I fitted the Hyundai stock double din on my 3 month old i10 Magna this Sunday, after regretting for 3 months not having bought the Sportz instead of the Magna. Anyway I didn't want to spoil the dash look, hence intended to initially buy the Hyundai 10 stock double din only and get the component speakers done from some other shop. Since the i10 double din is only available in Hyundai showrooms, I had no choice but do it there. Little did I know then that I would regret this decision more than had I not done it there.
I had to take a Saturday off as the Hyundai accessories section in the showroom is closed on Sundays, hence again I had limited time to co-ordinate the above things. The lady at the Hyundai's accessory section had to little information on car audio, hence when she sensed I had readied myself to buy and fix the system today she took me to their audio workshop. I was informed it would cost Rs. 13,000 for the 2-din and the 4 speakers (which I had little interest in). I asked about only the 2-din, it'd cost me 10k. The lady had no idea about the component speakers, so she called someone over the phone and after talking for 10 mins over the phone, informed me it would be 7k for the components. Which make? What about JBL? What about punching holes to put install the tweeters on the dashboard corner behind the mirror? She said, "No we won't do the component fittings and definitely won't punch holes for the tweeters but hold on let me check with them again". I said its alright, I won't buy the components here if they were not gonna fit them in the car.
I called up my ice shop but unfortunately their phone was busy over a long period of time. So I gave up and asked these Hyundai people to do it whole, and that I would get the stock speakers changed in a week at my ice shop.
The showroom technicians were a bunch of teenage ruffians really. They punched the holes on the plastic in the doors. I asked them whether they'd rather use some drill. They said no they don't drill. They hammered the nails in. I'm very sure they didn't bother with the phasing of the speakers. Because when I later ran my test reference disc, 2 right front and left rear were out of phase. The speakers directly touching the plastic and probably unevenly screwed in jars the low frequencies. I just wanted to get it all done and get out of there and go to some other specialist shop a week or month later. So I avoided further consultations and discussions with these jokers. They loudly played some hindi songs and FM music to demonstrate their taste in music and ignorance of the audio technology. That too didn't work at first, they had to tweak some more to finally get sound through all the 4 speakers. That's it - sound, can't call it music.
On my way back home, to keep an appointment with a friend (luckily in his Swift with Sony ice), I wondered why and how I was tricked in paying 14k for system which sounds 1.5 - 2k at the most. I have fruitlessly tweaked everyday for the past 4 days. I do not expect great sound but I at least expected basic good or passable sound, which should at least sound like music. There's a terrible plastic rattle on the front right speaker on every low frequency note. Mid frequencies are completely lost. I had expected the speakers would be below average, but didn't know they would be actually bad. It sounds like someone has plugged cheap plastic speakers to a 70s transistor. I have begun to doubt the 2-din's capability to play now. I hope its just the speakers. Now when I'd take it to a specialist audio shop, I won't know where to start from. Earlier I had intended to buy the i10 2-din mainly because it fits the i10 dashboard look like no other, and pioneer or JBL components after a thorough test. My ideas were
1. Woofers of the component in the front doors and tweeters on the dashboard corners, to give the sound a floorstander image. No speakers in the backdoors, as it distracts my stereo imaging while driving. No one sits in the back, definitely not me.
2. If the sound is wanting in the above setup, i would go for an amplifier to power the components. Then maybe as an option install again pioneer or JBL coaxials in the backdoor or on the rear parcel tray, where the 2-bin would carefully tilt the balance mainly on the front components. No sub-woofer as most of my music have strong clear basslines and would definitely not be handled well by any moving sub-woofer.
Anyway, what I would like to know is, given my want of perfection in music and dislike for loud garish muddy bouncy noise; Is the hyundai i10 2-din even half-way better of good? Or should I just throw out the entire set?
The speakers are definitely out as I had never intended to buy them, but now the I have doubts about the 2-din too. Is the 13k price justified. If I throw out the speakers and consider the 2-din I bought for 10k, is it worth the 10k?
Thank you.