[nishantgandhi]

They say deprivation makes you realize the true worth of things. For me, this is an understatement. Since the day I took delivery of my Linea Tjet+ (actually even before that), I was dreading the stock audio. I have heard better speakers in Mumbai autorickshaws and cabs. The OEM HU leaves you so frustrated that pulling your hair out, strand by strand, also seems a small fry. No wonder then, it was relegated to play FM radio – something which it's best designed for.

Hence I embarked on the initial research to determine the ideal system to my liking. I was earlier hoping to retain OEM HU because of the Blue and Me and steering remote controls. That's why the inclination was to get a DSP. But as I used B&M more and more, I realized it's pathetic and I quickly decided to let go of it. So began the hunt for an ideal after-market HU. I had the Clarion DXZ 785 USB from my previous install. It is no doubt a legandary HU in terms of SQ. It also gave me an option to go active. But I really was not too keen on that. And having used it for ~2 years, I was a bit bored of the old-school looks. I wanted a HU which could play lossless files off a USB. And finally I came across the JVC KD-R 926BT and quickly purchased it.

Next up was the amplifier dilemma. I was always keen to give adequate and clean power to my GZ sub, especially because of the kind of music I listen to (EDM & trance) and also because I felt the bridged power from the Blaupunkt GTA 4 (which was running the sub in my Getz) may not be good for a sedan setup. The Rockford Fosgate Prime R500-1 was on my wish list since long and I bit the bullet now. This also meant I could amplify all four door speakers via the Blaupunkt amp. Nice!

Finally, the speaker decision. Here again, the original preference was to use Illusion Electra EL 6.1 from my previous install. I simply loved it's natural sound and was frankly, quite used to them. But like an average forum surfer, I naively posted a query to which I received a multitude of responses ranging from Morel Tempo to Digital Designs to Rainbow to Helix. Talk about confusion! Almost at the same time, I saw Ajay Kamath's classified for the Focal Polyglass deal and made up my mind to go for it.

So here's the list of equipment that finally went into the car:

• Headunit – JVC KD-R 926BT
• Front components – Focal Polyglass Series 6.5" KIT 165VB
• Rear coaxials - Focal Polyglass Series 6.5" Coaxial KIT 165CVX
• Amplifier for the speakers – Blaupunkt GTA 4 Special (60w x 4 RMS)
• Subwoofer – Ground Zero GZ TW MK2 in a ~1 cu. ft. sealed enclosure
• Ampfilier for the sub – Rockford Fosgate Prime R500-1 (320 w x 1 RMS)
• Wiring – 2 kits of Scosche e2 E400 8 GA amplifier kit + 1 Gladen RCA
• Speaker Wiring - Bandridge 1.5 sq. mm.
• Single din fascia panel sourced directly from Fiat A.S.S
• Connects2 CTSFA0004 Steering remote interface module along with JVC2 patch lead (which did not work ultimately)
• Damping – Noise Kill on all four doors

Initial impressions
In one word – Brilliant. I don't know (and don't want to pin-point too!) whether it's the Focal Polyglass speakers, or the JVC 926, or the RF amp or the GZ sub that makes the difference. I think it's the beautiful combination of all these equipments playing in perfect tandem with each other.

Focal Polyglass are amazing speakers. The highs, mids and lows are pure, natural and balanced – just the way they should be and just the way I want them to be. You can go as low or as loud as you want, and they will deliver beyond your expectations – with ease and finesse. In hindsight, it was a good decision to power all four speakers from the Blaupunkt amp. You can't go wrong with German power! These speakers play all kind of music – EDM, Trance, Jazz, Rock, Hip-hop and Bollywood with amazing grace.

The Ground Zero sub (again a German!), ably powered by the Rockford Fosgate amp delivers tight, deep, rich and accurate bass. I'm in awe of it's capabilities.

JVC is a killer (and sleeper) HU. You throw a WAV file and it will reproduce what true music should be like. Each and every detail is put out clearly. You can simply close your eyes and enjoy every instrument and note in absolute bliss. However, it is ruthless too. You throw a 320 kbps MP3 and it does the job equally well, but it you can really tell that this HU was built for lossless audio only. You would feel ashamed at playing anything other than WAV on it. The display illumination is another worthy point to be mentioned here. It has an orange color which matches the interior illumination of the Linea perfectly! The other highlight of this HU is the Bluetooth functionality. Not that I would use it (remember, I hate the Blue and Me too?) but it's a nice to have. Audio gets muted automatically when a call comes in and is resumed when you finish the call. So I guess the Jabra SP700 will soon feature in the Classifieds!

I have a few complaints with this HU though. The display option is either folder view or track view (both in scroll mode). Why could they not have both? This is a pin point especially when you want to quickly play songs across different folders. Also, the HU takes a long time to read a flash disk, especially if it has many folders. My 8 GB flash disk with about 20 folders took a good 6-8 seconds to load up!

As if the TJet experience was not enough, it has now become impossible to get me out of the car. I'm sure fellow drivers on Mumbai roads would be amused to see me driving with a stupid smile on my face. Little do they know what bliss I'm experiencing inside! In a nutshell, I'm happy. “Eargasm” is what I'm experiencing whenever I hear my system.

Teething troubles
There are two niggling issues. First – a major whine in the system. This is very faint when the car is stationary and especially absent at high volumes. But in motion, one can hear a strong whine increasing with speed and it's very irritating, especially in-between songs. Need to get that checked ASAP.

Second – the Connects2 interface did not work. I don't know whether the problem is with the black box (low chances) or the JVC Patch Lead (high chances). But I have to try my luck in getting a replacement from Dynamic Sounds. It is surprising because I before purchasing, I had emailed the JVC HU specs and link to Dynamic Sounds Technical Support and they only suggested the JCV2 Patch lead. Well, **** happens.

Install feedback
Due to some unavoidable personal circumstances, I had to wait a considerable amount of time for the install to happen, even though all the stuff was procured. But as they say, all's well that ends well. I finally got a slot with Ajay Kamath. The man is known for his quality installs and mine was no different. My only instructions were to ensure that no OEM wires are cut/tampered with and a stock look as far as as possible. Both were duly complied with. Work started around 11.30 am and progressed rapidly. We finally wrapped up around 8 pm and then Ajay tuned the setup. Before he came in, I tried to use the auto time alignment settings of the HU. But he scrapped them and used a measuring tape to calculate the distances and accordingly entered the TA values. The system sounds beautiful with these settings.

There were a couple of downers though – the car wasn't washed/cleaned/vacuumed properly after completion of the work (presumably because it had got late and installers were getting impatient to leave). Also, there was a minor deviation from my install as another car came in and mine got delayed. I really wished mine could be completed sooner. Maybe the whine and cleaning problems could have been detected and corrected then and there. But it's ok.

P.S. Pics to follow in the next post. I wanted this to be a text-only description.

[iFuel]

Congratulations on the install. Eagerly awaiting pics.

Your post has helped me a lot as well, I am looking for a mono block amp, a 4 channel amp and a sub woofer for the stage 3 in my ICE journey. How would you rate the amp and sub woofer that you have installed and what will be the cost break-up on these. Any help in this will be highly appreciated.

[sandeepmohan]

I was jumping in excitment when I noticed this thread on the main forum page. The fizz died almost immediately when I found out that you have kept nothing stock for the audio in your ride. I am looking for solutions to integrate a amplifier and speaker setup without meddling with the stock head unit and Blue & Me as I find it useful.

Anyways; the list of components you have used sure sounds like a system that will sound fantastic.

About the whine, which is most probably alternator related, you will be surprised to know that it is there on my stock unit. This is when the system is turned OFF. It is audible even when turned ON. I noticed it several times and it comes and goes. When out on the highway, it is impossible to hear it due to road noise. When crawling in slow moving traffic, with the windows roled up, I can hear it easily. No other passenger could hear it though. I never asked them to pay attention to any noise. The weird thing is, one evening, when I heard the whine, I pressed the Mute button on the steering wheel and the whine stopped. This is when the head unit was switched OFF. The whine was back when I unmuted. Assuming unmuted as the display does not report anything as the system is not ON. I do not know how to address this with Fiat service as faint sounds like these will never catch their ears and the whine is not there all the time. It comes and goes.

There is a serious glitch in my electricals somewhere and the car is stock. After a 14km start and stop drive in the evening traffic, when I return home, I can see the parking lamps in the head lamp barrel flickering and so is the climate control display light. It flickers lightly in tune with the engine rpm when idling. I suspected a weak battery but then the car restarts easily. Need to sort this out.

[sandeepmohan]

I have a Blaupunkt Velocity amplifier rotting away in the loft as I do not know how to electrically wire it in this car. Suggestions to do this will help.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I was jumping in excitment when I noticed this thread on the main forum page. The fizz died almost immediately when I found out that you have kept nothing stock for the audio in your ride. I am looking for solutions to integrate a amplifier and speaker setup without meddling with the stock head unit and Blue & Me as I find it useful.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I have a Blaupunkt Velocity amplifier rotting away in the loft as I do not know how to electrically wire it in this car. Suggestions to do this will help.

You have two options here:
1. Use a Hi-Lo converter to connect your stock HU to the amp through this. Power your component speakers (which will go in front) and sub (in boot) through the amp. Connect the coaxials (rear door) directly to stock HU.
2. Get a DSP which will 'clean up' the power from the stock HU and also give you a variety of tuning options. Rest of the setup remains same as Point 1 above.

In either case, if you do not decide to go for a subwoofer, then you can power all 4 speakers through the Blau amp.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

About the whine, which is most probably alternator related, you will be surprised to know that it is there on my stock unit. This is when the system is turned OFF. It is audible even when turned ON. I noticed it several times and it comes and goes. When out on the highway, it is impossible to hear it due to road noise. When crawling in slow moving traffic, with the windows roled up, I can hear it easily. No other passenger could hear it though. I never asked them to pay attention to any noise. The weird thing is, one evening, when I heard the whine, I pressed the Mute button on the steering wheel and the whine stopped. This is when the head unit was switched OFF. The whine was back when I unmuted. Assuming unmuted as the display does not report anything as the system is not ON. I do not know how to address this with Fiat service as faint sounds like these will never catch their ears and the whine is not there all the time. It comes and goes.

There is a serious glitch in my electricals somewhere and the car is stock. After a 14km start and stop drive in the evening traffic, when I return home, I can see the parking lamps in the head lamp barrel flickering and so is the climate control display light. It flickers lightly in tune with the engine rpm when idling. I suspected a weak battery but then the car restarts easily. Need to sort this out.

There are two kinds of 'whine'. What you are talking about is the turbo whine. It is very faint but with AC at the lowest fan speed (or switched off) and engine idling, you can definitely hear it.

While that was present in my car from Day 1 (in fact it is in all turbo charged engines if I'm not wrong) What I'm facing is most probably alternator whine. This gets introduced because audio signals get interference from the power source somewhere. It may be a grounding issue too. Need to get that checked.

One more thing - the flickering of your display lights is most probably a sign of alternator problem. Get that checked, preferably from an outside shop. TASS people are usually ill-equipped to handle specialist jobs.

Also, the stock HU is designed to be 'always on' (don't be fooled by the siplay going off). This is because it is connected to the Blue and Me, which is supposed to be working even if the engine is switched off. In fact, once you take out the stock HU and look at the wire harness, there is no ignition lead! Hence you hear the whine from the HU even when you think it is in a switched off state. I suspect your alternator being the culprit here. If you have a Bosch service nearby, get it checked by them.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

It is very faint but with AC at the lowest fan speed (or switched off) and engine idling, you can definitely hear it.

Never heard the turbo whistle when the car is idle. I can hear it ever so slightly when I rev up but not otherwise. I am so sure that the whine I am hearing is alternator related. I had the same problem in my previous car too and never got a solution for it. It should be easier to solve in my present car as no part of the electricals are altered.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

It may be a grounding issue too. Need to get that checked.

Could be. You also need to check how well those expensive cables you have used are sheilding electro magnetic interference. Some claim but are not effective. You may already know this. At no point should there be any crossing, parallel running of electrical and audio wiring. You can't completely isolate this as at times they do come close to each other.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

TASS people are usually ill-equipped to handle specialist jobs.

I will approach them first as we do have a highly capable TASS. Just one, Prerana Motors.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

Also, the stock HU is designed to be 'always on'

I figured this out when I heard the alternator whine. Though the head unit was "visually" switched off, and when I hit the mute button on the steering wheel, the whine stopped.

I don't see myself replacing the heat unit which means fixing an amplifier is ruled out. I sold the Blaupunkt head unit to a colleague but have the front components, amplifier and a small subwoofer. All from the Blaupunkt Velocity series. Do you know the power output of the stock heat unit, the wattage and impedance of the trash stock speakers? I don't want to pair a speaker that is too hard for the head unit to drive cause then that would defeat the purpose of fixing a nice after market speaker.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Never heard the turbo whistle when the car is idle. I can hear it ever so slightly when I rev up but not otherwise. I am so sure that the whine I am hearing is alternator related. I had the same problem in my previous car too and never got a solution for it. It should be easier to solve in my present car as no part of the electricals are altered.

That's simple. At idling, RPM hovers between 800-1200. And turbo spools in at 1700 RPM. So you will hear the whine ONLY if you rev up to 1700 or more. What other factor makes you think the alternator is the only whine?

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I will approach them first as we do have a highly capable TASS. Just one, Prerana Motors.

My comment was not specifically against your TASS or any other TASS, but towards the A.S.S community in general. They are trained for overall service and maintenance of cars. So they are like jack of all trades. However, there exist specialists for particular jobs. e.g. Hyundai A.S.S could not detect why my Getz's AC was not cooling efficiently. I took it to an AC specialist who did the entire servicing of the AC for Rs 2500 and even after 6 years, it was cooling way better than when it was delivered from the factory.

Similarly, there are tyre shops out there who do balancing and alignment job way better than A.S.S I don't know the places in BLR but I'm sure they must exist.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I figured this out when I heard the alternator whine. Though the head unit was "visually" switched off, and when I hit the mute button on the steering wheel, the whine stopped.

If your car is stock w.r.t electricals, I doubt there could be any eletrical or wiring issue. That's why I'm recommending to go to Bosch service and get the alternator tested out.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I don't see myself replacing the heat unit which means fixing an amplifier is ruled out. I sold the Blaupunkt head unit to a colleague but have the front components, amplifier and a small subwoofer. All from the Blaupunkt Velocity series. Do you know the power output of the stock heat unit, the wattage and impedance of the trash stock speakers? I don't want to pair a speaker that is too hard for the head unit to drive cause then that would defeat the purpose of fixing a nice after market speaker.

I think you did not understand me. I said that even if you intend to keep the stock HU, you can add an amplifier to the system. However, you have to choose between a Hi-Lo converter (since the HU does not have low level RCA inputs that are needed by an amplifier) or DSP (which is a better option over a LOC as it adds a range of tuning capabilities to the stock HU too).

The stock HU gives 18 watts per channel RMS power which is very feeble for component speakers. They will play no doubt, but you wont be able to enjoy the good sound that they have been designed for. And prolonged running of the components off the HU's internal amplifer may fry the IC. That's why an amp is highly recommended.

[iceman7]

The stock audio setup in the Linea is embarrassing. And a total disaster for playing House, Techno, Electronic or Rap. I heard somewhere that it's a Blaupunkt setup. I am pretty sure mine is some Chinese brand

On a serious note - can you put up pictures of the HU install?

[nishantgandhi]

It is either Blaupunkt or Delphi for the HU. And those stock paper cone speakers may be branded as 'Made in Turkey/Italy' but are actually worse than Chinese ones.

Sorry for the delay in posting the pics. Here's the first set showing the damping and WIP. HU pics coming up in the next post.

[nishantgandhi]

Here's the second and final set of pics showing the speakers and the 'Crown Jewel' the JVC HU. Notice how it's orange lighting blends so well with the Linea's.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

What other factor makes you think the alternator is the only whine?

There is nothing else that I can think of that can cause the whine. It surely is not the turbo I am hearing as the whine is audible as I gradually rev and then disappears. Alternator whine is quite different from the whistle or whine from the turbo. Anyways; I shall pay a little more attention today. What re confirms that it is alternator whine, I do not hear it all the time. If it is from the turbo, I should hear it always.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

My comment was not specifically against your TASS or any other TASS, but towards the A.S.S community in general.

I understand. My comment was only to keep you informed that there is one decent TASS that exists in Bangalore. I am well aware of how most after sales service center's operate. Few can diagnose a problem or even understand what you are trying to tell them.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

I don't know the places in BLR but I'm sure they must exist.

There is one and it is called Madhus. Very well know by the team bhp folk in Bangalore and my guess is they all go there. The gentleman who runs the place is a member here.

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

That's why I'm recommending to go to Bosch service and get the alternator tested out.

I will. When you say tested out, do you know what test is carried out on the alternator? What are they looking for in a alternator?

Originally Posted by nishantgandhi

I think you did not understand me. I said that even if you intend to keep the stock HU, you can add an amplifier to the system.

I did follow you but did not ask the question I should have as you have even replaced the head unit. When you need to integrate an amplifier, you need something to turn it on, a remote trigger which is unavailable on the stock head unit. How can I integrate an amplifier in such a scenario? I think I already asked this in your audio thread.

My apologies. I thought I was responding in your car thread.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

There is nothing else that I can think of that can cause the whine. It surely is not the turbo I am hearing as the whine is audible as I gradually rev and then disappears. Alternator whine is quite different from the whistle or whine from the turbo. Anyways; I shall pay a little more attention today. What re confirms that it is alternator whine, I do not hear it all the time. If it is from the turbo, I should hear it always.

AFAIK, you would hear the turbo whistle only when it spools up i.e. at 1700 RPM and beyond.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I will. When you say tested out, do you know what test is carried out on the alternator? What are they looking for in a alternator?

They will check whether the alternator is properly charging the battery and supplying adequate power to the electricals.

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I did follow you but did not ask the question I should have as you have even replaced the head unit. When you need to integrate an amplifier, you need something to turn it on, a remote trigger which is unavailable on the stock head unit. How can I integrate an amplifier in such a scenario? I think I already asked this in your audio thread.

Integrating an amplifier with the factory HU is more a function of the available sockets/connectors on the amp. If it accepts high-level inputs, you can directly connect it to the HU and you wont need a Hi-Lo converter (but I doubt your amp accepts high-level inputs)

Also, an amp wiring kit comes with a remote turn on lead that will be connected to either the DSP/Hi-Lo convertor, so that the amp turns on whenever the HU is switched on. However, you need to either connect the HU directly to the fuse box or via the cig lighter to ensure it is NOT 'always on'. If you don't re-route the HU wiring, it will stay on thereby keeping the amp also on always.

[xtremeshock]

Thanks for this thread, was contemplating whether to go for Polyglass or not, I guess your thread pushed me towards it.

Another thing is that my installer suggested me to go with Focal Axis Speakers for the rear instead of polyglass, can you suggest me if that is advisable or should I just stick with polyglass.

Also, if it not too much trouble could you share what did the polyglass cost you, it would help me in haggling here.

If you could look at the below link and see whether the items I chose are ok, will be installing the amp and subwoofer and damping at a later stage. Post #120.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ask-gu...w-vento-8.html

[invincible7]

Nice setup and neat installation, Many Congratulations !!!.

Can you post some pics of the position of tweeters i.e. where they have been mounted stock location/ A pillar / Dashboard.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by xtremeshock

Thanks for this thread, was contemplating whether to go for Polyglass or not, I guess your thread pushed me towards it.

I'm glad I could do that (LOL).

Originally Posted by xtremeshock

Another thing is that my installer suggested me to go with Focal Axis Speakers for the rear instead of polyglass, can you suggest me if that is advisable or should I just stick with polyglass.

Access (and not Axis) are the entry level Focal speakers. They do the job pretty well too. Anyway, you will be going for coaxials in the rear (right?). So if you are on a budget, go with Access.

Originally Posted by xtremeshock

Also, if it not too much trouble could you share what did the polyglass cost you, it would help me in haggling here.

I paid Rs 18,600 for the deal that is advertised in the TBHP Classifieds by B&T.

Originally Posted by xtremeshock

If you could look at the below link and see whether the items I chose are ok, will be installing the amp and subwoofer and damping at a later stage. Post #120.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ask-gu...w-vento-8.html

1. Any specific reason why you want to go for a 2-DIN HU? It's a known fact that double DINs are lower on SQ compared to 1-DIN HU.
2. However, if you do want to go for a 2-DIN, I would recommed JVC over Pioneer. Reasons - higher pre-amp outputs, ability to play loss-less (WAV) files through USB and more bang for the buck. Select your model from here
3. Damping is good to have to extract best SQ from your speakers. If you choose the Focal deal from the classifieds, Ajay will bundle in damping too.

Originally Posted by invincible7

Nice setup and neat installation, Many Congratulations !!!.

Can you post some pics of the position of tweeters i.e. where they have been mounted stock location/ A pillar / Dashboard.

All speakers and tweeters are mounted in stock location so no pictures.