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Old 6th December 2013, 11:20   #76
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

It so true, but this knowledge is like marriage. You never understand what is in store unless you get into it.

When I bought my Safari 5 years back, I was crazy about this and stuffed dual Amps Subs etc into it. But then later it turned out mostly useless as my daily commute is under 6 kms. (90% of my drive is on the highway, but as tsk said in his post, its a struggle with various noise on the highway and usually the noise wins hands down).

The current state, well, the amps were disconnected from the battery during one service and I never bothered to reconnect it. These days I just enjoy the engine noise.
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Old 19th June 2014, 21:53   #77
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

I fully support the title. It is a hard lesson I learnt with my previous car, which was a Swift ZDi.

I always wanted to try all sorts of experiments with car audio. Swift ZDi comes with a decent OE system by Nippon. Still I wanted to try. First went to a local store, who advised a pair of components for both front and back. He put Auditor components after convincing me that it is a good product from Focal. They put dirty holes on all door pads and changed position of tweeters to door-pads. Overall installation was not good.

I searched a lot and came to learn a few things like, it's better to have coaxials in back from Team-BHP gurus.

Did some homework and went to a reputed shop in Kochi, did everything as per his advice. Ultimately the setup was good but it did cost me around Rs. 85000.
The installer actually takes good time for tuning up alone, after full installation.

But everything was lost in just 2 months time, as my car had some major work and when they reconnected battery terminals, whole electrical settings got reset. The installer's fine tuning was lost and I was never able to get back the perfect settings.

So I prefer to keep my Renault Duster OE system and wish to swap only the speakers.

Last edited by aah78 : 22nd July 2019 at 21:03. Reason: Post fixed. Spacing, typos. Please perform a spell-check before posting. Thanks!
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Old 19th June 2014, 22:42   #78
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

This whole experience was 2 years back. Now there is a good accessory store owned by a fellow team bhpian. He is offering quality audio works, from whom I purchased alloy wheels for duster recently. He gave me good discount too. So I no longer need to drive all the way to Kochi.

Anyway, I have lost interest in high end audio experiments on car and am happy with duster's OE audio system. Bluetooth connectivity, phone call quality and steering audio controls are of good quality for an OE product.

Last edited by suhaas307 : 14th July 2019 at 10:03. Reason: Spacing
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Old 3rd February 2015, 12:36   #79
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
Like good music? Who doesn't!
....
9. Cheaper, and just as enjoyable:
If you're chauffeur-driven, it's hard to beat the aural experience of premium headsets. I've heard a couple and can tell you this : They beat my Civic's ICE at a fraction of the price (merely 10% of the $$$).
I stumbled across this gem of a post, precisely when I was wondering if I should be replacing my Honda City stock system.

GTO, Many thanks for penning your thought process here. I am in full agreement with this. I will be implementing the #9 mentioned above.
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Old 3rd July 2019, 11:08   #80
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

I completely agree with this, I have decided not to do this after going this way with my Punto. The car doors rattle, so does the dash area around music system. (Sound is so much better after the upgrade though)

Next purchase I'll definitely not be doing any audio or aftermarket upgrade which will need tinkering with the factory installation! Cars from Tata already have pretty good audio systems, even Venue has a decent system. Hope the rest of the manufacturers go this way as well!
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Old 3rd July 2019, 12:30   #81
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

Was reminded of this thread after my little one ripped out the Aux in cable that is plugged into the back of the JVC HU in my Vento. Am sure it's a simple job to get it fixed again but my friendly neighbourhood accessories guy refuses to touch my "high end" install on the best of days

I got the front components replaced when the 5 1/2" Blaupunkts donated kindly by Navin croaked. Now it's Focal all around (yes, yes FNA will touch the system when there is money involved!) and I still love my setup. The 12" Morel in its custom enclosure in the boot shifts around a bit these days and jugaad solutions like cramming a sock in or securing it with double-sided tape aren't working. Ideas anyone?
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Old 3rd July 2019, 12:36   #82
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

Quote:
Originally Posted by noopster View Post
The 12" Morel in its custom enclosure in the boot shifts around a bit these days and jugaad solutions like cramming a sock in or securing it with double-sided tape aren't working. Ideas anyone?
Velcro strips on the enclosure so they can be secured to the rear seat backrest. Else place a rubber sheet/yoga mat on the boot floor and place the enclosure over it.

Hope it helps.
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Old 4th July 2019, 01:59   #83
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

Has anyone here been unable to claim warranty because of ICE installs?
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Old 14th July 2019, 00:38   #84
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

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Originally Posted by thirdmainroad View Post
Has anyone here been unable to claim warranty because of ICE installs?
If you happen to have a pin point mechanical failure no reasonable car manufacturer will pin it on ICE install, however in case of any electrical issues and owner has had an ICE install which led to modification of stock wiring, it is needless to say warranty stands void. The same is very clearly mentioned in Owners Manual.

Based on my limited experience with after market modification at local accessories shop I would suggest every one to not let the guy take things apart. They know how to pull things out but are unable or may be don't care to put them back as it came from factory. To quote an example, when I got seat covers installed on my Brio at a local acc. shop, the guy unbolted all the seats from the car to put on the seat covers but never really tightened the bolts of the rear bench properly, over time when rear passengers pointed out that there is slight movement in rear seat every time I accelerated or decelerated, which is when to my horror I discovered that the bolt securing the rear bench was not tightened correctly and in turn has damaged the thread of the embedded bolt . How I managed to fix it is another painful story left for another time.

Hence simply put, if one desires a good output ICE system, its better to buy a model which has one factory installed. As for these accessories shop guys, they don't care a damn as to what happens if anything goes wrong due to their jugglery with stock factory installed setup.

Last edited by suhaas307 : 14th July 2019 at 10:02. Reason: Spacing
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Old 14th July 2019, 06:55   #85
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

Quote:
Originally Posted by noopster View Post
.. my little one ripped out the Aux in cable that is plugged into the back of the JVC HU ..

The 12" Morel in its custom enclosure in the boot shifts around a bit these days ... Ideas anyone?
A pic will help us get an idea there.

Ripped out the Aux cable from the back of the HU ??

Last edited by suhaas307 : 14th July 2019 at 10:02. Reason: Spacing
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Old 14th July 2019, 09:45   #86
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

Quote:
Originally Posted by thirdmainroad View Post
Has anyone here been unable to claim warranty because of ICE installs?
This happened recently with my wife's VW Polo GT TSI. The factory HU physical buttons stopped working one fine day. I was denied warranty on the HU replacement due to simple installation of aftermarket rearview camera.

Actually the dealer tried to con me saying that the aftermarket camera was badly installed by stripping factory harness and soldering, instead of using coupler/connector. They (CRM team) had the audacity to tell me that this would have been a simple warranty case if connectors were used instead.They quoted me 80,000 rupees to fix everything (harness and radio) back to spec!!!

The first thing I asked them was to show me the cutting and soldering. Obviously they couldn't because third party didn't cut any wire and used proper connectors. When I asked them about their lie, they shifted the blame on the technician who worked on the car, that they don't actually work on the car, and are simply communicating what technician told them.

I still requested them to claim warranty but they still denied saying ECU "memory" will show rearview camera and warranty will be denied. There was some back n forth on how ECU will show anything without fault codes. But they were not ready to listen.

I got the car back without fixing the issue. I then simply removed the backup cam and connectors (returning it to factory state) myself, and gave the car to a different dealer. This dealer processed the warranty same day and HU was replaced.
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Old 15th July 2019, 11:16   #87
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

I think cars and the systems that run them have gotten way too complicated. In addition we have all these new technologies like Bluetooth and Android. I don't understand any of this stuff and hence stay away from connecting my phone to my car system and all that fancy stuff; maybe that's why I have fewer problems with car audio.

If someone calls me when I am driving I let it ring and call back when I am done driving. It is this simple. I tried to connect mine and my wife's phones to my car system but was not successful.

With all the new cars I strongly advice to stay with the OEM HU and there are several other functions not related to audio that the car's system does. Many OEM HU's also control the car airconditioning etc.

The best way to upgade is to damp the doors.

The next step one can do is add a DSP and an amplifier and new speakers. This is fraught with risk and cost. Budget 1L if you are intending to do this. I have heard about a Pioneer and a Sony DSP that are cheaper but other members here have had problems with them so both the Sony and Pioneer have their limitations.

Last edited by navin : 15th July 2019 at 11:20.
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Old 22nd July 2019, 20:02   #88
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

Quote:
Originally Posted by condor View Post

Ripped out the Aux cable from the back of the HU ??
I used some shorthand that got lost in translation.

The Aux in cable was plugged into the back of the HU and the free end was dangling in the front of the passenger seat. She must have grabbed that and tugged with all her might because the next thing we know it was freed from both ends!
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Old 9th August 2021, 11:12   #89
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

I'm in the market for a new car and shortlisted some options. But it is clear that there's no perfect car that ticks all the boxes. It's all about tradeoff.

So, if good audio quality is a priority for me, what are the options currently avaialble in the market? I look for factory fitted power amp and subwoofer as that gives me confidence that the manufacturer has put effort into audio tuning.

I can think of:
1) Jeep Compass
2) Skoda Kushaq
3) Tata Harrier

I heard audio qulaity in Compass base variant (with 4 speakers and no sub). It was good with no distortion at high volume. Probably Harrier also same case. Yet to listen to Kushaq.

Please suggest what other options are out there at present.

Thanks
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Old 24th December 2021, 12:41   #90
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Re: The Downside of High-End Audio Installs

My i10 came with a Sony Xplod, that lasted for almost 9 years before going caput. I replaced that with a budget Autocop that had Bluetooth but sounded much weaker. Then I replaced it with a Blaupunkt HU, with Infinity Amp and speakers and wiring, and it's been going well for me. Yes, the battery takes a hit and I need to run the car every day for 15 mins so that the battery doesn't drain. But it's not that bad as to be very noticeable. My AC impacts the battery more. This is the case with most old cars anyways.
It cost me a total of around 34k, which is not high-end by today's standards, probably somewhere below mid-end. Still worth the money and the satisfaction of very decent audio during my solo drives to office or between metros.

Last edited by Small Bot : 24th December 2021 at 12:44.
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