USB enabled HU and 4 speakers - budget

[jessie007]

Can anyone please advise regarding a HU (cd/mp3) with USB connectivity (fwith a USB mp3 player or pen drive) and a four speaker system from my Indigo. Looking at a total budget of around 12k. Don't know if it is possible or not. If USB HU not possible, then the best player with the aux-in function. Don't want any hi-fi stuff, just a decent system which does not distort output at say 70% of the total volume. Mostly listen to rock, hip-hop, bhangra and some pop music.

[Sam Kapasi]

There is a very decent HU from Kenwood (I am afraid the model number eludes me) that seems suited to the job perfectly.
I don't like the Kenwood speakers though. Look for other options. Cheers.

[vid6639]

Hey Sam,

Is it this model KDC-MP5033U?

http://www.kenwoodaudio.com/singapor...el=KDC-MP5033U
I think it costs around 11K here.

[jessie007]

Thanks Sam and Vid3369. The Kenwood looks like a great feature-rich system. Regarding the speakers, I also have heard enthusiasts say that Kenwood is not that great. What speakers would you recommend?

Is the price of 11k including speakers? I guess it is the HU only.

Any idea about Sony and JVC units (HU and speakers) with USB/Aux-in connectivity in the 12k price range (HU and 4 speakers).

[goldsun]

Blaupunkt Memphis 66 is really feature rich. It has SD MMC Card slot in addition to USB interface. The price @ 25k however is very high and will not fit into the budget.

[Sam Kapasi]

There are many good speaker brands available. I can tell you from experience that neither Kenwood, nor JVC and most certainly not Sony have any decent speakers for the car.
JVC HUs are ok as are Sony. But many experts feel Kenwood HUs are superior.

[iraghava]

Jessie - If you want a decent HU with a USB slot you'll have to upgrade your budget a bit. Since the HU itself costs 11k you'll need to spend atleast another 4-5k on speakers minimum to get decent sound. And for that budget I would suggest you look at either JBL or Blaupunkt.

[scorpindio]

HU with DVD player, USB slot, and aux - in with Dual zone capability and I-Pod adaptable: JVC KD DV 7204, Grey market in Mumbai for approx 13,000 to 13,5000/-. Check it out. Really grooves, man!!

[jessie007]

Thanks everyone for your advice. I've read other ICE posts as well and can summarize that (w.r.t. my requirement):
1) Certain Sony HU lens have a reading problem
2) Kenwood, JVC and Sony are not best known for their speakers. The speakers to go for are Pioneer
3) As per Sam, "experts feel Kenwood HUs are superior".

JVC, Kenwood and Sony offer USB HU - I checked in Nov ACI's ads. Sony was my priority earlier, but will give it a pass considering the lens problem, though it might be just a batch of HUs that have the problem. Don't really dig Kenwood, but definitely will check-it out. But I've JVC HU in mind.

[iraghava]

Well Jessie you have a few things incorrect here too.

Originally Posted by jessie007

2) Kenwood, JVC and Sony are not best known for their speakers. The speakers to go for are Pioneer

No, not necessarily. Velocity, Blaupunkt, JBL, Infinity, Alpine make better speakers.

Originally Posted by jessie007

3) As per Sam, "experts feel Kenwood HUs are superior".

JVC, Kenwood and Sony offer USB HU - I checked in Nov ACI's ads. Sony was my priority earlier, but will give it a pass considering the lens problem, though it might be just a batch of HUs that have the problem. Don't really dig Kenwood, but definitely will check-it out. But I've JVC HU in mind.

It's recommended that you choose your speakers/amps/woofers etc. and then after installing the basic setup listen to the various HU's that you're considering. This way you can compare the HU's on a common speaker base & see what you like. And choose accordingly.

[jessie007]

Thanks iraghava. I don't know much about various speaker brands. So as per you Velocity, Blaupunkt, JBL, Infinity, Alpine may be better speakers, but I don't think they'll fit my budget.

Anyways, called up JVC to enquire about the price and the guy said the USB HU range starts at 12k (as I was told by fellow bhpians). Will probably go for a JVC HU with aux-in only (I guess I'll be able to connect my MP3 player with it and play songs from the MP3 player, but won't be able to tranfer songs.). I also checked out on the net that the JVC HU amplifies mp3 songs, so that they sound better inspite of their compression. Don't know how muh it helps and whether it can be percieved by the ears of any avergae peson.

The speakers will be Pioneer. Please advise if this set-up will gel. If so then what Pioneer speakers do you recommend, considering the JVC HU with aux-in comes for say 7k (just a guess) and then I'm left with say around 5k for speakers.

[jessie007]

Had to leave office early due to a rather trivial altercation with my manager. This gave me time to check out some audio systems at the car accessories market in Noida, which happens to be a stone's throw away from office.

So have finally got installed a JVC HU (KD-G524) which has the Aux-in function. The player seems to be a decent one. I couldn't find it on the net, but if anyone wants, he can check it out at (it is a different model number but looks and feature-wise is almost similar):
http://jvcmobile.co.uk/product.php?pr=30

As far as the speakers are concerned, I got Pioneer, as I had in mind. The rear speakers are 6"X9" Pioneer 6981 and front ones are 1011. Just the set-up I was looking for and well within my budget. Has pretty decent sound and hip-hop beats considering it is without a separate sub-woofer.

Experts please comment about the set-up.

The price break-up is as follows:

JVC 524 HU : Rs. 4800
Pioneer 6981: Rs. 3000
Pioneer 1011: Rs. 1000
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Total : Rs. 8800
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P.S. This might sound stupid, but I don't really know if I have a job, or rather, if I want to continue with my current job; but the altercation in office gave me a change to get an ICE set-up I wanted for my Indigo finally (after almost seven months of buying the car).