end system into a car, something like $8,000. I just couldnt make him understand the desire to make something sound that good.... he kept saying "but i dont have $8,000 ears, i wouldn know the difference between that and something that cost $100" he said that it was a waste.

i tried making an analogy to a motorcycle, he's a motorcycle guy and has two. i asked him if he had $12,000 *** cheeks (price of a motorcycle) and he said no. he then tried to make the argument that car audio isnt mainstream.... i told him that it was and he told me to prove it. i have to say that that one threw me for a loop.

but i brought up the custom car thing.... you never see someone fabricate a custom car and leave out a sound system.... even if it isnt the focus (pimp my ride) it is still there and "somewhat" prominent....

but just to be contrary he asked me why there are so many shows about motorcycles and custom cars on the tv now and none about car audio..... that one screwed my argument almost completely.....



so the big question is: is car audio such a niche market that people wouldnt watch a show about it? and if that isnt the reason then why arent there television shows about custom cars with as much emphasis on the audio piece as the fabrication? would it be plausible to have a show on just car audio, even if it is just a one hour special, like the great biker build off, or something?

i havent been able to answer these questions myself and i want other peoples oppinions.....

[jayhawk137]

I think that its still considered small end compared many other things on tv. Especially since you really dont get the effect and sound of the end product. You can get all the pics and stuff online but you cant hear anything well if youre not their in person

[Dosia]

Sure you could have a show, but a lot of people would change the channel imo. I would say your average joe could care less about seeing a sound system being put togther over a car/motorcyle being assembled. And if your putting $8,000 into a sound sytem i really dont see the purpose of hearing since you will probably go deaf. Its basically jstu a hobby jsut like making a dragster. Some people would view it as a complete waste of money, while others will devote their weekends on car steroes for competition. Im basically just rambling.................... goodnight.

[Jacbowron]

i can understand the fact that you cant hear it.... but the fact that there are so many people on this one forum makes me wonder what kind of following, from newb to pro there really is in car audio

wooohoo 100 posts!

[sandt38]

Simple.

Most of the people involved in this hobby are kids (sorry, young adults ). Kids don't buy alot of stuff, so advertisers aren't going to pay for spots. If advertisers don't buy spots, the network doesn't generate revenue. If the network doesn't generate revenue, they are not going to air the program.

Who customizes cars or motorcycles? Middle age to older men with money. The guy doing a frame off restoration of a 1967 Chevelle [drool] is likely a man who owns a house, and at least another car. He has investments as well. Very quickly we have 3 advertising options there (Scotts lawn care/Toyota cars/ Merill Lynch).

See the pattern? More money means more air time.

[Jacbowron]

Originally Posted by sandt38 Simple. Most of the people involved in this hobby are kids (sorry, young adults ). Kids don't buy alot of stuff, so advertisers aren't going to pay for spots. If advertisers don't buy spots, the network doesn't generate revenue. If the network doesn't generate revenue, they are not going to air the program. Who customizes cars or motorcycles? Middle age to older men with money. The guy doing a frame off restoration of a 1967 Chevelle [drool] is likely a man who owns a house, and at least another car. He has investments as well. Very quickly we have 3 advertising options there (Scotts lawn care/Toyota cars/ Merill Lynch). See the pattern? More money means more air time.

well said that makes a lot of sense about the advertizing thing

[thylantyr]

Custom car and bike TV shows = yes
Custom car audio TV shows = no

Why?

Producers are ghey..... :hehe:

One of my guesses is;;;;;;

1. You can't hear the end results on your TV.

But I still would like to see the custom fabrication
so there could be a market for this type of TV show,
there is much worse on TV. I can make a huge list.

Look at monster garage, pimp my ride, rides, etc.,
when they install custom sounds in those cute cars
I'm usually not impressed. They would have to kick it
up 10 notches to get my attention if the show was
dedicated for car audio.

What would be cool ?
Take a show like The Yankee Workshop on PBS. Have
Norm Abrams make pimp custom enclosures for audio
systems. Add some other specialists to do the electronics,
fabric, fiberglas, etc., ......... sounds like a cool idea.

/lol

[Audioholic]

I actually saw a car audio show a couple weeks ago, over at my bro's house. It was on Spkie tv Im thinking. It was lame though, spent 3 mins looking at/discussing the stereo's in the 2 featured cars, spent the other 27mins looking at bling and listening to painfully stupid interviews with the owners, who clearly couldn't find a clue about car audio in an encyclopedia already turned to the correct page. But, it was a sound off show.. heh

Rationalizing any hobby like a stereo or recreational motorcycle is an arguement in futility. You do it because you can, and want to.

[geolemon]

Originally Posted by thylantyr 1. You can't hear the end results on your TV.

This is 100% why I believe this is true.

TV is visual, and nothing more.
You can't feel the impact of SPL, for example.
- so if you put out a TV show documenting the creation of an SPL vehicle, all you'd have is the majority of viewers going "er...why? Look, he's got no trunk left."

On the other hand, if they could sit in the vehicle, and experience it - you'd be able to get many more people to understand.

And that's still not to say all of them, because many people don't want tons of bass, don't appreciate it.. many more people wouldn't want a big imbalance of sound.
So you build a SQ car, and now all your SPL guys aren't interested.

There's many issues, IMO.
But primarily - it's a car audio system - you simply, fundamentally couldn't experience it, on TV.

It would be like putting out a show on "wine sniffing".
How successful could that be?
How many people could you watch sniff wine, and make comments on the aroma.. "Mmmm, that's a good one".
It's something you need to experience - and only people that have, would understand it.

Look at monster garage, pimp my ride, rides, etc., when they install custom sounds in those cute cars I'm usually not impressed. They would have to kick it up 10 notches to get my attention if the show was dedicated for car audio.

But the focus on those cars isn't the audio system, it's the custom car aspect.
It's the visual, not the audio.

What would be cool ? Take a show like The Yankee Workshop on PBS. Have Norm Abrams make pimp custom enclosures for audio systems. Add some other specialists to do the electronics, fabric, fiberglas, etc., ......... sounds like a cool idea. /lol

The funny part is, I can actually picture him walking around his ultra-clean workbench in his ultra-huge workroom, talking matter of factly about what method of jointing the corners he was going to use on this particular box, and how long to let the clamps stay on while the glue set up...

[evoInfinity]

The reason why car audio is not that big is because many people do not know what "good" sound is. Society knows what a good car looks like or what a good bike sounds like. It is tangeble (spelling?). With car audio there you can not just walk down the street and say, "hey that car has a nice system." You can look at a car and say, "wow that is a damn nice car. Look at the great ground effects and paint job.

Another thing that keeps car audio out of the mainstream is the annoyance that it seems to protray. Many people do not like the bumpin systems that many teenagers have. This gives the whole car audio scene a bad name.

Also the work that is required to make the system sound good is way too demanding for much of the public. With car modifications they are mostly just bolt on and go. With car audio it takes a little work and brains to make a system sound good. Plus if there were a show, it would be too hard to try to dumb the info down so that enough of the viewers would be able to understand and want to watch.

That is why there is not a show and it is not very mainstream.

Atleast I think that is why!!!

[Jacbowron]

Originally Posted by geolemon The funny part is, I can actually picture him walking around his ultra-clean workbench in his ultra-huge workroom, talking matter of factly about what method of jointing the corners he was going to use on this particular box, and how long to let the clamps stay on while the glue set up...

Hahaha hell yeah i could see that too.... but wouldnt you watch him do that...? whenever i watch those home improvement shows i ALWAYS get new ideas for stuff, and i know i would watch

[thylantyr]

One of my guesses is;;;;;;

1. You can't hear the end results on your TV.

I going to reply to my post and play Dr. Devil.

Cooking shows are very successful on TV and we can't
taste the end result

Why? is it because we want to learn how to cook food
and assume it takes good -- because they are professionals
and it must be good Or is it popular because it
LOOKS good ??

Plus, the chefs will say on TV "It smells so good".. as if
we can smell it too......

[WillAshland]

Originally Posted by Jacbowron i was having a discussion with my dad last night and up came the subject of car audio..... i told him i wanted to put a higher end system into a car, something like $8,000. I just couldnt make him understand the desire to make something sound that good.... he kept saying "but i dont have $8,000 ears, i wouldn know the difference between that and something that cost $100" he said that it was a waste. i tried making an analogy to a motorcycle, he's a motorcycle guy and has two. i asked him if he had $12,000 *** cheeks (price of a motorcycle) and he said no. he then tried to make the argument that car audio isnt mainstream.... i told him that it was and he told me to prove it. i have to say that that one threw me for a loop. but i brought up the custom car thing.... you never see someone fabricate a custom car and leave out a sound system.... even if it isnt the focus (pimp my ride) it is still there and "somewhat" prominent.... but just to be contrary he asked me why there are so many shows about motorcycles and custom cars on the tv now and none about car audio..... that one screwed my argument almost completely..... so the big question is: is car audio such a niche market that people wouldnt watch a show about it? and if that isnt the reason then why arent there television shows about custom cars with as much emphasis on the audio piece as the fabrication? would it be plausible to have a show on just car audio, even if it is just a one hour special, like the great biker build off, or something? i havent been able to answer these questions myself and i want other peoples oppinions.....

What about court tv, a channel that shows a bunch of trials during the course of a day. Are trials mainstream entertainment?

I think I would own your dad in an argument.

[geolemon]

Originally Posted by thylantyr One of my guesses is;;;;;; 1. You can't hear the end results on your TV. I going to reply to my post and play Dr. Devil. Cooking shows are very successful on TV and we can't taste the end result Why? is it because we want to learn how to cook food and assume it takes good -- because they are professionals and it must be good Or is it popular because it LOOKS good ?? Plus, the chefs will say on TV "It smells so good".. as if we can smell it too......

Well, existing car audio enthusiasts would want to learn these "car audio recipies" and techniques too...
...but everyone eats food, so everyone in some way is interested in a cooking show, even those that don't cook might look at the dish that is being prepared with some sort of interest, mouth might start watering, or they might be in shock "I wouldn't eat that!"...

On the other hand, everyone is not into car audio, or even home audio.
Hell, the majority of the world wouldn't know why anyone would spend more than the $150 that they bought their plastic GPX dorm-style stereo system from WalMart for, or why anyone would replace any aspect of their car's stereo system, if it wasn't broken.
So, a tiny number of people would appreciate the show...
A huge number of people just "wouldn't get it", and even if they randomly flipped to it, probably wouldn't understand what was going on..
"What is this, car disassembly? How boring.."
"What are they making, a flowerpot out of paper mache? Looks ugly.. what is this, that 'shabby chic' show on TLC?"

And even the enthusiasts would simply be saying, at the end, "Man, I wish I could hear it!"

Although it would be a good idea, to get a professional audiophile to sit in the car at the end, play reference music, and describe what he's hearing.
There's a show on the speed channel, with some Canadian guys, I don't remember the name...
But the skinny guy always takes some exotic/classic out for a drive, and just continually describes what he's thinking about the car as he's driving it.

Catch-22 though.. an audiophile wouldn't sit there babbling away, as they were auditioning music...

[focused313]

Originally Posted by thylantyr One of my guesses is;;;;;; 1. You can't hear the end results on your TV. I going to reply to my post and play Dr. Devil. Cooking shows are very successful on TV and we can't taste the end result Why? is it because we want to learn how to cook food and assume it takes good -- because they are professionals and it must be good Or is it popular because it LOOKS good ?? Plus, the chefs will say on TV "It smells so good".. as if we can smell it too......

I agree with you. But, like my mans said above, everyone eats food. More so, WOMEN eat food. Women buy something like 90% of evertyhing, and car audio isn't up there at all. Why would they? the crap they listen to isn't made for bass. I'd say teen age white men are the DON'S of car audio (the guys who know what they're doing w/ ohms, watts, etc...), while black men (focusing on hiphop/rap here), are just the walking advertisements. In my hood, EVERYONE BLACK MALE has subwoofers. It's like you have a car, you have a system. Why wouldn't they air it on tv? The guys who have systems in the hood don't watch much tv. We're always outside doing something. Furthermore, WE DON'T WATCH COMMERCIALS. Furthermore, the hood doesn't get too many items from the local shop or online retailer, Crackheads and petty theives supply that stuff. I've even played middle man and bought stuff from ebay and sold it on the street for profit. I like the fact it isn't on tv, or I don't really care. $8k for a system is.......crazy. You must be putting something into a Bentley and it requires a lot of custom fabricating, otherwise no way you're system is 8k. The best stereo, cd changer, eq, and crossover is maybe 2g's. Best battery, aftermarket alt, and wiring.....not much. Subs, speakers, 2 amps, enclosure (+racks) and you're done. For 8g's, I want new rims, bullet proof windows, paint job, and a new system.