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-   -   Tata Manza - ICE'd (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-entertainment/107492-tata-manza-iced.html)

ICE is always an integral part of any car and with most of the new ones coming with built in audio it becomes when more simple for a layman to listen to his favorite tracks right off the showroom.

But then being a member of tbhp one's ICE definition in a car is totally different. In my previous Zen my ICE was collect over a long period starting with the following that came with the car

1. Tape player
2. Pioneer 6x9 at back

Then came the fronts in form of Lightening Audio 4". Didnt sound to good so wanted to change over to a CD/MP3 player, so once again bought a 2nd hand Pioneer set. The system sound good with more thump. Then came in the JBL poor mans components, this setup did duty for a long time. But then it changed again and by the time i sold my car my setup read as:

1. Pioneer 3390 HU
2. Rockford Prime 6.5 Components
3. JBL GTO 948 6x9
4. JBL GT-S644 Amp
5. Pioneer T-W303 sub

I am no audiophile or SQ specialist but i listen to a varied range of music, i mostly like it bright and airy. With the above setup i was pretty happy and when the plan came to buy the Manza, i was sure i am going to shift the entire list onto the new car. However, since the front door was cut to accomodate the 6.5 compo's i had to sell it away with the car.

So after a small hunt in Tbhp went and got myself a Morel Maximo components. So the basic list of equipments remains the same, only change being Morel comes in and Rockford goes out.

Finished the ICE install last Friday at EVO, it was a good install with some improvisations.

The Improvisation that was made was to the center console. Tata gives a single Din music system wrapped as a double din face plate :D so first we thought we will order for a ready made center console where we can fix my single din Pioneer, unfortunately, there was none for the Manza and the one that was sent was for a Indigo that too in brown color and did not have a bracket as well.

So what Evo did was fabricate a MDF front facia the size of the Tata HU, cover it up with pseudo black leather whose texture is exactly that of the dash and fix the Pioneer, neat work i must say.

Could not take much pics as i was not there the whole time but clicked a few, will post a clear pic of the center console soon.

Pic1: The installer completely opened the center console and working on the wiring :shock:
Pic2: The old JBL 948 goes at the back, good work by Tata to provide a metal plan for the back. :)
Pic3: My simple sub from Pioneer, once all was done I realised the boot is so large you require 2 subs for more thump
Pic4: Front door damping with foam, a cheap alternative and works well.

motomaverick congrats on the ICE install.

Can you post a few pics of the facia.

Thanks Rj, here is the pic of the front facia, its not jazzy but simple.

Hi motomaverick

I missed the point. Why you wanted to change the music system which comes from factory?
Its not that the MANZA built-in music system is great but , I always felt that its not bad enough to change it.

The change was because i had to fix front comps, rear co-axials, and a sub via an amp and the stock unit does not come with any preouts, plus this setup required preouts but if i were to keep the stock unit then some external connector was required and the SQ would not be the same as what i am getting now, ofcourse the SQ is not as good as some other systems you see here but then i am satisfied :)

Thanks for putting up the picture man, dint you consider getting carbon fiber stickers put up instead of the leather thingy ? It simply would have added to the looks.

No it did not occur but thats not a bad thought, maybe i will check with some sticker wala, it should not be too much of a task.

Frankly speaking, front facia is degrading the interior outlook. I would suggest, get front fascia of base end of Indica Vista. That will be straight fit here in Manza. Base end Vista does not come with music player.

Point taken, will look for that but is the dimensions the same as well as will it be just the facia or will come with the harness, coz we tried with the indigo facia, it costed a bomb at 3500 plus no harness provided.

Also wondering how the base version of manza aqua facia will be coz that also does not come with audio.

Thanks motomaverick for the interesting and informative thread. I'm adding a JBL amp & woofer to my Vista tomorrow. It has the same HU that your Manza came with. I personally am fairly satisfied with the performance of the HU. Its the stock speakers are more of a let down IMO. Yes its a pseudo 2 DIN, with 1 DIN rear and no pre-outs. But I spoke with 2-3 ICE vendors and their advise was that the Blaupunkt unit is not too bad & a converter connector should suffice for adding the amp & woofer. I'll let you know how the performance is.

As for the facia, doesn't the Manza AQUA also come with an integrated ICE sans the bluetooth phone? I thought it does. Try for a Vista Terra / Aqua (now LS/LX) console face. It will give you nice bracket, and leave a 1 DIN slot free for itsy bitsy storage also.

Cheers!

Yeah i think even the Manza aqua comes with Ice, i would have to try for the Vista console face but it might be tad too expensive plus i am satisfied with the current setup. I also was told to use a connector for the preouts but then I was advised by Satya from Evo that the audio quality will not be able to match with a HU that comes with all the preouts.

Also, i have upgraded the HU now from the Pioneer shown in the pic to Kenny 6046, SQ difference is immense.

motomaverick did your manza come with steering mounted audio controls? Also would you happen to have any photos of the reverse of the OEM HU? Am really interested to know what connection options are available.

I also own a Manza and am contemplating changing the stock speakers. Would not be interested in changing the HU as the steering mounted controls would not function with any other HU. The photos would really help me in deciding whether to go with a hi-lo converter or to look for other amp/setup options.

Just changing the stock speakers will not help. You will need an amp to make sense of the changed speakers.
Try hunting for the Blaupunkt harness if you can find it else hi-lo convertor is you only option... :)
Good luck.

Having upgraded the stock speakers ONLY in my Vista VX (I presume the HU is the same as Manza), I can say it does make a difference. My upgrade was constrained a bit as Vista could accommodate only 5" speakers. I went with JBL 5" coaxials for lack of options in 5" components, or do we have any?. If Manza has 6" slots, you could go for components in the front and coaxials in the back. This may up the quality to around 80%, you should do this first and then take a call on the HU based on your listening preferences.