Two sport-utility vehicles with outstanding mobile sound quality posted the highest scores in the second leg of the European Mobile Media Association (EMMA) Philippines’ Regional Competitors Challenge held at the Piazza at McKinley Hills in Taguig City on August 28 and 29.
Eighteen winners were declared out of 63 participants ranging from newbies in the SQ (sound quality) Entry level to seasoned competitors who joined the Master Unlimited class, which is only open to those who have more than seven channels of power amplification in their system.
In the EMMA Sound Quality Loud (ESQL) category where sound reproduction should be both loud and clear to one even when he’s five meters from the vehicle, Raphael Bernando’s Chevrolet Tahoe scored 493.20 points to earn the ESQL Expert Unlimited trophy. With a total score of 449, Christofer Tan’s Subaru Forester topped the SQ Master seven-channel class. Here’s the complete list of winners:
| Name | Car | Category | Class |
| Rico Castillo | Toyota Vios | SQ Entry | Up to 30K |
| Michael So | Honda Accord | SQ Experienced | Up to 60K |
| Leonard Co | Honda Civic | SQ Experienced | Up to 120K |
| Kristofferson Mauricio | Toyota Fortuner | SQ Experienced | Up to 5 channels |
| Roy Aragon | Toyota Innova | SQ Experienced | Unlimited |
| Christofer Tan | Subaru Forester | SQ Master | Up to 7 channels |
| Jerry Jones Lim | Honda Jazz | SQ Master | Unlimited |
| Macky Sy | Mitsubushi Outlander | SQ Advanced | Up to 240K |
| Jeff Yap | Mercedes-Benz ML350 | SQ Advanced | Up to 5 channels |
| Francis Gozon | Toyota Camry | SQ Advanced | Up to 7 channels |
| Mike Paras | Honda Civic | SQ Advanced | Unlimited |
| Jiggs Hermano | Mazda 3 | MM Experienced | 2 channels |
| Danald Rey | Honda Civic | ESQL Experienced | 2W-2Drivers |
| Jeffrey Sia | Honda Jazz | ESQL Experienced | 2W-Open |
| Mike Sales | Honda City | ESQL Experienced | 4W-3Drivers |
| Raymar Pedrajas | Honda Accord | ESQL Advanced | Unlimited |
| Ian Jason Diego | Isuzu Trooper | ESQL Master | Unlimited |
| Raphael Earvin Bernardo | Chevrolet Tahoe | ESQL Expert | Unlimited |
The technical competence of local car audiophiles has improved significantly compared to when the first EMMA Philippines regional challenge was held in 2008, said EMMA Philippines head Mickey Tang.
“When we first started, we only had less than 30 cars,” Tang said. “This year, I can say that in terms of sound quality, we’ve improved by 100 percent. Given enough exposure, I’m sure we can challenge the Thais who are considered to be the best in the car audio competition scene in Asia.”
The two-day event, with 63 participants, was also the largest field EMMA Philippines has ever seen in the three years it has staged the competition.
“For some time, the car audio scene has been stagnant in the Philippines and we hope that this is a sign that things are finally turning around for the (car audio) industry,” added Tang.
The third leg of the EMMA Philippines Regional Competitors Challenge will be held in Bacolod on October 8 and 9. The top three winners of each class in all three legs will meet their respective competitors for the final round at The Piazza from October 29 to 31.
EMMA Philippines is the local counterpart of EMMA International, which was founded to create a level playing field for sound quality competitions in Europe and the rest of the world.
