[navin]

Originally Posted by etchemkay

- JVC KD-G720 headunit
- Alpine dual-cone 4" pair in the front (stock location - doors)
- FIAT tweeters pair in the front (stock location - )
- Alpine coaxial 5-1/4" pair in the rear (stock location - sides)
- I'm willing to spend money if I'm getting value for the same. My budget, as of now, stands somewhere around the 10K mark .. give or take a couple of Ks.
.

Budget 8K assuming your HU has 1 pair of pre out
add Sony 552 amp (3K) and Pio 306C woofer (4K) in 1-1.5 cu. ft sealed box and a pair of RCA wires (1K)

Budget 14K
add pair of 5-6" component speakers (6K) to Sony amp and Pio woofer detailed above move Fiat tweeter to rear (mate them with Alpine coax) if you find the need.

Budget 17K assuming your HU as 2 pairs of preouts
add Pio 6100 amp (7K), JBL or similar 12" woofer in sealed box (8K), 2 pairs of RCA wires (2K) and use Pio 6100 amp to drive front speakers and subwoofer

Budget 23K
all of 17K budget but add a pair of component speakers (6K) as mentioned in "Budget 14K". Move Fiat tweeter to rear (to supplement your Alpine coax speakers if you need more highs there.

[angelfire]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

If your friend likes the sound the way it is, I guess he should keep them (the Nippon tweets) that way. They will make the front-stage brighter than it should be, but if he likes the sound that way, what the heck?

Yup..the fronstage is bright....Well in your opinion with comparison to the pio ts-20`s...how do these tweeters fare ??

[etchemkay]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

a Pio 6200 will be way better than any Sony amp.

.. if you get a 4-ch amp (like the Pio 6200), you can amp the fronts and the rears, and that would be good. So Plan B with a 4-ch amp will be good.

Gotcha! No Sony .. Pioneer 4-channel it the way to go!

So, the options once, again, seem to be -
Change Plan B1
- Co-axials currently in the rear moved to the front
- 6x9" Alpines for the rear (6K)
- Pioneer 4-channel amp (7.5K)
- Wiring (2K)
- No sub for now .. The amp can run both sets of speakers.
- If I do add a sub later, I can run the sub and fronts from the amp and the HU can drive the rears.
Estimated Cost: Around 15K
Cost for future upgrade (sub) - Around 8K

The other plan, which Hydra and Navin, both seem to suggest is to stay away from the 6x9"s altogether.
Change Plan B2
- Both sets of current speakers remain as-are
- New JBL or simlar 12" subwoofer (8K)
- Pioneer 4-channel amp (7.5K)
- Wiring (3K)
Estimated Cost: Around 18.5K
Cost for future upgrade (front components) - Around 6K

The costs involved remain the same for both approaches (notice how both are WAYoff the original 10K budget ). Which setup sounds sweeter on paper?

Originally Posted by navin

.. assuming your HU has 1/2 pair(s) of pre out

The tech specs for the HU here state the following -

Subwoofer Output: In addition to the 2.5V front and rear preamp outputs, this unit has a set of 2V subwoofer preamp outputs.

What does this mean? Does it have 1 pair of pre outs? or 2 ? I count 3 pairs .. But, what do I know ..

- etchemkay

[hydrashok]

To edit your plan a bit... (My comments in bold)
----------------------------------------------------------
Change Plan B1
- Co-axials currently in the rear moved to the front: No, keep them there, in the rear.
- 6x9" Alpines for the rear (6K): Don't get 6x9s. Instead, get a pair of 6.5" components (or co-axials) for the front now.
- Pioneer 4-channel amp (7.5K)
- Wiring (2K)
- No sub for now .. The amp can run both sets of speakers.
- If I do add a sub later, I can run the sub and fronts from the amp and the HU can drive the rears.
Estimated Cost: Around 15K
Cost for future upgrade (sub) - Around 8K
-----------------------------------------------------------

This setup will cost the same as it would have, if you had bought 6x9s. But now (if you get the 6.5" comps), you will not be losing out on front sound stage (6.5" is any day better than 5.25" in front; and now you'll have components in front). When the sub comes in later, the rear coaxials will be all that is required in the back.

Plan B2 will not change the front speakers. Other than that it is fine. I feel you should change the current 4" full ranges. Even if you have to wait a bit for adding the sub.

Originally Posted by etchemkay

Subwoofer Output: In addition to the 2.5V front and rear preamp outputs, this unit has a set of 2V subwoofer preamp outputs.

What does this mean? Does it have 1 pair of pre outs? or 2 ? I count 3 pairs

You're right. You have 3 pre-outs. One set for the front, another for the rear, and another for the sub. This is a good thing

[navin]

I second Hydra's thoughts. Besides you can get some ncie Audisson RCA wires for 1K per pair. Monster and Twister are a bit more. However neither of our budgets covered damping. If I were damping I'd dampthe front doors first. This will cost you about 4K.

[iraghava]

I would also go with Hydra mentioned as that is the best thing to do in the budget mentioned.

Navin - I would think he can leave the damping till when he gets the subwoofer so as to distribute the costs evenly. Till then he would also be able to determine whether the doors do need to be damped.

[etchemkay]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

To edit your plan a bit... (My comments in bold)
- Co-axials currently in the rear moved to the front: No, keep them there, in the rear.
- 6x9" Alpines for the rear (6K): Don't get 6x9s. Instead, get a pair of 6.5" components (or co-axials) for the front now.
...

This is perfect! This way, I don't have to get anything on the parcel tray either .. something I was hoping for. Awesome!

Originally Posted by hydrashok

You're right. You have 3 pre-outs. One set for the front, another for the rear, and another for the sub. This is a good thing

Goodie !!

Now, coming back to the objective of this thread -
What kind of an improvement in bass should I expect from this upgrade ?
Some more (final, I promise) questions -
Which 6.5" components set for the front do you gurus recommend ? Hertz ? JBL ? Any others ?
Recommendations for the amp? or is the Pioneer 6200 the best bet ?
Any good ICE workshops in Pune you guys know about ? .. someone who knows what he's doing.
Any shops in Pune/Mumbai where I can buy genuine stuff (I've heard a lot about impossible-to-make-out Pioneer fakes .. or was that only for speakers and HUs) ?
I don't mind driving down to Mumbai for the purchase and/or fitment if the job is going to be done well.

- etchemkay

[etchemkay]

Originally Posted by navin

However neither of our budgets covered damping. If I were damping I'd dampthe front doors first. This will cost you about 4K.

Originally Posted by iraghava

Navin - I would think he can leave the damping till when he gets the subwoofer so as to distribute the costs evenly. Till then he would also be able to determine whether the doors do need to be damped.

Ya, please let me know if I can make do without the damping till I get a sub fitted.

[navin]

Originally Posted by etchemkay

Ya, please let me know if I can make do without the damping till I get a sub fitted.

oh ofcourse you can. it just that since you will be opening the front door panels to fit the components it makes sense to install the damping at the same time.

[navin]

Originally Posted by etchemkay

Which 6.5" components set for the front do you gurus recommend ? Hertz ? JBL ? Any others ?
Recommendations for the amp? or is the Pioneer 6200 the best bet ?

Listen to JBL, Hertz, Alpine, Blaupunkt, Infinity, etc. and let your ears decide. this is why we did not recommend a brand earlier. audio is very subjective.

the Pio 6100 / 6200 amp (are these the same amp just different model years?) puts out about 65W x 4 channels and costs 7K without Bill and warranty. At that price they are about the niceest new amp youcan lay your hands on in India, smoother than the Sony 554 which itself is also very good value for money at 5K. The next step up is the JBL 60.4 and others which retail at 10K and mroe.

[etchemkay]

Originally Posted by navin

the Pio 6100 / 6200 amp (are these the same amp just different model years?) puts out about 65W x 4 channels and costs 7K without Bill and warranty.

Just to make sure .. This is the one we're talking about .. right ?
Notice that it gets a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

[hydrashok]

@etchemkay, I think you will be able to leave the damping for later. The Palio has really good doors and they will stand up to a lot. What is likely to rattle is the plasticboard doorpanel (with fabric on it) that is fixed to the door with push-pins. But for many even this does not happen. Like iraghava said, if they start rattling, think of damping. Else, put it off for later.

Bass-wise there will be a marked improvement over your current setup. You will get a lot more bass up-front -- you'll be using bigger midbasses, and you'll be amping them too. But the real change will be when you add the sub. Take it slow -- enjoy the new setup for a while and then go for the sub.

Like Navin, I'd also vote for the Pio 6200 first and the JBL CS60.4 next for your budget.

I guess Mumbaikars will be able to help you with a good shop in Mumbai. Try and PM some Pune BHPians for shops in Pune. A member called Payam (in Pune) drives a Palio 1.2 and he's got some ICE work done on it. Maybe he can help you.

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by angelfire

Yup..the fronstage is bright....Well in your opinion with comparison to the pio ts-20`s...how do these tweeters fare ??

The Nippon tweeters are wayyyyyy better than TS20s. The Nippons don't get very harsh/tizzy/trebley. They don't much let you know that they are there. The TS20s are always in-your-face.

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by etchemkay

Just to make sure .. This is the one we're talking about .. right ?
Notice that it gets a rating of 4.5 out of 5.

Yes this is the one we're talking about & at the price it is pretty much unbeatable.

Also for Pune I think you should PM moralfibre he has some great Infinity's in his Palio GTX which I had heard a couple of weeks back. He would be more than willing to help you source all the stuff!

[etchemkay]

Originally Posted by etchemkay

Just to make sure .. This is the one we're talking about .. right ?

amazon.com is selling the Pioneer 6200 amp for $100 (Rs. 4600!).. Dirt cheap huh? .. and I get a warranty too.
I'm also getting the JBL CS 60.4 from another online vendor for $160 (Rs. 7360) ..

Mmmmmmm .. Amps ....

By the way .. any problem with getting my amp from USA ? In case I do decide on buying from amazon, I'll be asking a friend to carry it - so, no shipping costs involved.
I won't be getting the speakers from there .. coz I'd rather listen to them before buying.