[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by VintageSree

... The problem with the current setup is the sound is dominated by the rear coaxials totally and hence the sound stage is from behind me. Here, bass is good but quality suffers.

If I shift the balance to the front, the quality of sound seems to improve a bit, but bass is not good. ...

The real limitation is the GT5-S204 4" coaxials mounted in the dash. It doesn't put out *any* significant bass, and sounds sibilant.

Get a pair of good 6.5" components, and mount the mid-bass in the front doors. Tweeters will go into the sail panel inside the ORVM. A good pair will cost you about 6-9K - Infinity, Boston, Morel, Polk, etc.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

... The only thing which worries me right now is -

* The audio just does not feel right as before.
* Some rattling because of the bass, which was not there before. ...

All after-market 'custom' HUs are essentially China-made HUs with a lot of features, coupled with dash and harness adapters for specific car models. However, their sound quality is pedestrian at best - and you have experienced that first hand. The only thing you can do now is to add a DSP, and that costs a pretty packet.

The rattling is simpler to tackle: take down the doorpads, and stay down every loose cable with either good scotch tape or hot-melt glue. You can add some damping on the inside surface of outer metal layer of the door, and the inside of the doorpads) after staying the cables down.

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

Guys came across Boston, any idea how is it? How is it compared to the likes of JBL, Focal, Rockford etc. They don't have HUs in their range though.

Guys any opinions on this? This brand seems to be selling well in Bangalore

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

Guys any opinions on this? This brand seems to be selling well in Bangalore

Bostons (if they are genuine Boston Acoustics) are good - neutral, laid back. Old company, not new kid on the block, nor 'white labelled' generic speakers. Good buy, but listen before buying - preferably in a car.

[VintageSree]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

The real limitation is the GT5-S204 4" coaxials mounted in the dash. It doesn't put out *any* significant bass, and sounds sibilant.

Get a pair of good 6.5" components, and mount the mid-bass in the front doors. Tweeters will go into the sail panel inside the ORVM. A good pair will cost you about 6-9K - Infinity, Boston, Morel, Polk, etc.

Thank you very much DerAlte for the reply.

I'll do just that.

I'm also thinking of getting an amp. Heard that an amp can make a sea change to the equation. Please suggest a good one that is suitable to this setup. Or, will it not be necessary?

Also, when I got the coaxials, my understanding is that a sub can't make a significant difference. Am I right? If wrong, I'm willing to explore the possibility of getting one also. Please enlighten me, please!

[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Bostons (if they are genuine Boston Acoustics) are good - neutral, laid back. Old company, not new kid on the block, nor 'white labelled' generic speakers. Good buy, but listen before buying - preferably in a car.

Thank you for the reply DerAlte, I found out that its not a new company and moreover they are owned by Philips in India, and yes it is genuine Boston Acoustics, I also heard that they had expensive range earlier but now they have only made for the Indian market range - more VFM, I did hear it in a friends car, but there was nothing to compare it with, right there so I am blank, well it did sound good. As you said they seem to be neutral, but puzzled as to how they sound and is it in the same league compared to the other top brands like Infinity, Hertz, Polk, Focal, JL Audio, Rockford, Kicker, JBL.

[hiren.mistry]

Originally Posted by 599gto

For real punch, thump, bang, whatever you call it, a Sub woofer is a must.
*please check the setting on the amplifier too, the frequency settings must be at full or all pass, i.e. HPF and LPF should be bypassed, that way the speakers will cover maximum frequencies and will reproduce whatever they can!

3. Radio FM signals are not the best source of audio to judge a set up's SQ, radio will always sound bad no matter what equipment you plonk in,

Thanks for the input 599
As you mentioned I am sticking to my JVC HU. Considering my car is a hatch and space is already at a premium I am not keen on a sub woofer. Infact, I had a sub earlier, but I removed it and got the wiring redone (along with new speakers) so the amp powers all the speakers. I will check the amp for the settings as mentioned by you. What's you opinion on the underseat subs?

Coming to the FM reception, I am not judging my SQ based on this. I get too much disturbance while tuned into any station. I think this is coz the installer had to put in a new connector. Perhaps a new FM antennae, the ones near the RVM might help.

Will revert with updates later in the day.

Many thanks.

[soumobakshi]

I am looking to improve the Sound Quotient for my existing setup of Duster RXL and details are as below;

1. Your Car: Duster 110 RXL

2. Your current setup (If any): _Stock Setup

3. Your Budget: _Maybe around 5k to 7k__

4. Do you drive most of the time or is it chauffer driven? ___Self Driven 100% of the time

5. Your Music preferences (Genres, favorite artists, etc.): _Indian Bollywood and some David Guetta type

Additional Information:

6. Are you ready to sacrifice your boot space/modify door panels? : __No, no modification which will hamper the Door Trim / Boot Space_

I am looking for better quality of sound more so in the higher volumes and the Bass Impact should be audible and felt.

Suggestions Please!

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

Thank you for the reply DerAlte, I found out that its not a new company and moreover they are owned by Philips in India, and yes it is genuine Boston Acoustics, I also heard that they had expensive range earlier but now they have only made for the Indian market range - more VFM, I did hear it in a friends car, but there was nothing to compare it with, right there so I am blank, well it did sound good. As you said they seem to be neutral, but puzzled as to how they sound and is it in the same league compared to the other top brands like Infinity, Hertz, Polk, Focal, JL Audio, Rockford, Kicker, JBL.

Boston Acoustics is owned by Denon. The same house that also owns Marantz.

As DerAlte has already mentioned, BA is a known brand with nice sound (and nice price).

Disclaimer: I have their bookshelf speakers at home, and sound wise they sound like Wharfedale speakers. In car audio they should be in the same league of Infinity, JBL, Polk etc.

Sound signature? I would say they are close to Infinity. Slightly less high frequency.

Here is what I have observed:
1. Focal - very bright to my ears. Brightness present in the harsh (3000-6000 Hz) as well as sparkle range (say >10000 Hz).
2. Infinity - quite bright, but not in the harsh range.
3. JBL - meaty midrange with cupped hand vocals (emphasized 500-2000 Hz).
4. BA - no idea about car audio, but home audio is well balanced with very slightly scooped midrange (500-2000 Hz). This emphasizes the sparkle a little bit.
5. Polk - only heard to brief duration, slightly on bright side, but also has meaty midrange - so the brightness doesn't stand out like Infinity or Focal

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

... is it in the same league compared to the other top brands like Infinity, Hertz, Polk, Focal, JL Audio, Rockford, Kicker, JBL.

Definitely yes. They are not so visible, but that could be due to deficient marketing.

Originally Posted by soumobakshi

I am looking to improve the Sound Quotient for my existing setup of Duster RXL and details are as below; ...

Change the front speakers to a decent pair of components. Please refer to this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ask-gu...n-terrano.html to read about what others have bought and used in Duster.

[Swapnil_Alto]

Hello Gurus,
I have an existing setup but have few problems, hope to get it solved.

1. My car: Maruti Suzuki Alto LX(2004)

2. My current setup: Head Unit:
Sony Xplod CDX-GT484US
Front Speakers- Stock(came with the car when the Showroom guys installed a Maruti cassette player at the time of delivery)
Rear Speakers- Pioneer- TS A935

3. Description of the problem: Not getting enough bass. It was properly set up earlier but during the battery change of our alto, the settings got back to factory setup and I'm unable to set it properly again.
The desired setting I want is to get less treble and more bass. Please help me out.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Swapnil_Alto

... Description of the problem: Not getting enough bass. It was properly set up earlier but during the battery change of our alto, the settings got back to factory setup and I'm unable to set it properly again.
The desired setting I want is to get less treble and more bass. ...

1. Please check if the connections to the Pioneer 6x9 speakers (I assume they are on an MDF parcel shelf which replaced the OE parcel shelf) are OK. Make sure + and - are connected consistently

2. On the Sony HU, change the equalizer settings. Select Custom setting under EQ3 and set the following against Low and Hi:
* Low +6 dB
* High -1dB or -2dB (in case -1 is not sufficient)

[Swapnil_Alto]

Thank You DerAlte.
Yes! the pioneer speakers are placed in a MDF tray.
I'm in Kolkata right now, don't have my car here. I'll be going home day after tomorrow. I will change the setting as you mentioned and post whether the problem solved or not. There are many more settings such as MID, SUB etc. What to do with them?

[Prodigy07]

ICE Gurus - Quick Question

I'm planning to add an Amp, Sub woofer and Front Components in my Ertiga. Will an addition of an amp cause any trouble to the quality of air inside the cabin? My main worry is the amp cable needs to routed to the amp from the battery. So, a hole needs to be drilled in an existing OE rubber bush somewhere in the bonnet. So, this might lead to outside air coming into the cabin!

Please clarify.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Prodigy07

ICE Gurus - Quick Question

I'm planning to add an Amp, Sub woofer and Front Components in my Ertiga. Will an addition of an amp cause any trouble to the quality of air inside the cabin? My main worry is the amp cable needs to routed to the amp from the battery. So, a hole needs to be drilled in an existing OE rubber bush somewhere in the bonnet. So, this might lead to outside air coming into the cabin!

Please clarify.

No I do not expect any such issues. However if you are still apprehensive about this you can ask your technician to add a rubber grommet to the hole there by sealing the hole yet allowing the power cable wire a path.

In any case the car's cabin is not completely sealed from the outside or even from the engine compartment. There might be existing pathways your technician can use to route the power cable wire.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Swapnil_Alto

... There are many more settings such as MID, SUB etc. What to do with them?

Nothing - just leave them at their default settings, which is usually 0. MID is for mid-range frequencies (voice etc.), which do not seem to be a problem for you. SUB is for setting the level of the dedicated Sub-out, which in your case is redundant as you don't have a subwoofer.