[donarun]

Originally Posted by khoj

Hi Donarun,

Good to see your ICE thread. Do clarify though, whether this is just a listing of the various armaments (Bonnie & Clyde) or does it lead to an actual install

Ciao

Tarun, the install was completed 2 weeks back. The HAT drivers and the IDQ are in break-in process, they would need atleast 40-50 hours of playtime to complete the break-in.

Originally Posted by predatorwheelz

Very well thought out setup. Your narration is good, as is the detail on why you chose each item.

Wishing you many happy miles with it. Can you elaborate on the cost of each individual component?

Thanks dude, will update the thread with costs once i'm done with the installation posts.

Originally Posted by chiragh_bir

extremely nice stuff going into your car donarun !!

good luck for your install and do post some videos !

Thanks Chiragh, Will try an post a video in couple of weeks time.

Originally Posted by ashok_lat

Neat Stuff... Where in chennai you have done the installation? Whats the cost involved?

Thanks Ashok, the installation was done at "Sound Works", Royapettah. Cost will be posted in the following posts.

Originally Posted by Xryder

Neat setup buddy ! I have one request - please please put up pics of the final setup ? Would like to see how they have been placed ! Also, how would you rate the overall damped setup on a scale of 10 ?

Thanks. I have gone for a simple placement, not a stealth type install. Though the installer suggested a stealth finish, I wanted a stock finish in order to have free circulation of air around the amps which aids in better cooling of the amps.

Damping improves the performance of the setup by a great deal, I havent felt any vibrations till abt 80% of volume on the HU, the max I have tried so far, havent tried full volume yet. I have used abt 50 sq.ft of dynamat sheets till now and I would say its money well spent. If SQ is your aim, damping is a must.

[frankmehta]

Dude, you are the DON!!! This is one of the BEST amalgamation of components since a long time. I generally don't post here often now, but this is truly a setup worth appreciating!

[donarun]

Day 3 - Once the wiring running from front to back was in place, Clarus midbass drivers were mounted on the doors and the door frame was sealed with a layer of dynamat. Now each door has 3 layers of damping, one on the inner wall, second sealing the door frame and third a layer of thermoseal on the door pad. Result, no vibrations till abt 80% of volume on the HU. The tweeters were mounted on the A-pillars.





After this, the amp board was mounted parallel to the back rest of rear seats. The board was bolted to cars frame on the top and bolted to the boot floor with the help of " L " angles. I was not for a stealth install, I did not want to cover the amplifier from all sides. I wanted provision for free circulation of air around the amplifiers, including the back of amplifiers. To achieve this, the installer suggested screwing amplifier top to the amp board and the bottom on a 3/4 inch mdf strip planted on the amp board. This way we were able to get an elevation and ventilation gap btw the board & amp. It abt 3 hours to mount the amp board and be done with all the connections to it.

Installer (Deva) spent 3 continuous hours inside the boot well, to complete connections, for his dedication & commitment







Finally, the switches on the alpine HU were switched to "ext" mode. This has to be done if one's using the PXA-H100 Imprint module. The Imprint kit was placed underneath the steering wheel but more towards the HU. Since this being a active setup, the cross-over points had to be set first. So we disconnected the amp turn-on connection and set x-over points. The below mentioned x-over points were suggested by Scott. E. Buwalda, founder of Hybrid Audio Technologies.

Sub: LPF @ 80Hz, slope 24dB
Midbass: Mid Low @ 80Hz, slope 24dB
Mid High @ 5000Hz, slope 24dB
Tweeters: High Low @ 5000Hz, slope 24dB

With x-over set, the amp turn-on connection was restored. As per Mi10's suggestion, I powered on the setup with just the sub channel RCA connected and played a track & checked for output. Likewise did similar tests by connecting other RCA's (Front to midbass and rear to tweeters). On completion of this test, all connections were restored and played tracks to check for output.

Picture of finished front





Picture of finished boot

[donarun]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

Dude, you are the DON!!! This is one of the BEST amalgamation of components since a long time. I generally don't post here often now, but this is truly a setup worth appreciating!

Thanks Franky, your compliement means a lot. Its ppl like you, repeatedly shown and inspired us that how far one should/would go to achieve his/her goal of ultimate SQ.

[blackasta]

Well I do not think I am qualified enough to post anything on this thread - but just tagging along for the wonderful sights and narrative. Helps me a lot to take cues, Google search them and get the idea of how advanced sound setup stuff actually works.

[donarun]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Well I do not think I am qualified enough to post anything on this thread - but just tagging along for the wonderful sights and narrative. Helps me a lot to take cues, Google search them and get the idea of how advanced sound setup stuff actually works.

I'm just like you, not too knowledgeable on this, but spent lot of time reading and learnt just A & B, got to go till Z . Anybody can assemble a good setup provided they have necessary passion and perseverance.

[e-katz]

Originally Posted by donarun

I'm just like you, not too knowledgeable on this, but spent lot of time reading and learnt just A & B, got to go till Z . Anybody can assemble a good setup provided they have necessary passion and perseverance.

Great setup donarun! Cant wait to audition it.

Am waiting to get my Alpine HU as well do my ICE install.

[donarun]

Originally Posted by e-katz

Great setup donarun! Cant wait to audition it.

Am waiting to get my Alpine HU as well do my ICE install.

Thanks e-katz, we can arrange for an audition over the weekend.
What HU are you getting from Alpine, is it CDA-117 ? Are you getting the Imprint kit too ?

[dre@ms]

Well done pal. I love the setup you have made. And I still wonder these type of high tech gadgets are available in our own Chennai. Gonna bug you once I get my car. Like you, I am an enthusiast on SQ.

Only let down is, the HU would have been like a big touch screen, filling up the whole area not leaving any gaps below it.

Is your sub fitted to the boot floor?

[e-katz]

Originally Posted by donarun

Thanks e-katz, we can arrange for an audition over the weekend.

Sure, I'll PM you my contact details

Originally Posted by donarun

What HU are you getting from Alpine, is it CDA-117 ? Are you getting the Imprint kit too ?

Yup, its the CDA-117. Imprint Kit is in Stage-2.

[The Venom]

Price break-up please......

[donarun]

Installer - Sound Works, Royapettah, Chennai.

Sound Works, have sought of been a family installer for us. Till date they have ICE'd abt 12 cars for our family. The whole install was completed without any CUTTING or SPILICING of OE wires and they didnt indulge in unecessary drilling of holes for routing speaker wires, all the wires were routed through the OE grommets. I was amazed by their commitment to work when one of the installer (Devaraj) was in my car's boot (while fixing the amp board, wiring it up) for a straight 3 hours with legs folded. I would like to thank Johny and Sound works team for their magnificent work.

For more details abt Sound Works
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/chenna...oyapettah.html

Note - I have no commercial affliation with the installer or brands he deals with.

Johny



Devaraj (Johny's brother), does all the wiring & connections



Anandan (Carpenter / Damping specialist)



Deva & Anandan putting finishing touches to the amp board



Deva & Mani (the able assistant)



Sound Works Garage (Spacious & airy)

[khoj]

Chennai seems to be the ICE capital of the country, replete with audiophiles and quality installers alike.

BTW the gent standing over the Dynamat sheets, I wonder if he is the one who sent me the HATs ?

[donarun]

Originally Posted by khoj

Chennai seems to be the ICE capital of the country, replete with audiophiles and quality installers alike.

BTW the gent standing over the Dynamat sheets, I wonder if he is the one who sent me the HATs ?

All metro's have a good count of knowledgeable installers. Btw, I hear that your install is complete, where is your thread ? How is the setup sounding ?

Originally Posted by khoj

BTW the gent standing over the Dynamat sheets, I wonder if he is the one who sent me the HATs ?

Thats the bugger!!!

[donarun]

Originally Posted by dre@ms

Well done pal. I love the setup you have made. And I still wonder these type of high tech gadgets are available in our own Chennai. Gonna bug you once I get my car. Like you, I am an enthusiast on SQ.

Only let down is, the HU would have been like a big touch screen, filling up the whole area not leaving any gaps below it.

Is your sub fitted to the boot floor?

Glad to meet a fellow SQ enthusiast. All the equipment I've used can be sourced in India except for the HAT Clarus and IDQ. In my case, except for the Helix P400, all other equipment were got from the USA.

I would have loved to have a double din Alpine HU, but budget contraints , if you see my first post I had put details of my thread in ask gurus section. My original budget was 50K for everything, but I ended up paying close to 50k just for the Helix P400 alone .

As for the sub, there is a thin cardboard give by the car manufacturer to cover the boot floor, I replaced it with an 1/2 inch thick MDF plank as it has to withstand a weight of 20+ kilos (Sub + box)

Originally Posted by e-katz

Sure, I'll PM you my contact details

Yup, its the CDA-117. Imprint Kit is in Stage-2.

Got your contact details. So, have you placed order for the CDA-117 ? When is it expected to arrive ? Can you give details of other equipments like speakers, amp you plan to use ?