Tom Mangs once again has been named "Top 100 Installers in the United States" by Mobile Electronics Magazine for 2011-2012. He already won this award back in 2007-08 and that plaque sits next to the many others he has received throughout the years. Tom has been with us for 30 years now (yes THIRTY) and during his time has built some amazing audio systems. He specializes in one off custom installations that includes fiberglass, plexi, motorization, and LED lighting, but has also built plenty of competition cars in his day as well.

Most recently he completed Evan’s custom JL Audio Tahoe which immediately gained a ton of attention and was actually featured in JL Audio’s booth at Spring Break Nationals 2012! Despite being the best out there, Tom is no "Pre-Madonna", he is the most down to earth, super-installer you will ever meet and we couldn’t be more honored to have him as part of our team.

Congratulations Tom! Good luck on winning that top spot of "Installer of the Year" in Dallas, TX later this fall!

]]> http://seriousautosport.com/tom-mangs-top-custom-car-audio-installer/feed 0 http://seriousautosport.com/audio-system-spotlight-140db-chevy-tahoe http://seriousautosport.com/audio-system-spotlight-140db-chevy-tahoe#comments Mon, 07 May 2012 19:24:38 +0000 Evan http://seriousautosport.com/?p=3626

When it came time to put an audio system in my Chevy Tahoe, I looked carefully at all the brands we carried and after months of going back and forth with different system designs, I decided JL Audio was the way to go. I didn’t want to just replace the factory speakers with JL’s and I didn’t want to just put a subwoofer enclosure in the trunk. I wanted to build a vehicle where our master installer Tom Mangs could really stretch his legs. He was given the equipment I picked out and when he asked how I wanted it installed, I simply said “Make it different than anything else out there”. With no real budget or time restriction, I knew we would be in for a treat.

As for the equipment, nothing but the best would do. I chose 2 JL Audio 13W7AE subwoofers for their ability to do everything well. They play accurate, they play loud, they play low, they are the best and that is why the design has not changed in 10 years. We powered each woofer with a JL Audio HD1200/1. An amazing amount of power in such a small chassis! In the doors I chose to use the JL Audio ZR 6.5 component set (1 in each door). Because of the ZR’s tremendous power handling capabilities we are running each set bi-amped to JL Audio HD600/4 amplifiers giving each tweeter and each 6.5” woofer 150watts of brute power. Beyond the 6.5’s, I felt that we should get some more midbass up front so I selected the JL Audio ZR 8” midbass driver and decided to put one in each door as well. With the 8” ZR, you have the option to run them infinite baffle (free air), however, that was too easy. I gave Mike (installer) the task of building MDF enclosures for the 8” midbass woofers which require .75cu of airspace. That was a near impossible task to fit in the doors (especially the rears), but Mike pulled it off and wow did it make all the difference in the world. We again bridged each of these woofers to HD600/4’s giving them each 300watts.

It was a lengthy project squeezing the Tahoe into every nook and cranny of Tom’s very busy schedule, but the day before Spring Break Nationals (Largest Car Audio Gathering in the Country), it was finished. The trunk came out absolutely amazing with a plethora of plexiglass, suede, brushed aluminum, and LEDs. The door panels were custom made and look amazing with a stock like appearance. The sound? Amazing! No matter what type of music you throw at it, this truck will blow you away! The best part? Despite being absolutely gorgeous and sounding amazing, it gets loud…really loud…147.9db loud. Wait there is a better part…We haven’t even tuned it yet, we’ll get to that once everything breaks in!

Photo's by: Hybrid Photography

Tom started working for Audio Advisors in 1986 in the car audio department. He has attended several manufacturer training courses for car electronics since then, and has received many certifications from companies like JL Audio and Rockford Fosgate, as well as receiving awards, such as, “Mobile Electronics Magazine’s: Top 100 Installers in the United States” for 2007-2008.

Tom has built several cars for IASCA and CAN car audio competitions. His 1969 Trans Am was featured in Hot Rod and Popular Hotrodding magazines.

Current Car: Porsche 951S (That’s not stock nor boring)