EMMA Goa 2024: So You Think You're An Audiophile

If you’ve been privy to recent trends in OEM-equipped audio systems, you know that big brand names are now a mainstay in the industry. Whether you’re in the market for a luxury sedan or a mass-market SUV, names like JBL and Harman are par for the course today. So, when we were invited to be the official media partner for EMMA Goa 2024, we weren’t sure what to expect. Of course, we had a sneak peek into the first-ever EMMA event held in Chennai in January this year. But that, as we discovered, wasn’t enough to prepare us for what we were to witness a few weeks later.

We arrived bright and early on the 16th of October at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium on the outskirts of Panaji, and the first thing that caused our jaws to drop was the sheer scale of the event. 186 cars from all over the country, all kitted out with mind-boggling aftermarket audio equipment, dotted the landscape surrounding the stadium. Deep basslines wafted through the air as the participants, all of whom were aftermarket audio technicians who had built the custom setups themselves, patiently registered and got their cars stickered according to the category they were competing in. The categories comprised Entry, Skilled, Expert, and Master levels of judging, with the ESQL (Extreme Sound Quality League) & ESPL (Extreme Sound Pressure League) categories rounding things off.

First, we must tell you about EMMA itself. Short for the European Mobile Media Association, EMMA was founded in 2000 with the aim to promote custom audio installations, raise brand awareness, and motivate both car owners and manufacturers to invest in better audio equipment. As an independent entity, EMMA has slowly but surely turned itself into a credible source of education and information for the largely unorganised aftermarket audio industry. Today, EMMA events are held across more than 40 countries, with annual Euro and Asian finals that see hundreds of participants competing for the top prize.

Back in Goa, we got a taste of just how passionate the organisers were about car audio, a passion shared with the participants of the competition. Nine judges had flown in from all over Asia with a 200-point checklist by which each car was to be judged, and their steely expressions were merely a mechanism to stay fair and focused as they moved from car to car, playing bespoke tracks created by EMMA specifically for the purpose of evaluating audio quality. With 186 cars to be individually judged, they went about their work with a sense of calm that only a monk could relate to. Unless the monk was also a petrolhead, in which case they wouldn’t have been able to help but admire the cars that had driven in, ranging from mass-market Swifts and Cretas to luxury Audis and BMWs.

Inside the exhibitor arena, there was more for us to be awestruck by. French audio brand Focal and Japan’s Alpine, both of which were title sponsors of the event, lured us into their exhibition areas with audio tech that had to be seen to be believed. From speakers and sub-woofers made of Kevlar to bespoke plug-and-play equipment for specific car models, we were introduced to a whole new world of audiophilia that bordered on the obsessive. And rightfully so. Because soon, we were to find ourselves mesmerised by what these upgrades could achieve.

It’s here that we must draw your attention to a certain Citroen C5 Aircross that was participating in the competition. The car, which retails at Rs 40L ex-showroom, was kitted out with equipment worth Rs 50L by Autocorsa Bangalore. And while that was enough to blow our minds, it was nothing compared to the auditory experience that awaited within. Sat in the driver’s seat, where the sound stage was focused (yes, that’s a thing), we experienced music like never before. Every instrument, every vocal layer, every bassline streamed into our ears with utmost clarity. It’s an experience that words cannot do justice to.

At the end of Day 2, as the award ceremony got underway and the top 3 winners from each category picked up their trophies with deserved pride, we realised that we had spent the last two days amongst some of the most passionate audiophiles in the world. And that got us thinking. If EMMA India could grow from a 90-odd car competition to 186 cars in the span of 10 months, their plans for next year to host multiple regional competitions that lead up to a grand finale can only get bigger and louder. So if you really are an audiophile, watch out for when they show up at a town near you. Or better yet, keep an ear out.