By James Chevrette
What are the brands dominating the sound quality competitions these days? Back in the day, it was the biggest names in car audio found in the lanes at IASCA finals.
This year, as car audio competitors gathered in October at the SQ IASCA World Finals to pit their systems against the best in North America on installation, tonal accuracy, imaging, and overall musical realism, the most commonly featured brands included Helix, Arc Audio, and Zapco.
A surprising aspect of competition is the rise of non-traditional head units, with over 61 percent of competitors choosing brands outside of the big five (JVC Kenwood, Sony, Alpine, or Pioneer). Also over 21 percent of competitors are using OEM radios.
Here is our exclusive analysis of the equipment used, according to IASCA Finals data.
(All media was played in digital format; competitors and organizations no longer use CDs.)
Speaker brands are well represented, with Morel, Focal, and Arc Audio appearing in over 25% of competitor vehicles.
Arc Audio, Zapco, and JL Audio take the top three spots in the amplifier category, with over 50% of competitors using these brands. After the top three, there is a healthy mix of amplifier brands.
Helix and Arc Audio are the clear winners in the signal processor category, capturing over 60% of competitor vehicles in an essentially 50/50 split. Goldhorn, a relative newcomer in North America, tying with Mosconi, and Zapco fourth spot in the processor category!
There was a clear winner in the wiring category: Stinger, with 35.9% of vehicles. The remaining category consisted of companies with less than 3.8% of competitors each.
These graphs show a healthy mix, with no single manufacturer dominating every category. Arc Audio deserves an honorable mention for first-place finishes in both amplifiers and signal processors, but Zapco and Helix are easily within striking distance to catch Arc Audio for the 2026 season.
*thank you, Travis Chan of IASCA for provided the data