[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by aah78

My obsession with bringing a couple of car-audio components down from the US to India is due to the fact that a lot of car-audio components (mainly speakers and amplifiers) are available for substantially less than the prices mentioned on their official websites (and / or prices in India) - not only ebay but even in retail stores. HU's are priced more or less in the same range, though prices do drop when the unit ages a bit.

If you do get a price advantage of say 20% and up, bringing in stuff from the US will make sense. Else it may not be so advantageous -- additional install cost, lack of warranty etc.

Originally Posted by aah78

eg. the Alpine Type-R's SPR-17LPthat cost Rs. 12K in India are priced here to sell for around Rs. 8K (on conversion from USD to INR). Unfortunately, Hertz doesn't seem to be a very popular brand in the US.

The Alpine prices are pretty good, I guess. You'll need an amp to get the most out of them.

Hertz is an Italian brand and is popular in Europe. And, Hertz is mostly an SQ brand. Out there in the US, 99% of the population are concerned with SPL, SPL and SPL. I'm sure you'll have noticed this :-) When the market is that way...
Their amps (Audison) are popular with SQ competition cars there. I've seen (on the internet) quite a few setups of SQ champs and their cars with Audison amps.

I think with the holiday season on, you are likely to get really good deals in the US this month -- if you can survive the crowds. I think you'll get even better deals online -- better deals than usual.

[navin]

If you are considering Alpine also consider Infinity.

[aah78]

Getting my hands on a pair of Hertz is working out to be a little difficult - mainly because i'm pressed for time..

Infinity is much easier to get hold off. I still have to go and listen to a pair but from what reviews i've gone through regarding the Infinity Kappa & Reference Series, the Reference Series is more treble friendly while the Kappa Series reproduces high & low frequencies better.

Ofcourse, have to look at the JBL range yet.....

[muni]

Hi,
After valuable suggestions on this thread, got the ICE installed in my friend's car. Went to auto fusion on sat morning and my friend was reluctant to go for a Amp/ Sub combination. So i made him sit in our car( swift) and showed him how it would sound with the sub and without the sub. He was impressed but not willing to spend that much.
I told him that my rear speakers though components( infinity reference) will only act as fillers and that made him ask why was i using it in the first place when i always sit in the front side.

Inorder to make things simpler for him this is what i did.

I gave my rear components to him and also my 2 channel Clarion Amp for less(abt 60 % of the price i paid)

His setup now reads as:
1) Head unit : Pioneer 6850
2) Front Comps: infinity Reference 6 1/2 inch
3) Rear Coax: JBL GTO series 6 1/2 Inch
4) Blaupunkt 12 inch Bass tube.
5) Clarion 2 channel Amp.
He is very much happy with the setup but i have run into problems :-(

Since i gave off my Clarion Amp, my setup would read as follows..
1) Head unit: alpine 9853 ( Got it from the US abt an year back)
2) front comps: infinity Reference 6 1/2 inch
3) Rear Coax: JBL GTO series 6 1/2 Inch
4) Boston 12 inch Sub + enclosure
5) JBL 60.4 Amp ( to power the sub + front comps)
6) The rear speakers now would be driven by the Head unit.( problem is here!)

Problem:
After connecting the rear speakers to the head unit Thouqeer says there is some problem with the head unit as it is not driving the speakers. He says the problem was always there in the head unit and was not noticed because the Headunit was not used while doing the initial setup.

Since i got it installed from Auto fusion and its about an year since i got the head unit from the US i want to know the following.

1) Warranty..i donno whether i would be able to get it it was bought in the uS
and am not sure abt the international warranty and whether i have the necessary bills with me or not.
2) Was the Headunit faulty or is there a possibilty the problem might have happened
due to mishandling during t he installation.
3) Am worried that the repair cost would burn a hole in my pocket.
4) I will be giving my headuit today and thouqueer would let me know the service cost in a couple of days.

Gurus, please advise.
Regds
-Muni

[navin]

Muni,

You might not know if the Hu was faulty whe you got it or if it developed the fault in transit. In any case it looks like the internal amp of the HU is not functioning.

Try connecting speakers to the front channels and check. My guess is you might not get any sound out of the front speakers either. if this is the case it could even be the case of a loose solder or PS connection.

Since the HU was bought outside India it would not be covered under warranty. Heck since the HU was bought over 1 year ago it would not be covered under warranty even if it was bought in India.

Fortunately India repair shops are quit competent with this sort of repair and you should be able to get your HU back. Estimated costs could be about Rs. 2-3K or so. depending on what is wrong and maybe even the type of power IC (if that is the fault).

[aah78]

JBL GTO637 are available for a price of roughly around Rs. 3600 including shipping.

These speakers (also the Infinity Kappa 63.7I and a few others) have an impedance of 2Ohms.

If I were to use a 4-channel amplifier rated at around 80W rms x 4 @ 4Ohms impedance - driving a pair of component systems (say, 60W rms @ 4Ohms) in the front and a pair of the the above mentioned JBL or Infinity speakers in the rear - would this combination work better or would I be better off driving a pair of Alpine SPR-17LP (4Ohms) in the rear?

[anToNIcHeN]

Originally Posted by aah78

JBL GTO637 are available for a price of roughly around Rs. 3600 including shipping.

These speakers (also the Infinity Kappa 63.7I and a few others) have an impedance of 2Ohms.

If I were to use a 4-channel amplifier rated at around 80W rms x 4 @ 4Ohms impedance - driving a pair of component systems (say, 60W rms @ 4Ohms) in the front and a pair of the the above mentioned JBL or Infinity speakers in the rear - would this combination work better or would I be better off driving a pair of Alpine SPR-17LP (4Ohms) in the rear?

one disadvantage I would see with GTO637 is that, your sound stage would be shifted to rear....and if you do mind that, then sticking to Alpine SPR-17LP would be a better option...
and if you plan to add a sub at some point in time.... drive the alpine speakers (rear speakers) from HU and bridge 2 channels of the amp to the sub....

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by aah78

JBL GTO637 are available for a price of roughly around Rs. 3600 including shipping.

Thats not such a great deal... It's available in India including shipping for a little more than that. See here including all the duties and taxes...

[aah78]

Originally Posted by anToNIcHeN

one disadvantage I would see with GTO637 is that, your sound stage would be shifted to rear....and if you do mind that, then sticking to Alpine SPR-17LP would be a better option...
and if you plan to add a sub at some point in time.... drive the alpine speakers (rear speakers) from HU and bridge 2 channels of the amp to the sub....

OKkk - i'm beginning to see the light now..

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Thats not such a great deal... It's available in India including shipping for a little more than that. See here including all the duties and taxes...

Great! then I'd rather buy them in India. thanks!

[Elito11]

Hi all. My first post!

I have been reading so many threads since past two days that all i can think abt is comps, coaxials and amps!!

Well I bought a Getz today and wanted some advise for ICE

1. What should i do

- Go for 2 kick *** comps in front alone
or
- Go for 2 comps up front and 2 coax in rear
or
- Go for 2 comps up front and a sub at the rear

Criteria: Clarity, quality and music played generally when alone or or with single passenger.

2. Can you guys plz suggest me a good pair of comps for front?

- Budget: 4-5k
- How are velocity series by Blaupunkt??

3. A good HU

- Blau/Pio/Sony?? (7-8K)

4. MOST IMPORTANT: Suggestions for a place to buy and Install them in the best possible manner.

I do not plan to install a AMP at the present. But might for one few months later.

Overall my total budget is 15-16K

Would appreciate any help from all BHpians!!

Thanks!!

[Mugen_Power]

Elito,

You can get JBL Compos for front at 4-5K,For Head Unit Go for Pioneer 6850 for 9K.

You should have to install JBL coaxials at rear.

Cheers,
Mugen_Power.

[hydrashok]

Welcome to TBHP, Elito. And congrats on the Getz purchase too. You chose well in the car dept., as the Getz is very well built, and has very sturdy body panels. A great car for ICEing (with close to zero damping expenses).

1 & 2: SPEAKERS
a) As this is a single listener setup, to begin with, I'd suggest that you go for comps in front and co-axials in the back. I'd straightaway recommend Hertz Dieci series or JBL CS2165c for the front. About 5K-5.5K.

b) You can add the sub and 4ch amp in another 2-3 months for say another 15K, (and good wiring for about 3-4K) and drive the front comps and sub with the amp.

c) Here, you'll need only a 4-ch amp for the entire setup, including the sub. If you're the type that don't need any rear-fill, this will be the most cost-effective solution. You can always add co-axials rear-fill later (and drive them from the HU) if you feel the need.

d) Later (if you do get rear fill), if you'd like to, you can get a monoblock amp or 2-ch amp and use that to drive the sub, and then use the 2 rear channels of the 4-ch amp to drive the co-axials in the rear. After that, you can forget about any more work on the entire system :-)

e) Velocitys are good, but personally, I've found Hertz speakers to be better. You should listen to both and decide.

3. HU: Like Mugen_Power has suggested above, a Pio 6850 (at 9K) will be a good HU option (especially considering that you will be upgrading the setup later). Alternatively look at Blau Mumbai (7.5K) and Blau Maui (9K I think). Make sure you get at least 2 pre-outs, or ideally 2 pre-outs + sub-out.

4. INSTALLER:
Since you are in Delhi, I think Driven will be the guy (installer) for you. He's also a member here. You can PM him for his contact details. Another member (ggoyal) got an install done from him a couple of weeks back. You can alternatively try ggoyal_83 for Driven's contact info. The last we heard, ggoyal_83 was hopping up and down with happiness, thrilled with his install :-)

Let us know what you decide ultimately, and do post pics.

ANOTHER COSTLIER OPTION FOR SPEAKERS: I'm suggesting this because I think you are the type who will like the results: If you can stretch your budget by another 4K, :-) I'd suggest Hertz ESK165s (6.5" 2-way comps) in front (They run to about 9K). Trust me, they will be worth it. One BIG advantage with these (esp. as you wanted a front stage only) is that they are so good you can bi-amp them with great results. The SQ experts here recommend this, if you can afford to dedicate a 4-ch amp just for the front speakers. This option gives better SQ and better control over the tweeters.

[speedzak]

Elito! (nice name) welcome to Team-bhp.

Your new car is really good for some serious ICEing. Some of our ICE gurus themselves use this car for their ICE. Congrats.

Nice to see that You're going for Compos.
Check out Hertz DSK series of compos. They're worth every penny to my ears. If You're very strict about your budget, then install your ICE step by step. For now, just get a Pioneer 6850, a pair of compos and wiring.
Later (as the moolah gets wider), you can go for rearfills, Sub, amp etc.

You're in Delhi. Where? If You're anywhere near Noida, then drive to DRIVEN. He'll be able to sort out all your install probs. He stocks different brands so, you'll be able to decide using your own ears and grey matter.

A simple rule of thumb in ICE; LISTEN! Your own ears are better than hundreds of blah blahs,

[Elito11]

Wow!
Thanks you so much Ashok, Mugen and speedzak!!
The information was awfully informative and helpful. And Ashok, your suggestion for Hertz ESK165s is making me *THINK* . SInce i am on a tight budget (Alloyz!!), i probably will upgrade it few months later.
Well i would be waiting for another week or more for my year end bonus to arrive and then probably take a decision. . However as of now i seem to have more or less finalized this much
HU: Pio 6890
Rear Coax: Blau 122 (1.9K)
Now just have to decide on Front comps and the AMP decision will be based on the same.
@speedzak: I live in East Delhi and Noida is like second home!!. Will try and get in touch with 'Driven'.
Thanks once again people!

[aZa]

Originally Posted by speedzak

You're in Delhi. Where? If You're anywhere near Noida, then drive to DRIVEN. He'll be able to sort out all your install probs. He stocks different brands so, you'll be able to decide using your own ears and grey matter.

Zak !!! DRIVEN is like 40-50 odd kms oneway from NOIDA but Yes if you are in delhi then DRIVEN is T-H-E place to be for ICE'IN and some nice Wada Sambhar heheh!