Swift VDI, JVC+PIONEER+JBL, ICE upgrade??

[srikant]

Hi guys,
Here is my present setup of ICE in my SWIFT, This was done before i was on TEAM BHP, so request the gurus to advice me on the upgrade now.

JVC KW-AVX 700 Headunit (DVD and SD card and Aux in, with DOLBY 5.1 Output)
4 x Pioneer TS - G1611R dual cone on all 4 doors at stock location
2 x Pioneer Tweeters fixed infront with clamp as shown in pic below.
1 Pioneer 4 Channel Amp 700watts GM 6200 F
The amp powering the following:
2 X Pioneer TS-D 691 S 6"x9" Coxials on the rear tray.
1 x JBL Bass tube

It was a basic setup, and present connections areas follows.

The head unit powering all four speakers on the doors and 2 tweeters, all connected to front L/R channel of HU.

Rear and sub Preout connected to PIONEER AMP and wired to the co axials and JBL Basstube.

Amp is placed under front co passenger seat.










Now, for the upgrade, i want to upgrade to a better system within my budget of 5k for the upgrade. I dont listen to songs at very high volume, but like it to be clear and want that missing 5.1 channel output effect.

1. Though the HU has a 5.1 output, the center is not connected yet. Please suggest me a speaker to connect as center channel and how to connect it (does center speaker come with active amp or i need a seperate amp for it?). So that i get the real 5.1 effect to my dvd movies.

2. Should i change front door speakers to Components?

3. Is the present connections ok? any changes required?

4. If components added in the front doors, should i add another amplifier for it? or should i connect it to the existing pioneer amplifier and buy another amp to power the subwoofer?

Gurus, please, i am new to the forum and i need all of our advice. The setup is over a year old now. And demands this upgrade.

[DerAlte]

Quick, discard the front whizzer cone speakers and those infamous tweeeeeeeeters. All the rest seem to be fine for the time being. Don't think of changing the HU.

Audition some other TBHP cars, in Bangalore or in Kerala (seek, and ye shall find!:-)). Once you have auditioned some systems, you can decide for yourself which brand / model suits your listening taste - JBL, Illusion, Hertz, Blaupunkt etc. etc.. Install a pair of components in front.

For getting 5.1, you need another 2 channels of amp at least, assuming you can drive the center channel from the HU itself. The rears have to be driven by these 2 channels. Otherwise, shift the rears to the current 4-ch amp, and shift the bass tube to a decent mono, say a JBL 300.1 (in anticipation of a better sub in a sealed box down the line).

Go to a good installer to get your system tuned well if/when you switch to 5.1.

[srikant]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Quick, discard the front whizzer cone speakers and those infamous tweeeeeeeeters. All the rest seem to be fine for the time being. Don't think of changing the HU.

Audition some other TBHP cars, in Bangalore or in Kerala (seek, and ye shall find!:-)). Once you have auditioned some systems, you can decide for yourself which brand / model suits your listening taste - JBL, Illusion, Hertz, Blaupunkt etc. etc.. Install a pair of components in front.

For getting 5.1, you need another 2 channels of amp at least, assuming you can drive the center channel from the HU itself. The rears have to be driven by these 2 channels. Otherwise, shift the rears to the current 4-ch amp, and shift the bass tube to a decent mono, say a JBL 300.1 (in anticipation of a better sub in a sealed box down the line).

Go to a good installer to get your system tuned well if/when you switch to 5.1.

Do you mean the existing sub is not a good one?

I am planning for components in front, keeping the present HU,Amp, rear co axials and Subwoofer. But i dont have any place in Thrissur to get an audition of any components. ( I searched for components here and most of them dont have it and atlast found a shop where they have only JBL GT5 series compo and were not ready for audition, may be i have to wait till i go to Bangy next.

But, what about the center speaker? i heard some new model comes with an active inbuilt amp, since there is no slot on HU powering the center ( only Preout for center).
What speaker model do you suggest for center speaker? and how to power it? (will need another amp if it does not have an inbuilt amp)

At present the rear coaxials are powered by the amp and rest 2 channels of the amp are connected to the Subwoofer. I was thinking of powering the rear coaxials directly from the HU and Powering the components in front (after installing components) and Sub woofer from the existing amp. What say gurus?? please explain this ok?

[s0uljah]

Lets be realistic, in 5k your not going to be getting everything and a realistic 5.1 effect.

The average joe will not be able install the centre channel fruitfully. You will need to find someone who knows what they are doing so that you get the best out of it and its going to cost!

Ditch the speakers/tutors (Get Good front components)
Exchange the Amp (Get a 4ch / mono)
Exchange the Tube (Get a 12" sub)

[srikant]

Originally Posted by s0uljah

Lets be realistic, in 5k your not going to be getting everything and a realistic 5.1 effect.

The average joe will not be able install the centre channel fruitfully. You will need to find someone who knows what they are doing so that you get the best out of it and its going to cost!

Ditch the speakers/tutors (Get Good front components)
Exchange the Amp (Get a 4ch / mono)
Exchange the Tube (Get a 12" sub)

Ok pal, now that i have spend so much i dont mind extending the budget a bit more.

How about adding another 4 channel amp to power the components in the front and adding the center speaker? (BUT PLEASE GUIDE ME ON THE CENTER CHANNEL AND SPEAKER FOR THE SAME). How do i choose the center speaker? and where to mount it??

Can somebody please high light the difference in sound quality between a basstube and 12 " sub?? I dont know much about it

[frankmehta]

one more team bhpian bites the dust! from a budget of 5k to i think 15k! good going! i was on a budget of 4k and i stretched to 14k!!! hahahaha! but i love the sound in my car and im sure srikant will too! best of luck srikant

[Magma]

first off,
do you actually whatch movies recorded in 5.1. ? if you dont or if you listen to music more then think about the centre speaker later

now since you already ave a 4 channel pioneer ( 6200 F which i think is quite good)
keep it

sell the tweeters you have and the speakers on the doors.
instead get the componenet set that you have rightly decided.(install in front doors)
the JBL GT5 component set is a good one and is value for money if bought in the grey market-buy it ( 3800-4000rs grey)

now use the money you got by selling all the round pioneer speakers and the tweets and buy another 4 channel amp.(60*4 rms decent amp should cost about 4-4.5K most of which you should get selling those 4 pioneers and tweetes)

now you have 8 channels of amplification!

use two channels for the pioneer ovals
2 for the components
2 channels brdged for the bass tube
and you can think of 2 chanels for your centre speaker later on

i have no experience in centre speakers i guess the centre speaker of home audio would do.
only thing it is difficult to get a chepa speaker seperately.
i think sony,yamaha,phillips avaible seperately


now you have 8 channels of amplification

[sathee46]

There are centre speakers available in pioneer and alpine(5-8K), but they are only worth if you watch lot of 5.1 movies in your car. At first I too wanted to go for it but later decided against it. If you listen to lot of music than movies better spend that money on a good Amp or a good pair of comps.

[srikant]

Originally Posted by Magma

first off,
do you actually whatch movies recorded in 5.1. ? if you dont or if you listen to music more then think about the centre speaker later

now since you already ave a 4 channel pioneer ( 6200 F which i think is quite good)
keep it

sell the tweeters you have and the speakers on the doors.
instead get the componenet set that you have rightly decided.(install in front doors)
the JBL GT5 component set is a good one and is value for money if bought in the grey market-buy it ( 3800-4000rs grey)

now use the money you got by selling all the round pioneer speakers and the tweets and buy another 4 channel amp.(60*4 rms decent amp should cost about 4-4.5K most of which you should get selling those 4 pioneers and tweetes)

now you have 8 channels of amplification!

use two channels for the pioneer ovals
2 for the components
2 channels brdged for the bass tube
and you can think of 2 chanels for your centre speaker later on

i have no experience in centre speakers i guess the centre speaker of home audio would do.
only thing it is difficult to get a chepa speaker seperately.
i think sony,yamaha,phillips avaible seperately


now you have 8 channels of amplification

Yeah pal, i feel i ll decide on the compos for now as i dont watch much movies. I just wanted the setup to be complete 5.1 as it was compatible and watch movies rarely.

So i ll decide steps for good music now.

For the first stage of upgrade, i ll go for the components in the front. Can anybody suggest some good components. How do i decide between Hertz, JBL, POLK and Illusion?

Originally Posted by sathee46

There are centre speakers available in pioneer and alpine(5-8K), but they are only worth if you watch lot of 5.1 movies in your car. At first I too wanted to go for it but later decided against it. If you listen to lot of music than movies better spend that money on a good Amp or a good pair of comps.

Right said buddy, i ll go for music now than trying to achieve the 5.1 setup. Meanwhile let me do some research on components for the front.

Can anybody help me with good installers in Trichur or Bangalore please.

[s0uljah]

Originally Posted by srikant

Right said buddy, i ll go for music now than trying to achieve the 5.1 setup. Meanwhile let me do some research on components for the front.

Can anybody help me with good installers in Trichur or Bangalore please.

Step in the right direction !

Iceman91 has the JVC setup in regular audio and it sounds great even when watching videos.

I guess your closest pro installer would be Zuhemi. If your visiting Ban-galore then there's a couple of options.

What sort of music do you listen to?

[muneemmk]

There's a shop called Smart Cars in thrissur they have a Demo car for Polk. Also Hertz, Boston,JBL,Bull,Kicker etc all have components speakers in this price range i.e between 4K to 7K and the kenwood 8401 Amps would be a good buy at approximately 5K. Also check the Main wirings to the amp and if you are installing more than one amp it would be good to use a good quality splitter/Distribution block maybe even with Voltage displays in it.

Nobody seems to like the JBL bass tubes , any specific reason for it ?

In Cochin Other than Zuheimi, there is also Endeffects near renaissance hotel and the JBL Shop on the highway.

[srikant]

Originally Posted by s0uljah

Step in the right direction !

Iceman91 has the JVC setup in regular audio and it sounds great even when watching videos.

I guess your closest pro installer would be Zuhemi. If your visiting Ban-galore then there's a couple of options.

What sort of music do you listen to?

I listen to music as per my mood, from classical to trance, melodies to rock and pop . . just depends on my mood. Now i have decided to go for music than 5.1. So ended up deciding to add components for the front doors. Doing some research work on that.

Originally Posted by muneemmk

There's a shop called Smart Cars in thrissur they have a Demo car for Polk. Also Hertz, Boston,JBL,Bull,Kicker etc all have components speakers in this price range i.e between 4K to 7K and the kenwood 8401 Amps would be a good buy at approximately 5K. Also check the Main wirings to the amp and if you are installing more than one amp it would be good to use a good quality splitter/Distribution block maybe even with Voltage displays in it.

Nobody seems to like the JBL bass tubes , any specific reason for it ?

In Cochin Other than Zuheimi, there is also Endeffects near renaissance hotel and the JBL Shop on the highway.

Thanks muneemmk, great to hear that there is some good ICE shop in Trichur. Though Trichur is my native place, i am staying here for the first time in my life and not so familiar with places here. I keep goin to Bangalore where i have spend almost all of my childhood every 2 months (Next trip planned in December 2008), so i can look for somebody there too. But mean while, can you give me details on the location of Smart Cars or their phone no? i want to check them out for some audition and get it installed if i am satisfied.

Also have PMed Gunbir bhai asking details for damping and Noisekill. Waiting for your input Gunbir bhai.

[Magma]

for noisekill contact Bass&Trouble. or LBM.
i think gunbirji uses dynamat unless im mistaken

[srikant]

Originally Posted by Magma

for noisekill contact Bass&Trouble. or LBM.
i think gunbirji uses dynamat unless im mistaken

Thanks Magma, i ll contact them