Sound Quality

EMMA Sound Quality League

It's All About The Music!

Sound Quality competitions are held to determine who has the best sounding car according to the rules in this rulebook. To make sure that the right people compete against each other, 5 categories with an ascending level of difficulty have been created. The starting level is called Entry and is meant for anybody who wants an evaluation of their in-car sound system without knowledge of rules and regulations. The highest level is called Expert and is for the most experienced competitors with unbelievable high quality of installation and sound.

The difference between the categories is the amount of judging that will take place. In the Entry category only a few elements of the total Installation and Sound score available will be judged. As the competitor progresses through the categories, more and more elements of the Installation and Sound will be judged. It is up to you, the competitor, to decide in which category to start (it’s possible to change categories up or down, except back to EMMA Entry or EMMA Experienced). With this system the competitor is able to increase his/her knowledge about the mobile media system in the car.

How does the judging work? Both Sound and Installation are judged by a set of criteria. There is only one list of judgement criteria (or elements), and the higher your experience (and your category), the more elements will be judged. Following these rules, when a competitor who normally competes in a higher category decides to compete in a lower category, he/she will NOT have any advantages, because one or more elements will not be judged in this lower category.

When participating in a competition, the competitor will always get a qualified feedback about the Sound and Installation of his mobile media system and tips how to improve these to get a better result in the future.

Portable Media-Players such as iPod and/or USB Devices or portable Memories such as SD Cards, Memory Sticks, Hard Drives, etc. are all valid sources of media. They can be used in the judging process when they are physically connected to the head unit. For a competition these devices have to be provided by EMMA.

SQ is split into 5 categories:

3.1.1 - EMMA Entry

EMMA Entry is the way to get acquainted with car audio competition and is meant for anybody interested in getting a qualified opinion about his/her in-car mobile media system. The EMMA Judges will give the competitor feedback about the performance and installation of the mobile media system in a clear and simple way. The competitor will get the chance to listen to other cars and talk to other people interested in car audio. He/she can get inspired by other cars, installations or sound and will be able to buy an official EMMA Rulebook and CD to get an even better result next time around. Perhaps even more important, he/she will be able to meet people of all sorts and nationalities, make friends, get support from other competitors and in general have as much fun as possible.

A competitor is allowed to compete in this category if he/she meets all of the following criteria:

The vehicle and/or competitor has never competed in any EMMA Sound Quality competition in any other category then EMMA Entry.
The vehicle and/or competitor has never won first place in the category EMMA Entry.
The competitor is not an active or retired judge in any car audio organisation.
The competitor is not related to, employed by, or otherwise affiliated with, and/or has not received financial support or other compensation from any manufacturer of mobile audio equipment, or publisher of auto sound related material, retail dealer or other representative of the mobile electronics industry and magazines (also auto sound organising or sanctioning body).
He/she has neither received, nor expects to receive, financial support or other compensation for promotional consideration from any industry-related person or company for participation in any EMMA Event or promotion.
The mobile electronics system that he/she is entering to the competition should have been purchased through retail channels or used. If requested by an Event official, proof of purchase (i.e. numbered sales receipt) should be available for verification.

Furthermore:

A professional installer is allowed to install the audio system.
No modified or self built active equipment (e.g. head unit, line driver, amplifier, active crossover, etc.) is allowed.
In EMMA Entry, there will be no national or international Championships. Typically, certificates will be awarded to all competitors in this category (no trophies).

Judging procedure:

One EMMA judge will first introduce and explain EMMA and then judge both Sound Quality (Track 9) and Installation, according to the judging-matrix in the rulebook.

Sound Quality:

Overall spectral balance.
Distance to sound stage.
Listening Pleasure.

Installation:

The mounting of the components.
The usage of the correct fuse size for the wires installed.
The status of the installation.

The competitor will be invited to accompany the judging process. He/she is not allowed to disturb the judging. The judges are advised to explain what they judge and give hints and tips to the competitors but without using brand names.

3.1.2 - EMMA Experienced

EMMA Experienced is the next step up from Emma Entry, and the first category with competitions on a national and international level. The judging on Sound and Installation consists of criteria only concerning safety (installation) and simple sound judging.

In this category a competitor with a decent sounding and installed car will feel at home. As only a couple of things will be judged in Installation, no extensive installation is expected in the car. Sound will be judged with a couple of tracks of the official EMMA-CD. Of course if, through the qualified advice from the judges and other competitors, the Installation and Sound improve, it will be time to make the next step up, the advanced category.

As there will be finals (the national and European kind) in this category, it will be the first step to learn why EMMA is special - it’s the feeling of belonging to a community of people who have the same hobby on an international scale, where being there is more important than winning.

A competitor is entitled to compete in this category if he/she meets all of the following criteria:

The vehicle and/or competitor have never competed in any EMMA Sound Quality competition in any other category then EMMA Entry or EMMA Experienced/Rookie.
The vehicle and/or competitor has never won first, second or third place in the category EMMA Experienced / Rookie on a national or international championship.
The competitor is no active or retired judge in any car audio organisation.
The competitor is not related to, employed by, or otherwise affiliated with, and/or has not received financial support or other compensation from any manufacturer of mobile audio equipment, or publisher of auto sound related material, retail dealer or other representative of the mobile electronics industry and magazines (also auto sound organising or sanctioning body).
He/she has neither received, nor expects to receive, financial support or other compensation for promotional consideration from any industry-related person or company for participation in any EMMA Event or promotion.
The mobile electronics system that he/she is entering to the competition should have been purchased through retail channels or second-hand. If requested by an Event official, proof of purchase (i.e. numbered sales receipt) should be available for verification.

Furthermore:

The audio system can be installed by a professional installer.
No modified or self built active equipment (e.g. head unit, line driver, amplifier, active crossover, etc.) is allowed.
External (separate from the head unit) analogue or digital processors (e.g. DSP, EQ, etc.) are only allowed in the class with unlimited number of amplifier channels.
In EMMA Experienced, there will be a national and an international Championship. The winners of first, second and third place at a national or international final will be promoted to EMMA Advanced or up in the following competition season.

Judging procedure:

· One EMMA Sound Quality judge will perform a basic judging according to the matrix in the rulebook.

· One EMMA Install judge will perform a basic judging according to the matrix in the rulebook.

Depending on the Event permission can be granted to the competitor to accompany parts of the judging process. He/she is not allowed to disturb the judging. The judges are advised to give hints and tips to the competitors but without using brand names.

3.1.3 - EMMA Advanced

If, after getting your feet wet in the previous categories, you still want to compete, this is the category to be in: Advanced. Almost the full Sound-judging will be done by two judges and the Installation will be judged on more points than safety alone. Unlike the Entry and Experienced categories, there will be no automatic promotion to the next level.

This category is open to anyone who wants to compete in an EMMA-competition.

Furthermore:

Only in EMMA Advanced Pure Sound and Unlimited it is allowed to use modified or self built active equipment (e.g. head unit, line driver, amplifier, active crossover). Competitors within EMMA Advanced with modified or self-built active equipment have to compete there. In EMMA Advanced, there will be a national and an international Championship.

Judging procedure:

Two EMMA Sound Quality judges will perform the judging according to the matrix in the rulebook.

Two EMMA Install judges will perform the judging according to the matrix on the last page.

*1 Note for Pure sound: Pure Sound is the format following EMMA Pure Passive. The competitors vehicle will be judged as described above with the exception of the imaging-section. This will not be judged. The active time alignment has to be turned off or set to zero. Note: Finishing within the top 3 in two consecutive years at a national or international final will promote the competitor to EMMA Master or up in the following competition season.

3.1.4 - EMMA Master

We are now entering the category where a sophisticated sounding (and built) system is expected and the judging and competition will be tough. The competitors in this category are supposed to set an example for the other competitors how to be an exemplary EMMA competitor - as well in a competition as in the community.

This category is open to anyone!

Furthermore:

In this category it is allowed in all classes to use any modified or self built equipment.
In EMMA Master, there will be a National and an International Championship.

As improvement is always possible, the competitors will get a qualified feedback from the judges regarding their sound system and installation.

Judging procedure:

Two EMMA Sound Quality judges will perform a more sophisticated judging according to the matrix in the rulebook.

Two EMMA Install judges will perform a more sophisticated judging according to the matrix in the rulebook.

*2 Note for Pure sound: Pure Sound is the format following EMMA Pure Passive. The competitors vehicle will be judged as described above with the exception of the imaging-section. This will not be judged. The active time alignment has to be turned off or set to zero.

3.1.5 - EMMA Expert Unlimited

There is no higher level possible in EMMA Sound Quality Competitions. The competitors in this category should have the ultimate in sound and installation in their cars. To be certain that this is true, this class is only open to those competitors who took a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in EMMA Amateur, PRO or Expert on a Eurofinal of the former seasons or in EMMA Advanced or Master (for 2007-2008). Furthermore, the winner of the national title in the above mentioned categories in the former seasons is qualified. It is the responsibility of the national organisations to guaranty that the level of the competing cars in this category is the highest available in the country.
As is true for every installation and sound setup, there will always be room for improvement, so the judges in this class also will give a qualified feedback to the competitors to improve the sound and installation in the future. To keep the balance between the Installation and the Sound Quality points the scoring for tonal accuracy will be doubled from max. 30 Points to max. 60 Points.

Furthermore:

In this category it is allowed in all classes to use any modified or self built equipment.
In EMMA Expert unlimited, there will be a national and an international Championship.

Judging procedure:

Two EMMA Sound Quality judges will perform an ultimate judging according to the matrix in the rulebook.

Two EMMA Install judges will perform an ultimate judging with no limit on bonus points according to the matrix in the rulebook.