Sub+Amp in ANHC?

[monkey_wrench]

Hey guys,

I like my basses low, and my mids thumping! I have a three day old ANHC VMT. Before selling my old Santro, I removed my Sony X-plode 2-channel amp and X-plode 1300W Sub which I now have lying about. Both are mounted on a wooden sound box.

I'm toying with whether to install it in the new ANHC or to put it in my wife's Swift. (My wife is least bothered about music).

I'm not looking at pimping up the ride big time, but would like to add onto the ANHC's (decent-ish) sound quality. Has anyone done this? I'll probably have to re-invest in the wiring kit + labour...which isn't a big deal.

A lot of members have warned about voiding the Honda electrical warranty. Additionally, my old Santro off-the-shelf Sony system had a seperate Sub connection which was simple enough to connect to the amp. I'm not sure whether the ANHC will have this. Any thoughts?

[cityvic]

I have an ANHC too.My setup runs of the stock HU.I have JBL compos upfront,JBL
coax in the rear,Jbl Basstube and a JBL 4 channel amp too power teh compos and
the basstube.The stock HU comes with 2 preouts,so to add a sub one needs 3
preouts.Ask your installer for a scoshe line out converter.Hence you can add a sub
with out playing with the warranty.You will be put bach 5-6k,3k for wiring and 2k
for the line out converter.Check out shuvc's ICE setup thread for his civic.You will
get a pic of the converter too.Waiting for updates and pics.

[monkey_wrench]

hey thanks cityvic. The default 2 preouts -- are they already connected to the existing speaker system? I was looking to only connect the sub to the amp, and leave the existing speakers as they are. Will check out shuvc's thread. Cheers!

[navin]

[quote=monkey_wrench;2055557
I removed my Sony X-plode 2-channel amp and X-plode 1300W Sub which I now have lying about.
A lot of members have warned about voiding the Honda electrical warranty. [/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by cityvic

The stock HU comes with 2 preouts,so to add a sub one needs 3
preouts.Ask your installer for a scoshe line out converter..

Originally Posted by monkey_wrench

The default 2 preouts -- are they already connected to the existing speaker system? I was looking to only connect the sub to the amp, and leave the existing speakers as they are

My wife got an ANHC in Jan 2009. The version she got (Auto box) had no pre outs and only speaker outs. Pre outs canbe directly connected to an amplifier's line level inputs (usually using RCA connectors). Speaker level outs require either the amp to have speaker level inputs or the converter Cityvic talks about.

In both cases you will only get front and rear speaker connections. If you want to be able to control the subwoofer from inside the car you will need an amp that has a subwoofer level control.

Please note that when we upgraded my wife ANHC ew realised that the stock HU had considerable ammounts of EQ (most prominently the HU's EQ pushed up the midbass and highs while rolling off the low bass).

If you proper harnesses you will NOT void the car manufacturer's warranty.

[cityvic]

Originally Posted by navin

My wife got an ANHC in Jan 2009. The version she got (Auto box) had no pre outs and only speaker outs. Pre outs canbe directly connected to an amplifier's line level inputs (usually using RCA connectors). Speaker level outs require either the amp to have speaker level inputs or the converter Cityvic talks about.

In both cases you will only get front and rear speaker connections. If you want to be able to control the subwoofer from inside the car you will need an amp that has a subwoofer level control.

Please note that when we upgraded my wife ANHC ew realised that the stock HU had considerable ammounts of EQ (most prominently the HU's EQ pushed up the midbass and highs while rolling off the low bass).

If you proper harnesses you will NOT void the car manufacturer's warranty.

Thanx for correcting me navin uncle.I would love to gain some

knowledge about ICE from you.I would also like to know if adding

a pioneer 5190 to my setup make any difference too it?Should I

also get my front doors damped.


hey thanks cityvic. The default 2 preouts -- are they already connected to the existing speaker system? I was looking to only connect the sub to the amp, and leave the existing speakers as they are. Will check out shuvc's thread. Cheers!

Yup I guess they are connected to the stock speakers given.

[navin]

Originally Posted by cityvic

I would also like to know if adding
a pioneer 5190 to my setup make any difference too it?

To add any 3rd party HU to the ANHC you will need a dash kit from Honda.

[cityvic]

Yes I can get a scoshe HU dash kit for 6k.My uncle has it in his S/MT

[monkey_wrench]

Originally Posted by navin

My wife got an ANHC in Jan 2009. The version she got (Auto box) had no pre outs and only speaker outs. Pre outs canbe directly connected to an amplifier's line level inputs (usually using RCA connectors). Speaker level outs require either the amp to have speaker level inputs or the converter Cityvic talks about.

In both cases you will only get front and rear speaker connections. If you want to be able to control the subwoofer from inside the car you will need an amp that has a subwoofer level control.

Please note that when we upgraded my wife ANHC ew realised that the stock HU had considerable ammounts of EQ (most prominently the HU's EQ pushed up the midbass and highs while rolling off the low bass).

If you proper harnesses you will NOT void the car manufacturer's warranty.

Thanks, that's exactly the kind of inputs I was looking for. My existing amp is a 2-channel one, so I was thinking of only using the amp+sub to "enhance" the existing audio quality. So the plan currently is:
- Buy new wiring for only the amp+sub
- Connect amp in parallel to existing speaker outs or explore a line-out converter
- Do not tamper with stock speakers and tweeters and leave them be

Now the downside to this is that I can't independently control the sub levels without crawling into the boot and playing with the settings on the amp. Will have to make do with the existing Honda HU system. (there are only 3 settings -- mp3/natural/energetic).

This seem feasible?

[navin]

Originally Posted by monkey_wrench

Now the downside to this is that I can't independently control the sub levels without crawling into the boot and playing with the settings on the amp. Will have to make do with the existing Honda HU system. (there are only 3 settings -- mp3/natural/energetic).

if you buy a subwoofer amp (like a monoblock) most come with a sub level control (which is wired to the cabin/dash). Also you also have some rudimentary bass and treble controls in the stock HU.

[monkey_wrench]

Originally Posted by navin

if you buy a subwoofer amp (like a monoblock) most come with a sub level control (which is wired to the cabin/dash). Also you also have some rudimentary bass and treble controls in the stock HU.

Agreed, but my entire idea here was to use my existing 2-channel amp + sub that was in my older car. The new ANHC has rendered my back account virtually unusable...so recycling is the order of the day! I just can't sit around and not pimp up the ICE a little bit!

[DerAlte]

You may be looking at an "Equalizer" setting when you say "mp3/natural/energetic". As Navin pointed out, there would / must be a rudimentary Bass / Treble setting in the HU. Look for this under the audio setting menu - would appear in a sequence like Balance, Bass, Treble, Fader ... Just a matter or reducing or increasing the Bass setting.

[monkey_wrench]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

You may be looking at an "Equalizer" setting when you say "mp3/natural/energetic". As Navin pointed out, there would / must be a rudimentary Bass / Treble setting in the HU. Look for this under the audio setting menu - would appear in a sequence like Balance, Bass, Treble, Fader ... Just a matter or reducing or increasing the Bass setting.

Oh, yeah I misunderstood. Yep, there are basic bass/treble functions. Will miss an independant 'sub' control though. Will go ahead and set it up this weekend and see how it goes.

I've been researching these threads for a good ICE installer, and I think 'Driven' in NCR seems to be well recommended. Anybody got any recommendations?

[navin]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

You may be looking at an "Equalizer" setting when you say "mp3/natural/energetic". As Navin pointed out, there would / must be a rudimentary Bass / Treble setting in the HU. Look for this under the audio setting menu - would appear in a sequence like Balance, Bass, Treble, Fader ... Just a matter or reducing or increasing the Bass setting.

DA sadly the Bass control in the ANHC is centered around 120Hz. More midbass than real bass but atleast there is one more control MW can tinker with.

[monkey_wrench]

Ok, all done! Here's the update:

Went finally to Driven in NCR. The first place I went to, Gryo is apparently shut down, presumably relocating.

Solution:
Bought a new Scoshe wiring kit (around Rs 2,600) and a new Scoshe line out converter (around 1,200). Used my existing Sony series Sony + Sub.

Time taken: Approx 2-3 hours.

Result:
While I'm moderately happy with the sound now, I still have a sneaky feeling that my ICE setup in my Santro Xing was better. It definitely sounded better. Rana from Driven tells me this is because the Santro was a 1-box car, and all the sound stayed in the cabin. Of course, the Sony HU i think was better... when he opened up the ANHC HU, i peered to see what make it was (I remember seeing on these forums that it is Alpine or something) but this is a Mitsubishi make (It says Mitsubishi, made for Honda). So I guess more cost cutting is happening

The sound is...all right. The line-out converter was connected to the BACK left+right channel speakers, which in turn was connected via RCA to the amp. I've played extensively with the gain controls on the amp...and am not finally a bit satisfied with the result.

Overall Driven Experience:
Well, I know there are a lot of Driven fans here (which is why I went there in the first place), but I think that the place didn't live up to my expectations. While Rana is a good chap, knows a lot and seems honest, I think they need to take up their overall service delivery a few notches.

- I'm a person who's crazy finicky about the insides of my car. (Make people dust their shoes before getting in, heh heh!). Anyhow, the entire installation had these fellows clambering in and out, which has resulted in my seats getting very dirty. Not only that, the dust and scuff magnet door trims on the ANHC now have slight grease/dirt marks on it.
- Further, they should have some sort of dedicated/covered work area. The work was carried out right on the road, with heavy vehicles plying up and down...which makes dust pour into the cabin. (I NEVER...repeat NEVER, drive with my windows down. I HATE dust). So my insides are covered with a few mm of dust now.
- I think they should use some sort of seat/cabin protector. (Like some tower seat covers or something, temporary). This will keep the seats clean. All of you who have ANHCs know how easily the seats get dirty. The work guys obviously had dirty clothes, and are men of the street... need I say more?
- The main installer guy (this elderly guy, who seems competent) really isn't very talkative. I mean this nicely... as a person, and as a member of this forum, I always want to know/learn more about what's going on. And since it's MY car, I would like to know what they are doing (at least major steps) during installation. He acted like he was doing me a favour by explaining to me what he was doing.
- Though Rana is a knowledgeble guy, he was missing during the entire installation. So those monkeys were let loose on my car doing what they thought best.

Anyway -- I know Rana also follows these forums, so I don't want this to turn into a Driven bashing post. These is my OPINION, and what's listed above are SUGGESTIONS which would, IMHO, make Driven into a quality ICE installation shop. I personally didn't find their work any different from the roadside guys who do it in Lajpat Nagar, sorry.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by monkey_wrench

... ICE setup in my Santro Xing was better. It definitely sounded better. Rana from Driven tells me this is because the Santro was a 1-box car, and all the sound stayed in the cabin. ... So I guess more cost cutting is happening ...

Neither is it cost cutting, and LOL, nor is it because it is a '1-box car' and the sound stays in the cabin.

The ANHC HU would have had a response curve (stock equalization in the HU, Navin referred to it here (Sub+Amp in ANHC?)) tailored for the stock speakers. By adding an amp and sub, the whole thing is now a bit disproportionate. What you perhaps could try (outside of replacing the stock speakers and adding an external sound processor to cancel out the HU's pesky EQ curve) is to lower the sub amp gain and set tone controls to flat at the HU. After this, you could perhaps increase the treble a bit while increasing the sub amp gain bit by bit to increase the thump.