While in Dallas last week, I stopped by Earmark Marine Audio to check out David's shop & to thank him for all the support he provides to folks on the Moomba forum. In my head, I had a picture of the small, independent audio stores that are around Atlanta that occupy a little storefront in an old strip mall. Whoops! My parents told me it's bad to assume and I sure goofed with this one.

I visitied the shop in Lewisville, TX which handles car & marine audio. Earmark also has car audio shops in Addison, TX & Plano, TX. At the Lewisville shop, there are bays for multiple autos and at another suite there is room to squeeze in 5 boats at a time for installations. A lot of cool, custom stuff such as painted cans, sub grills, cover plates, TV mounts, LED's, etc. They also have a ton of stuff for the DIY crowd such as switchplate covers.

Best thing there, beyond the people, was the sound room where you could compare speakers side-by-side that are equally powered. I'm no audiophile, but I could hear differences and picked a favorite out of the Polks, Kicker, JL Audio, Exile & Wetsounds. My favorite was the JL. It's hard to describe, but it almost felt like you were being wrapped in the sound. It seemed to completely fill the room where the others felt they were being blasted at you. But, I will say that all the brands were very impressive to me and I can see why folks struggle with their selection.

Lots of pics . . .