The aftermarket automotive audio scene in India is larger and louder than ever, as we just lately found on the EMMA Goa 2024 competitors.
In the event you’ve been aware about current traits in OEM-equipped audio methods, you already know that massive model names are actually a mainstay within the trade. Whether or not you are out there for a luxurious sedan or a mass-market SUV, names like JBL and Harman are par for the course immediately. So, after we had been invited to be the official media accomplice for EMMA Goa 2024, we weren’t positive what to anticipate. In fact, we had a sneak peek into the first-ever EMMA occasion held in Chennai in January this yr. However that, as we found, wasn’t sufficient to arrange us for what we had been to witness a couple of weeks later.
The sheer scale of the occasion blew our minds.
We arrived vivid and early on the sixteenth of October on the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium on the outskirts of Panaji, and the very first thing that brought on our jaws to drop was the sheer scale of the occasion. 186 vehicles from everywhere in the nation, all kitted out with mind-boggling aftermarket audio gear, dotted the panorama surrounding the stadium. Deep basslines wafted by way of the air because the members, all of whom had been aftermarket audio technicians who had constructed the customized setups themselves, patiently registered and received their vehicles stickered in keeping with the class they had been competing in. The classes comprised Entry, Expert, Skilled, and Grasp ranges of judging, with the ESQL (Excessive Sound High quality League) & ESPL (Excessive Sound Strain League) classes rounding issues off.
The interiors of this Swift had been modified past recognition.
First, we should inform you about EMMA itself. Brief for the European Cellular Media Affiliation, EMMA was based in 2000 with the purpose to advertise customized audio installations, increase model consciousness, and inspire each automotive house owners and producers to put money into higher audio gear. As an impartial entity, EMMA has slowly however certainly turned itself into a reputable supply of training and data for the largely unorganized aftermarket audio trade. At this time, EMMA occasions are held throughout greater than 40 international locations, with annual Euro and Asian finals that see lots of of members competing for the highest prize.
At 154.73 dB, the competitors hosted Asia’s loudest automotive.
Again in Goa, we received a style of simply how passionate the organizers had been about automotive audio, a ardour shared with the members of the competitors. 9 judges had flown in from throughout Asia with a 200-point guidelines by which every automotive was to be judged, and their steely expressions had been merely a mechanism to remain honest and centered as they moved from automotive to automotive, enjoying bespoke tracks created by EMMA particularly for the aim of evaluating audio high quality. With 186 vehicles to be individually judged, they went about their work with a way of calm that solely a monk might relate to. Except the monk was additionally a petrolhead, through which case they would not have been capable of assist however admire the vehicles that had pushed in, starting from mass-market Swifts and Cretas to luxurious Audis and BMWs.
Title sponsors Alpine and Focal dominated the roost within the exhibitor enviornment.
Contained in the exhibitor enviornment, there was extra for us to be awestruck by. French audio model Focal and Japan’s Alpine, each of which had been title sponsors of the occasion, lured us into their exhibition areas with audio tech that needed to be seen to be believed. From audio system and sub-woofers fabricated from Kevlar to bespoke plug-and-play gear for particular automotive fashions, we had been launched to an entire new world of audiophilia that bordered on the obsessive. And rightfully so. As a result of quickly, we had been to search out ourselves mesmerized by what these upgrades might obtain.
The Citroen’s audio set-up prices greater than the automotive itself.
It is right here that we should draw your consideration to a sure Citroen C5 Aircross that was collaborating within the competitors. The automotive, which retails at Rs 40L ex-showroom, was kitted out with gear price Rs 50L by Autocorsa Bangalore. And whereas that was sufficient to blow our minds, it was nothing in comparison with the auditory expertise that awaited inside. Sat within the driver’s seat, the place the sound stage was centered (sure, that is a factor), we skilled music like by no means earlier than. Each instrument, each vocal layer, each bassline streamed into our ears with utmost readability. It is an expertise that phrases can not do justice to.
Contributors have fun a well-deserved victory.
On the finish of Day 2, because the award ceremony received underway and the highest 3 winners from every class picked up their trophies with deserved delight, we realized that we had spent the final two days amongst among the most passionate audiophiles on the earth. And that received us considering. If EMMA India might develop from a 90-odd automotive competitors to 186 vehicles within the span of 10 months, their plans for subsequent yr to host a number of regional competitions that lead as much as a grand finale can solely get larger and louder. So should you actually are an audiophile, be careful for once they present up at a city close to you. Or higher but, hold an ear out.
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Kanishk Singh has always had a keen interest in fast-paced cars. For the past three years, he has been writing about automobiles, but his fascination with cars dates back even further. He thoroughly enjoys learning about their features and expressing his thoughts through his writing. Kanishk also has a profound interest in the stock market, shares, and business strategies. He possesses a wealth of knowledge on these subjects and consistently writes articles on them. Currently, he is working as a writer for Lattestnews24, specifically focusing on the Automobile, Finance, and Business categories. His well-crafted words are highly appreciated by the readers, as they find them both informative and creative.