[gmano]

@ Nimz, I am planning to have components in the front, coaxial in the rear tray and an amp to drive them. May be a sub later. I dont want to cut the door, so I am looking for 4" components, which must be better than the coaxials (I am assuming. Even the Audio Gurus confirm it)

[Nimz]

@ Mano - thanks and yes the comps should be better.

@ Gurus - How about a 4" comp in front dash and an amp and a sub later. No rear speakers. Would it adversely affect sounstage in anyway?

And for Spark being a small car a small sub would do.. What would be price range for a sub and a compatible amp. THanks in advance

Nimz

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Nimz

How about a 4" comp in front dash and an amp and a sub later. No rear speakers. Would it adversely affect sounstage in anyway?

And for Spark being a small car a small sub would do.. What would be price range for a sub and a compatible amp

4" compos in the dash would suffice for the moment (not serious bass, but not totally absent either at moderate to loud volume). No rear speakers would only be a minor inconvenience for the rear seat passengers in a small car.

The soundstage is created by the highs and the mids, which good 4" compos (like Illusion) will provide adequately.

The lowest cost would be a Sony 554 amp (about 5K; though most would advise you to stay away from Sony) - 2 channels for the front and other 2 bridged for the sub. Pioneer, Blaupunkt GTA4 or JBL 60.4 would be slightly more. The sub can be a 10" or 12" JBL / Pioneer / Blaupunkt / Alpine (about 7-8K including box; there are cheaper ones but the quality is not likely to be good; make sure that the box is as per the size recommended in the sub manual).

Of course, there are a lot of others available in BLR with / without B&W, so getting a good deal is a matter of leg-work and asking around.

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by Nimz

thanks Uncles and Nephews..

Theoretically, it would be incorrect for me to call Navin 'uncle', since for that he would have to be atleast one octave elder to me.

Here are the T-S parameters.

Originally Posted by Nimz

Well the PDF of the El series on the website says freq response for the 4.1 is 200 Hz to 22,000 Hz. There goes my dreams of just having the EL 4.1 alone..

For any comp to perform well, the mounting location better be a good one. This is not a 4" midrange, and hence it is necessary for the speaker to be enclosed decently to play down to 100 Hz and not rattle everything around it.

Originally Posted by Nimz

If 4" comps in the front alone wont do.. then going the conventional route.. (fitting a CS series 4" co-ax in front and an equivalent JBL comps at the back) I could close it at 5-6K whereas the Illusion would cost me 5K.

Again, depends on how good the location is. If it is not very speaker-friendly, then I would suggest you skip the expensive comps in the front only, and install inexpensive coaxes and get a solid pair of rears to reinforce mid bass.

[Nimz]

@ Der Alte - The Sparks stock locations are on the dash - almost near the windscreens. Would installing a 4" comp like Illusion do justice to it.

@ B& T - would like your opinion on whether this location is "speaker friendly".


If not 4" comps then which 4" co-axials would you suggest for a "laid back sound" somehting with a fabric/silk domed tweeter would be deisirable..

Thanks again.

Nimz

Edit - Just found that there is an Alpine comp at 4" too SPX-107R Any idea on availabilty in INdia and price.. me feels the Alpines would be more laid back...

[hydrashok]

@nimz, I think that with the Illusions you can't go wrong, going by the rave reviews about them by others.

If you're ok with cutting the door-pads (and if the frame-structure of the doors will let you), then you can install a 5.25" or even 6.5" component set -- a whole lot of choices.

The stock location looks pretty good to me -- its angled a bit, and it is not firing directly (up) into the windscreen. I think it is better than the Wagon-R, Indica and Alto stock locations (also on the dash).

If the plastics are good quality, you shouldn't have problems with jarring either.

The Alpine model you've mention is an X type -- mucho dinero (Something like 11K to 13K is my guess). And I don't think they are available in India.

[Nimz]

Thanks Hydra.

Am not too sure about cutting the poor doors.

Looking at the stock locations only. I was just concerned if the Illusions would be a lil bright for my tastes as I have discovered that laid back is what appeals to me.

Any suggestions on a good HU (USB desirable) and whcih can be later used to fit a 4ch amp to drive a sub.. and which when mated to the Illusion is again not bright..

My budget here is less than 10K. 7-8K would be fine..

JVC, Pio are the ones am looking at.. Alpine (laid back HU) would it fall within budget. Clarion USB HUs - are they laidback?

Thanks in advance

Nimz

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Nimz

@ Der Alte - The Sparks stock locations are on the dash - almost near the windscreens. Would installing a 4" comp like Illusion do justice to it.

I have heard Blau OD series coaxes mounted in the same location in Wagon-R (the Mandovi Motors demo car, perhaps you could check it out to get a feel), and IMHO they were producing a real good soundstage.

One would expect a much better response from compos in the Spark, since
- only the midbass of the compos would get mounted in that location in Spark, and
- the highs, which normally suffer from windscreen reflection woes, would be firing into the cabin directly if you mount them at the base of the A-pillar.

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by Nimz

...
Looking at the stock locations only. I was just concerned if the Illusions would be a lil bright for my tastes as I have discovered that laid back is what appeals to me.

Any suggestions on a good HU (USB desirable) and whcih can be later used to fit a 4ch amp to drive a sub.. and which when mated to the Illusion is again not bright..

My budget here is less than 10K. 7-8K would be fine..

JVC, Pio are the ones am looking at.. Alpine (laid back HU) would it fall within budget. Clarion USB HUs - are they laidback?
...

Nimz, from what I've heard about the Illusions here, they would be your best bet for smoother highs (in the 4" size). The other options would be quite a bit brighter (I've listened to most of the other speakers), esp. at that location. I'd read in another thread that they are now available at Bangalore. Why don't you check them out?

Is your total budget 10K? For HU and speakers? Then I think for the HU, you'll need to choose between the Pio 2950 or 3950, or one of the JVCs (I don't know the model no.s, I'm afraid).

For a Pio with USB, you'll need to spend a minimum of 8.5K to 9.5K for a 7950. JVC would have HUs with USB from about 6K. I haven't listened to the Clarion HUs, but they are supposed to sound pretty good. You'll be able to connect an amp and sub to all these.

The new entry-level Alpine 9873 (I think) is priced at about 9K, with B&W. Unlike the older entry-level ones, it is Full-Speed iPod ready -- just add the cable (KCE-422i). And it has 2 pre-outs.

Like DerAlte said, maybe you can check the demo Wagon-R for a general idea about how 4" coaxials will sound in the car. 4" comps in the Spark will sound wayyyyyyy better, I'm sure.

[iraghava]

Well all I can say is that the Illusions are pretty laid-back. I earlier had Velocity's in the front which were needless to say at times, ear shattering. I don't think you're going to find them bright at all.

[Nimz]

Thanks Hydra and Irraghava..

I checked out a colleagues Alto. Well it had the stock firing straight into the windscreen. It was a Blau set up and the rear speakers were boomy..

@ Hydra - Yes I do plan to check out the Illusions at Sprocket. Am looking at a HU in the 8K range and lot of friends do talk of the covenience of having an USB port in their cars. I think a JVC woudl fit the bill. The JVC KDG635 has the USB option. That and the Illusions EL 4.1 till i thikn of an Amp and Sub when I have 10K again. I woujld also check out the Alpine and Clarion and see.. maybe I fall in love.. never know..

Thanks Gurus and thanks Mano for letting me hijack your thread.

P.S -@Hydra, Rockster : Does Alpine when it says "ipod ready" mean it is USB drive compatible?

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by Nimz

I was just concerned if the Illusions would be a lil bright for my tastes as I have discovered that laid back is what appeals to me.

Oh, they aren't bright by any stretch of imagination. In fact a lot of retailers refer to the line as "kam treble wale speaker". This same tweeter is used in a lot of respectable speakers including a studio monitor. The crossover provides a +/- 3 dB setting, but it has not been required by any users unless the tweeter ends up too close to the listeners relative to the midbasses. All the above views are of a small group of people though, including me. I would still suggest you hear out a pair.

The location looks just like that in Wagon R, Indica etc. Some damping would help, atleast its better than the location in the Santro where bass cancellation is unavoidable.

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by Nimz

Yes I do plan to check out the Illusions at Sprocket.

Call them up before you go. Illusion stocks arrived in Hyderabad long before Bangalore, but when I went there yesterday (Sprocket Hyd, I mean), they did not have EL 4.1s. They had the 5.1 and 6.1 but the demo for Illusions wasn't available. Make sure they have it there.

[gmano]

@Nimz, I should thank you for hijacking my thread and clearing lot of doubts to me. I have finally decided to buy the Illusion 4" components.

@ Bass&Trouble, I will transfer the money morrow mornig, Please send me a pair of 4" Components. Thanks.

[Nimz]

Originally Posted by gmano

@Nimz, I should thank you for hijacking my thread and clearing lot of doubts to me. I have finally decided to buy the Illusion 4" components.

@ Bass&Trouble, I will transfer the money morrow mornig, Please send me a pair of 4" Components. Thanks.

Do you have good installers in Chennai who can do this.. I gather comps would require installers who are quite good to get a good soundstage as tweeter placement is very important..

And B& T saar. do let us know when Sprocket gets the EL series..

Nimz