[mkpiyengar]

Originally Posted by autotranny

The whole set up was done at a local accessory shop. Personally I think it is not worth the 12k I have spent. There is no bass. I tried fiddling with the set-up on the HU, but to no avail. It lacks the bass punch.

As the gurus here quote ;Did you try out the speakers before installing them? because your ear is the best judge of what sound experience your like.

Personally, I felt the JBL GTO 949, gives a good mid-range and nice clarity and thump, when i compared to Infinity 300W which are pricer. Though infinity was clearer for soft music and vocals, but the moment you have some bass then JBL sounded better.

Although, later the guy told me that infinity would sound better with the amplifier and sub woofer but then the install and first feel was already passed.

Bottom line of all this is, Whatever the speakers, brand wattage etc, try out for the songs you hear and what you feel good about .. Thats it !!

Cheers
MKP

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by mkpiyengar

As the gurus here quote ;Did you try out the speakers before installing them? because your ear is the best judge of what sound experience your like.

Thanks MKP, but honestly I did not understand what you were trying to convey. The Rockford Fosgate speakers are good, no complaints, but not the bass I'm looking for now. And no, I did not have the luxury of trying it out beforehand because the shop had no demo pieces.

Anyway, now the bottom line is that I need an amp and subs. Honestly, once you mentally prepared for an install, somehow the existing set-up loses the sheen it once had.

So I did a bit of looking around in a few car accessory shops around Htec city, Hyderabad. The suggested options in a low budget were,

1. Amp - JBL GT-X424 (2 channel)
2. Sub Woofer - JBL GTX 1150 (12")
3. Sub enclosure box - with detachable socket to take care of the boot space
4. Wiring Kit - VOC

Total cost estimates - Rs 8200/- (all inclusive)

To recap, the above will combine with my existing ICE set-up

1. HU - Sony Xplod - CDX-GT505U/Q1IN ,
2. Rear Oval speakers - Rockford Fosgate Prime R-1693 (6' x 9' ) ; presently mounted on parcel tray.
3. Front speakers - inside the door console. I don't actually know which ones they are ; but not much to say about them.

Final Question - Is this upgrade worth the effort or the money. Can I see a noticeable difference in Audio quality.

[narendra.vw]

I have Head unit Pioneer AVH 2350 DVD
How do I make my USB play DVD on this unit. Can avi format do the job, any converter soft ware .
Thanks.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by autotranny

... There is no bass. ...

Originally Posted by autotranny

... The suggested options in a low budget were,
...
Total cost estimates - Rs 8200/- (all inclusive) ...

1. Swap the wires around on one of the rear speakers (not both). Sounds like a phase inversion / bass cancellation case. First get used to the sound with the RF rears before looking at improving anything else. Sure, the ovals will not knock you out of your socks with bass, but they give a decent bass feeling if done right

2. You should not be ignoring the front - that is usually the biggest contributor. Adding a sub and not amplifying the fronts will give you a boom-boom system where you cannot figure out what is there in the song (other than the bass)

3. Since you already have decent rear speakers, the right upgrade complement should be components in front, a sub and a 4ch amp to drive the fronts and sub. The rear ovals can remain on the HU

Originally Posted by narendra.vw

... How do I make my USB play DVD on this unit. Can avi format do the job, any converter soft ware ...

I guess you mean 'how do you rip a DVD and play it after loading on a USB pendrive'.

Yes, AVI is the format. There are plenty of free software on the net with which you can rip DVDs to .avi or .mp4. Check the HU manual for the formats and codecs it supports.

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

1. Swap the wires around on one of the rear speakers (not both). Sounds like a phase inversion / bass cancellation case. First get used to the sound with the RF rears before looking at improving anything else. Sure, the ovals will not knock you out of your socks with bass, but they give a decent bass feeling if done right

I will have to check this out with a good installer. I have heard of an expert from Hyderabad on this forum. I will make a trip there are check this.

Originally Posted by DerAlte

3. Since you already have decent rear speakers, the right upgrade complement should be components in front, a sub and a 4ch amp to drive the fronts and sub. The rear ovals can remain on the HU

Whats your take on this spec.

1. Amp - Sony Xplod - XM-GTX60412 [4/3/2 Channel GTX Series Amplifier] - Rs 5900/-

2. Front -

JBL GT6 H266 Component Speakers [220w 6-1/2 inch (165mm) 2-way speaker] - Rs 3490/-

OR

JBL CS-5C 5 1/4 Component system - Rs 5490/-


3. Subs - Sony Xplod XS-GTX121LC [Peak Power: 1000W] - Rs 5990/- with enclosure.

Or are there any alternatives that you would suggest to stick within this budget.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by autotranny

... Whats your take on this spec. ...

1. I think a Kenwood, JBL or Pioneer 4 channel amp - which would cost the same - to be far better sounding than the Sony

2. To know which to buy, you have to trust your own ears - audition both before deciding. There are many other components - Infinity, Bull, Auditor, Polk etc. - in the same price band. I am not sure of the size of the OE location in i10, but 6.5" is a better option than 5.25"

3. Sub - JBL would be way better than the Sony sub, and around the same price

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

1. I think a Kenwood, JBL or Pioneer 4 channel amp - which would cost the same - to be far better sounding than the Sony

2. To know which to buy, you have to trust your own ears - audition both before deciding. There are many other components - Infinity, Bull, Auditor, Polk etc. - in the same price band. I am not sure of the size of the OE location in i10, but 6.5" is a better option than 5.25"

3. Sub - JBL would be way better than the Sony sub, and around the same price

Please have a look at this

http://caraccessoriesindia.com/cart/...=checkout/cart

This is the best rates I found online. Now the problem is that, it has crossed my mediocre budget. Wiring and installation together will be around 17,500/-

This morning when I looked around town, I was very happy with what I saw ; 2 Ch Sony Xplod amps + JBL or Xplod 1100 subs + wiring - Rs 7500/-. But, the experts seem to think that this combination will not make much of an improvement in the performance. Now I'm in a fix.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by autotranny

... it has crossed my mediocre budget. ... Now I'm in a fix.

Have patience, and don't try a big bang approach. First get the rear speakers working well. Then get the front components. Then aim to get the amp, and then possibly the sub.

Also, don't go by prices on the 'net - go out and ask around. Sometimes one can get a good deal if one is at the right place at the right time.

[mkpiyengar]

Originally Posted by autotranny

Final Question - Is this upgrade worth the effort or the money. Can I see a noticeable difference in Audio quality.

Basically, what i want to point out is each individual has different tastes in music and accordingly his assessment of good ICE system is different.

As i gave example in my previous post when I heard the kind of music i hear i found the JBL GTO 949 better than Infinity speakers even though the Infinity are about 2K more expensive.

So your setup should make your kind/genre of music sound good. Only then you would find the investment worth while otherwise there is no end to the kinds of modifications and amount of money you could spend.

When I said to try out what I meant is I had a usb drive which had a combo of all the type of music i listen to from classical vocal, instrumental, hindi songs, rock songs, heavy metal etc.. So I choose what gives me the best balance for this.

To illustrate further the Infinity speakers sound better for soft numbers like ghazals, classical vocal but was bad for songs with some beats (bass) etc. (Personally my opinion, with what limited options i had to try out). Maybe the infinity would have sounded better with the amps and subwoofer, but i did not try out since my first impression was not good and in the end i might be thinking is it worth spending more money !!

Hope this clarifies it.

Also, when I said try out, here at the dealers they have these racks with all the speakers combo. you just plug and check which combi you prefer. Also, some of the installers do it in your car too which I feel is better way to try.

You could also refer to other posts which talk specifically of balanced combination for your car and try that out first.

Cheers.
MKP

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Have patience, and don't try a big bang approach. First get the rear speakers working well. Then get the front components. Then aim to get the amp, and then possibly the sub.

Hmm, I think this makes perfect sense. Let me go to a good installer, get the rear speakers working properly and then look for just the components in the front. Thanks DerAlte.

[Mindgrinder]

a query regarding Alpine PDX v 90 for my linea


For people having trouble with their system:

1. Your car: Fiat Linea Emotion pk

2. current setup: Blaupunkt tha 555 PnP, focal components, RF coax, RF sub

3. Description of the problem: this is my second 555 gone bad in 2 yours, pretty much a life of one year. Now i need a 4/5 channel amp with speaker level inputs and auto turn on/off feature

a. what are you suggestions? would JBL MS 8 do the job?

b. any other suggestions besides a converter? I saw a few on crutchfield.com
JBL GTO-504EZ and JBL GTO-5EZ

[nitrous]

3. a. Oh yes! Get the MS8. It's absolutely needed since almost every car's got factory audio and the MS8 will be an asset that can be used in every car you own until the unit goes kaput.

[blackfire_9]

Hi guys,

I see that in the past few pages, there have been some posts about how the stock system of a car can be made to sound better. Now, I have a similar query & mine pertains to a Ford Figo. The stock system in itself is good enough & I may not have chosen to upgrade it, had it not been for some stuff that came out of my previous car.

I am not planning on replacing the HU & would primarily like to know my options in terms of how a subwoofer, a set of components & a couple of amplifiers can be added to my car along with any thing that should/could be done to further improve the clarity of the sound signal from the HU. The amplifier I have is the Kenwood M845. Also, my personal taste is not loud music, I like clarity much more.

Lastly, I don't want to spend a lot of money on this & thus, would request suggestions that involve zero investment to say up to about 2K-3K.

Drive safe.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by blackfire_9

Hi guys,

I see that in the past few pages, there have been some posts about how the stock system of a car can be made to sound better. Now, I have a similar query & mine pertains to a Ford Figo. The stock system in itself is good enough & I may not have chosen to upgrade it, had it not been for some stuff that came out of my previous car.

I am not planning on replacing the HU & would primarily like to know my options in terms of how a subwoofer, a set of components & a couple of amplifiers can be added to my car along with any thing that should/could be done to further improve the clarity of the sound signal from the HU. The amplifier I have is the Kenwood M845. Also, my personal taste is not loud music, I like clarity much more.

Lastly, I don't want to spend a lot of money on this & thus, would request suggestions that involve zero investment to say up to about 2K-3K.

Drive safe.

Perhaps some scosche wiring? I am not really sure maybe the gurus will be able to help out here. :P

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

... is my second 555 gone bad in 2 yours, pretty much a life of one year. Now i need a 4/5 channel amp with speaker level inputs and auto turn on/off feature ...

Originally Posted by nitrous

3. a. Oh yes! Get the MS8. It's absolutely needed ...

Anna, his problem is a kaput 5 channel amp. How will MS8 help there?

@mindgrinder, MS8 will not replace a 4/5 channel amp. It does contain amps, but they are the equivalent of HU internal amps.

It is strange that 2 consecutive 555s have failed with you. Do you drive your system hard? Did you get wiring checked for fraying or shorts?

5-ch amps are not popular in India, and hence are unlikely to be available. Search for RF R600-5, Alpine PDX-5, Infinity Ref 5350a or Kappa Five etc. - might be available, or someone can get it for you. Don't worry about speaker level inputs, you can always get a Line Output Converter.