What class am I in?

[Lee]

6.5 What class am I in? [HK, JSC]

This section is mainly geared toward IASCA.

[HK,JSC write:]

There are three classes: novice, amateur, and pro. The novice class is intended to be an unintimidating level where beginners can start out; however, a competitor may only be in the novice class for one year, at which time he is automatically moved to the amateur class. Most competitors stay in the amateur class indefinitely, unless they become affiliated with a car audio shop or manufacturer, at which point they are moved into the pro class.

[CD writes:]

Are you or were you employed by a car audio manufacturer or dealer?

Yes: You compete in pro

No: Is this your first year of competing?
> Yes: You compete in novice for the first year
> No: You compete in amateur

Note that modifying your amplifiers, buying your equipment below retail, or being sponsored by a manufacturer or dealer will get you kicked into pro.

Also note that any home built active gear in the signal path (e.g. custom built equalizers, crossovers, or noise gates) will get you kicked out of novice.

Once you know what group you are, you next need to know what power category you are in. Add up the 4-ohm non-bridged rating of all your amplifiers, including your head unit if your head unit is powering speakers (rather than exclusively feeding amplifiers). Then, find the category you fit into:

Novice             1-150       151-300     301-600     601+        
Amateur            1-150       151-300     301-600     601+        
Pro                1-150       151-300     301-600     601+        
Expert             1-600                               601+

Thus, if you had a Rockford Punch 4040 (20Wx4) and a Punch 60ix (30Wx2), with a head unit that put out 6Wx2 (powering, perhaps, a center channel) you're in the 151-300 class. It does not matter if your amps are bridged down to .002 ohms; it's only the 4ohm rating that counts. If you no longer used your head unit to power speakers, you would be in the 1-150 class.

Competition is usually most vicious in the 151-300 and 301-600 categories at typical contests.

CAF notes: Many things have changed in the competition world since this FAQ was written