LONG BEACH, CA – (April 1, 2010) – Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announced the commencement of its fourth annual Pioneer Sound Build-Off competition at its Car Electronics Road Show to be held on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at the La Quinta Resort & Club in La Quinta, Calif.   Twelve of Pioneer’s top automotive audio specialist retailers will compete in building the best sounding demo vehicle.  At the center of this year’s competition is Pioneer’s reference quality Stage 4, in-vehicle audio system.  The acoustical tuning, design and installation capabilities of the participating retailers and installers from across the nation will be highlighted as they vie for cash, bragging rights and the coveted Pioneer Sound Build-Off trophy.

“This year the Build-Off will focus on the pure sound quality of the Stage 4 components, demonstrating not only Pioneer’s high quality audio heritage, but also the current state-of-the-art of in-vehicle music reproduction. Competitors will have their hands on the finest sounding products we have to offer, all which incorporate advanced materials and innovative technologies with the goal of achieving the most accurate audio reproduction possible,” said Ted Cardenas, director of marketing for the car electronics department, sales and marketing division of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. “We’re expecting the competitors to produce systems and installations that rival or even exceed the audio performance of Pioneer’s Stage 4 Lexus ISF that was exhibited in our booth at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show.”

All retailers participating in the 2010 Sound Build-off are Stage 4 certified dealers, devoted to promoting high quality audio as well as the car audio industry.  Each participant was given approximately six weeks to build a demo/ competition vehicle using the same package of Stage 4 products worth nearly $10,000. 

At the 2010 Sound Build-Off event, each vehicle will be evaluated and scored by official sound quality and installation judges using current International Auto Sound Challenge Association (IASCA) rules in the Pro Class division.  Spectators at the event will also be asked to take part in the judging process by voting for their favorite vehicles.  The “Viewer’s Choice” votes will be added to the IASCA sound quality and installation results to calculate each participant’s overall score.

The top three Stage 4 vehicles will win cash prizes and the dealer with the highest scored vehicle will win $10,000 and be crowned the 2010 Pioneer Sound Build-Off Champion. 

Each participant will install, in the vehicle of their choice, the following Pioneer Stage 4 products:

• DEX-P99RS (one) - Reference Series CD tuner/ digital media player featuring a direct digital USB path for external devices and media players and built-in equalization, time-alignment and crossover dividing network
• PRS-A900 (two) – Reference quality 4-channel bridgeable full-range amplifier featuring filter-less topology to ensure the purity of the signal path
• PRS-D1200SPL (two) – Reference quality Class-D mono subwoofer amplifier with extreme high-current design to ensure linear power delivery
• TS-C172PRS (one pair) - Reference Series 6-3/4” component speaker package consisting of a extended frequency response soft dome tweeter, high performance mid-woofer and an audiophile grade passive crossover network
• TS-S062PRS (one pair) - Reference Series 2-5/8" component midrange speaker designed to seamlessly integrate with the Stage 4 component speaker packages and provide a single, uniform voice covering the critical midrange frequencies
• TS-W252PRS (two) - Reference Series 10-inch component subwoofer utilizing a new 3-layer cone that features a unique combination of aramid fibers, polypropylene, and glass fibers to create a strong, low mass, and natural sounding subwoofer diaphragm with high output capabilities

Participating Pioneer Stage 4 Dealers

Pioneer’s Car Electronics Department is known for offering the kind of in-car products that make driving more enjoyable by offering high quality audio and video, seamless connectivity and ease-of-use.  Its focus is on the development of new digital technologies including audio video, navigation and satellite radio, while maintaining its strong heritage in products for car audio enthusiasts and sound competitors.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., and its U.S. Web address is www.pioneerelectronics.com.  Its parent company, Pioneer Corporation, is a leader in optical disc technology and a preeminent manufacturer of high-performance audio, video and computer equipment for the home, car and business markets.  The company focuses on three core business domains including home electronics, car electronics, and Digital Network Entertainment™.



[Source:  pioneer-usa.com]