[speedzak]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Errr ... Keeping up traditions you are tying booster rockets to it!

Somebody told: Old habits die hard!
Now, who was that SOB? Would wack the hell out of him for saying that.

Frankly, I wasn't recommending him those. But just mentioning some of those brands for which a demo isn't easy.
But thinking again, some of those few are within his budget, like the Illusion (electra), Hertz (Dieci & energy) etc..

[vroom77]

Thanks for the detailed suggestions zak.

Originally Posted by speedzak

You're going in for a new HU.
It's not that hard to make out a fake HU with naked eyes. If you're getting Alpine 988x series, I would recommend you to get one here with B&W. There'll be definitely a bit of a price difference between Dubai and here. But you'll not be able to get any warranty here if it's bought from Dubai.
Alpine will be the best choice for you as what I can make out from your posts.

Not sure if I am that good at identifying a fake one without B&W and wouldnt take the risk. Rather, would only pick up from a reputed shop as you advised with B&W. Shall check out the prices here in India too.

You have a JVC amp with you. But it is just a basic amp and don't expect it to make wonders into your setup. But it will be better than what a normal HU can put out. So, you can use it in your setup until you plan to get a new amp. As told earlier, use 2 channels for the fronts and bridge 2 channels for the sub/tube.

Is this because of the low wattage. AFAIK, the jvc one is a high current design and can even drive a 2ohm load. The SNR also is pretty good, comparable to head units. Can please tell me if I am missing something here in identifying the quality of an ampilfier ?

Now, let's come to the most important part. Speakers! This will play a vital role in your setup.
First of all, if you go around bangalore, you'll find many car accessories shops where you'll be able to have a demo of almost every major brands. Do some study, amongst them and come to a conclusion. Then, there are brands which are not easy to get a demo of. But they may exceed many others in SQ. These ones will have to be decided either by other enthusiasts' opinions/user reviews/online research.
I would count brands like Infinity Kappa, Illusion audio (especially, the carbon series), Hertz, Rainbow audio, Focal, Morel, Dynaudio etc... amongst them.
As you are in Bangalore now, it is better you do your demo run as much as possible in different shops. But if you are buying the vehicle in Cochin, it doesn't make much sense to buy the equipment from Bangalore and then get it fitted in Cochin. You'll be able to get rid of installation charges if you install it from the same place where you buy from. There are some good places in Cochin where you can get good products and good installation. Read thru the forum and you'll come across it.

I shall check out the forums and get the contacts of Cochin too. Here as well as in cochin I am in a tight schedule and am depending solely on your suggestions and some reading to maximize the chances of getting this right. The demos if not in-car ones may compromise on what we find it in the real world conditions due to parameters like cabin gain, reflections etc etc. These are all bookish knowledge and some logic applied and any real world experience will help me to tally and make corrections.

Get some good quality wiring for your setup. Atleast the RCAs. EFX, Scosche, Audison etc.. are a few to name.

Get your homework done. Get your dream vehicle. Get your dream ICE and post pictures here. Until then, we're all here to help you in every step.
So! :cheers:

Thanks for all the great support bhp-ians and you make a big difference in my journey to make an educated and confident buy of the dream vehicle as well as dream ICE :-). Shall start posting pictures too once the bull starts its run out of the showroom.

Looks like its pretty lengthy, sorry for that.

[speedzak]

You're most welcome.

The doubts about the Jvc amp, it would be better if we could see the model number of it. Yes, 55w per channel @ 4 ohms sounds a bit on the unhappier side. But more details on the amp may prove it better.

We understand your tight schedule baba! So, the suggestion to do your homework as much as and whenever possible. It will help a lot in gaining good satisfaction levels later.
Rest, as we said! Just log on to team-bhp and shout. Somebody will come up with assistance.

[vroom77]

The JVC Amp is, KS-AX3500. Welcome to JVC India

Specs:
Max. Power Output of 580W
Continuous power (RMS) of 55W/channel, into 4 ohms, 20Hz - 20kHz, at less than 1.0% total harmonic distortion
4-, 3-, or 2-Channel Operation
Class-AB Circuit
MOS-FET Power Supply Converter
Variable Input Level Control (0.3 - 6V)
LPF ON/OFF Switch
Gold-Plated Input Terminals (Power)
Gold-Plated RCA Jacks
Speaker Input Connector
Balanced Input
2-ohm Stable Operation
Over-Temperature Protection
Overload Protection
Short Circuit Protection
DC Offset Protection
Soft Start
Anti-Pop Circuit

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by vroom77

...I dont see 130 or 172. DerAlte, can you confirm whether it is,
Blaupunkt - Loudspeakers - TH-Series - THc 662 ( THC 542) or
Blaupunkt - Loudspeakers - TH-Series - THc 542 (THC 652), that will fit well in Safari.

130/172 were the older nomenclature for THc/Thx, I think.

Any of these will fit in the Safari stock location. The 5xx is a 5.25" speaker, and 6xx is a 6.5" speaker.

While you are at it, check the prices of Vc172 and Vc132 (Velocity range) components also from the Blaupunkt dealer. If you are buying everything Blau, you may get a decent discount on these and then these will be within your budget.

The Blau coax THx should cost you LESS than the THc components - anomaly in the prices you have mentioned.

Originally Posted by vroom77

Prices for the above mentioned speakers
Thc 662 - 4000/pair
GTt 1200 - 5750 one piece
Tx 652 - 5000 - 6000

Total without HU - 14750-15750 (No discounts)

This detail I got from Alpine Bangalore headquarters, reachable at 080 22992820...

???You got the Blau prices from the Alpine Bangalore headquarters?

[vroom77]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

The Blau coax THx should cost you LESS than the THc components - anomaly in the prices you have mentioned.

Yes, even I thought why are these coaxials costlier than the components. But then it could be an error at blaupunkt's end. I could feel that he was getting impatient with the list of speakers for which I wanted to know the price

???You got the Blau prices from the Alpine Bangalore headquarters?

Sorry, that was a typo

I shall definitely check all the options available in component series of Blaupunkt before choosing one. Atleast auditioning all the speakers there can give me a better picture on relative performance.

Any songs that you can suggest which covers the entire freq spectrum, a 70% accurate test cd types that I can take with me for audition. What is your opinion on Illusion speakers when compared to Blaupunkt. ? I can see that they are very popular among bhpians.