From a simplistic POV it's hard to beat the sound and imagining provided by a set of kicks that contain the mid-range and tweet. While mass produced kicks are not perfect, they are hard to beat. And they certainly beat the pants off the factory locations in our G-bodys. I've spent numerous hours tweaking my kicks in my car, to the point that there is not much left of the original Q-Form panel. I will agree that a bad set of kicks can give a rainbow effect, but driver location is not entirely at fault. The drivers themselves are sometimes to blame either due to bad frequency response or sloppy cross-overs.
The average, heck even an above average consumer just is not willing to pay the price required to get the sound of the top SQ cars. And that goes for the install work as well as equipment. Most consumers balk at more than $2000 for a complete system. There is no way that they would pay $2000 for a pair of drivers. I remember some of the "blank check" systems from the late 80's through the mid 90's where the system cost nearly as much as the new or almost new car they were installed in. We must remember that Richard Clark set the bar pretty high with his $10,000 (not a typo) a piece custom horns and computer driven signal delay/enhancement box to achieve the sound stage in the only undefeated car in IASCA history.
Advances in speaker design have helped the infinite baffle mid-bass drivers become more "reliable" as a mid-bass driver. But, they still do not stand up to a driver in an enclosure for producing strong, clear, impacting frequencies below 60 Hz. There is no way in heck a good 6", 6 1/2", 7" or 8" mid-bass driver can "work" in any mass produced kick panel or an ill concieved/poorly constructed door panel.
Now, as far as kick's being a thing of the past. Man is that ever off base. Kicks have evolved to the point that they are completly customized for the car they are in. I've seen some taking up the entire floorboard, toeboard and kick area, while being completely invisible to the eye. With the mid-bass, mid-range and tweeter completely hidden and protected within the framework that has become part of the car. Gone are the days of just putting in a mass produced anything, much less a set of kick panels and winning regionals or nats, much less a good local show.
There is no need to turn this thread into a pi$$ing match. It will just come do to how much $$$ is he willing to part with to get the sound he desires.
Oh, by the way, I think all SQ judges should be blindfolded before they can see the vehicle, the brands used or driver sizes/locations. Why??? Because I believe all judges have certain bias's. And that no matter how fairly they say they are judging, those bias come into play. I've played the game before of "re-labeling/re-branding" my equipment and winning the next contest after not placing at the last, where the same judges did both shows!
John
