[sunnygt]

What's called good music? This is unknown to me and many of us, and that's where gradual equipment upgrade makes sense we listen and come to know about the shortcomings.

Starting a basic Rs. 30,000 setup to a mid-range setup swap, I was still not happy with the output of the install. Having spent so much, I decided to explore why is it even a mid-range setup that cannot sound marginally better than OEM. This is a highly manipulative market where the hype is often created and there's a huge mismatch of equipment used, so sad but's it's the truth.


Let's dive right into it!

Front Staging - BLAM Signature S 165.100 (Made in France)
Speaker Wiring- Platinum Crystal 16AWG, pure copper
Power Wiring- 4AWG wiring kit
Headunit - Pioneer AVH-Z9190BT
Integration- Connects2 driving control adapter
Damping- CTK silver

Yet to be upgraded-
DSP/Amplifier - Helix M Four, which will be replaced by Helix P SIX DSP MK2
Sub - DD212 in a 1.75cu ft enclosed ported enclosure. To be decided…
RCA Cables- to be upgraded to a good shielded one

Why this component? Relatively new to India, premium offering at a good price. Materials used are absolutely top-notch. Pure magnesium dome tweeter, carbon fiber mid-range woofer.

The Install-

Headunit still needs the connects2 integration to make the steering controls work. The delivery is on the way from the UK. This model has a high res display along with better touch as compared to headunits falling in 20k bracket and that was the main reason I paid such a premium for this device.



All wiring is done with help to installation tools. The wire joint points soldered and heat-shrink sleeve applied on the top. Wire ends crimped with y-crimpers for a tight and conductive fit, again ends secured with heat-shrink.



Midrange- MDF ring with a rubber gasket between the ring and the speaker. A form baffle ring on top of the speaker so the mid base does not find it’s way into the door panel. Unfortunately, I don't have a clear picture of the baffle ring install.



Front doors and the door cover both are damped, absolutely no rattling. These components set 6.5inch drivers are high power (125w), capable of producing good controlled mid-bass.

Leather-wrapped A-pillar nicely done with all black stitching, tweeters pointing to opposite passenger headrest.






Listening Experience-

The vocals are crisp and clear, the mid-bass is tight! I can feel it pushing from left and right! So far the best audio hearing device I had was a headphone pair - Bose QC35. Now I can actually make out how muffled my headphone treble is. I'll upload a youtube video soon of the music output when the build is completed.


'Live Today, Love Tomorrow, Unite Forever' - Tomorrowland


More words to follow...

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Nice workmanship!

Hearing about BLAM for the first time - what were the costs involved for the setup?

Starting a basic Rs. 30,000 setup to a mid-range setup swap, I was still not happy with the output of the install. Having spent so much, I decided to explore why is it even a mid-range setup that cannot sound marginally better than OEM. This is a highly manipulative market where the hype is often created and there's a huge mismatch of equipment used, so sad but's it's the truth.

Personally, in my experience - most of the shops prefer to upsell rather than sit and tune the setup to the customer's liking. I was appalled by the sound quality after upgrading my ICE setup - and a well-know ICE shop here was all too eager to say it is what it is - unless I upgrade further. After spending hours and days listening and tweaking around with the RTA - it now sounds nothing like what it was initially - bliss, at least for my ears.

[shabeermohamed]

Looks Awesome. How much does this cost overall? Moreover will this upgrade void my warranty for my 2018 TSi?

[Kosfactor]

The additional efforts to mount the tweeter on the A pillar is totally worth it, it will make a lot of difference.

How many speakers can a premium HU like this drive?

[sunnygt]

Originally Posted by shabeermohamed

Looks Awesome. How much does this cost overall? Moreover will this upgrade void my warranty for my 2018 TSi?

No factory wires are cut in the process. The OEM door speaker connectors are taped and left aside. I have separate wire running all through for the greater good.

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

The additional efforts to mount the tweeter on the A pillar is totally worth it, it will make a lot of difference.

How many speakers can a premium HU like this drive?

Totally! I tried to get it right as much as possible.

Headunit has 3 sets of 4v pre-out i.e. front, rear & subwoofer. How many speakers depends on you.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Nice workmanship!

Hearing about BLAM for the first time - what were the costs involved for the setup?


Personally, in my experience - most of the shops prefer to upsell rather than sit and tune the setup to the customer's liking. I was appalled by the sound quality after upgrading my ICE setup - and a well-know ICE shop here was all too eager to say it is what it is - unless I upgrade further. After spending hours and days listening and tweaking around with the RTA - it now sounds nothing like what it was initially - bliss, at least for my ears.

I was initially a bit skeptical going for a speaker that costs nearly 90k. This had fine reviews by some audiophile members on audio mobile forums. I had a talk with Gunbir, our fellow Bhpian also the owner of BBW Distributors - responsible for bringing the brand to India. I was comfortable that I'll be getting the technical support all I need.

Speakers ~90k
Headunit ~40k
wiring ~7k

not yet installed
Connects2 - 4k
helix dsp.3 ~40k

The current amp will be sold, so I am not mentioning it's cost.

Credits coming soon as the build reaches completion.

[sunnygt]

I have been a bit busy with work and other home errands. In the past few months, there have been quite a lot of upgrades with my setup.

The setup is 3-way active running on Helix DSP.3 and the midrange as Brax ML3.



Showing off my pretty drivers The Brax ML3 is mounted with Brax MR3 ring on top of it. The a-pillar pods are factory paint matched to maintain the OEM look. The tweeters are in nice small housing in the sails. These pods are again a DIY. Midrange & Tweeters are bring powered through Helix C four & the midbass through Helix M four.



The amp rack has been done again, thanks to Subhan from Driven for assisting me throughout. The work went on till 12 midnight when the amps were being mounted to the amp rack.



The subwoofer is sitting bolted tightly to the spare wheel lock insert. The enclosure is 0.88cu ft sealed. The morel ultimo sc102 is being powered through Helix G one.



Below is my custom RCA that is complete DIY. The cable being used is canare l4e6s and canare rca short plugs. The cable is nylon braided and y-pants are used to protect and sleeve the inner twisted RCA terminating ends.



The entire setup is RTAed by me taking half whitehedge curve as a reference with a Dayton UMM-6 mic. I had a phase issue between right mids and tweet that was corrected by adding a phase to tweet, must say helix dsp's are hard to beat in today's market. Most DSP allows only 0, 90 or 180 phase change. I have a lot more to say, more photos of pods construction, RTA methods, AMP rack wiring & power distribution to follow.