Scott Buwalda Confirmed by IASCA as Having the Highest Scores at the North American Championships

Scott Buwalda, the Founder and CEO of Hybrid Audio Technologies, has been confirmed by the International Auto Sound Challenge Association as having posted the highest sound quality score and highest installation quality score of the recent North American Championships; Buwalda’s achievements cap a strong showing by the Team Hybrids competition program.

Hybrid Audio Technologies is a manufacturer of six complete high-end speaker product lines, from the budget-friendly Stage I Mirus line-up available in all popular sizes, to the reference audiophile brand Legatia Special Edition in the company’s Stage VI offering. The company is elated to announce via written communication from the International Auto Sound Challenge Association (IASCA) that Hybrid Audio Technologies company founder and CEO Scott Buwalda has been confirmed as having posted the highest aggregate sound quality score of the recent IASCA North American Championships (INAC), as determined by averaging the scores from two judges. In addition to having posted the highest sound quality score of the event at 441 points, Buwalda also posted the highest installation quality score of the event as well (406 points). Buwalda went on to win the INAC championship for both sound and installation in IASCA’s most-difficult class, as per the IASCA rulebook definition, Expert Solo. These wins mark the seventh and eighth lifetime IASCA Expert Division North American Championships by Buwalda, a feat also recognized by IASCA in their letter dated April 15, 2012.

Remarkably, Buwalda’s Infiniti G35 championship system is incredibly simply, and puts a premium on the listening space and components used. It is also the first time a competitor has won the Expert Division without the use of dedicated high-frequency drivers in the system. Buwalda relies on the Legatia L3SE, a 3.7-inch wide-bandwidth full-range driver, a speaker driver of his own design (like that of every Hybrid Audio design), to cover the frequencies between 250 Hz up to the extent of human hearing. The system also utilizes Hybrid Audio Technologies Imagine I6SW 6.5-inch subwoofers in a bandpass arrangement as well, where the Legatia L8SE front-stage midbass are of larger diameter. The system is also powered by mono-block digital amplifiers as provided by JL Audio. The tweeterless, small subwoofer bandpass enclosure, digital amplifier system has certainly gone thoroughly against what is largely considered to be a prototypical championship system.

“It was fun competing a car that broke so many of the ‘audiophile rules’ of car audio system design” jokes Buwalda. “It is incredibly fulfilling giving system demonstrations and revealing to the listener the lack of tweeters, use of bandpass subwoofers, and use of full-range digital amplifiers, only to witness widespread heartfelt disbelief in the system’s arrangement. It is a testimony to solid installation strategy and the use of exceptional Hybrid Audio drivers in concert with the right electronics and fine tuning.”

Hybrid Audio-equipped vehicles won the top three classes at the INAC championships, including Larry Woolacott’s Buick Regal in the Pro Ultimate class (both sound and installation), John Marsh’s Mitsubishi Eclipse in Expert Two-seat sound quality, and the wins by Scott Buwalda with his Infiniti G35 in the Expert Solo division. Larry Woolacott also won the coveted IASCA Triple Crown 2-Seat for having the highest RTA, SPL, sound, and installation scores for that judging criteria. Other high placements were achieved by Team Hybrids members Rob Hilton (3rd place Amateur), Bramouse Mohammed (4th place, Amateur), Stephen Lasher (5th place, Amateur), Louis Chouinard (2nd place Pro-Am), Hajji Grape (5th place Pro-Am), Jim Meyer (2nd place Pro), Chris Lacombe (3rd place Pro), and James Halter (4th place Expert 2-Seat).