"I like to think of it as my system maturing with me as I get older" says Kevin Hisatake of Hilo, Hawaii. First learning by trial and error, then working in a shop building "typical, bass-heavy audio systems," Hisatake quickly became fed up with the average and developed an interest in high-end SQ systems. With the knowledge he gained, he opened his own shop, Impact Auto Styling, specializing in high-end SQ.
While at the shop, he spotted this '04 BMW 330i in the lot of a neighboring car dealership. "One day I walk out of my bay and see a black 3 Series sitting there and think, 'Ooh, I have to go look atit.' " When he realized it was a ZHP model with a six-speed transmission, sport suspension, and 18-inch wheels, Hisatake, who wanted an M3 but needed a more family friendly car, jumped at the chance to make it his own.
Hisatake wanted the car to represent his maturing car audio sensibilities. "A big majority of the market here in Hilo consists of what we like to call 'Bassheads,' " he says. A Basshead, as he explains it, is the car audio enthusiast who spends the majority of his time and money on subwoofers and amps, while neglecting the rest of the system. "I want to show the people in my town what life after bass is like." The versatile DLS UP36 3-way components were a key element in doing so. "I listen to anything from '80s to rap to metal and anything in between." The midbass driver provides the low-end extension necessary for a system that doesn't depend heavily on the subwoofer for its bass. "At most times my subwoofer is very soft if not off," Hisatake notes.
When it came to installation factory locations won out, in part, because Hisatake wanted to show that "sometimes simple is better." He explains, "When you have a car like a BMW, Mercedes or any higher-end luxury car, I just don't think that the painted fiberglass and extreme door panels match the car. Don't let the factory locations fool you. There's a lot of work under there." To keep them from vibrating at high volumes, both the midrange and the tweeters were reinforced with metal rings. "Many people don't realize how much movement and force there is in a tweeter or midrange driver, so mounting it to anything flexible can break up the precision of the drivers," Hisatake explains.
Making sure to avoid the Basshead trap, Hisatake chose RE Audio SE 12 subwoofers with dual 4-ohm coils for the low end. "I picked these woofers because of the very tight and quick response and awesome output even in a sealed enclosure." Hisatake admits the enclosure, which was built out of 3/4" MDF at 1.25ft3 per driver, is a little big for a sealed enclosure. Yet, he explains, "because of the natural characteristics of the woofer, it still plays very quick and tight without any slop."
Opting for "true, clean power" when it came to the amps, Hisatake chose a Tru Technology Copper C7.4T for the front stage and a C7.4 for the subs. He calls them the classiest amps he's seen. The C7.4T is a tube hybrid that delivers 250 watts per door, providing the system with balanced dynamics and headroom. "The warm, smooth sound of the amp really complements the DLS components." The C7.4 provides the bridged-running subs with 2 ohms perchannel, putting them at about 500 watts apiece. While Hisatake admits this makes them a little underpowered, the high-end SQ enthusiast doesn't mind. "The system is used mostly to show my customers a different type of audio system, the type of system that they will eventually mature into," he says. Hisatake, whose high-class setup frequently plays his 3-year-old son's Barney music, reflects, "I've been through all the multiple woofers and high- power systems that make your ears bleed and give you headaches, but this by far is the most enjoyable."
Thanks go to his wife and his family for supporting him and having faith in his abilities as well as his friends who helped him realize his dreams for the car and his business alike. "I could never run a car audio shop alone if it weren't for these people."