A red hot rapid install in a red hot (Skoda) Rapid

[Samridh]

The following has been installed in my 4 day old skoda rapid:

Equipment List:
1) Alpine 117E;
2) Rainbow CS 265.25Germanium 6.5" 2 way Component Set (Bi-amped and powered through);
3) Mosconi One 120.4;
4) Gladen M-15 Sub-woofers used in a parted and sealed enclosure (powered through);
5) Mosconi One 240.2;
6) Bull Audio 2 Gauge Amplifier Wiring kit;
7) Gladen Zero RCA's;
8) One packet of Stinger Roadkill for damping doors;
9) Two distribution blocks from Audison.

Pre-install:I was in talks with Mr. Gunbir Singh of BBW Distributors (hereinafter "Gunbir") for a music system that meets my requirements. I had an opportunity to discuss the available options with a few of my friends and a few team bhpians as well. After much deliberation the aforesaid individual items were chosen for the install. It was decided that the install will take place at Driven (at East of Kailash).

About the install: I am lucky to be in Delhi NCR wherein we not only have access to some amazing international quality equipment but are in a position to get installs from people who are aware of their job and are sensitive to customer demands. I am happy with the workmanship of Driven Car Audio and would recommend their services to other people.

Positives from the installation:

1) Dedicated Team [Subhaan, Farhaan (I think I have again miscued his name) and Mukesh];
2) Detailed workmanship [I shall post some work in progress pics which shall give you an idea of what I mean];
3) Helpful owner of the shop [I can't really say if Mr. Rana knows or understands the nuances of car audio installation (quite like me) but I always sensed his eagerness to help me, he offered me food and drinks (of course, non-alcoholic) throughout the day, ensured that my pointers were taken and incorporated well by his installation team, from amongst his team he certainly knew who is good at what and made each team member do 'only' what he is good at];
4) I don't know how big/small my install was in the commercial sense. Probably quite a small one. Still Mr. Rana ensured that all his team 'ONLY' worked on my install during the course of the day. Therefore, no other cars were booked for the day. To top it, I realised that jobs re - at least - 3/4 cars were not accepted and returned during the course of the day. I even noted Mr. Rana thwarting one of his boys to have accepted a 2/3 minute job on some other car. In these commercial times, it certainly is a tough task.

Shortcomings:

Not really.

First impressions on hearing the setup:

1) The biamped components powered through the Mosconi 120.4 are exactly what I wanted them to be. They sing with an open air about them. They sound proud and open (not overt or in my face). They have a certain maturity to their sound which is loveable and warm.

2) However, the system is on a basic tune (done by Subhaan of Driven) through the head unit. The crossovers etc, the gains on the amplifier/s, hp/lp are yet to be set to their 'optimum' ability. The tuning session is lined up for tomorrow evening when the masters, Gunbir and Jasdeep, will lay their master hands at the system.

3) The sub woofers pack a lot of punch for being SQ woofers. They are musical and do not overpower the sound-stage in any way. I am happy with them.

4) The tune will certainly help them to run in cohesion.

Pending Jobs:

1) Tuning or Fine-Tuning;
2) Damping of the trunk;
3) May be I will have to take pics from a camera and not from a mobile phone to show you how the install looks like. At present, I only have WIP pics.

Thanks for reading!!

[Samridh]

Some more work in progress pics:

[Samridh]

And the last set of work in progress pics:

[mempheS.D]

That Rapid is going to blow that town apart indeed. Why does that 6.5" rainbow look massive? Did you not want to mount it in the doors? Or was it too deep to mount?

[gotzuk]

Congratulations Samridh!
Looking forward to hearing it soon.
Cheers!

[DerAlte]

Congratulations, @Samridh. What were the prices of the individual items?

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

... Why does that 6.5" rainbow look massive? Did you not want to mount it in the doors? Or was it too deep to mount?

Err... they look like mounted in the doors alright, in all the pics!?!?!?

@Samridh, since there is no pic with the door pad in place: Why did they use 2 spacers behind the mid-bass? Was the magnet of the mid-bass fouling with the window glass? (I think @mempheS.D had the same question above)

[GTO]

Have heard great things about Gunbir's installs, look forward to pictures of the final install and your verdict.

But a pro-ICE install is not for the faint-hearted. The first time I saw my just-delivered Civic being ripped apart, I was . Navin - who was standing nearby - collapsed in laughter. Honestly, factory fit is factory fit and there are some bits of my Civic which aren't fitted back the same way. I doubt I'll put a new car through the procedure again.

Be sure to get your system insured, and invest in a great after-market security system (protection against glass intrusion, interior sensors et al).

Congrats & happy listening.

of BBW Distributors (hereinafter "Gunbir")

Let me guess, you are a lawyer by profession right?!

[rudder]

This is one red hot arrangement. Smokin!!

By the way is this Samridh from R&S. Remember ddb?

[pushkark]

Please put the pics with everything installed. That will give you a fair idea of how it looks in the car.
Also where and how will the box be fitted in the car? Will it take all the boot space??

[ABerry]

Exactly what I was thinking about majority of boot space occupied. Detailed pics will only answer that.

Originally Posted by pushkark

Please put the pics with everything installed. That will give you a fair idea of how it looks in the car.
Also where and how will the box be fitted in the car? Will it take all the boot space??

This is one hell of an install. Liked it.

[Samridh]

And the last set of pictures from a point-n-shoot:

[Samridh]

And now its me n the dwindling road on my red hot 'dhanno' with ear-gasmic music:

[Samridh]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

That Rapid is going to blow that town apart indeed. Why does that 6.5" rainbow look massive? Did you not want to mount it in the doors? Or was it too deep to mount?

mempheS, thanks!! But this set up is neither the loudest and it was never intended to be one!! Its loud but in a very musical way. In fact, it might actually disappoint the die-hard SPL fan. Its an out-n-out SQ install which can take the higher volumes with a lot of panache.

Re the Rainbow Germaniums - They seem to be built very well. Superb value for money. They are in fact mounted in the (front) doors only. Or do you mean why not another pair in the rear doors?

Originally Posted by gotzuk

Congratulations Samridh!
Looking forward to hearing it soon.
Cheers!

Thanks Vaibhav!! The 'two-way' audition is surely overdue!! Lets catch up soon!!

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Congratulations, @Samridh. What were the prices of the individual items?

Err... they look like mounted in the doors alright, in all the pics!?!?!?

@Samridh, since there is no pic with the door pad in place: Why did they use 2 spacers behind the mid-bass? Was the magnet of the mid-bass fouling with the window glass? (I think @mempheS.D had the same question above)

1. DerAlte..... Though I know I have called for trouble by posting in the 'Show-Off' thread, I am not really comfortable posting prices on the thread. I have often seen such postings lead to a lot of debate over other (purportedly better alternatives) available in the market for same or even lesser prices. People often go into a downward spiral of product bashing which is a bad feeling. Needless to say, I am open to answering price related questions on PM's. Suffice to say, the total money expended is close to 150,000.

2. I guess mobile phone pics are often unclear. To clarify, only one spacer (0.75 inch) was used. I don't know why a 0.5 inch spacer was not even tried. Maybe, the installers were aware of problems that follow with use of thinner spacers. Be that as it may, once the 0.75 inchers were used there was never an issue with the door panels and or power window movement et al.

Originally Posted by GTO

Have heard great things about Gunbir's installs, look forward to pictures of the final install and your verdict.

But a pro-ICE install is not for the faint-hearted. The first time I saw my just-delivered Civic being ripped apart, I was . Navin - who was standing nearby - collapsed in laughter. Honestly, factory fit is factory fit and there are some bits of my Civic which aren't fitted back the same way. I doubt I'll put a new car through the procedure again.

Be sure to get your system insured, and invest in a great after-market security system (protection against glass intrusion, interior sensors et al).

Congrats & happy listening.



Let me guess, you are a lawyer by profession right?!

1. Of course, Gunbir and Jasdeep are masters of their trade. In fact, many of their installs are well documented on team-bhp. In-numerous members have gained from their expertise.

2. But to clarify, though this install was discussed with Gunbir and later tuned by Gunbir and Jasdeep, the install was done at Driven. And thus all my comments above (re workmanship etc.) only reflect on Driven's work.

3. Yes, when I saw my 'Dhanno' naked, I virtually fainted!!

4. AND yes, I am a lawyer!! Hahahahaha!!

Originally Posted by rudder

This is one red hot arrangement. Smokin!!

By the way is this Samridh from R&S. Remember ddb?

Thanks, Durga!! I do remember ddb . Tell him to catch up with me!!

Originally Posted by pushkark

Please put the pics with everything installed. That will give you a fair idea of how it looks in the car.
Also where and how will the box be fitted in the car? Will it take all the boot space??

1.Pushkark, I have put up some pics!! See if that gives you an idea of how it looks. If u have any specific requests, please let me know, I shall try n take specific pics to answer your queries.

2. Pushkark see when you choose to have two 15" inchers (not the free air types) in the trunk, its really unfair to expect boot space. Its like asking for too much. In fact, the Gladen's were chosen only because they are sub-woofers that generate musical bass AND there boxes are 'relatively' smaller than say subs like DD. But still the boot can accommodate say 2-3 smallish school bag sized bags. Of course, my subs will need grills to protect the paper cones from infiltration.

Originally Posted by ABerry

Exactly what I was thinking about majority of boot space occupied. Detailed pics will only answer that.

This is one hell of an install. Liked it.

Thanks ABerry!! Great that you liked it!!

Sheepish Admission : Even I like it a lot. Hehehehehe!!

[Samridh]

Firstly, thanks for choosing my thread to be on the team-bhp home page, "Hot threads". I realize that that my work in progress pics were low resolution, and, hence I have borrowed these pics from the installer's facebook page. These pics will not only cover aspects of my install that I have not already covered but will also also answer questions like the size of the mids, the number of spacer rings used, the size of the sub box etc. etc. I had specifically sought the permission of the author of these pictures (i.e. Mr. Subhaan of Driven) to post these pictures here. Thus, I am posting the same for everybody's ease of reference:

[Samridh]

More pictures from the install: