Siena 1.6… Oops iD'd it again - Team-BHP

hellspawn · 14th January 2008, 00:50

Hi guys,

Here's how the story begins...

My previous setup:

HU: Pioneer 6850
Front: Alpine type-x components(spx-177a)
Wiring:audison
Amp: JBL GTO 75.4
Sub: pioneer 305c in a sealed box

This setup was doing its duty in the zen pretty nicely. The clarity of the comps was good and the pioneer sub could thump hard in the small zen. Now the problem arose when I shifted the same equipment into the Siena. The "over damped" body of the car wouldn’t let the sub’s frequencies filter through into the cabin. Also the components could not reproduce sound as clearly as they could in the zen (must be due to the tinny body of the zen). It was hard to tell that the front speakers were actually components. I procured the Hertz ECX 165 coaxials for the rear to make amends but there was only a slight difference.

To discuss this issue, I met up with Gunbir and Autophile (JB)…. and they did what they do pretty well.. make you spend money (lots of it).

I decided that I would upgrade in stages starting with:

1. Sub
2. Components
3. Coaxials
4. Headunit
5. Amp

But damn I got over excited and shot way past my budget, read on and you will know why.

Sub was a no-brainer, as suggested by Gunbir & Autophile it had to be the IDQ12 for the big boot of the Siena (also took suggestions from Clipto, Hydrashok and Rishibravo… thanks guys). Opted for the iDQv2 instead of the iDQv3 due to the price difference.

Now I had decided to get the Hertz ESK165’s but heard them in a fellow members car and found them a bit bright for my liking. So finalized on the HSK 165’s, but the Hi-Energy series were out of stock and new stock hadn’t landed as yet so had to wait.

I wanted the exact sound as the Alpine Type-X’s produced in the zen. What that meant was that the comp’s shouldn’t be bright and focused more towards the midrange / midbass.

As luck would have it, Gunbir called me up and informed me that Image Dynamics CTX65cs components had arrived. They hadn’t even been launched in USA and would be displayed at the CES show in Jan.

Decided to audition them in Gunbir’s car where he had installed a pair for testing. Now whoever has dealt with Gunbir knows that he calls a spade a spade so I was pretty OK with going with his recommendation.

Heard the speakers in his car and I was impressed with the sound and decided to go ahead with it. The icing on the cake was that they cost 12.5k compared to the 15k price of the HSK’s and sounded similar.

The 75.4 and the wiring were retained. The iD midbass drivers had a larger mounting depth compared to the Alpine Type-X and couldn’t be mounted in the stock location without comprising on the stock look.The map pocket and the speaker grill were a hindrance and had to be removed.

Autophile & Gunbir suggested to get a replica made of the original stock pocket in MDF keeping the ID components mounting depth in mind. This pocket would have the spacer ring built in it so that after installation, the whole unit looks stock.

The install was done at DRIVEN with Gunbir and Autophile to oversee the work and do the tuning of the system. When the installation was finished, another weak link was exposed... The Pioneer HU. I was told an HU upgrade would push the SQ envelope further.

So decided to upgrade it as well and went for the Alpine 9883. The sound is really sweet and the sound stage is setup perfectly. The imaging is well centered and really high. Snares, Kick drums, guitars all have presence and authority. There are lot more details I can hear now in my music.Dire Straits,Led Zepellin,Pearl Jam,Def Leppard,Static X,Disturbed,Slipknot and Lamb of God,all sound awesome now.

But as is with ICE, there will always be a weak link no matter what you do… so now saving up for an amp, probably an Audison or the Image Dynamics.

New setup:

HU: Alpine 9883
Amp: JBL GTO 75.4
Front: Image dynamics CTX65cs
Rear fill: Hertz ECX165 coaxials
Sub: Image Dynamics IDQ12V2 D2
Wiring: Connection Audison

Some details:

- The map pocket made of MDF
- The amp and the crossovers are mounted on a board attached to the seat frame with all the wiring hidden from view
- The iDQ12 is in a 0.9cuft sealed box

Here is a pic of the boot .Will post more pics as soon as i find the pc cable of my camera.

@ Gunbir and Autophile(JB):Thank you very much.

Cheers!

moralfibre · 14th January 2008, 05:29

Congratulations Hellspawn, wanted to know if you could manage to run Speaker wire across the door of the Siena or you are using the stock speaker wire that makes way into the door?

panky12345 · 14th January 2008, 08:43

congrats, very well written. I'm sure it would be sounding awesome. How does the Hertz/ID perform mated with a JBL amp?

saintsinner · 14th January 2008, 09:31

looks good hellspawn, when do i get an audition?

JPL · 14th January 2008, 09:48

Grats hellspawn, that nice equipment you got there to achieve spawning hell on your earth lol.

I also listen to the artists that you have mentioned and also much thrashier, speedier and deadly lol, how does it sound with the new CTX components?

How do they perform after increasing the volume to more then 60%? do they still stay true?

gunbir · 14th January 2008, 13:05

Hi Helli

Glad you like it, here are some pics JB took that day:

Enjoy!

hydrashok · 14th January 2008, 13:18

Congrats, Hellspawn! Great equipment there. Enjoy!!!

And that is a nicely written story

Now, we want pics!

jkdas · 14th January 2008, 14:39

that thingy looks BIG!

hellspawn · 14th January 2008, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Congratulations Hellspawn, wanted to know if you could manage to run Speaker wire across the door of the Siena or you are using the stock speaker wire that makes way into the door?

I'm using the stock speaker wire that makes it way into the door.Didn't want the wire visible running frm the door sill into the door pad.

Quote:

Originally Posted by panky12345

congrats, very well written. I'm sure it would be sounding awesome. How does the Hertz/ID perform mated with a JBL amp?

It performs well.the 75.4 has the power to take care of the sub and the components but lacks the finesse at higher volumes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saintsinner

looks good hellspawn, when do i get an audition?

Any time!

hellspawn · 14th January 2008, 14:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPL

Grats hellspawn, that nice equipment you got there to achieve spawning hell on your earth lol.

I also listen to the artists that you have mentioned and also much thrashier, speedier and deadly lol, how does it sound with the new CTX components?

How do they perform after increasing the volume to more then 60%? do they still stay true?

they perform as well as they did at say 30%.the driver ca kep up with the triplets and the snare/hit hat rolls easily.also the iDq can easily deliver the double bass found in most of lamb of god/chimera's songs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrashok

Congrats, Hellspawn! Great equipment there. Enjoy!!!

And that is a nicely written story

Now, we want pics!

thank you sir.oh you dont know the half of it

.
pics shall be posted soon.

Bass&Trouble · 14th January 2008, 15:07

The midbasses look like miniature IDQs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gunbir

1st order crossover? 7000 Hz crossover frequency?

hellspawn · 14th January 2008, 23:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

The midbasses look like miniature IDQs.

1st order crossover? 7000 Hz crossover frequency?

7000Hz crossover frequency

Bass&Trouble · 14th January 2008, 23:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellspawn

7000Hz crossover frequency

Lol, that was meant for Gunbir. Sorry to confuse you.

esteem_lover · 14th January 2008, 23:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellspawn

7000Hz crossover frequency

yeah, comes right after 6999 Hz crossover frequency & just before you know what.

congrats on the new setup

hellspawn · 15th January 2008, 01:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

Lol, that was meant for Gunbir. Sorry to confuse you.

oh ok..anyway is the 7000hz crossover frequency a good or a bad thing..

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

yeah, comes right after 6999 Hz crossover frequency & just before you know what.

congrats on the new setup

thank you.

14th January 2008, 00:50	#1 (permalink)
hellspawn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: noida Posts: 1,494 View My Garage	Siena 1.6… Oops iD'd it again Hi guys, Here's how the story begins... My previous setup: HU: Pioneer 6850 Front: Alpine type-x components(spx-177a) Wiring:audison Amp: JBL GTO 75.4 Sub: pioneer 305c in a sealed box This setup was doing its duty in the zen pretty nicely. The clarity of the comps was good and the pioneer sub could thump hard in the small zen. Now the problem arose when I shifted the same equipment into the Siena. The "over damped" body of the car wouldn’t let the sub’s frequencies filter through into the cabin. Also the components could not reproduce sound as clearly as they could in the zen (must be due to the tinny body of the zen). It was hard to tell that the front speakers were actually components. I procured the Hertz ECX 165 coaxials for the rear to make amends but there was only a slight difference. To discuss this issue, I met up with Gunbir and Autophile (JB)…. and they did what they do pretty well.. make you spend money (lots of it). I decided that I would upgrade in stages starting with: 1. Sub 2. Components 3. Coaxials 4. Headunit 5. Amp But damn I got over excited and shot way past my budget, read on and you will know why. Sub was a no-brainer, as suggested by Gunbir & Autophile it had to be the IDQ12 for the big boot of the Siena (also took suggestions from Clipto, Hydrashok and Rishibravo… thanks guys). Opted for the iDQv2 instead of the iDQv3 due to the price difference. Now I had decided to get the Hertz ESK165’s but heard them in a fellow members car and found them a bit bright for my liking. So finalized on the HSK 165’s, but the Hi-Energy series were out of stock and new stock hadn’t landed as yet so had to wait. I wanted the exact sound as the Alpine Type-X’s produced in the zen. What that meant was that the comp’s shouldn’t be bright and focused more towards the midrange / midbass. As luck would have it, Gunbir called me up and informed me that Image Dynamics CTX65cs components had arrived. They hadn’t even been launched in USA and would be displayed at the CES show in Jan. Decided to audition them in Gunbir’s car where he had installed a pair for testing. Now whoever has dealt with Gunbir knows that he calls a spade a spade so I was pretty OK with going with his recommendation. Heard the speakers in his car and I was impressed with the sound and decided to go ahead with it. The icing on the cake was that they cost 12.5k compared to the 15k price of the HSK’s and sounded similar. The 75.4 and the wiring were retained. The iD midbass drivers had a larger mounting depth compared to the Alpine Type-X and couldn’t be mounted in the stock location without comprising on the stock look.The map pocket and the speaker grill were a hindrance and had to be removed. Autophile & Gunbir suggested to get a replica made of the original stock pocket in MDF keeping the ID components mounting depth in mind. This pocket would have the spacer ring built in it so that after installation, the whole unit looks stock. The install was done at DRIVEN with Gunbir and Autophile to oversee the work and do the tuning of the system. When the installation was finished, another weak link was exposed... The Pioneer HU. I was told an HU upgrade would push the SQ envelope further. So decided to upgrade it as well and went for the Alpine 9883. The sound is really sweet and the sound stage is setup perfectly. The imaging is well centered and really high. Snares, Kick drums, guitars all have presence and authority. There are lot more details I can hear now in my music.Dire Straits,Led Zepellin,Pearl Jam,Def Leppard,Static X,Disturbed,Slipknot and Lamb of God,all sound awesome now. But as is with ICE, there will always be a weak link no matter what you do… so now saving up for an amp, probably an Audison or the Image Dynamics. New setup: HU: Alpine 9883 Amp: JBL GTO 75.4 Front: Image dynamics CTX65cs Rear fill: Hertz ECX165 coaxials Sub: Image Dynamics IDQ12V2 D2 Wiring: Connection Audison Some details: - The map pocket made of MDF - The amp and the crossovers are mounted on a board attached to the seat frame with all the wiring hidden from view - The iDQ12 is in a 0.9cuft sealed box Here is a pic of the boot .Will post more pics as soon as i find the pc cable of my camera. @ Gunbir and Autophile(JB):Thank you very much. Cheers! __________________ Kenwood KDC-X8529,IPaul 4.300,Image Dynamics CTX65cs,IDQ15 If you try,and succeed at first, try not to look astonished.

14th January 2008, 08:43	#3 (permalink)
panky12345 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,407	congrats, very well written. I'm sure it would be sounding awesome. How does the Hertz/ID perform mated with a JBL amp? __________________ Yehi hota hai toh aakhir yahi hota kyun hai??

14th January 2008, 09:31	#4 (permalink)
saintsinner BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Noida Posts: 323	looks good hellspawn, when do i get an audition? __________________ 2006 Accent GLE 2007 Scorpio 4X4

14th January 2008, 13:05	#6 (permalink)
gunbir Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: New Delhi Posts: 2,194	Hi Helli Glad you like it, here are some pics JB took that day: Enjoy! __________________ Stuck in my head - Goldspot - Rewind

14th January 2008, 13:18	#7 (permalink)
hydrashok Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In my Office Posts: 2,040 View My Garage	Congrats, Hellspawn! Great equipment there. Enjoy!!! And that is a nicely written story Now, we want pics! __________________ Seven are my colours Many are my lovers What was three will soon be two The music will again sound pure and true

14th January 2008, 05:29	#2 (permalink)
moralfibre Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Back to Pune :-) Posts: 3,241 View My Garage	Congratulations Hellspawn, wanted to know if you could manage to run Speaker wire across the door of the Siena or you are using the stock speaker wire that makes way into the door?

14th January 2008, 09:48	#5 (permalink)
JPL BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 220	Grats hellspawn, that nice equipment you got there to achieve spawning hell on your earth lol. I also listen to the artists that you have mentioned and also much thrashier, speedier and deadly lol, how does it sound with the new CTX components? How do they perform after increasing the volume to more then 60%? do they still stay true?

14th January 2008, 14:39	#8 (permalink)
jkdas Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Thiruvananthapuram Posts: 5,238 View My Garage	that thingy looks BIG! __________________ "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid."

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