I made it out to my first MECA event yesterday at the Sacramento Autorama (spectator only) and had a good time.
Got to chat with Larry Ng whose Nationals video I had seen (by SkizeR).
Got a demo in a 2015+ Convertible Mustang, my apologies I did not get the owner's name, but he gave me some great input on my Mustang build. He had a 3 way set-up with Hybrid Audio upfront.
Brian Mitchell demo'd the ELR Caddy for me.
Robert, another Arc Audio Team member, demo'd his 2015 Challenger for me. His set-up had the Arc Audio Class D amps and three 12" subs.
All of the SQ demos were fantastic, you read about centered stages, wide stages, etc on forums but until you hear it for yourself you really can't appreciate it. I have never really listened to a trully high end system until yesterday.
The bass in the Caddy was amazing considering its a 10" sub in a 0.4 CF box, I'm sure having it mounted upfront in the passenger footwell made a difference, if I didn't already have my AF 12" GS sub, I would consider this approach as I wanted to preserve as much of my trunk space as possible. I rarely have a passenger in my Mustang and even when the wife rides along there's just a ton of leg room in it with the seat all the way back. Both Arc Audio cars were no slouches in the SPL area either as they demo'd their bass capabilities for me as well, not just their SQ.
It definintely would have helped to go to a few of these before planning my build, the forums are great, but I definitely get something out of seeing them in person. Live and learn, I think what I have planned will be fine for my budget, I just need to execute it well and then get the tuning down.
For some reason I had it in my mind that Nick Adams had a VW wagon, it wasn't until after I left that I realized the white GTI was likely Nick's car, all the pictures I have seen of his set-up were of the interior, , my loss.
Wish I could be there today for the SPL portion...