Audio2Music: The Chateau Lafite of Car Audio

If car audio systems are like wines, if they get better over time, Chuck Barbosa's Laser is the equivalent to an 1869 Chateau Lafite.

Picture of Chuck Barbosa and his award winning 1990 Plymouth Laser

The Chateau Lafite of Car Audio

At $45,000 per individual serving, the 1869 Chateau Lafite Rothschild from Pauillac, France carries the Rothschild name just in case it's heritage is somehow missed. Yes, the Rothschilds funded Napoleon's wars. They lent us money to buy Louisiana and founded Lincoln's army. They safeguarded both Germany's and Britain's gold during the second world war. And they have been know to shun more than one king including Queen Elizabeth II. We are talking of some serious wine, if we can just see the facts.

Whatever wasn't chromed was polished

Chuck's car is no different. There was simply nothing else left to be chromed or polished anywhere. There were more motors than one could manage. Presenting while being judged for installation was a complete Broadway show with stage hands running around behind Chuck as he turned lights on and off, as seemingly factory panels were removed to uncover more shine than on Trump's airplane, and as motors activated and deactivated; all in a Cirque-du-Soleil-like choreography. Yes, Chuck's car has so much of so many things and that is just before the lights go out and the real show begins: the tremendously real sound presentation. His system was always sweet and precise. There was something very romantic about the way music played in his car.

Staging the illusion: 1990 Plymouth Laser
It took many years, lots of competitions, and in a good deal of
frustration to perfect the layout of this masterful system.

In deed, his car had come a long way since the days of endless frustration. Chuck got the point of being able to win everything he competed in. In a previous article I covered Matt Billmeier's truck and made a comment about the fact that, if given the choice, I would have never had Chuck and Matt compete against each other. In the article I said that Chuck's car was much more mature. You see, Matt's truck, despite being very nice, still had way too much engine work to get done. There was the opportunity to add many points of motorization. Like it or not, judges like lights and motion. No different than mosquitoes. Just throw in some carbon dioxide and they are entranced. Then there is the fact that Matt could have had midbass added to the floor. He had more than enough space and it would have complemented the waveguides much more than the MB Quarts did. Also, I would have gone for a Dynaudio instead. I tried this combination in a future British car and it worked fantastically. And even then, it would have been difficult for Matt to try to take a trophy from Chuck. It is safe to say that his counsel gave Matt bad advice.

A close inspection of the rear of the car does not reveal
any amplifiers. At a touch of a button, four chrome
Kicker amps are revealed

As for chuck, he went on to become one of the most wining vehicles in the history of car audio sound offs.Today, Chuck risks his life so that we all can live a better one. He is a decorated member of the SWAT team in the Kansas City metro area. That, besides still being the best looking guy in our competition team. We used to call him 'Suave' because he had the same gravitational pull on girls as a black-hole on stars. And why not, let's embarrass him.Let's hope his family reads this article so that we can all have a laugh at his expense. He has always had broad-enough shoulders to take on any load.
Chuck, buddy, here is a transcription of the latest article Car Audio printed on you and your car. To read the previous post on your car, visit this link. It is my intention that this blog gains archival value so that your grandchildren can one day see what grandpa was up to. Enjoy:

This 1990 Plymouth Laser is a masterpiece
by Michael Waddell
photography by Heather Selwitz

Everyone loves surprises.
So it makes sense that nearly everyone loves Chuck Barbosa's 1990 Plymouth Laser. Why? Because it's loaded with more treats than a Christmas stocking. But make no mistake, it took many years, lots of competitions, and a good deal of frustration for Barbosa, who worked with Alberto Lopez, to perfect the layout of the system.

The Pioneer ODR CD transport, RSD2,
appears from the dash when the
cigarette lighter is pulled

At first glance, it appears the factory radio is still in place. The real thing, and RSD2 Pioneer ODR (optical digital reference system) in-dash CD transport, appears when the cigarette lighter is pushed. The large LCD-as background was modified to match the amber color of the instrument panel's lighting.
Like the front dash, the back seat also seems normal and unaltered when first viewed. "The rear seat is far from normal," explained Barbosa. "It is operated by a remote-controlled motor. The motor lowers the seat until it is completely horizontal, exposing the chromed ODR processors.

Mounted on the back seat behind an acrylic
window are Pioneer's ODR P1 digital
equalizer and P50 digital crossover

The P1 Pioneer digital equalizer in the P50 Pioneer digital crossover and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) are mounted with steel brackets. A clear acrylic window makes for a beautiful presentation and protects the processors from damage, while an optical cable connects the processors to the indash transport.
A 12-disc Pioneer ODR CD changer (RSM1) is a comfortably housed in the glove compartment. Pressing a button in the center console activates a motor that smoothly opens the globe box.

A 12-disc ODR CD changer is comfortably housed
in the motorized globe compartment

One of the most surprising aspects of the car is a kick panel design. Many competition vehicles have to expand the kick panel area in order to accommodate custom features. In Barbosa's Laser, the custom panels leave even more room than there was when the car came out of the factory! Accomplishing this feat, however, required some creative thinking.
"Lots of factory wiring, relays, and the car's computer had to be removed in order to keep the kick panels as slim as possible." Barbosa said. "The result is a car that is easier to drive than ever before. This is a stark contrast to many competition vehicles.
A pair of Focal four-inch midrange drivers (4K411) were chosen along with two one-inch Kicker tweeters (ND25) the angles of the mids and highs were determined based on a prediction of the speakers' dispersion properties (or the speakers' ability to radiate sound over a wide angle). The mids are pointed toward the far side passenger area, and the highs directly face a passenger. The result is sound that is wide, focused, and symmetrical.

Chuck chose a factory stealth look
for his dash

"Alberto decided to locate the tweeter in a place where it would be delayed by an almost equal amount, relative to the midrange, for both passengers," said Barbosa. "This is meant to eliminate the effect that makes a sound stage high at one end of the dash and low at the other end. The result is a stage that has stable height and uniform vertical spread from left to right."
After encountering some refraction problems, it was decided that the grills for both the mids and highs needed to be shaped by hand in order to achieve an exponential profile. The stainless steel mesh of the grills made this especially difficult, but not impossible.

Two pairs of Focal 6-inch midbass
drivers are installed in the custom doors

"The grills turned out to be masterpieces. We're very proud of how they turned out," said Barbosa. "One very famous competition judge told us that our grills were so solid that one could play Frisbee with them and still be able to show the car afterwards."
Another masterful piece of work on Barbosa's Laser is the doors. They appear to be stock, but they are actually custom pieces that have been fabricated from fiberglass and are covered in vinyl. Because an accurate match to the factory color could not be found, the vinyl had to be dyed.

Fabricated from fiberglass and
covered in vinyl, these masterful
doors appear stock

"Alberto did an incredible job with the construction of the doors," Barbosa declared. "It has been over four years since then, and the doors to look as good as brand-new."
Two pairs of Focal six-inch midrange drivers are installed in the custom doors and mounted in cylinders that are lined with sound absorption padding. This helps the cylinders to work as short waveguides that control the dispersion of the speakers.

Three Solo-Baric woofers are located in a
fiberglass tub in the trunk of the car

A close inspection of the rear of the car does not reveal the amplifier location, but one touch of the alarm's remote and a custom amp rack suddenly appears, revealing four hand-chromed Kicker amps. To save space, two amps are mounted on each side of the rack.
"We wanted the rack to be very stable, so we used double industrial grade rails and dual linear actuators," explained Barbosa. "The rack is also trimmed in Plexiglass. It took us a lot of hours to sand and polish the edges to make them transparent."

Minor details like these fuses
are paramount for success

To keep the amps cool, a sophisticated fan system allows for a strong flow of air whether the rack is up or down. For easy tuning, the amplifier gains have been extended to one side of the rack using a few feet of speedometer cable. Custom-made cables are used to connect the amps to the speakers and processors.

Additionally, a digital amplifier gauge highlighting voltage and temperature is mounted behind Plexiglass in the spare pocket under the head unit in the dash. The gauge made by Intellitronics in Oklahoma, features a custom circuit that toggles between all four amps.
In order to fill the bass in the front stage, a Focal five-inch subwoofer (5KX) is vented to the center console (in front of of the shifter). The sub is housed in a sealed enclosure and a custom grill provides an attractive covering.
"Many times judges don't even know that the from sub is even there," Barbosa said.
Three Kicker Solo-Baric ten-inch subwoofers (S-10DC) are located in a fiberglass tub in the trunk of the car. The tub, which is painted with gelcoat to match the exterior of the car, is placed behind the amp rack. Red neon surrounds the enclosure.

For the 2000 season, Barbosa is planning
a complete overhaul of the Laser

Minor detail;s such as this tool tray
keep Chuck ahead of the pack

Even after all of this work, Barbosa was still not reaching the level of competition at the national level that he had hoped for. He lacked one final ingredient - his system needed a good tuning. Doug Winker from Kicker tweaking team helped Barbosa before the '99 IASCA Finals and it paid off in a big way.
Since he began competing in 1992, Barbosa estimates that he has attended well over 100 events. During 1999, he traveled to 12 USAC shows, including the USAC World Finals, where he finished second in his class (Amateur 301-600).

Behind the rear seat is a custom power
distribution system utilizing
Streetwires products

He was also undefeated in 10 IASCA events, which included taking the World Championship in his class at the IASCA Finals.
For the 2000 season, Barbosa is planning a complete overhaul of the Laser. Gary Biggs of Car Toys will be heading up the revamping.
"I don't want to give anything away at this point," said Barbosa. "I must keep my secrets, but my car will certainly have a totally new look for 2000."

Following are the complete pages as published by the magazine: