Yellowknife (Dec 22/04) - Turn up the sound and blow the doors off.

Phil Ortiz opened his new store, Diamond Audio, in the Stanton Plaza on Dec. 13 - and he knows all about blowing car doors off with sound.

Ortiz, who has been installing car stereos since he was a kid, told of the days when he used to compete in DB Drag competitions. Basically, in this competition two vehicles go head-to-head. You put microphones and sound pressure monitors beneath the carriages and the car with the loudest sound wins.

"It's set up just like drag racing, except the lights go in reverse. The highest light is the winner," said Ortiz.

A jet engine tops out at 139 decibels, sad Ortiz. The new audio store owner has himself come in second place in a large DB Drag competition in Ontario, pumping out a blood-curdling cacophony of 156.2 decibels.

"You can actually expand you vehicles by three to four inches with sound," said Ortiz.

For those with a penchant for sound and a desire to literally pop the side panels off your vehicle, Diamond Audio's the place for you.

For those with more discriminating tastes - from Andrew Lloyd Webber to Puccini - Diamond Audio has that as well.

Ortiz has been in the audio business for 10 years.

He got some assistance for this effort through the Akaitcho Business Development Corporation, he said.

It's not just car audio that Ortiz specializes in. He also has a variety of home sound systems that will satisfy everyone from the "beginner right up to the most passionate."

And according to Ortiz, there's such a lack of sound systems for dealers in Yellowknife that Diamond Audio has had suppliers calling them up, asking the new business to carry their home audio systems.

Diamond Audio also offers a few unique items, such as a series of remote control cars and pocket motorcycles.

"We're the only pocket bike dealer in the Northwest Territories," he said.