What ICE & @ What Price

[hydrashok]

Here I go...

1. what is your existing setup (HEADUNITS, SPEAKERS, AMPS, DSP,SW etc.)

This is my current setup. Culmination of 3 years of install, pull out, buy new stuff, install, pull out... you get the idea. Setup is still not final (it never is), and my planned changes/upgrades are also listed.

HU: Blaupunkt Casablanca MP54 + RC10 Remote control on the steering wheel - Rs.20,000.00 (got the remote as a freebee).
CD Changer: Blaupunkt CDC-A03 10 disc changer - Rs.15,000.00
Amp1: Blaupunkt GTA 250 (2-channel amp, drives the sub) - Rs.5,000.00
Amp2: Blaupunkt GTA 450 (2-channel amp, drives the front) - Rs.10,000.00
Front Speakers: Blaupunkt ODX662 (6" 2-way co-axials) - Rs.5,500.00
Rear Speakers: Blaupunkt ODX693 (6x9 3-way co-axials) - Rs.8,000.00 + 800.00 for the MDF tray.
Subwoofer: Kenwood KFC-WF305 12" Sub in a ported Box in the boot - Rs.5,000.00 + 1,000.00 for the box
Cables: BOSS Power Cables & RCA Cables (Ugh, yes! I know. I didn't know how bad they are when I did the install. Team-BHP has sure taught me.). Speakers run the cables they came with. Don't remember what runs juice into the Sub. - Rs.1,500.00 (or something like that. Don't remember).

The Amps and the CD-Changer are installed (in the boot) on an MDF Plank bolted onto the rear seat. The sub is also in the boot.

The result is mostly a SQ oriented system, with less of SPL. It can do with a lot more SQ though (can't get enough of THAT :-)).

In the process of getting here, I've bought and sold a Kenwood HU, a Kenwood 10 CD Changer, A Kenwood 4 x 70RMS amp, A Blaupunkt Active (mini) Subwoofer (IC-10, if I'm not mistaken), 2 Kenwood (5.25") front speakers, 2 Alpine 5.25" Co-axial front speakers, 2 Blaupunkt (IC65?) 6" front co-axial front speakers, 2 Blaupunkt ODX552 5.25" co-axial front speakers. Don't remember the model names of most of these (didn't pay much attention to model nos. then). All the stuff gets sold to friends, so I usually take a hit in the resale prices (but thats ok, 'cause selling the old stuff is vital for getting new stuff in).

Planned upgrades:
STAGE 1
a) Get rid of the CD Changer (will have to find a buyer) and get a Blaupunkt iPod adapter for my (ancient) 4th Gen 20GB iPod.
b) Switch the fronts to Hertz Comps (ESK165s). (Will have to sell the current set-up first)
c) Switch the rears to Hertz Coaxials (DCX 165s or DCX690s). (Will have to sell the current set-up first)
d) Switch the entire cabling to Connection Audison when STAGE 1 is getting done
STAGE 2
e) Switch the Subwoofer & Amp to a more powerful combination. Not fully decided which ones yet. Have to manage to sell the current combi first.
STAGE 3
f) Damp the front doors - Dynamat Extreme only!
g) Damp whatever else the sub has shaken up - Dynamat Extreme only!
STAGE 4
h) By now, It'll probably be time to sell the car. Sell the car, agonise at the low price I got for the ICE, and YESSSSSS... plan for ICE in the new car :-)

2. How much did it cost ?
Total damage to the pocket including approx. 3000.00 for installation over various sessions = 74,800.00 = 75,000.00

The loss I made on the older stuff I sold... That's another story.

3.How serious were your about your system?
Serious enough. I really enjoy my music. I get to enjoy it properly only when I'm driving or travelling or working out (walking heh, heh). I don't have a serious HOme Audio setup. I use Shure E3Cs with my iPod (sound isolation earphones that cost Rs.13,000.00), so you should get an idea from that...

4. which kind of music do you listen to ?? prefer deep bass or how is it...
I listen to most kinds of music. I don't listen to a lot of Hip-hop or Rap of any of the newer stuff much (It's rare that I get to like something from these genres). Mostly I listen to Bluegrass Country, Blues, Modern Rock, Alternative, classic Rock, Classic Pop (ABBA etc) and a little of Pop & Dance. I like Bass that's tight and punchy. But a little bit of depth in the bass is ok. I'm NOT a bass freak who likes to hover dangerously close to heart attack each time I crank up my system. I like bass that integrates itself into the music, without overwhelming the vocals or the other instruments.

5. would you recommend it to others???
Yep. Regardless of my (forever) seeing green on the other side, I *am* happy with my current setup, and would recommend it to somebody who prefers SQ over SPL, and would like fuller vocals (my HU is great with vocals).

6. Place of purchase( City/Country and Shop name) whether with Bill and warranty or without B/W
All of it (except the sub) bought and installed in Kochi at the Blaupunkt Showroom (installer is a Guy called George. Not too greedy). The sub was part of my old system. I bought it from the Kenwood Dealer in Kochi (CP Auto Impex) and he got some guy to install it for me (along with the Kenwood Amp I had also bought then).

Everything is with Bill & Warranty.

7. Place where the setup was done
See above (Sl. no. 6)

8. Some pics

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

I use Shure E3Cs with my iPod

Here's a good man.

Thank you for a very very well written and enjoyable post.

[hydrashok]

CORRECTIONS!!!

Sorry folks, I have some corrections.

Amp2: Blaupunkt GTA 450 (4-channel amp, drives the front & rear speakers) - Rs.10,000.00

Uhhhh... my Dad always tells me I use too much copy & paste. I agree with him now.


Wow! Thanks for the compliment, Sam!

I enjoyed writing it too (except for a dumb@$$ mistake I just saw). Made things quite clear in my mind.

[jkdas]

thought so abt that amp.

You knw, I had 6 speakers in my fiat. Dont ask me the name of the brands of those and if i used Dynamat. I had some coir mat in it though

[sgiridharan]

Head Unit: Sony Xplod : CDX-F5510X - Rs.8990/-
Front: Boston 5 1/4" model:FX5 Cost Rs.2700/
Rear: JBL GTO 937 oval 6 x 9 Cost: Rs.4950/-
Listen to all kinds music, love the bass sound of the JBLs.
Would recommend for hatchbacks. I am using these in my
Zen, rear speakers fixed to a wooden tray with the small dicky(!)
acting as the speaker box and the performance is very good..

[sunildn]

[COLOR=#333333][FONT=Verdana]After spending lot of my time and taking the suggetion from Bhpian I went ahead and installed a system in my Car. Details as follows.

1. Car : Santro Xing XL

2. What is your setup (Head units, Speakers, Amps, Subetc.)
HU - Pioneer 6850 @ Rs.9000 (Grey)
Fronts - JBL GTO426e 4" speakers @ Rs.2500 (B&W)
Rears - Infinity Reference 9613i 6"X9" Coaxials @ rS.4400 (Grey)
Sub - None
Amps - None

3. How much did it cost?
Total value : 18K (including parcel tray,antenna,fitting etc)

4.How serious were your about your system?
Got a bit serious after reading the ICE section on Team-BHP. Budget was not much. Now I am getting fantastic sound.

5. which kind of music do you listen to ?? prefer deep bass or how is it...
Highly varied. Predominantly both Indian and Western classical. Sometimes rock, gazals, film music etc. Like very clear notes. Basically I listen to all South Indian filmy songs.

6. would you recommend it to others???
Yes...definately.

7. Future Plans
None at the moment

A big thanks to all the guys on this forum who helped me in getting some very good sound without amp and sub. [/FONT][/COLOR]

[5u3zEr0]

Originally Posted by 5u3zEr0

1. Car

Palio GTX

2. what is your existing setup (HEADUNITS, SPEAKERS, AMPS, DSP,SW etc.)

Head Unit - Pioneer KEH-P8950 Cassette HU - Pioneer's top of the line cassette player with 3 4v pre-outs.

CD Changer - Pioneer CDX-P1250 12 Cd Changer

Front Speakers - Blaupunkt TX200 - 8" Tri-axial speakers mounted on fibre glass enclosures. It has nice mids and that upfront bass I wanted. Gets a signal down to 50hz, sometimes I give it a full range signal. Only speakers in the car. No tweeters, no rear fill!

Amplifier 1 - Premier GM-X414 - 4 channel amplifier, bridged to two channels, powering the front speakers. Giving each speaker 70w rms.

Subwoofer – Cerwin Vega Vega 1204 – 12” Sub in a 2.25 cu. ft. ported enclosure.

Amplifier 2 – Mtx Thunder 2150x – 2 channel amplifier bridged to power the sub with close to 400w rms.

MTX external bass control – Gives me direct quick control on the subwoofer.

2 guage and 8 guage power cables and fuse distribution block by Scosche
Speaker wires and RCA cables by Scosche

In mid August finally changed my HU to a Kenwood KDC-X9533U Single cd player (3 sets of 5.0v pre outs, 24 bit DAC, USB drive, etc.) Sounds nice and I like it better than the Pioneer. Miss the cd changer though! Its a pain changing CD's.

Added a pair of Panasonic EAB-ST12 tweeters on the A-pillars to improve the front soundstage. The tweeters are smoother and milder compared to the others available in the market.

Will also be changing the Premier amplifier within a month. Most probably will settle down for the Alpine MRV-F345.

[Mugen_Power]

1. Car

2006 Toyota Innova V

2. what is your existing setup (HEADUNITS, SPEAKERS, AMPS, DSP,SW etc.)

Head Unit - Pioneer 8850 Mp3

Front - Illusion lm 6.1 Comps.

Rear - Illusion lm 6.1 Comps.

Subs - Illusion lm 12 x 2 In Seprate Sealed Box With Plexi Glass And Neon.

Amp 1 - Pioneer GM6200F 4 Channel Amp For Front And Rear.

Amp 2 - Pioneer D510 Monoblock Amp For Subs.

Cables - 8 Gauge For Power, Audiobahn For Comps And Somer For Subs.

RC Cables - Somer

Pioneer Ipod Adapter.
Ipod Video 30GB.


3. How much did it cost ?

115K

4.How serious were your about your system?

Very Much Serious.

5. which kind of music do you listen to ??

Hip Hop, RnB, Hindi Dj Remix, Hindi Orignal Soundtracks.

6. would you recommend it to others???

Definately Yes..

7. Place where the setup was done

In Bombay At B&T's Place.

Cheers,
Mugen_Power.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by 5u3zEr0

In mid August finally changed my HU to a Kenwood KDC-X9533U Single cd player (3 sets of 5.0v pre outs, 24 bit DAC, USB drive, etc.) Sounds nice and I like it better than the Pioneer. Miss the cd changer though! Its a pain changing CD's.

Added a pair of Panasonic EAB-ST12 tweeters on the A-pillars to improve the front soundstage. The tweeters are smoother and milder compared to the others available in the market.

Will also be changing the Premier amplifier within a month. Most probably will settle down for the Alpine MRV-F345.

was wondering what happened with your signature.

So no more dB drags now?

[mobike008]

1. Car

Accent Viva CRDI

2. What is your existing setup (HEADUNITS, SPEAKERS, AMPS, DSP, and SW etc?)

Head unit : Pioneer 6850 (9K)
Front comps: 6 inch Blaupunkt- Don’t recall the exact model number ( About 5K)
Rear Speakers: JBL GTO 937, 300 Watts, 6X9 Co-axial Speakers ( About 4800 )
Sub Woofer: Pioneer 12 inch 600 Wattage ( 4600- Bought more than 3 years ago) in a ported boom box placed vertical in the boot
4 channel Amp: Sony XK 554 ( 2 Channel for Sub-Woofer, 2 Channel for Pio Tweeters and Rear Speakers) ( About 4.5K)
Tweeters: Pioneer TS20 ( 2600-Bought more than 3 years ago)
Medium Priced Cables ( Cost about 1800)
Woofer Box: ~ 500

3. How much did it cost?

Total ~ 27K (Excluding the stuff that I bought already 3 years ago)

4.How serious were your about your system?
Damn serious, followed the ICE threads for about 2 months and took inputs from all the gurus before taking the plunge. Insane_DVL being in Hyderabad met me and advised the actual system for my car.

5. Which kind of music do you listen to?? Prefer deep bass or how is it...

I essentially love 70-80’s rock (Pink Floyd, Led Zep, Dire Straits, G’N’R, Metallica, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, AC DC, Black Sabbath, Whitesnake. Now, I am getting into a bit of rap since last few years and my fav are Dr Dre, Eminem and I absolutely adore Snoop Dog. Apart from this I also listen to some country and blues music just to cool my head after all that hard music. So it’s kind of all kinds and I prefer my bass tight and deep

6. Would you recommend it to others???

As it’s installed just 2-3 days ago, I haven’t explored the ICE fully, at the moment the tweeters seem a bit more dominating. I reckon it will be fine if I adjust the levels. Otherwise, it is just rocking and I am extremely pleased with my ICE set-up, thanks to all of you Team-BHP guys who helped me out.

7. Place where the setup was done

All the equipment except the ones that I bought 3 years ago was bought at Max Motors, Minister Road, Hyderabad and installation was also done by them.

Any further advice or any tweaking needs to be done to make it sound even better is more than welcome.

[5u3zEr0]

Originally Posted by jkdas

was wondering what happened with your signature.

So no more dB drags now?

What makes you think that?

[5u3zEr0]

As it’s installed just 2-3 days ago, I haven’t explored the ICE fully, at the moment the tweeters seem a bit more dominating.

With a pair of TS-S20's in a car, that would be obvious! I suggest you pull them out and then listen to the difference.

[speedzak]

Mr. Mobike007+1!!! I just cant understand why you need that TS20 with the components? If you have the components then it's better to dump those TS20s. Those are the worst sounding example of harshness and over dominance.

And I also think the wiring is not correct. The components should be powered from the amp rather than the rears. The rear can be powered from the HU. And what's the way the front components are connected. Where are the tweeters kept from the components?

[mobike008]

Thanks Zak and 5U,

you have placed the finger on the problem right on. I think the first thing i am gonna do is remove the TS20.

Also, since i didnt look carefully regarding the connections, what i wrote was my initial conversation with the installer, now i am gonna go back to them and let me know correctly if what i had written is what actually fixed up or is it something else.

Also, zak you were suggesting the comps to be powered by amp and let the rear speakers be driven by HU??? While i received alternate opinions about that, some said, HU--->Rear Speakers ( JBL 937) the power isnt enough and you need an amp to power the speakers. While your suggesting Rear speakers powered by HU....please clarify with pros and cons...

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Also, zak you were suggesting the comps to be powered by amp and let the rear speakers be driven by HU??? While i received alternate opinions about that, some said, HU--->Rear Speakers ( JBL 937) the power isnt enough and you need an amp to power the speakers. While your suggesting Rear speakers powered by HU....please clarify with pros and cons...

Zak suggested to get the front comps to be driven by the amp as it will improve the front stage....which is the ideal considered setup....suppose if in your house where would you be sitting while listing the music facing it or with facing your back....I think it will solve your problem....Rest it is your choice to let the sound come from the back or the front.....