[Thad E Ginathom]

Thanks both!

It's good to get well-informed opinion that that unit is OK. Actually, I hate too much flash, so perhaps that's one reason I like this make. Alpine has a nice trade 'look' too, Sony is over the top!

I already bought the Maruti parcel shelf (hey! a car without a parcel shelf? I know they cut the specs for India, but that's just mean!) on the basis that I would not be putting speakers there, so I'd rather keep the speakers to the doors. EXCEPT.... given the old hearing, I think a pair of tweaters nearer to ear level, on the dashboard, could be good?

I wasn't thinking about an external amp...

If a full-blown nav system was available here yet... But I guess we have to wait a few years more...

What's my budget? What do I need, on top of the 17,000 for the HU, to get nice, sweet and clear sound? Another 3,000? 6,000? Errrr.... Can the news be worse than that?

I want nice stuff.... BUT, usually we have conversation in the car (not always with each other, of course; my wife seems to get all the phone calls when we're driving. As well as taking mine) so it is for those less-common solo drives....

Oh... is that gadget that adjusts the volume according to the speed of the car available here?

[Sam Kapasi]

Thad, to tell you the truth, you could go in for a cheaper Blaupunkt and you wouldn't tell the difference much.
There are kids that are cursing you right now, as you read this, for having 17K to buy a HU. Most of them run from store to store, trying to get a player that does somersaults and makes coffee, all for 7K.

If you do follow my advice and get a pair of components, you will get a pair of tweeters that will be mounted closer to your ears.

Here is what i believe you should do.

1) Buy a HU, Blaupunkt, if you will, consider the lower priced options from Blaupunkt too, do you really need the features the St.Louis offers?

2) Buy a pair of component speakers, 6", for the front, should cost you between 5 to 6K

3) Buy a pair of 6" coaxial speakers for the rear doors , should cost between 2 to 3K

I don't think you need an amplifier. You're not going to turn it up. Especially not if you're gonna keep conversing with your wife. Or if she kees conversing with her phone. Or your phone. You know what I'm saying.
And the 4 speakers and HU will sound pretty good.

This is good stuff Thad. Go for it.

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Oh... is that gadget that adjusts the volume according to the speed of the car available here?

My current HU (Blau Casablanca MP54) has this function. Maybe the other Blaus have this too.

They call this "Auto Sound" in the HU Settings. The sound increases as the speed increases and decreases as the speed decreases. By how much, you can set in the HU.

I haven't used it at all yet and I guess it could be annoying if not setup right.

And like Sam said, unless you plan to ballistic in building a major ICE setup, a basic HU should do you fine. Blau's range starts at 8K with the Blau Mumbai.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

My current HU (Blau Casablanca MP54) has this function. Maybe the other Blaus have this too.

They call this "Auto Sound" in the HU Settings. The sound increases as the speed increases and decreases as the speed decreases. By how much, you can set in the HU.

I haven't used it at all yet and I guess it could be annoying if not setup right.

And like Sam said, unless you plan to ballistic in building a major ICE setup, a basic HU should do you fine. Blau's range starts at 8K with the Blau Mumbai.

How does the HU recognise the speed of the car ???

Hey thad, make sure you get to the right installer. else everything could be in vain.
cheers

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

How does the HU recognise the speed of the car ???

Hey thad, make sure you get to the right installer. else everything could be in vain.
cheers

it can be sensed for the power supply of the HU like the new pioneer models have the rpm thing....and in the older HU there was a mic which check for the ambient noise...if the noise is greater it will increase the volume...and the sensitivity can be adjusted also....

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

How does the HU recognise the speed of the car ???

Search me Another thing is that HU recognizes whether I have my parks on or not. When I turn the parking lights (and then the H/Ls) on (1st step turn in turning the H/Ls on), the HU back-light goes into night-mode, and becomes brighter (by how much, can be set in the HU).

Some voodoo with the connections in the back of the HU I guess. The guy who installed it originally at the showroom did it in a few minutes without pulling any complicated wires and such from here and there, so not much rocket science involved in this I guess.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

Search me Another thing is that HU recognizes whether I have my parks on or not. When I turn the parking lights (and then the H/Ls) on (1st step turn in turning the H/Ls on), the HU back-light goes into night-mode, and becomes brighter (by how much, can be set in the HU).

Some voodoo with the connections in the back of the HU I guess. The guy who installed it originally at the showroom did it in a few minutes without pulling any complicated wires and such from here and there, so not much rocket science involved in this I guess.

Not at all Hydra, it's quite simple, I'm surprised YOU didn't know- the Yellow wire with the red line through it, is the illumination wire.
When your parking lights/headlights are on, 12V comes through that wire. When the parking lights go off, back to 0.
Most people don't connect that wire.

[gk78]

Dear Sam and Navin,

Thanks for the feedback. Needless to say, it has left me slightly confused as to which one is better out of the two. At the end of the day, I would be more keen on a system with better sound output rather than something that is visually exciting. I am a gadget lover and feel that in case the Pio is more user friendly, I can get comfortable with Blau too.

Could you guys tell me the possible combinations to go with? For both Pio and Blau ... what should be the set up vis-a-vis head unit and speakers. I am planning to have speakers in the front door, tweeters and rear speakers. What speaker combination and brand would work the best with both the options - i.e. Pio and Blau.

Thanks for all your help guys.

[swiftcrazy]

Originally Posted by BUSA

@ Swift Crazy - There is Soundfx at Andheri East at Gurunanak Petrol Pump, their work is very professional, got my Swift iced from there itself, tell me what you looking for, can help you get a good discount.

Monster is Rs.90 per meter.

Hey Busa,

Sorry that it took me so long to reply.
I am just a bit caught up in my summer project right now.
All the wrap up activities have been further complicated by assignment of another project.
Anyways I have finally booked my swift on 18 June and will surely get in touch with you once i get the details about the delivery.

Thanks
SC

[navin]

Originally Posted by gk78

... it has left me slightly confused as to which one is better out of the two. ...
Could you guys tell me the possible combinations to go with? For both Pio and Blau ... .

Now this is funny. I am osrry but I had a smile on my face. Sorry.

Choosing between Blau and Pio confuses you and you want to a list of possible combinations of HU, speakers, tweeters, etc.. that too from a Funny Yeti and a Senile Old Man (who can barely remember his wife's birth day).

A short list of speakers:
JBL, Infinity (sibling of JBL), Hertz, Alpine, Blaupunkt and Pioneer (included here because I find that atleast one of my friends prefered Pio over JBL).

[gk78]

Lol ... I think you misread me :-). Let me explain again. My budget is around 30k, and I am opining buying either Pioneer or Blaupunkt. What I needed help from you guys on is to help me choose a good system out of the two that could fit my budget.

If I go for Pio, what head unit and speakers should I go for, given my budget? And the same for Blau as well.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yes, I know I'm spending a lot on a head unit, but in this world there will be those people who will curse those of us who just bought new cars. It's life, eh?

And maybe I could be cursing the ones that just bought brand new Hondas! Kind of like the food chain...

The speed recognition thing seems to require something called GALA, and that seems to be built in to the car. I've never actually experienced it, not even in some-what expensive cars in UK (like when I got to drive the MD's brand new Audi A6 for two days because the rusty old company Toyota had broken down. Mmmmm. Nice!). I suppose I'd better google...

[swiftcrazy]

Originally Posted by gk78

Lol ... I think you misread me :-). Let me explain again. My budget is around 30k, and I am opining buying either Pioneer or Blaupunkt. What I needed help from you guys on is to help me choose a good system out of the two that could fit my budget.

If I go for Pio, what head unit and speakers should I go for, given my budget? And the same for Blau as well.

Hey gk
Following is the setup with Pioneer that was recommended by mobike to me a few days back

Pio 7950 HU(Grey): 9K
JBL Comps (B&W): 6.5 K
JBL 937 (B&W): 4.5K
JBL AMP ( 60.4) (B&W): 8K
Wiring: 2.5K minimum ( Select from brands like Monster, Audison or Scoche)
Installation: Maybe free or 500 bucks


As for blua i guess the gurus will have to speak

Regards,
SC

[gk78]

Thanks swiftcrazy. Did you get your car :-)? I am sure you must be loving it as much as I am ... Swift is a neat car.

Your pricing and speaker combo info is extremely useful. Thanks for that. Now I just need to get a heads-up on the Blau set up before I finalize on the system.

Waiting for the gurus to speak their mind ...

[Thad E Ginathom]

Any dealer recommendations for Chennai?