Goodbye yellow brick road
Across the street down Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Florida, 20,000-strong watts of power was rocking the crowd. It wasn’t a live concert, and there was no bulky speaker system that could otherwise make the place look even more crowded. The sound was coming from a Ford Bronco owned by “Boom Box Granny” Alma Gates, the 69-year-old world-renowned car audio competitor.
That year’s Spring Break Nationals was the first for Gates and her JBL team to participate in a sound-quality competition. And, with a decade or so worth of sound pressure level category accolades under her belt, the SQ tilt proves that there’s more to Gates’ powerful Bronco than loudness.
A year later, with the words “I don’t want to go down any other way than on top,” the Phoenix-based Gates announced her retirement. “It’s going to be very emotional,” Gates said. “Since 1996 I’ve had the privilege of sharing my passion for car audio with people from all over the world.”
“One of the hardest parts about leaving will be not seeing all my friends on a regular basis. I’ve been fortunate enough to gain an extended family around the world thanks to car audio, and that I will truly miss.” That with SPL and SQ feathers on the cap of her Ford Bronco. We say, thanks. A lot.
For those who wanted to get the lowdowns on what it took for Gates’ Bronco to make the hair of every nearby listener and chance passerby stand on end, here’s the specs of the Ford Bronco during that SQ competition in Daytona:
That year’s Spring Break Nationals was the first for Gates and her JBL team to participate in a sound-quality competition. And, with a decade or so worth of sound pressure level category accolades under her belt, the SQ tilt proves that there’s more to Gates’ powerful Bronco than loudness.
A year later, with the words “I don’t want to go down any other way than on top,” the Phoenix-based Gates announced her retirement. “It’s going to be very emotional,” Gates said. “Since 1996 I’ve had the privilege of sharing my passion for car audio with people from all over the world.”
“One of the hardest parts about leaving will be not seeing all my friends on a regular basis. I’ve been fortunate enough to gain an extended family around the world thanks to car audio, and that I will truly miss.” That with SPL and SQ feathers on the cap of her Ford Bronco. We say, thanks. A lot.
For those who wanted to get the lowdowns on what it took for Gates’ Bronco to make the hair of every nearby listener and chance passerby stand on end, here’s the specs of the Ford Bronco during that SQ competition in Daytona:
Seven c508GTi 5-1/4-inch JBL GTi component system speakers
Three JBL Pro 2118H midrange drivers
Four 10-inch JBL Pro midrange drivers
Four JBL Pro 2426H compression drivers and 2370A Bi-Radial® horns
Six 15-inch JBL W15GTi subwoofers
Two JBL A6000 GTi amps
Four JBL Power Series PX300.4 amps
One JBL Power Series PX600.2 amp
One 17-inch Panasonic® monitor
One 8-inch Panasonic® monitor
One Panasonic® head unit
One Panasonic® DVD player
Tsunami® wiring, distribution and charging system
Twelve Eagle Picher® batteries
Neon courtesy of Lite Glow®
Alarm system courtesy of Viper®
Sound-damping material courtesy of Dynamat®
Three JBL Pro 2118H midrange drivers
Four 10-inch JBL Pro midrange drivers
Four JBL Pro 2426H compression drivers and 2370A Bi-Radial® horns
Six 15-inch JBL W15GTi subwoofers
Two JBL A6000 GTi amps
Four JBL Power Series PX300.4 amps
One JBL Power Series PX600.2 amp
One 17-inch Panasonic® monitor
One 8-inch Panasonic® monitor
One Panasonic® head unit
One Panasonic® DVD player
Tsunami® wiring, distribution and charging system
Twelve Eagle Picher® batteries
Neon courtesy of Lite Glow®
Alarm system courtesy of Viper®
Sound-damping material courtesy of Dynamat®
Posted by
at
03:20:39
