Ben Larson opened the Sound Connection, MN back in 1995 at the age of 18, but along the way, he developed a product that he now manufacturers in the US and sells to other dealers.
As a retailer, he found the process of acoustically sealing door speakers was cumbersome and time consuming. And the finished speaker install never looked quite right. Plus it was difficult to explain to the customer why he was paying an extra $30 for an acoustical upgrade, when all he could show the customer was some copper tape.
“We wanted to make something very fast that we could duplicate and show the customers that this a $30 kit. It was easier to add value and sell it and have happy customers because it really does make a big difference.” said Larson.
So he launched Fast Rings about two years and almost immediately starting selling it to other installers.
FAST (For Acoustically Sealing Transducer) Rings solves the problem of acoustically coupling aftermarket speakers to factory speaker openings. It’s a laser cut foam product with industrial-grade, peel away adhesive backing.
The rings separate into three pieces. The first FAST Ring is a dedicated gasket for speaker mounting to the baffle plate surface. The second ring mounts around the outer edge of the speaker, just past the surround. The third circular foam pad goes behind the speaker to absorb unwanted reflections on hard surfaces, such as inside a car door.
By using the 3-ring approach the kit improves the projection of the audio into the car cabin and reduces unwanted rear reflections that can degrade the sound.
The rings are patented (US Patent #8,739,921) and are now distributed by Mobile Solutions in the US and Mobile Solutions of Calgary in Canada, with distribution in Europe as well.
All aspects of the product are made in the US.
Larson is in the process of building a web site that will include a dealer locator and a video demonstrating the effectiveness of the product.
FAST Rings comes in four sizes for 5.25”, 6.5”, 5.×7” and 6×9.” Larson is also considering offering an 8 inch kit.
For more information email [email protected].
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We are repping these in NorCal. We have had a great response from our retailers! They make a BIG difference to both sound quality and the retailer’s bottom line!
Hey, bobbg, you seem like a very intelligent person. Why have you not yet developed your own product line? Seems like you have all of the answers…
We have been using this product since Ben brought it to market. It is a great value for the customer.
I’ve been using these since they became available, and now our company uses them in all their install bays (32 locations). Have a display piece done up front with composite speaker adaptor and FAST installed to show the consumer exactly why they get the best.
Speaker manufactures should include these with there speakers because they make a speaker come alive separating the front cone wave from the back cone wave, use this with a sheet of sound deadening over the inside skin of a door between the door panel and window sealing up all holes and you’ve man your door speaker a perfect box to play in. you will get more bass that is tighter sounding. and force that sound out the speaker grill into the passenger area. I’ve seen this done in VW’s and it works real good your budget speaker sounds like one that cost twice its price.
However 30 bucks a pair is overkill, its just foam rubber.
They are thinking of making them in an 8″ size? I think all the sizes would be better and offer thicker options as well like a 4″ thick model, then this materiel is going to break down over time from dry rot and sun radiation it needs a rubber skin to reflect heat and solar rays.
put a spot of hush-mat/dynamat on the outer skin center to adhere it to the inside of the outer door skin to help keep down the door’s natural tendency to emit an audible ringing sound or buzz and set up an off time alignment harmonic tone and degrade the sound quality.
Inside a sub box these can help eliminate standing waves and deaden a box some. 45 dgr strips of this could be used in a sub box to help force sound in a direction like on its way out say slot port smoothing out ripples inside a ported box.
How exactly will these degrade from UV exposure? The inside of my doors will never ever see the light of day once assembled.
We have been using them for about 6-8 months now. A great add-on for both the customer and the retailer. Improved quality of sound and added $ to your bottom line.
These work great and add to the bottom line- all stores should stock!