By James Chevrette
The 2nd Annual KICKER SQ@HQ drew approximately 40 competitors to Stillwater Designs global headquarters on May 16, 2026, for a full day of judged sound quality competition. Four sanctioning bodies operated concurrently on the KICKER HQ grounds: IASCA (International Auto Sound Challenge Association), EMMA USA, MCA (Mid-Country Audiophiles), and MASQ (Mobile Audio Sound Quality). Spectators attended free of charge, with access to the KICKER museum, food trucks, and demo vehicles throughout the event.
Kicker’s Jacob Luckey suggested that the competition will continue to grow and may turn into a two-day event.
“I believe the SQ side will continue to grow with the support of more and more manufacturers, and I hope we are able to continue to get new blood into the SQ competition realm. I definitely think the space is growing. We had more competition organizations show up this year like EMMA and ICA, and we had more competitors register than ever as a result. We also had representatives from many different car audio manufacturers in attendance.”
IASCA ran as a triple-points (3X) event, while EMMA and MCA each carried a 2X multiplier. MASQ hosted its money round with a $6,000 total prize pool split across three competitive tiers: the Champions Round, Top 20 Round, and 2-Seat class. All 20 Top 20 finishers received prizes courtesy of DEWALT, it is fantastic to see brand sponsorships at a dedicated car audio SQ event.
Competitors of the Day
Mark Bruno was the standout performer of the event. He won the MASQ Champions Round at 170.67, took first in EMMA’s M Unlimited class with a score of 270, and claimed MCA’s M5+ with a 165.00 average, making him the only competitor to win across three organizations on the same day.
Jeffrey Hald was consistent across all organizations. He swept MCA’s most formats, placing first in both M4+ and the 2-Seat class, and claimed the top position in IASCA’s combined SQC+IQC Expert category with a 203. Hald also finished third in the MASQ Champions Round despite tying Brian Mitchell at 168.67, with Mitchell taking second on a Tonality tiebreaker margin of seven points.
Wayne Barron led the IASCA Advanced Amateur IQC with a 212, the highest installation quality score in that division, and backed it up with a first-place finish in EMMA’s S Unlimited class at 258.
Miguel Rios topped the MASQ Top 20 Money Round at 160.00 and won EMMA’s M Limited class at 230, showing strong results across both the judged and money-round formats.
Brian Gill posted the highest individual score of the event, a 274 in EMMA’s X Unlimited class, and placed second in MCA’s M5+ and fourth in the MASQ Champions Round.
Angie Landis was one of the stronger multi-org performers of the day, finishing second in the MASQ Top 20 Round at 156.00, third in IASCA Pro 1 SQC at 197, and second in IASCA Pro 2 IQC at 194.
Mitch Wettstein led IASCA’s Novice SQC with a 203 and topped EMMA’s E Unlimited class at 219, a strong double for a competitor in the entry-level division.
See here for all results from every organization.
