For the last five years, Jason Dearth, 20, spent almost every dime he earned on his truck. The total so far is $20,000.
Dearth and thousands of other people his age are pumping millions of dollars into the car stereo business, buying all kinds of equipment to make their systems boom.
“I started saving even before I got my (driver’s) license,” Dearth said. “I had $8,000 before I bought the truck and had another $5,000 financed. I’ve gradually added over the years for improvements.”
Though stereo system enthusiasts such as Dearth call it a hobby, others call it a nuisance that not only threatens their health but also intrudes on the well-being of others.
Alfred Lietzow said music blasting from car stereos makes it difficult for him to hear people he’s talking to on the phone.
“Why should anyone be permitted to create such a disturbance for everyone just because they are trying to destroy their own hearing?” Lietzow said.
Since the mid-1980s, the craze over loud car stereo systems has grown tremendously, with enthusiasts spending whatever it takes to get their systems as loud as possible, said Stephen Washington, manager of Super Sound Electronics here.
He said his store sees at least 200 customers a week who want to add on to their systems or get one installed. With an average cost of about $2,000, Washington said annual store sales are in the millions.
“I find that most customers will spend whatever it takes to get their cars where they want them; some will spend $5,000 to $10,000, depending on what they want,” Washington said.
The same is true at Mad Mark’s in Bradenton. Owner Mark Turk has been installing car stereos for more than 15 years. The average spent at his store is $1,200, Turk said.
However, the vast majority of people who spend more than that “are not the guys you see riding up and down the street,” Turk said. His business draws at least 20 new customers a week, Turk said.
On average, when Mad Mark’s is done with an installation, the music system puts out 2,000 watts of power and peaks at 148 decibels, Turk said. Two thousand watts is more than the amount of power put out by a microwave/convection oven.
And 145 decibels is about the same as the decibel level heard while standing on an airport runway when a jet is taking off.
These systems can include two or more 10-, 12- or 15-inch woofers as well as amplifiers and equalizers. Dearth has 12 10-inch woofers in his truck.
Often the vehicle’s interior is altered to best enclose the sound, which adds to the cost.
“I build loud systems for those who want them for competition,” Turk said. “Most people can’t afford the really loud systems we build.”
That is true at other businesses, too. Brian Taylor, manager at Sun Busters of Bradenton, finds that most people who come in the store have expectations that exceed their spending limits.
“Most of the cars you see around town are on the edge of being really expensive,” Taylor said. “A majority of the systems that are extremely noticeable are between $3,000 and $5,000. Those with the very loud systems are the big money; they are $10,000 or more.”
Some systems even contain $200,000 worth of equipment, Taylor added.
Some of these stereo systems generate enough bass to set off car alarms, and they can be heard from hundreds of yards away.
There is no question that these extreme sound levels can damage hearing, but Dearth and others say they haven’t had any loss of hearing, and it’s a chance they are willing to take.
“I never had any ear problems, just headaches,” Dearth said. “I don’t listen to it all the time real loud.”
Still, stints spent listening to loud music over long periods of time can be just as ear damaging as blaring it all the time, said Dr. Jack Walchko of Walchko Hearing and Speech Center.
Washington is proof of that. One of his ears bled after a short exposure to the stereo system in Super Sound’s Aerostar van, which outputs 9,000 watts– enough to power 10 microwaves. It has even blown out three of the van’s windows. That power makes it one of the loudest in the country, according to several national competitions.
“At one of the competitions, I sat in the van while the music was up and I had a headache that day on one side,” Washington said. “The next day I was cleaning (my ear) with a Q-Tip and I saw that it (my ear on that side) was bleeding.”
When listening to music, one must consider the duration and intensity of sound, Walchko said. Constantly listening to loud sounds destroys the nerve endings in the inner ear, he added.
“Noise induced hearing loss is permanent,” Walchko said. “After a period of time, the only recourse is a hearing aid.”
Car stereos can get loud enough to cause pain in the ears, and there are growing reports from universities and colleges that incoming freshman are losing their hearing, Walchko said.
“We all have individual preferences for loudness,” Walchko said. “Youth like acoustics at a much higher level.”
Dr. John Zeszotarski at the Doctors Hearing Center said though he’s never seen a case of hearing loss from car stereos, the potential for it is great.
“Listen to your ears. If your ears ring, that’s the body telling you `don’t do it again,’ ” Zeszotarski said.
It might seem senseless to some, but for those who do it, installing loud stereo systems is all about competition, Taylor said.
“Installing the systems is like racing cars to see who has the fastest,” Taylor said. “It’s just competition, and some people are into that. The attitude is, `Let’s see if I can make my car stereo beat the 158-decibel record.’ “
Meets such as the U.S. Auto-Sound Competition at the Manatee Convention and Civic center in November encourage young adults to buy equipment to generate excessively loud music, Lietzow said.
It’s common for vehicle owners at these competitions to have 18 12-inch subwoofers with the potential of reaching volumes in excess of 150 decibels.
Putting together a good system is like a science, Washington said. It takes a lot of time and effort.
“People should understand that this is a sport for many,” Turk said. “It’s a hobby, and it’s better for the young people who do it to spend their money on the equipment than on drugs.”
THE SOUNDS OF NO RESALE VALUE
One of the drawbacks of investing thousands of dollars in car stereo systems arises if the car’s owner wants to trade in the vehicle.
Hardly a dime of that will increase the value of the car, said D. Deene Wilson, used car manager of The Nearly New Car Store.
“You can’t say the value of the car increases because you put thousands of dollars in stereo equipment in it,” Wilson said. “That’ll never happen. At best, it’s even. If it’s a real good job, we wouldn’t do a deduct.”
Wilson’s sentiments are shared by other car sales people, and they advise people to save the factory radio to put back in the car if they trade the car in.
“If someone put that much stereo equipment in the car, I would still price it as nothing,” Wilson said. “I can’t sell the car like that; I’m not in that business, so to me it’s junk.”
Altering the vehicle, such as drilling holes for speakers, will affect a car’s trade-in value, said George King, used car sales manager at Gettel Toyota.
“If there are big holes in it, they would affect the value of the car a little bit,” King said.
