DevilDriver

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Our next member spotlight is with Neil. Neil is 1/3 of our SSA Tech Team and is a big part of our Knowledge base here.

[topgun 262]

How did you get to know so much? Is it all from personal funds and playing around with equipment, or have you worked in the industry, if so, doing what??

What do you do currently??

[DevilDriver 28]

How did you get to know so much? Is it all from personal funds and playing around with equipment, or have you worked in the industry, if so, doing what??

Well, knowing so much is a matter of opinion, I suppose. The funny thing about knowledge is the more you know, the more you realize you don't know, which drives me to gain more knowledge, which makes me realize how clueless I am. It's quite a vicious (and expensive!) circle.

As to where knowledge comes from, it is entirely attributed to others. I like to read....a lot. Actually, my general learning process involves seeing->imagining->reading->duplicating. I find that often, my duplicating is lacking (understanding 100 things is a lot easier than implementing all of them). With that said, I still enjoy getting my hands dirty in as many things as possible, so building horns, taking distortion measurements, and fiberglassing are still activities I jump into when I have time.

I am an electrical systems engineering student right now and intend to obtain a degree in mechanical engineering as well, so I try to take what I learn in class and what I read in books, then apply it to every day things. The science of sound and it's accurate reproduction has really pushed me from one thing to the next and I really look forward to that continuing.

I suppose now would be a great time to acknowledge some of the great minds that I have followed. It started with Dan Wiggins and really grew from there. I'm a giant fan of Drs. Earl Geddes and Lidia Lee. Their push for a better understanding of the ear's interpretation of sound and distortion is really quite inspiring. Beranek, Thiele, Bullock, Moore, and even Dickason have many publishings that make learning quickly quite easy, although in-depth discussion of the magnetic field seems to be the least discussed topic, unfortunately. It's hard to believe that electromagnetism is really what started the electrical revolution we see everywhere we look now. As far as people on the internet, I would say there are a large number of users who have either a) helped guide me in the right direction, or b ) through slighted understanding, promoted which areas need to be better understood by myself so that I could, in turn, help pass that information on.

What do you do currently??

I currently work handling Local Number Portability for the local TelCo, Sasktel. It's a good fit for me as it is a government job that pays well, including some of my education. If things go well, I will likely stay with the company till I retire, as electrical systems engineering makes for a very easy transition into the world of telephones. After I graduate, I hope to start up an audio venture where the customer base has the same drive that the owner does. Hopefully I can instill that in some.

Have I mentioned I'm a bit long-winded?

[DevilDriver 28]

:morning:

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

What is it about audio that attracts you to it?

[mrray13 30]

the atypical question....

money no object, what vehicle and what system would you buy and build and why?

why the s/n devildriver?

and why do you, jim and jntar look alike? (kinda)

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[bdawson72 0]

How old are you

[X-OvrDistortion 0]

Boxers or Briefs?

[topgun 262]

If you could work anywhere doing anything, what would it be?

[///M5 2,833]

oh lord, how did I miss this so far?

what drivers are you particularly fond of? have you done any home audio projects?

[DevilDriver 28]

What is it about audio that attracts you to it?

Around 14, I got bitten badly by the music bug....really, really badly. I think the only logical next step was to understand and aim to perfect the reproduction of the recordings that I love so much.

the atypical question....

money no object, what vehicle and what system would you buy and build and why?

why the s/n devildriver?

and why do you, jim and jntar look alike? (kinda)

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

If money is not an object and I were doing a dream install, it would be something in the house. Mind you, there are some considerations in a vehicle. Call me crazy, but I have never been to keen on dropping several thousand dollars on amplifiers when I honestly cannot hear anymore of a difference than if I made adjustments with my EQ. The vehicle would probably be a van (I am drawn to customizing vans for some reason). Amps would be whatever is hot at the moment and relatively noise free. For a front stage, it would all be one off items created through a strenous R&D process, but the basis would be a 1" tweeter, 3.5" midrange, and a 10" midbass. The 3.5" midrange would be virtually full range, the 1" tweeter would take care of only the highest frequencies, and the 10" midbass would do roughly 40 Hz to 250 Hz. Throw 8 15" Adire Audio Brahma MKII's in and I'd be satisfied. I'm a firm believer that the substage should only be for the very lowest frequencies and the midrange should handle most octaves; it makes imaging very easy. For a source unit, it would obviously be a pc in the vehicle and some vinyl integration as well (can't leave that vinyl alone).

The name is a bit of an interesting story. Truthfully, my internet usage started primarily in IRC, where I changed my nick every couple of weeks because it was no big deal. Perhaps this attitude led to a willy nilly method of selecting my nicks on forums, which is unfortunate because it is a bigger hassle to get them changed, particularly when you are a member of a several forums. Used to be Punk0Rama, then changed to DevilDriver on a whim. You'll also find me as xxPunk0Ramaxx, xxDevilxxDriverxx, and more frequently, Ligeia (big Poe fan here). Ideally, I would like to be Ligeia across the internet, but that presents the challenge of 1) getting it changed on all boards, and 2) throwing away the minute following I have gained with the DevilDriver nick.

FYI, Jim and jntar have good taste.

How old are you

Turned 21 about a month ago.

Boxers or Briefs?

Boxer briefs. Boxers offer no support and briefs look stupid.

If you could work anywhere doing anything, what would it be?

Ideally, I would like to never work; I would spend the rest of my life learning and absorbing as much as possible. Barring the lottery, that is impossible, so I hope to be well paid engineering in the audio world, though sadly that is generally a lower paying field than most that I would be qualified for once my degree is done.

oh lord, how did I miss this so far?

what drivers are you particularly fond of? have you done any home audio projects?

I'm a big fan of CSS's full range drivers. I loved the Extremis (sad to see it go away but excited to see Exodus Audio's new offerings), I'm a big fan of the Peerless XLS and XXLS lines, the Aura NS subs, and the Revelator products from Scan-Speak. I would love to try some of the LAMBDA drivers and look forward to when John Janowitz has those available again.

As for home audio projects, I'm a bit of a can man, as it allows for unbelievable sound on a good budget. I've tried a wide range of different cans (including some big dollar ones: Grado RS1, RS2, 325i, Sennheiser HD650, HD595, and a couple of other miscellaneous brands. I really, really want to try the Grado GS-1000, some of the Beyerdynamic stuff, and try HD650 with balanced cables as well as HeadRoom's Millet tube amp.

Right now, I have Sennheiser HD457's, Grado 325i's, and a couple different towers floating around the house: Aura NS3's full range in a horn, CSS FR125's full range in a horn, and some older JBL towers. The receiver is an older Pioneer that is stable at 4 ohm, which was very critical for me. Substage has really come and gone, but lately, it's just gone. Hopefully the Icon will change that, at least for a little while.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Can I ask your background, as in ansestorial (sp??) heritage.

[Adrian_D 520]

do you smoke ? if yes, at what age did you start ?

[DevilDriver 28]

Can I ask your background, as in ansestorial (sp??) heritage.

Absolutely not!

To be honest, I'm not sure what half of me is, but I know that I get Irish, Scottish, and German from my mother's side.

do you smoke ? if yes, at what age did you start ?

Infrequently. When I drink, I smoke like a chimney. Aside from that, I only smoke when I'm stressed or have nothing better to do. I am fortunate in that I find few things addicting, despite my rather "collective" nature. I first tried smoking at 15 or 16, something like that. There are many days where I think "Ugh, this tastes like crap and smells even worse...don't think I'll smoke again." Then a month or two goes by and I smoke a pack or two in a night.

[mrray13 30]

favorite drink? if beer/wine...home brewer? ever want to be?

outside car audio/HT, what is your next favorite hobby? biggest collection, not audio related?

fondest audio memory? biggest audio nightmare?

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[DevilDriver 28]

Loving the questions so far!

favorite drink? if beer/wine...home brewer? ever want to be?

Beer, pretty well exclusively. I've tried wine several times in a number of different styles and found it to be consistently disgusting. I hope to try my hand at homebrewing, quite badly in the near future. I still come back to Alexander Keith's for a good India Pale Ale quite often, though it's hard to pick a favourite.

outside car audio/HT, what is your next favorite hobby? biggest collection, not audio related?

I'm a big reader and a big drinker, too occasionally conflicting hobbies, heh. I have a beer collection going in my room and a large number of books as well. I collect movies and music in a big way as well (collections are beginning to get a touch ginormous). I also play a lot of ping-pong as I have a table at home and thoroughly enjoy beating guests.

fondest audio memory? biggest audio nightmare?

Not sure that I have one memory that stands out in my mind, though there are relatively few things that I am more fond of than throwing on some vinyl and listening to a good set of cans to wrap up my day.

Biggest audio nightmare is easy, no contest. When I was 16 or 17, I went to BestBuy looking at an install position. I had met the bay's manager via canadiancaraudio.com and was quite excited to start at the bottom and work my way into a non-big box store with more experience. We had everything ready to go and at the last minute, I said I would pass on the opportunity because I had other plans for school. This was, in fact, true, but I was very wary of looking like a fool as my practical experience at that age was slim-to-none. I was unbelievably unfocused at that age and I still regret that decision making process.

As for installs, I have seen a few wierd things, perhaps none weirder than a friend's Golf: the old head unit had 4 harnesses crimped together one after the other and they had soldered two strands of 8 gauge power wire to a single strand of 4 gauge without even the use of electrical tape to wrap the conductors. That was truly horrid.

Keep em coming.

[2kchevy 3]

Woa, I had no idea you were in the spotlight. I was sitting with you in the chat last night too man I feel stupid.

What books do you recommend to people to read if they are interested in the hobby? Or do you even?

Do you feel that knowledge is better found by a single point of view(books) or a wide range of people and opinions(forums).

[DevilDriver 28]

Woa, I had no idea you were in the spotlight. I was sitting with you in the chat last night too man I feel stupid.

What books do you recommend to people to read if they are interested in the hobby? Or do you even?

Do you feel that knowledge is better found by a single point of view(books) or a wide range of people and opinions(forums).

I highly recommend reading Electronics for Dummies or a similar book if you haven't; it gives a very important framework for understanding audio. Though there is very little that is specific to a speaker, the sum of the knowledge will allow you to make your own inferences. For an auditory understanding, I recommend An Introduction to the Psychology of Hearing by Brian J. Moore. Any of Leo Beranek's work is worth a read as well.

I think that a person's ability to comprehend a subject is attributable to the number of methodologies they utilize. If I read one book and quote it religiously, I will likely experience gaps and lack the alternative (and, potentially, more accurate) viewpoints. I like to read on forums a fair bit and I read as many different books on a given topic as possible. Realistically, read, watch, or listen anything you can get your hands on.

[ANeonRider 3]

Biggest audio nightmare is easy, no contest. When I was 16 or 17, I went to BestBuy looking at an install position. I had met the bay's manager via canadiancaraudio.com and was quite excited to start at the bottom and work my way into a non-big box store with more experience. We had everything ready to go and at the last minute, I said I would pass on the opportunity because I had other plans for school. This was, in fact, true, but I was very wary of looking like a fool as my practical experience at that age was slim-to-none. I was unbelievably unfocused at that age and I still regret that decision making process.

Terry said you knew your stuff though!

He left that place a couple months later anyways.

Terry is a good friend of mine btw

[DevilDriver 28]

Biggest audio nightmare is easy, no contest. When I was 16 or 17, I went to BestBuy looking at an install position. I had met the bay's manager via canadiancaraudio.com and was quite excited to start at the bottom and work my way into a non-big box store with more experience. We had everything ready to go and at the last minute, I said I would pass on the opportunity because I had other plans for school. This was, in fact, true, but I was very wary of looking like a fool as my practical experience at that age was slim-to-none. I was unbelievably unfocused at that age and I still regret that decision making process.

Terry said you knew your stuff though!

He left that place a couple months later anyways.

Terry is a good friend of mine btw

Yeah, I have talked to Terry a couple of times at Inno. If I could turn back the clock, I would obviously do it differently, especially here where finding people truly interested in audio proves to be quite challenging. Live and learn, I 'spose.

Have you talked to him recently? Wonder if he's still loving life at Inno.

[ANeonRider 3]

He's real busy with his family now, haven't talked to him in some time. He just added another daughter to the family last week.

[DevilDriver 28]

He's real busy with his family now, haven't talked to him in some time. He just added another daughter to the family last week.

Good for him. I will have to stop by sometime and congratulate him.

[mrogowski 6]

Judging by your posts I've read over time and now knowing your age, I can safely assume you are well-read and will go far in whatever it is you end up doing.

I guess the only question I have for you is how did you end up with the bloaks here on SSA?

[KickinAudio 5]

Religion, beliefs?

[DevilDriver 28]

Judging by your posts I've read over time and now knowing your age, I can safely assume you are well-read and will go far in whatever it is you end up doing.

I guess the only question I have for you is how did you end up with the bloaks here on SSA?

Now that is actually quite a funny and embarrassing story in itself.

I'll have to do a search in a bit to back this up, but one of my very first posts here on SSA involved calling Aaron (denim) an idiot or something of the like. If I recall correctly, I said he should go back to school. To say I was young and brash would perhaps be an understatement. For a period of a year or so, I rarely posted and rarely viewed anything on SSA. At this time, my perspectives on life were going through quite a change and I slowly found myself being more and more enticed. What eventually hooked me was a good rapport with Aaron (which is all to coincidental) and a feeling that SSA was not the 1000th regurgitation of a car audio forum that seems to be going on everywhere else. I take great pride in a vastly improved maturity that I feel blends in very well with simply the finest group of individuals on an audio forum I have found. I would love to be an even bigger part of SSA at some point. Unlike the several other sites I have worked on, I don't feel locked into doing stuff here and when I write articles, they're by my own free will and I enjoy that greatly. It's cool to be part of something growing, knowing that, as minute as the part you play is, you may have a hand in that.

Religion, beliefs?

For an all-too-complicated topic, I have a fairly simple response: I believe in beliefs. I am a big believer in that everything in life is linked to a belief in something else. Can I definitively prove that sound is the compression and rarefaction of air? No. Can I prove that god is the reason I believe that to be the case? No. My beliefs are firmly rooted in science, no doubt about that, but I am willing to grant that a god may exist and those who believe that to be the case are entitled to do so.