[blueraven316]

I think the GT5 amp is a nice peice for the price, it's not a huge leap over the CS series amp as far as SQ is concerned, but it does churn out some decent power. Some peices of the CS60.4 amps I have seen had issues driving a Sub at times, but this Gt5 amp runs a subwoofer very comfortably without any hiccups.
Compared the same amps in the price range, considering the GT5 sells around for Rs 7000 with B/W I have not come across an amp which can beat it in a price to performance ratio. Any amp which is much better than the GT5 is excess of Rs 11000 selling price.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by cyclops

1. In terms of series placement in the JBL product basket, GTO>GT5>CS
2. GT5 series is a budget range launched by JBL to mass-market. (Though not a huge variance in the prices of both!)
3. GTO are brighter than GT5 (confirmed by sam as well) GT5's have a bit laid back sound.

Let me clarify and/or enhance your points.

1. You are correct in the basic sense, however GT5 speakers replaced the CS speakers.

2. GTO is superior to GT5. However GTO series (especially GTO937 and GTO937SE) are now industry standards in India and have become low-profit, large volume products (remember TBHP members comprise less than 0.1% of the Indian car audio market) and owing to this, one is able to receive a greater discount on GTO products than GT5.

3. The essence of JBL audio has always been dynamic, forward & muscular audio. However the GT5 speakers were the forst to experiment with a new sonic signature with the same muscle but a slight toning down of the higher frequencies. This was achieved using different materials and crossover modifications.

It is this toning down of the high frequencies that you are perceiving as less bright.

Originally Posted by blueraven316

I think the GT5 amp is a nice peice for the price, it's not a huge leap over the CS series amp as far as SQ is concerned, but it does churn out some decent power. Some peices of the CS60.4 amps I have seen had issues driving a Sub at times, but this Gt5 amp runs a subwoofer very comfortably without any hiccups.

Any amp which is much better than the GT5 is excess of Rs 11000 selling price.

Correct again satya, however some small changes.
The GT5 amplifiers were built from the ground up and incorporate a new design philosophy and topology that in my opinion make them sound far superior to the earlier CS amplifiers. You are correct about the abilities to drive larger loads.

The entire GT5 series was built from the ground up by taking extensive feedback from strong emerging markets such as India, Thailand, east European countries and more.

Disclaimer: I work for JBL. My information is accurate.However, my ideas and viewed may be possibly biased.

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by blueraven316

The GT5 speaker might be less bright compared to the GTO, but it is not a laid back speaker at all, it gets loud as it needs to. But, compared to the GTO, it is laid back. Good Speaker IMO at that price point.

How does it rate om parameter of bass?

[cyclops]

Originally Posted by cyclops

Now that this confusion is cleared, I have few more queries.

I have fitted GT5-402 in the front stock location and GT5-963 in a big box in the boot and drive em with a Pio 5050 directly. I am planning to install 4 ch amp to power this setup now (probably a GT5 A604, or a Kenwood 5401 amp, both around 5k).

1. Which would be the best 4 ch amp to drive this setup? Budget around 5k.
2. Is the current setup capable to be powered with the amp?
3. Which is the best location for the amp in a alto, install pics will be great!
4. I dont plan to install a sub right now, which place in pune do i get the install done? and for how much?

Request expert advice..!

forgot to mention the car in consideration is an alto, expert opinion please...!

[abhibh]

cyclops for 5k i would suggest 8401. JBL is also good but in my personal experience JBL is little harsh with high gains kenwood 8401 is a bit more smooth. But as your equipment is all JBL i think JBL A604 will be good.

Yes the current setup can be powered from AMP

The best location IMHO will be boot. behind rear seat.

[adityamunshi]

And is the blau amp smooth or harsh ?

Originally Posted by abhibh

cyclops for 5k i would suggest 8401. JBL is also good but in my personal experience JBL is little harsh with high gains kenwood 8401 is a bit more smooth. But as your equipment is all JBL i think JBL A604 will be good.

Yes the current setup can be powered from AMP

The best location IMHO will be boot. behind rear seat.

[cyclops]

Originally Posted by abhibh

cyclops for 5k i would suggest 8401. JBL is also good but in my personal experience JBL is little harsh with high gains kenwood 8401 is a bit more smooth. But as your equipment is all JBL i think JBL A604 will be good.

Yes the current setup can be powered from AMP

The best location IMHO will be boot. behind rear seat.

thanks for your inputs abhi. can you tell me the latest market price for both these amps? with and without the b/w?

does getting the amp of the same brand as the speakers ensures performance?

and as i mentioned in my previous posts, i have installed the 963's in a one single big box (i'll try to post the pics) in the boot, i dont want to further sacrifice the boot space, its eaten up already! one good thing is that i have made the connections as easily detachable, so i can remove em when i need the boot space.

how about the under the navigator seat arrangement? is it not a good location?

and finally can someone from our pune team enlighten me about a good installer for the setup???

whew.. too many questions!

[nishantgandhi]

Originally Posted by adityamunshi

And is the blau amp smooth or harsh ?

Addy boy, you seem to have the same doubt reg amp as me (and possibly Vebmetal and Million Swords). TBHP ICE section always confuses most of the population

P.S. Saw your PM. Will let you know if I get to audtion something and decide, hopefully soon!

[abhibh]

Originally Posted by cyclops

thanks for your inputs abhi. can you tell me the latest market price for both these amps? with and without the b/w?

does getting the amp of the same brand as the speakers ensures performance?

how about the under the navigator seat arrangement? is it not a good location?

Market price without B/W for 8401 is 4.7K-5K. JBL 604 is 5K. With B/W A604 is 6500 and 8401 is around 6K.

Getting amp of same brand doesn't ensure best speaker performance it's just a perception which i hear here and there that there is more compatibility and blah blah.

Under the seat is also good. But i try to keep it in boot due to dust and mud during rainy season. I have friends who are using under the seat and the amp is still working fine for more than 3 years.

[cyclops]

hey thanks for your inputs abhi. but the plans of getting a amp are on hold now.! :( going through a cash crunch.. will update you once stabilized.!

[cyclops]

Okay. After all these months, I finally installed the amp.
Thanks for answering my queries and sharing your experiences.

Now the configuration is,

HU: Pio 5050
Front: GT5-402
Rear: GT5-963
Amp: GT5-A604
Cables: Please dont ask boss!

I tried to procure KAC-8401 in pune, Bafna and Poona Motors (recommended here) and many shops across pune, from aundh to nanpeth to camp, but no one was stocking 8401.

But JBL was available and suggested by everyone. And that too with BW. Kudos to Sam for setting up such a strong marketing footprint. So the decision was made. JBL GT5 A604 is the amp for me.

Now it was about getting the best rates and selecting an installer.

Bafna did not stock kenwood and the JBL rates were inflated. Plus he's a busy guy, rather than giving too much of information, said just get your car here and then "sab kuch ho jayega!" But atleast he said that with some courtesy, maybe because my HU+JBL's were bought from him.

Poona Motors, hmm.. This guy seems to be interested only in big-big installs, I was treated as if I am asking for a amp free of cost there. I will surely not recommned them to anyone. I know he has some great installs in his portfolio, but a customer is a customer, no matter how big or small his budget is!

So finally got the install one at a not so famous place, Durga Cars, at the junction of SB Road, next to Mocha.

I am happy with the performance, but not delighted though. I guess I could not set the tuning right. Well now I can make out the loss of mids due to my tiny 4" fronts which are HPF'd halfway, dont know how much in hz.

My current settings are as follows, I am giving the settings in clock positions,

Front Gain - 9'o clock
Front Crossover - HPF 12'o clock
Rear Gain - 10'o clock
Rear Crossover - Flat
Bass Boost - 0

HU Fader set to +2 in the front and EQ set to Powerful.

Experts. please suggest the best tuning option for my setup.

Edit: Phew, the post went pretty long. Longest I've ever posted! Thanks for bearing with me if you are still reading it!

[nitrous]

Congratulations on the amp.
Suggestion: 'Flat' the HPF on the amp and use the HU to set different HPFs for the front and rear.

[cyclops]

Thanks.

But the HU is not having individual HPF for the front & rear.
Its got one common HPF for both, which will kill the low's to the rear's.

Just curios, does the HPF on the HU works better than the amp?

Originally Posted by nitrous

Congratulations on the amp.
Suggestion: 'Flat' the HPF on the amp and use the HU to set different HPFs for the front and rear.

[navin]

Originally Posted by cyclops

My current settings are as follows, I am giving the settings in clock positions,
Front Gain - 9'o clock
Front Crossover - HPF 12'o clock
Rear Gain - 10'o clock
Rear Crossover - Flat
Bass Boost - 0
HU Fader set to +2 in the front and EQ set to Powerful.
Experts. please suggest the best tuning option for my setup.

The only thing I might change is set the EQ to flat instead of Powerful. In fact if you find that the Powerful setting is not to your taste you might get more flexibility by using the amplifiers Bass Boost controls (many amps have parametric controls that allow you to set the freq, width (Q), and amplitude of the boost) that the HU's Powerful setting.

Remember there is no hard and fast rule in audio. It is after alll YOUR system, paid for with YOUR money, for YOUR car, installed for YOU to listen to YOUR music so I'd advise you to trust YOUR ears.

[cyclops]

Thanks for the encouraging words navin!

The reason I kept the EQ on powerful is to compensate the loss of lows & mids on low volumes. I will try the bass boost option on the amp as well.

My amp is an entry level amp (GT5 A604) and it does not have the settings you referred. It only has one single knob for bass boost. I will try setting it up though.

One quick question. What do the dots (highlighted in the pic) on the x-over range denote?
What would be the x-over freq when the knob kept on this dot?

Originally Posted by navin

The only thing I might change is set the EQ to flat instead of Powerful. In fact if you find that the Powerful setting is not to your taste you might get more flexibility by using the amplifiers Bass Boost controls (many amps have parametric controls that allow you to set the freq, width (Q), and amplitude of the boost) that the HU's Powerful setting.

Remember there is no hard and fast rule in audio. It is after alll YOUR system, paid for with YOUR money, for YOUR car, installed for YOU to listen to YOUR music so I'd advise you to trust YOUR ears.