[torquecurve]

Hi All,

I need some help with upgrading my speakers on my ride. The issue is the stock speakers (onkyo?) are pathetic when it comes to bass and also I lose sound dynamics at high volumes.

I dont want to change the HU at this time. It is a Blaupunkt, which has 35x4 output. The front and rear door speakers are 4inch I believe. Not sure if it can take higher size speakers. There are also two tweeters in the dash.

Went to one car shop and he suggested Blaupunkt 4inchers in the front doors (4K), JBL 3channel coaxial in the rear doors (4K) and a JBL amp (4K). The other suggestion was to go for JBL Subs in the rear door without an amp (4K) and retain the front stock setup.

The car is mostly self driven and so the rear does not need a good mid/low range but bass is preferred. My budget is close to 6K for the setup at this time. (can stretch to 8 max).

Choice of music varies from Classical to Grunge!

I need something which has the Bassy 'thump' while retaining the low and mid range for the times when lady who likes romantic songs is with me!

P.S. : Another option was to add an Amp and a woofer box but that will take up boot space. And I dont want to cut the parcel tray.

[Sridhar K]

Hi,

I am no ICE novice but I have upgraded the ICE on my Manza which has a similar set up. The stock speaker is a Malaysian make (don't know the brand) and is quite pathetic. The Blau HU is too weak to drive any powerful speakers leave alone sub. It also does not have pre-outs and you either need a high to low converter or an amp with an high level input, thereby increasing the cost. Since I had a sub with me from my earlier car, went for the following set up.

1) Blau Velocity vc542 components that fits the front doors perfectly. The new JBL S265/6c is larger and would need modification based on feedback from my installer.

2) Blau Velocity vc475 amp to power the front comps and the JBL GT4 12 inch sub from my earlier car. This amp has high level inputs and does not need a high to low converter. Hence picked this over JBL amps which cost less. The idea was that I could save on the cost of high to low converter.

3) Retained the stock rear speakers as there was no budget

4) X-static wiring kit

The set up is biased towards the front but since most of the times I drive alone, it is fine. In case people at the rear complain, I set the fader settings biased towards the rear and then increase the volume.

Total Cost Rs. 15k and pretty happy with the sound quality. However during the install, the high level speaker inputs was picking up the whine from the engine and relaying them on the speaker. Adding a 4 channel high to low converter fixed the issue but I think, there should be a better way to fix this problem.

Would suggest that you go for a 4 channel JBL amp with Blau/JBL speaker for the front and the back.
Or
Get an 4 channel amp and new front components first. Then you could incrementally upgrade the rear speakers and then a later stage add a sub with a mono-block amp.

Gurus, please critique my set up so that other Bhpians know the issues and pick up something better and/or cheaper.

[mayankjha1806]

I recently upgraded my HU and Speakers to Sony and JBL. Although i did not try JBL speakers with other HU's but with Sony they had a nice Bass thump to it. I think they were close to 4K (not exactly sure about the price) but i am happy with the output. The guy did recommend a sub as well but i dropped the idea as i dont like the too-much bass thump of the Sub and the current setup of JBL were found to be sufficient. My advise would be try multiple speakers playing with the same brand/model of HU that you have (as you are not planning to change it) and see the effect and decide yourself. Lot of times the HU and Speakers are good on their own but when you put them together they dont sound right.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by torquecurve

Hi All,

I need some help with upgrading my speakers on my ride. The issue is the stock speakers (onkyo?) are pathetic when it comes to bass and also I lose sound dynamics at high volumes.

Went to one car shop and he suggested Blaupunkt 4inchers in the front doors (4K), JBL 3channel coaxial in the rear doors (4K) and a JBL amp (4K). The other suggestion was to go for JBL Subs in the rear door without an amp (4K) and retain the front stock setup.

Hi torquecurve

I had changed my Vista's speakers before it was taken out of the showroom. The stock speakers are worse than pathetic. They sound like those 1950s radio.

Anyways, I had changed the speakers to JBL Pro with 4 JBL 3 inchers in each door, since I wanted the same effect everywhere and 2 JBL tweeters(sorry dont remember the exact technical name) in the dash. Belive me the stock HU is very good, you just need good speakers. There is absolutely no need to replace the HU. Just spend all your 8k budget on getting good speakers.

Besides JBL, why don't you try out Rockford Fosgate speakers? My friend's ANHC has Rockford speakers and they are too good. The price difference is not much. Also, find out if you can add speakers on the parcel trey, so it doesnt intrude into your boot space.

All the best!

Cheers!

[Swanand Inamdar]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Besides JBL, why don't you try out Rockford Fosgate speakers? My friend's ANHC has Rockford speakers and they are too good. The price difference is not much. Also, find out if you can add speakers on the parcel trey, so it doesnt intrude into your boot space.

Ajay, isnt Rockford Fosgate more than expensive? Sorry, I am not aware of the exact price, but have always heard of them being costly.

On the placement of the speakers, instead of placing them on the parcel tray, why not get that wodden tray those guys make to hold the speakers. That would be more durable than the plastic tray, not to mention, more sturdy to take the weight.
The wodden patti can be used in place of the tray, or even mounted on the hatch door. That ways, you save the space, plus the parcel tray.

Just my two cents.

[skumare]

I recently bought a Vista VX and upgraded the front speakers to JBL 5.25" GT5 S205 (160W) coaxials and back ones to JBL 5.25" CS5 (105W) coaxials. Went for 5.25" ones mainly to fit in the slots available in the doors, not a big fan of the oval speakers on the parcel tray. I think VX has a pair of tweeters as well in the dash and I did not touch them.

Given that the stock tweeters may not be of high quality, the highs are a bit muffled (expected). I am thinking of going for 5.25" components in the front door and replace the stock tweeters and xovers also that come with this set. Will move the S205 to the back door and dispose of the CS5s.

Any recos for a decent set of 5.25" components (with xovers and tweeters)? Budget under 5k...ish. Thanks.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by skumare

Given that the stock tweeters may not be of high quality, the highs are a bit muffled (expected). I am thinking of going for 5.25" components in the front door and replace the stock tweeters and xovers also that come with this set. Will move the S205 to the back door and dispose of the CS5s.

Any recos for a decent set of 5.25" components (with xovers and tweeters)? Budget under 5k...ish. Thanks.

The stock tweeter is actually just a piezo buzzer.
Why don't you install a 6"component set?

[skumare]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

The stock tweeter is actually just a piezo buzzer.

Was expecting that

Why don't you install a 6"component set?

Didn't want to cut the door frame (metal), am not sure/aware of how it is done and hence stayed away from it. BTW, is it OK to get the speaker slots widened by the accessory shop guys or do I need to visit any specific shop to get it done? Thanks.

[Sridhar K]

Originally Posted by skumare

Any recos for a decent set of 5.25" components (with xovers and tweeters)? Budget under 5k...ish. Thanks.

As mentioned in my earlier post, you may wish to consider Blaupunkt Velocity vc542 which fits Manza's front speaker slots perfectly (and so should Vista's).

[skumare]

Originally Posted by Sridhar K

As mentioned in my earlier post, you may wish to consider Blaupunkt Velocity vc542 which fits Manza's front speaker slots perfectly (and so should Vista's).

Will search for them again, but none of the accessory shops I visited in Hyd offered me any options, I was specifically asking for 5.25" compnents with xover and tweeters.