[santosh.s]

I am soon getting a whole new ICE setup for my baleno, details here-
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ask-gu...ml#post1219708

It is time to prepare myself for the installation now. Creating this dedicated thread because I understand that installation is as important as components themselves, and nothing should be overlooked. I have a vague idea, but need a lot of help as this is my first time. Given below is what I have thought so far, and all the questions. What I am looking for is a reasonably priced (read cheapest), reliable accessories that would be considered good enough for a high end system. Thinking of over-designing as much as possible. Please correct me if any of my thoughts are undesirable for a high SQ setup.

1. Power/Ground wiring:
I have read a lot about three local brands recommended for this- Finolex/L&T and Havelle or something. Using 4AWG (25sqmm) cables for both amps should be more than enough I believe.

Do I need any type of connector/terminals? I guess distributor and ring terminal on one side and "thimbles" on the amp side, right?

Plus fuse box/fuses. Anything else?

2. RCA:
I suppose MX is considered as a good VFM option for this. Tried searching for their official site, but couldn't find. Do they have any? I believe I have to choose something with twisted as well as properly shielded wires here, AWG should not matter. Also no connector would be required since everything comes as a single part, right? I should be happy with nickel plated terminals, no need to have gold. Does MX satisfy all this? Do they have different variants to choose from?

3. Speaker cables:
What is the recommended size for components and subwoofer? I believe 12AWG (4sqmm) should be enough, but 10AWG (6sqmm) would be conservative. Is that correct?

What type of connectors are required for these wires, if at all? My components (midbass) have normal strip like terminals (spade?) and the subwoofer seems to have some kind of binding posts.

Shall I run into trouble if I use Finolex/L&T/Havelle here?

4. Subwoofer box:
What will serve as a very good box material? I believe 1" marine ply, is it like going overboard? I will need a pair of binding posts for this I suppose (again nickel plated, no gold required).


A few general quesions applicable to everything above-

- Roughly how long pieces of wires will I need, for each type of wire? Components will go to stock locations in front doors, sub in the boot (obviously!). No idea as to what will be the best place for Amps (and also crossoves), but by default I would put amps in the boot too, may be behind back of rear seats. But then I will not be able to fold the seat, right? (never need to, though). I want all controls on amps and crossover to be easily accessible later.

- What would be approximate cost if bought locally, keeping all the requirements in mind?

- Would it be better/cost effective to buy all this (except the box) from US (ignoring transportation & customs)?

[low_bass_makker]

Power no doubt finolex/havells...anyday if on budget..else you can buy the Kicker, Audison also..

Speaker cable I would recommend to go for some good brand..Like kicker, audison or something similar..2.5 mmsq for the speakers is more than enough and 4 mm sq for the sub at least thicker one for the sub would be better.

RCA choose which one you like and fits in the budget.

Enclosure...Since you are taking a 10 inch and I have posted a 12 inch one similar series and make even than 0.75 inch (19mm) MDF is more than enough.

Keep the wires as short as possible no need to make them long. For the amp mounting fix them on the rear seat back on a 1/2 inch MDF board they will be safe there.

[DocG]

dude if you're getting speaker wire or somthing from the US, then go into any electronics store, even Best Buy or Walmart, and you will find spools of the thing. They have all sizes and qualities as well.

**If you're in the West Coast [Read California] I recommend Fry's, the guys there are better than anyone at any of the other retail joints...Also you might find it at CostCo, might be cheaper than other places.

[santosh.s]

No I am not buying it personally, my friends will do that. He is in East Coast region (Massachusetts), and would prefer buying it online.

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

Keep the wires as short as possible no need to make them long.

Yeah, but I need some conservative estimation on total required lengths for the given can and configuration, without that I wouldn't know how much or order.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use the "edit" button if posting within 15 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

[DjNik]

Here is a link to MX audio-
https://mdrelectronics.com/index.asp

[karankapoor]

Originally Posted by santosh.s

Yeah, but I need some conservative estimation on total required lengths for the given can and configuration, without that I wouldn't know how much or order.

main wire 6 mt.
ground wire 1 mt.
speaker wire 12 mt
rc lead 6mt
db blocks (if installing 2 amps)
fuse holder
fuse (depends on the RMS power of the amps)

all wire lengts depends where you mount your amps.

[santosh.s]

Thanks for all the information, that helps a lot.
I was searching with keyword "MX", it should have been MDR!

[low_bass_makker]

Originally Posted by karankapoor

main wire 6 mt.
ground wire 1 mt.
speaker wire 12 mt
rc lead 6mt
db blocks (if installing 2 amps)
fuse holder
fuse (depends on the RMS power of the amps)

all wire lengts depends where you mount your amps.

These are quite good assumptions, but take atlest 20 % extra to be on the safe side.

[karankapoor]

you can do one more thing if you are not tight on budget you can buy a dual amp power kit (4 gauge) ,most of the dual amp kits contains main wire,ground wire,fuseholder,fuse,2 distribution blocks,remote wire,extra ground &main wire for amps wiring from dist. blocks and there are some amp (don't know anyspecific brand) that come with rc leads also.

[santosh.s]

Karan,
How much will I have to shell out in case of getting dual-amp kits from US, as compared to local options discussed? Just a very rough idea, would it be 2x, 3x? If it is less than 1.5x I would definitely consider it worth the reduced pain. Power and RCA is fine, but I think these kits have small speaker wires, 18AWG or something. CDT crossovers can accommodate 12AWG wires, so I would prefer that size. I have already kind of skimped on amps, don't want wires to dictate mid-bass performance further.

Anyways, MX website mentions two dealers on SP road, will visit them and see how their products look and feel to me, before taking further decisions.

[santosh.s]

While going through amp manuals, I was confused to see 4 speaker terminals on mono amp too (KAC-8104D) and various speaker connections shown there with one or two, 2 or 4 ohm subs. But later it looked like they have provided two "-" and two "+" terminals just to make it easy to use multiple subs or single DVC sub. If I got it right both -ve terminals should be internally shorted, similarly both +ve terminals as well.

Gurus, please confirm that this is true for mono's, particularly this one.
(Just wanted to rule out "bridging" business that seems to make sense only for 2 or more channel amps, where some of the -ve terminals are internally connected to other +ve terminals)

[low_bass_makker]

The terminals are shorted from inside..no need to worry. Connect using two terminals.

[santosh.s]

More unanswered questions-

1. Amp/Crossover location- I was wondering between two locations, below front seat versus behind rear seat for the 2-ch amp. For mono I believe behind rear seat would be good (least wire length to sub). But for main speakers what is better?

I think putting it behind seat has only one disadvantage- longer RCA and speaker wires. If I put is below front seat, it may be relatively difficult to install, access and clean. It is more likely to get dirty with dust and other clutter. Also cooling may be deteriorated because it won't have as free air flow as it can have in the boot, fan noise will be more audible/disturbing. I hope like subs act as free back massagers, under seat amp shouldn't act like room heater or sauna belt!

So, my question is- can longer RCAs and speaker wires have significant impact on sound, assuming I will be using decent cables? If not, I will put the 2-ch amp in the boot too.

2. RCA shielding methods- So far, I have learned that there two types of RCAs immune to noise: Coaxial cables where there is single conductor in the middle with surrounding shield which acts as ground. I believe MX RCAs fall in this category as they say it can be used for video applications. The other one is shielded twisted pairs, in which there is a twisted pair inside the shield rather than single conductor. Which is ground in this case? Is the shield left open, or is it connected to one of the other two conductors?

Also, what exactly is meant by double and triple shielded cables?

[low_bass_makker]

Santosh Ji you are getting very much tense...cool down no need to get so worry...

Put both the amps in the boot, at the rear seat. The Amp heat sink are quite adequate to keep them working no issues in that area. Putting them under the front seats is a bad Idea. I have installed two of my amps there but since mine is a hatch I have no other place to keep them. About the speaker wire no issues if the proper gauge is used. It will not suffer the midbass. About the RCA they are shield for the car environment no need to do extra. But you can do one thing route the RCA from one side and power and speaker from the other side to keep the things clean electrically.

[santosh.s]

Originally Posted by low_bass_makker

Santosh Ji you are getting very much tense...cool down no need to get so worry...

Well, not "tense" really, but I am getting too serious about all subtle things for sure! Because I want to forget it completely once installed. Anyways, I have nothing else to do (as far as ICE is concerned, I mean) till I get equipments.

Yeah, will install both amps in the boot. Hopefully that should make it easier.