Joseph Loomis has seen it all, at least as far as mobile electronics is concerned, and he hasn't quite reached his 30th birthday yet. After a stint in the U.S. Navy where he got a serious education in both electronics and computer technologies (Navy Advanced Electronics), he's moved up right into the engineering side of consumer electronics with strategic positions at MA Audio and Rockford Fosgate. It was during his time at Rockford Corporation that he hooked up with Brian Sherman, MB Quart's brand marketing manager, and together they've hatched one sweet 2001 BMW E46 M3. A pre-production model virtually hand-built in January 2001 (regular M3 production ramped up in March 2001, according to Loomis), this M3 combines German craftsmanship with good old American high-tech know-how. It was one of the first cars to fully incorporate Rockford's revolutionary Omnifi music player in a system that uses a WiFi interface to get song files from Joe's PC into the car's hard drive-based server.
Loomis departed Rockford Fosgate in the Spring of 2004 to concentrate on his own venture, Net Enforcers Inc., an intellectual property and brand management company that has developed proprietary systems, logistics and software to monitor online activity concerning unauthorized use of trademarks, as well as to police retailers who try to circumvent manufacturer policies with regard to the sale of product over the Internet. This is a problem that plagues both manufacturers and retailers of some of the best known mobile electronics brands. Net Enforcers also helps manufacturers monitor the sale of their products online and works to shut down sites that are not authorized to sell certain products. The company is currently working with U.S. government agencies and large pharmaceutical corporations in the war against online pharmaceutical sales abuse and the activity surrounding counterfeit manufacturing.
I asked Loomis to outline the goals behind the design of this particular system, which started early in 2003 while he was still at MA Audio. "I didn't want anything ridiculous anymore," said Loomis over a tall brew at the Hooters by the Arizona State University campus in downtown Tempe, Ariz., where he now makes his home. "I was tired of the upkeep and hassle of highly detailed and fragile sound systems. I wanted a system that was high quality, but I didn't want to worry about not being able to use the car as it was intended. The easy part was replacing all the interior speakers with the MB Quart separates. All were drop-in replacements for the speakers that came factory installed, QSD216 components up front and a set of RCE216s in the rear. The subwoofers are from the MB Quart premium series, a pair of PWE254s on each side of the trunk compartment.
"As for the amplifiers, it was my plan from the start to mount them in the floor of the trunk since the M3 doesn't come with a spare tire anyway. I thought it made sense to just flush the amps into the floor, in this case a four-channel 250-watt MB Quart Q Series QAA4250 amplifier for the four high-pass sets of separates along with a QAA1000 1000-watt monoblock Q Series amplifier for of pair of subwoofers. This gave me almost the same amount of trunk space as before the install. The enclosures were custom molded into the sides of the truck, out of the way of anything that needed to be put in the trunk. It's elegant in its simplicity." The power source is a Ohio Generator high output BMW alternator. Loomis chose Ohio Generator because they're the leader in rebuilding stock alternators to produce the necessary power for high current systems.
The install was completed in early May at Sound Xpression in Phoenix, Ariz. While they did the bulk of the installation, especially amp racks and the very cool subwoofer enclosures, Loomis was responsible for the interior speaker upgrades and interfacing the Omnifi unit into the factory BMW radio's CD changer input. The controller for the Omnifi unit is logically mounted in the center stack below the factory radio. It is accessed by selecting the CD changer input on the factory radio.
While the system is stealth in the extreme, even beyond the Omnifi system it bristles with high tech, especially where the all new MB Quart amplifiers are concerned. "The amplifier board assemblies are arranged one above the other," Loomis related, downing his second tall brew as we watch the Hooters girls pass by. "Their power supply is insulated from the end stage. The analog operating elements are installed at the top and combined with a digital display. All connections are located on the left side of the amplifier. And finally, a unique bypass mode ensures maximum amplifier performance and high loading. A proprietary circuit simplifies the signal path of the amplifier, allowing the signal to travel through the amplifier at a low voltage. This results in greater reliability, cleaner performance and exceptional musicality with the speed, durability and power of MOSFETs."