Every EMMA Sound Quality car gets handed back a scoresheet at the end of the day, and for a lot of first-timers it's the most confusing piece of paper they've ever held. Numbers everywhere, deductions, letter grades buried inside categories — it looks like a maths exam. As a Certified International EMMA Head Judge, I've filled these out and handed them back more times than I can count, so let me walk you through what's actually on there and how to read it properly.
The scoresheet is built from several separate categories
EMMA Sound Quality judging doesn't produce one number — it adds up several. Broadly:
- Imaging — up to 50 points, split between whether test tones sit in their correct left/centre/right positions (Positions) and whether instruments stay the right size relative to each other at those positions (Focus).
- Soundstage — up to 60 points, covering how far forward the nearest instrument sits (Distance), how wide the stage spreads (Width), how consistent the height is (Height), and how much sense of room and reverberation comes through (Room Information).
- Tonal accuracy — up to 120 points, judged separately across sub-bass, mid-bass, midrange and high frequencies, each scored 0-30 using a descriptive A-through-L grading scale rather than a raw number pulled out of the air.
- Overall spectral balance — up to 30 points, looking at how well all of those frequency ranges blend into one cohesive whole, checked at normal volume and again 6dB louder.
- Listening pleasure — up to 30 points, broken into ten smaller sub-scores (naturalness, harmony, atmosphere, clarity, dynamics and more) rated 0-3 each.
- Ergonomics and adjustments — a handful of points for things like display visibility and control access, with deductions of up to 6 points for switching noise, pops on turn-on/turn-off, and similar system artifacts.
Why a "70" isn't a fail
The single biggest misunderstanding I see on competition day is a competitor looking at a category score and assuming it's a percentage. It isn't. A tonal accuracy score of 21 out of a possible 30 for one frequency band sits in the "fair naturalness and clarity" range, not a failing grade — genuinely poor scores sit well below that, and judges are trained not to go below 5-8 points unless something is seriously wrong. The letter-grade anchors behind each number range, from "life-like, completely natural and clear" at the top down to "annoying in almost all tunes" at the bottom, exist precisely so a raw number doesn't get misread as a pass/fail line.
Judges are trained never to leave a competitor thinking their system sounds very good while handing them a score of only 15 out of 30 in tonal accuracy. The number and the written feedback are supposed to agree.
What to actually do with the sheet
Don't just look at the bottom line — go category by category and read it against the written comments, because that's where the real improvement advice lives. A low soundstage width score sitting next to strong imaging positions points to a completely different fix (usually toe-in and seat position) than a low tonal accuracy score in mid-bass, which is usually a cabin gain or crossover issue. And if your listening pleasure score and overall spectral balance score move in opposite directions, that's worth flagging to your judge directly — it usually means something inconsistent is happening between how the system measures and how it actually sounds moment to moment.
If anything on your sheet doesn't make sense, ask before you leave the venue. Every judge I know would rather explain a score in plain language on the day than have you drive home guessing at it. For the difference between what SQ actually measures versus SPL, see EMMA SQ vs SPL: What's the Difference?, and if you want to know who's likely to be behind the clipboard, have a look at Meet the EMMA Australia judging panel. Also worth a read: Top rules EMMA competitors get wrong — a fair few of them show up as deductions on the scoresheet before a single note is ever played.
Got a scoresheet you want a second opinion on? Get in touch — happy to talk it through.
Written by Pete — Integrated Audio
Pete is the founder of Integrated Audio and a Certified International EMMA Head Judge, judging EMMA Sound Quality and Installation competitions in Australia and internationally. He writes from the judging side of the table, drawing on hands-on experience building and installing HELIX, MATCH and BRAX car audio systems.