Team-BHP - ICEing Baleno.. pl jump in to help

Hi all:

In all deference to moderators and Gurus about searching through the posts before asking, have been wandering the maze of posts on the ICE section.. for at least a week now. Now that my head has stopped spinning, am trying to pen down a (hopefully !) informed help request.

Got a 2004 Baleno about a month back.. the ICE in the car is beyond bad, so won't bother with "Current setup" part. And since brevity obviously isn't my forte, so will cut it out and get to the point. Which is.. my vague idea of what I am looking for:

HU: Pio 7950
Front: Hertz ESK165 comps OR Illusion EL6.1
Rear: ECX165 coax
Amp: JBL GTO75.4 OR Audison (which one works better for this combo?)
Cables: Read through Sam's (and others') advice, so will take care while getting install done
Sub: Outta budget for now !!
Budget: Have seen better than me fall on this one, but hoping to keep it below 35 or so (laughs.. anyone ?) I KNOW I'm way outta depth here..

Also having read Navin, Gunbir and lots' others views on brightness, realize the subjectivity, and will try for a demo if possible when I get around to this.. hope my request is clear enough. Before this forum, I was clueless of just how clueless I am, on the subject.. so pl let me know if something's fuzzy here.. Thanks

Welcome to TBHP ICE, merlin! That was a really nice and clear post. You've made your needs very clear :)

Quoting from your post, with my notes in italics:

HU: Pio 7950: 8.5K or so in Delhi
Front: Hertz ESK165 comps OR Illusion EL6.1: About 9.1K
Rear: ECX165 coax: 5.6K
Amp: JBL GTO75.4 OR Audison (which one works better for this combo?): The 75.4 (if you can find it) will be available for 12K or so. The Entry-level Audison 4- ch Amp is the SRx4, which is about 25K.

End of quote.
Wiring will be about 3K.
You'll need to do a bit of cutting in the front doors to get the 6.5" midbass in, but a good installer can do that with no problem.

I think maybe you can get the speakers now and do the amp a little later. Unless of course you want to up the budget by 4-5K immediately. You might also need to do a bit of damping later for the front doors (another 3K or so) once you add an amp.

As you said listen to the setup first. You'll find quite a few TBHPians with the equipment you've mentioned in Delhi. So a proper "demo" should not be a problem. :)

I guess the Illusions are somewhat cheaper.

The Illusion EL6.1 costs 6.5K.
And the EL62 coax costs 4K.
If you find it, the 75.4 should not cost more than 11K grey.
Pio 7950 approx 9K. Could get lower as @Hydra's mentioned.
Wiring 3K

So thats 33.5K - within your budget.

Adding a good entry level sealed box sub and damping would probably cost you another 10K.

So a total of 43.5K. Please increase your budget :D

Any particular reason you want the 7950?

Ok, here's my 2 cents. Prices have already been mentioned above.

HU: Pio 7950
Any reason you've shortlisted this HU?

Front: Hertz ESK165 comps OR Illusion EL6.1
I have the EL6.1 fitted in my car and can recommend it highly. As you said, "brightness" is a subjective term, but I think you will find these to be pretty smooth and not too bright. And I think it's a fair bit cheaper than the ESK's.

Rear: ECX165 coax
Would recommend you go for these if you choose ESK165 up front. If you go for the EL6.1, install the Illusion EL62 coax at the rear. Basically try to stick to the same brand of speakers for both front and rear.

Amp: JBL GTO75.4 OR Audison (which one works better for this combo?)
Both are very good amps. I'm using the JBL with the EL6.1 and am happy with the combo.

Cables: Read through Sam's (and others') advice, so will take care while getting install done
Yup, these can make or break your setup.

Sub: Outta budget for now !!
Pity, but there's always the possibility of a future upgrade ;)

Budget: Have seen better than me fall on this one, but hoping to keep it below 35 or so (laughs.. anyone ?) I KNOW I'm way outta depth here..
Well, if you stick to the options above, then 35k is a possibility (am speaking for the Illusion+JBL combo).
However, I would advise you use some damping for your front doors at least, since you're fitting good quality component speakers. Add about 2k for that.

Keep us updated, and have fun choosing your setup!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlin (Post 640370)

wow.
first and foremost, i must must must appreciate the fact that you have searched and read and done your homework unlike most newbies. clap:

you certainly deserve an applause in your focussed and well-mannered approach.

i'm sure there'd be lots of T-Bhpians more than willing to give you a demo.

with the JBL amp, your budget seems more or less appropriate. (and yes, it's available, if you don't get it, lemme know)

with audison... i think you'll enter a different league and end up changing your entire config., but i'll leave that to the audison guru.

i'd also like to see your installation, whenever you do it, just in case the baleno i drive has to be ICEd.

:thumbs up

p.s. - 35k with no budget for a sub? what's the idea? you'll easily get a jbl / 307 around 3k.. and better ones for more. :-)

First off, THANKS for the warm welcome and the appreciation.. and the great, precise responses.. makes things pretty clear, esp given the fact that this is kinda starting off at square one for me. I wasn't sure if I'd assimilated the huge chunk of information that I'd been browsing through, for all this while..guess I'm not entirely learning disabled as I'd thought :)

To answer your questions, here's goes..

Why Pio 7950 ?
Cos I don't know any better ! Actually, I'm looking for a visually uncluttered (I know..a stupid reason!) HU..and though I've heard a lot good about Alpine, I preferred 'the look' of the 7950. Pl throw in your recommendations keeping this in mind.. for all I know, I might be missing out on a much better HU within/less than this price range

Why not add a sub ?
I think I will go with adding on a sub, if the budget doesn't really skyrocket (I heard about 10k more for it an all.. tough !)

Now for my revised ICE Ver 1:

HU: ?? will wait for recommendations
Front: Illusion EL6.1
Rear: Illusion EL62
Amp: JBL GTO75.4 (Audi$$$$$$on is out for obvious reasons)
Cables: Read through Sam's (and others') advice, so will take care while getting install done
Sub: jbl / 307 ?? Pl recommend more good VFM propositions keeping the above combo in mind. Will either get it now, or keep in mind for future upgrade. I'd want a tight kinda bass..SQ oriented

From past posts, I'm guessing that I'll end up going to "DRIVEN" for this stuff.. would want to keep install quality in mind, esp with the cutting doors and stuff involved. Pl advise if I could do better..

And since the doors are getting opened up, as you guys' suggested, I'll get the damping done as well... makes sense

And yes, I'd be glad if anyone could gimme a demo.. will save lots of regrets later ! And ya, will be happy to give em, once I'm done with the ICE

Lastly, I'm kinda still barely figuring out how to post and stuff, so not sure how to copy-paste individual repsonses to my post, and acknowledge them.. pl bear with me while I catch up ! Thanks again..

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merlin (Post 641002)

Now for my revised ICE Ver 1:

HU: ?? will wait for recommendations
Front: Illusion EL6.1
Rear: Illusion EL62
Amp: JBL GTO75.4 (Audi$$$$$$on is out for obvious reasons)
Cables: Read through Sam's (and others') advice, so will take care while getting install done
Sub: jbl / 307 ?? Pl recommend more good VFM propositions keeping the above combo in mind. Will either get it now, or keep in mind for future upgrade. I'd want a tight kinda bass..SQ oriented

Good choice of equipment. I would go for a Ground Zero 12" sub to add to this config. Been there heard that. I don't think Driven stocks Illusion in Delhi. LBM is the man who can help you get a decent install done.

Quote:

And since the doors are getting opened up, as you guys' suggested, I'll get the damping done as well... makes sense

Great. Noise kill damping @ Rs. 150/- per sq.ft would be your best bet. From your previous posts I gathered that you are looking for an absolute VFM setup and the Illusion's will do the thing for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moralfibre (Post 641079)

that's true. i don't think anyone stocks illusions/GZ in delhi besides LBM. :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by moralfibre (Post 641079)

can you post a link to the noise kill website? i've had a hard time finding the company that makes this and its credentials/product specs. though 150 p. sq feet seems quite tempting.

check out the 9881 by alpine as well. with bill & warranty MRPed around 12750.