Flying Bong's ICE'd Cedia

[SRShrikanth]

Hi Gunbir,

It surely takes a lot of passion to work out such a prefect job. Congrats jee.

Am keen to know the amount of damping material used and the quality ( brand / thickness / mode of application ) of the damping set-up.

Your views will certainly help.

Cheers

[Flying Bong]

Originally Posted by determinus

@Flying Bong: What line of equipments do you have at home?

1. CDP - Jolida JD-100A (stock tubes in output stage changed to EH Gold Pin)
2. Integrated Amp - Primare I21
3. Speakers - Cadence Arita bookshelf speakers
4. Interconnect/Speaker Cable - Van Den Hul
5. Power cords - stock
6. Speaker stands - locally fabricated, steel, duco painted

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Kya Boss ekdum Techno question poochela! Actually the amp is first tuned, gains set etc. Then its final mounted on to the base board. Then the base board is mounted in its final place. And yes, the controls were made unaccessible by choice.

Apun Techno toh apna Sawal bhi Techno

Anyways that explains the placement, Thanks

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by rocksterraghu

gunbir sir, you haven't yet told us about how the sub sounds without an enclosure.

Raghu, the iDQ blends well as it is. In IB subs lose some top end whack (read: kick), and the iDQ does lose some too. In such cases there is more dependence on the midbass for "kick" and the X types keep up except where a lot of speed is required.

That said, the iDQ goes low giving great tactile feel and the bass lacks any kind of box coloration. The bass is really smooth with no boom at all. A very "warm" kind of bass, if that means anything.

[clipto333]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Nothing in such installs is by accident. Certain cars have horrible acoustics, thankfully the Cedia isn't one of them. We spent a lot of time getting to know the car and its challenges.

A lot of time was also spent before hand getting to know FBs taste in music and his listening preferences. He is a serious music lover and listens to some serious music on a serious home setup. So once the goals were set, the equipment was chosen. Everything has been done for a reason, and not by accident.

kya gunman. usne kab kahaa accident hota hai? he is toh just asking the reason why the integration is so good. vaise i must add that gill has a very good setup with nice integration himself.

imo, car acoustics play a much bigger role than anyone thinks. equipment does matter alot also. my setup doesn't sound as good as gills. that i think is because of the kenwood HU and id sub. but im happy with what i have. the music sounds good. i even like my fiestas stock system. at the end of the day, it all about music. but good equipment does make it more enjoyable.

FB, since i have never listened to a good IB install, can the sub pump enough bass for for an sql listener? i sometime like to go the spl way.

The Xo,s do look well built. i have never heard them though. would love to have a listen when i come to del next time.

gunman, when can i expect the new energy line?

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Flying Bong

1. CDP - Jolida JD-100A (stock tubes in output stage changed to EH Gold Pin)
2. Integrated Amp - Primare I21
3. Speakers - Cadence Arita bookshelf speakers
4. Interconnect/Speaker Cable - Van Den Hul
5. Power cords - stock
6. Speaker stands - locally fabricated, steel, duco painted

I'm curious if you are happy with that amp. Every time I've heard it, I felt that the amp had a very dry sound signature. Lovely CD player and speakers though. How does your home and car audio system compare with each other?

[Flying Bong]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

I'm curious if you are happy with that amp. Every time I've heard it, I felt that the amp had a very dry sound signature. Lovely CD player and speakers though. How does your home and car audio system compare with each other?

In retrospect, perhaps I could have made a different choice as far as the amp went...what appealed to me about it at the time was that it seemed detailed and smooth. Not sure what I'd replace it with though - I had originally heard the Aritas with a Creek 5350 SE and it sounded pretty nice, still wonder why I didnt buy it, would have cost less than the Primare too.

Not sure if I should even try to compare the two systems but here goes -

1.low end bass is more extended and tactile in the car (inevitably perhaps due to the sub), not sure but midbass maybe tighter in the home
2.midrange/vocals - I think the home system still has the edge here. Car is not as warm sounding as the home and a little suppressed compared to highs & lows
3. Highs - A bit of a toss up I think. Car amp seems more open and detailed but is let down a little by the speakers' tendency towards brightness

As far as features like imaging & staging go, it would be unfair to compare a home & car setup but the end result in the car has been pleasantly surprising . I think the home system may be less fatiguing over longer listening sessions at louder levels but better speakers in the car might address that.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Flying Bong

..X-types are good speakers..., midrange/vocals lack a little 'body' though....

i thought it was the upper midrange and HFthat was a bit over done giving this impression.

Originally Posted by rocksterraghu

gunbir sir, you haven't yet told us about how the sub sounds without an enclosure.

why not listen to it?

Originally Posted by Flying Bong

..Aritas with a Creek 5350 SE..

the primare and aritas are both a bit dry. the jolida will provide some warmth but maybe not enough. instead of replacing the amp i would consider replacing the speakers with something like the EPOS or mabe the Spendor.

[Flying Bong]

Originally Posted by navin

i thought it was the upper midrange and HFthat was a bit over done giving this impression.

I think I agree.

Originally Posted by navin

the primare and aritas are both a bit dry. the jolida will provide some warmth but maybe not enough. instead of replacing the amp i would consider replacing the speakers with something like the EPOS or mabe the Spendor.

Thanks for the suggestions navinji, but financial considerations forbid such changes for some time to come ...

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by Flying Bong

In retrospect, perhaps I could have made a different choice as far as the amp went...what appealed to me about it at the time was that it seemed detailed and smooth. Not sure what I'd replace it with though - I had originally heard the Aritas with a Creek 5350 SE and it sounded pretty nice, still wonder why I didnt buy it, would have cost less than the Primare too.

Not sure if I should even try to compare the two systems but here goes -

1.low end bass is more extended and tactile in the car (inevitably perhaps due to the sub), not sure but midbass maybe tighter in the home
2.midrange/vocals - I think the home system still has the edge here. Car is not as warm sounding as the home and a little suppressed compared to highs & lows
3. Highs - A bit of a toss up I think. Car amp seems more open and detailed but is let down a little by the speakers' tendency towards brightness

As far as features like imaging & staging go, it would be unfair to compare a home & car setup but the end result in the car has been pleasantly surprising . I think the home system may be less fatiguing over longer listening sessions at louder levels but better speakers in the car might address that.

Thanks for the detailed info. The reason I asked it was because I'm still deciding whether to splurge on a car audio system. I really dont have a yardstick to compare car audio to home audio and hence don't really know what to expect.

Its sort of a tough decision. I'd been speaking to Gunbir about this and finally have decided on the 12" IDQ sub, a genesis amp and dynaudio 240 front components. My only concern is how will it sound in relation to a home audio system of similar value.

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by Flying Bong

As far as features like imaging & staging go, it would be unfair to compare a home & car setup but the end result in the car has been pleasantly surprising . I think the home system may be less fatiguing over longer listening sessions at louder levels but better speakers in the car might address that.

I would like to add something here. Imaging and staging in audio a lot depends on driver placement whether it is home or car, something on which I am working to achieve the best in my car. And the results are quite good when considering having stereo setup in which the drivers are just 1.5 meter apart.

FB a lot depends on the driver placement, since you have a 2-way the major part of imaging will be done by the placement of the tweeter as you cannot change the midbass location easily. Try playing with tweeter locations if you can and check out the results of the same.

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

Try playing with tweeter locations if you can and check out the results of the same.

Aren't you assuming that wasn't done in the first place.

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by gunbir

Aren't you assuming that wasn't done in the first place.

NO, Chalo what you wanna say that there is no scope of improvement what you have done 100 % perfect and nothing in this world can improve it more very strange to hear

Also in you photo essay I did not see any tweeter mounting pics from which one can comment on the same. If you dont mind do you care to post them also so that you can complete the essay.

[Flying Bong]

Originally Posted by clipto333

FB, since i have never listened to a good IB install, can the sub pump enough bass for for an sql listener? i sometime like to go the spl way.

Well, tried cranking the volume all the way and the sub never overpowers/ goes louder than the rest of the music. Overall max volume is loud but not deafening or painful. Dont know what SQL bass is supposed to sound like...

Originally Posted by clipto333

The Xo,s do look well built. i have never heard them though. would love to have a listen when i come to del next time.

Sure, let me know when you're around this part of the country

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

NO, Chalo what you wanna say that there is no scope of improvement what you have done 100 % perfect and nothing in this world can improve it more very strange to hear

My friend, it is indeed very strange to hear, cuz I didn't say that. As always, YOU said so.

In fact its also strange that you hop on this thread guns blazing suggesting he try different locations for better imaging, when you haven't even heard the car and for that matter haven't seen how exactly the tweeters are installed.

To elaborate on my earlier answer, almost one whole day was spent listening, choosing different locations and settings. Flying Bong was there and all decisions were taken keeping in mind his observations & preferences. He knows exactly why certain decisions were taken. As for scope of improvement, there are improvements that can be made but that would mean FB spending more money, which isn't possible right now. That said, is his setup sounding the best it can with the current equipment. I can proudly say... YES!!!