Skoda Superb ICE: Steg/ Illusion Audio/ Alpine

Bass&Trouble · 10th May 2007, 14:44

A simple stereo install in a Skoda Superb. Two pairs of component speakers and a single subwoofer, each running on dedicated two channel amplifiers.

Navin thought it would be nice to feature the Superb since there aren't many other install pics on the forum of the same car. Unfortunately, the car was almost completely installed by the time I got around to taking pics, so no real 'work in progress' pics. Both pairs of speakers are in the stock locations in all four doors.

Everything runs flat and the only adjustments made have been with respect to the crossover settings on the head unit and the time alginment.

Equipment:

Head Unit: Alpine 9855 - Rs. 20000/- approx.

Front Speakers: Illusion Audio Nd 6.1 - Rs. 25500/- a pair

Rear Speakers: Illusion Audio Nd 6.1 - Rs. 25500/- a pair

Subwoofer: Illusion Audio Nd15i - Rs. 45500/- a piece

Amps : Steg Masterstroke MSK 1500 x 3 - Rs. 180,000/- a piece

Speaker Cables: van den Hul Clearwater

RCA cables: Supra Dual, with Neutrik terminations

Power cabling: Ground Zero

Damping: A mix of Dynamat Xtreme and Wurth

A few pics..

6.5" Illusion Audio Carbon series midwoofer going into the rear door.

Alpine 9855 - The system badly needs a better head unit.

The amp looks somewhat like this on the insides. The pic is of the MSK3000, a more powerful variant of the MSK 1500 used here, and the second pic is of the packing. The volume of the packing box is atleast 5-6 times that of the amp itself, a nightmare from a freight point of view.

Some views of the trunk. Some finishing touches remain. The spare wheel is completely accessible.

Amps

The car itself

The Superb has good acoustics. With the deadening of the doors, there is not a single squeak. For those who may not know, the Superb door is sealed from the front. As in, once you take off the door panel, there is a metal plate that covers the entire door's cavity from the front with only an opening for the speaker mounting. This acts as a good enclosure...and a very bad candidate for the door's inner skin damping. Its a pain to take out the front cover to access the insides.

We have the comps set to play down to 50 Hz and there isn't much metal resonance. The door panel however needs more damping, and will get it soon. The front wave of the door speaker causes a lot of flex in the door panel. Just waiting for VFM damping, the client's on a budget, you know.

The engine is relatively noisy and quite a bit of it makes its way into the cabin. I was expecting the Superb to be more silent than that.

When seated in the driver's position the front left and front right midwoofers are approximately 50" and 42" away respectively. Hence the path difference is not very high, but its not so for the tweeters. Normally this would be a nightmare to get the image bang in the center, but the Masterstroke amps have independent gains for left and right channels thankfully. The result, in my opinion, is good.

Mugen_Power · 10th May 2007, 14:59

Wooooow....
Congrates......
Amazing install Ajaybhai..

6.50 Lacs for Ice setup.

esteem_lover · 10th May 2007, 15:03

But why not a 4 channel & a 2 channel or even better 5 channel amp ? i am sure there is a good reason for that.

CHIP · 10th May 2007, 15:11

Hey bass&trouble

Oh my 7 lacs of audio install

My godness the price of the Amp is just kind of impossible and that also 3 amps for what sir i dont think you need soo much heavy amps coaxials or components speakers......

Sir i like to share a small information i visited singapore's Bang&olufsen showroom last month thats a brand better than bose or any other This brand system comes standard with Audi A8 4.2 quattro and those showroom guys just had an install in the lexus GS 430 and the sound system was really you know cannot explain by the words and price was only 8lacs and the amount of speakers there amps subs i mean there were lot of them........

i mean this guy could have 1000 times better install than this one................

moralfibre · 10th May 2007, 15:26

Superb install in the superb. I am sure it sounds great.

hydrashok · 10th May 2007, 15:33

Nice install, B&T!

I'd have liked a little more bling in the amp-rack dept. (and a more space-saving design), but this one is very functional and gets the job done well, I guess.

VDH RCAs? Wow!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

Just waiting for VFM damping, the client's on a budget, you know.

Say wha? Budget? VFM? In this install? If he's skimping on the damping after spending that much on the rest of the equipment...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

... Masterstroke amps have independent gains for left and right channels thankfully. The result, in my opinion, is good.

The best way of getting the TA right, IMHO!

speedzak · 10th May 2007, 16:08

Holy!! Molly!!
That's some expensive stuff in there.
The Masterstroke box looks amazing!

Alpine 9855 is 20k?? Grey??

Thanks for sharing the pics with us B&T.

Bass&Trouble · 10th May 2007, 16:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

But why not a 4 channel & a 2 channel or even better 5 channel amp ? i am sure there is a good reason for that.

Ideally I would have liked to do it fully active with 2 channel amps used, all except one for the sub operating in bridged mode to serve as full range monoblocks: one per tweeter, one per mid, and one for the sub. So thats a total of nine such amps. Unfortunately, it turns out a bit expensive.

Masterstrokes are only manufactured in two channel. Its the absolute top end from Steg. In no-holds barred hi-fi, whether home or car, certain practices exist. Like seperate pre-power amplifiers, seperate power supply, seperate transport and DAC, bi-amping speakers, bi-wiring speakers, using one monoblock per side, outrageously expensive cables and connectors. 2-channel power amps is the least fanciful of all of this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHIP

Sir i like to share a small information i visited singapore's Bang&olufsen showroom last month thats a brand better than bose or any other This brand system comes standard with Audi A8 4.2 quattro and those showroom guys just had an install in the lexus GS 430 and the sound system was really you know cannot explain by the words and price was only 8lacs and the amount of speakers there amps subs i mean there were lot of them........

Hmmm. And I always thought Bose is the best!

Consider this. The chap who owns the car wears an A. Lange & Sohne perpetual calendar on his wrist. Now, before you say it, I will quickly agree that Rolex is the best watch brand out there. But how can I make him understand that he should get himself a few dozen bejewelled Rollies rather than that? Its difficult. Some people are just plain stubborn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHIP

i mean this guy could have 1000 times better install than this one................

Next time, I'll try.

ramie2400 · 10th May 2007, 16:54

in a budget of 7L one could convert the superb with a Demo-superb...????? and for sure have installed a In-dash Pioneer Avic N2/N3 or a Z1 for some showoff with engine dynamics.Anyways neat & good install got to see a heavy stuff for the first time.
cheers

Bass&Trouble · 10th May 2007, 17:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by hydrashok

VDH RCAs? Wow!

Say wha? Budget? VFM? In this install? If he's skimping on the damping after spending that much on the rest of the equipment...

vdH speaker cables, Supra RCAs.

I was just kidding about the VFM damping man.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedzak

Alpine 9855 is 20k?? Grey??

More like hand-carried.

iraghava · 10th May 2007, 17:23

Congrats Ajay puttar, looks good & I'm sure sounds great!!!! Care to do such an install in my car and make it into your demo car for Delhi? I won't pay for it of course and will also charge a fee when you want to demo it

Sam Kapasi · 10th May 2007, 17:26

Nice B&T, I cannot wait to hear it. My compliments.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

Hmmm. And I always thought Bose is the best!

Quote:

Consider this. The chap who owns the car wears an A. Lange & Sohne perpetual calendar on his wrist. Now, before you say it, I will quickly agree that Rolex is the best watch brand out there. But how can I make him understand that he should get himself a few dozen bejewelled Rollies rather than that? Its difficult. Some people are just plain stubborn.

damn 2 smiley rule.

shrivz · 10th May 2007, 17:29

sweet setup..

and did that VFM damping part have to come in! lol!

you're totally on my case arent you!!

esteem_lover · 10th May 2007, 17:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

Hmmm. And I always thought Bose is the best!

Next time, I'll try.

And i thought i was stupid. LOL

low_bass_makker · 10th May 2007, 17:34

Hmmm...some fellow STEG install......man I wish I would get hands on the MasterStroke but they are way beyond my budget.....let us see what happens next......

But Ajay Bhai very good nice install.....with some good equipment (leaving the HU) installed in a clean and neat manner....must be sounding rich and clear......

I really like the amp rack......nice idea of space saving and bling - bling also....here is my amp rack for junior series yet monster amp K 2.04

10th May 2007, 14:44	#1
Bass&Trouble Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bombay Posts: 2,754 Thanked: 124 Times	Skoda Superb ICE: Steg/ Illusion Audio/ Alpine A simple stereo install in a Skoda Superb. Two pairs of component speakers and a single subwoofer, each running on dedicated two channel amplifiers. Navin thought it would be nice to feature the Superb since there aren't many other install pics on the forum of the same car. Unfortunately, the car was almost completely installed by the time I got around to taking pics, so no real 'work in progress' pics. Both pairs of speakers are in the stock locations in all four doors. Everything runs flat and the only adjustments made have been with respect to the crossover settings on the head unit and the time alginment. Equipment: Head Unit: Alpine 9855 - Rs. 20000/- approx. Front Speakers: Illusion Audio Nd 6.1 - Rs. 25500/- a pair Rear Speakers: Illusion Audio Nd 6.1 - Rs. 25500/- a pair Subwoofer: Illusion Audio Nd15i - Rs. 45500/- a piece Amps : Steg Masterstroke MSK 1500 x 3 - Rs. 180,000/- a piece Speaker Cables: van den Hul Clearwater RCA cables: Supra Dual, with Neutrik terminations Power cabling: Ground Zero Damping: A mix of Dynamat Xtreme and Wurth A few pics.. 6.5" Illusion Audio Carbon series midwoofer going into the rear door. Alpine 9855 - The system badly needs a better head unit. The amp looks somewhat like this on the insides. The pic is of the MSK3000, a more powerful variant of the MSK 1500 used here, and the second pic is of the packing. The volume of the packing box is atleast 5-6 times that of the amp itself, a nightmare from a freight point of view. Some views of the trunk. Some finishing touches remain. The spare wheel is completely accessible. Amps The car itself The Superb has good acoustics. With the deadening of the doors, there is not a single squeak. For those who may not know, the Superb door is sealed from the front. As in, once you take off the door panel, there is a metal plate that covers the entire door's cavity from the front with only an opening for the speaker mounting. This acts as a good enclosure...and a very bad candidate for the door's inner skin damping. Its a pain to take out the front cover to access the insides. We have the comps set to play down to 50 Hz and there isn't much metal resonance. The door panel however needs more damping, and will get it soon. The front wave of the door speaker causes a lot of flex in the door panel. Just waiting for VFM damping, the client's on a budget, you know. The engine is relatively noisy and quite a bit of it makes its way into the cabin. I was expecting the Superb to be more silent than that. When seated in the driver's position the front left and front right midwoofers are approximately 50" and 42" away respectively. Hence the path difference is not very high, but its not so for the tweeters. Normally this would be a nightmare to get the image bang in the center, but the Masterstroke amps have independent gains for left and right channels thankfully. The result, in my opinion, is good. Last edited by Bass&Trouble : 10th May 2007 at 15:00.
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 14:59	#2
Mugen_Power Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Gujarat 03 Posts: 1,302 Thanked: 18 Times	Wooooow.... Congrates...... Amazing install Ajaybhai.. 6.50 Lacs for Ice setup.
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 15:03	#3
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	But why not a 4 channel & a 2 channel or even better 5 channel amp ? i am sure there is a good reason for that.
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 15:11	#4
CHIP BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: lUDHIANA,PUNJAB Posts: 62 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Hey bass&trouble Oh my 7 lacs of audio install My godness the price of the Amp is just kind of impossible and that also 3 amps for what sir i dont think you need soo much heavy amps coaxials or components speakers...... Sir i like to share a small information i visited singapore's Bang&olufsen showroom last month thats a brand better than bose or any other This brand system comes standard with Audi A8 4.2 quattro and those showroom guys just had an install in the lexus GS 430 and the sound system was really you know cannot explain by the words and price was only 8lacs and the amount of speakers there amps subs i mean there were lot of them........ i mean this guy could have 1000 times better install than this one................
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 15:26	#5
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,451 Thanked: 13,973 Times	Superb install in the superb. I am sure it sounds great.
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 16:08	#7
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	Holy!! Molly!! That's some expensive stuff in there. The Masterstroke box looks amazing! Alpine 9855 is 20k?? Grey?? Thanks for sharing the pics with us B&T.
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 16:54	#9
ramie2400 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,903 Thanked: 66 Times View My Garage	in a budget of 7L one could convert the superb with a Demo-superb...????? and for sure have installed a In-dash Pioneer Avic N2/N3 or a Z1 for some showoff with engine dynamics.Anyways neat & good install got to see a heavy stuff for the first time. cheers Last edited by ramie2400 : 10th May 2007 at 16:56.
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 17:23	#11
iraghava Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bhaiyyaland Posts: 8,033 Thanked: 265 Times View My Garage	Congrats Ajay puttar, looks good & I'm sure sounds great!!!! Care to do such an install in my car and make it into your demo car for Delhi? I won't pay for it of course and will also charge a fee when you want to demo it
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 17:29	#13
shrivz BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Pune, MH12 Posts: 604 Thanked: 96 Times View My Garage	sweet setup.. and did that VFM damping part have to come in! lol! you're totally on my case arent you!! Last edited by shrivz : 10th May 2007 at 17:33.
	() Thanks

10th May 2007, 17:34	#15
low_bass_makker Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Faridabad Posts: 6,815 Thanked: 305 Times View My Garage	Hmmm...some fellow STEG install......man I wish I would get hands on the MasterStroke but they are way beyond my budget.....let us see what happens next...... But Ajay Bhai very good nice install.....with some good equipment (leaving the HU) installed in a clean and neat manner....must be sounding rich and clear...... I really like the amp rack......nice idea of space saving and bling - bling also....here is my amp rack for junior series yet monster amp K 2.04 Last edited by low_bass_makker : 10th May 2007 at 17:36.
	() Thanks