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He said to replace a JBL amp with a SONY??? :eek:

What installer is this? Any specific reason why he has recommended this?

Have you tried suspecting the HU? Why not put a different HU and see if problem persists. The installers have HU's with them, so can test with them.

I don't know of a world where an equivalent sony amp is better than the jbl x646. Don't change it in any case. Although check if its not defective and causing the problem.Thats a different story.

As I mentioned on that thread, "he sounds like an accomplished salesman too"! Why else would he ask you to replace the JBL with a Sony of all things?

The 'magnet' would be quite likely a ferrite bead used for reducing / removing RF interference. Not sure if that was required at all, but anyhow this should cost 10-20.

I am intrigued by the resistor addition to speaker cables - WHY? I am sure he has no clue why he did that - that would reduce the power delivery to the speakers, if so!!!

IMHO there is a wrong wiring somewhere, with chassis electronics wiring getting mixed up with ICE wiring. Could be a shorting somewhere. Anyhow, that would require the A.S.S. guys taking a closer look behind the dash.

He says that the newer JBL amps are more prone to noise. Anyway we did not change it and he was more of the suggestion that next time buy SONY over JBL.

HU wasn't at fault because it was checked with another HU.

Did not change the amp.


Not sure of his abilities as a salesmanlol:. Infact nothing was added to the system except the resistors and the "bead"

We were prepared to shell out for the LOC but after checking he said that wasn't the issue.
He was patient and spent about 2-3hours inspecting the setup, the tuning and the wiring and adjusted the rear speaker wires. Charged about 400Rs in all which we felt was worth it given that he had worked for over two days on it.


The A.S.S guys honestly know nothing.
However we did spend a couple of hours tinkering with the HU menu and found a sweet spot and now the B.I.L is very happy.
Next update will be a set of focal components for the front and a double din Pioneer HU.

P.S: it is a testament to the addiction of the ICE threads here that I've become a pro with the terminology while getting more and more confused with the implementation.

The rear co-axials of my Ford Ikon are busted. So i need two speakers. BUT, please note that i need the cheapest possible speaker, because i dont listen to music while driving. I need a pair of speakers that work, nothing else. Please suggest. They shouldnt have distortion till 30% of the total volume. Thats all.

If you do not listen to music while driving why invest in speakers?

Because sometimes my brother listens to music. Also i like to keep my cars in tip top condition. Nothing should be damaged or not working.

In which case any pair of Sony or other brand will do. You can some nice stuff for under rs. 2000 per pair.

Nitrous, DerAlte,

I have finally decided to go for 2 components and a subwoofer. Reason is, I am not getting that significant sound from Alpine cde134ebt which I used to get using Pioneer FH-6050UB double din. I want prominent Indian drums like Tabla, Dholak and Dhol. Especially modulated tabla sound should be prominent. Such audio is present in tracks like
1. Are re re are ye - Part 2 (Dil Toh Pagal Hai)
2. Sanyaara (Ek Tha Tiger)
3. Tabla from Bhajans, Abhangs etc.
4. Boney M - English tracks.

Now Alpine cde134ebt has 3 pair of RCAs, Front L/R, Rear L/R and Subwoofer L/R. I have less option for components, so thinking of JBL 509C components and a single 12" subwoofer, JBL 1150 or Infinity Reference 1260 and an enclosure separetely.
1. Are these components good?
2. Which subwoofer I should select?
3. Front RCA from Alpine to JBL GTO1004 amp for components, leave HU's rear RCA blank, use both subwoofer RCAs of Alpine and connect to JBL GTO1004 amp which in turn connected to subwoofer in bridge mode. Would this connection be OK? Would L/R channels interfere in bridge mode?

I need a good Audio configuration, as I drive almost 3 - 4 hours a day in Bangalore traffic. Your suggestions are very helpful. Please reply. Will be visiting my dealer soon. Thanks.

I have not heard the 1150 but I have heard the 1260 and they are quite good.

Yes you only need use the front and sub RCA to the 1004 amp and let the amp bridge the stereo channels to mono. In the fact the rear input of the 1004 is designed to drive subwoofers in bridged mode. You will need to set the XO to LPF mode.
http://users.atw.hu/bazsielektron/Ha...o/jbl_gto1004_[ET].pdf

I'm a bit surprised to hear than an Alpine HU sounds worse than a Pio. Are you comparing them in the same car? has your alpine HU been tuned properly?

Alpine is anytime better than Pioneer, only feature that it does not have is 7-band equalizer when compared to Pioneer FH6050UB, which I was tunining it and it used to help me to get the frequencies that I needed from the JBL rear ovals and front 5.25" speakers. My Alpine has 3 band parametric equalizer, all the frequencies are reproduced correctly but the problem is the speaker driver wont reproduce them as they need more dB boost at pre-amp stage. Alpine signature sound is awesome. The best among Alpine is cde137ebt, it has everything.

There is one option Pioneer deh4590bt with 5 band equalizer. I am not sure how would it be.

I am running the following set up:
HU: manufacturer supplied Double Din Clarion, but it actually is a Single Din with a Double Din facia. I can confirm that it has 2 pre-outs.
Speakers: Infinity PR9603is on the tray & 4 speakers supplied by the manufacturer

The Infinity PR9603is have improved the sound quality quite a lot. However I wanted to know if adding an amplifier will improve the bass even further. I asked quite a few installers with regards to putting components in front and all of them have sung the same tune that the improvement will be marginal compared to the money that I will be spending.

Will the amplifier powering the Infinity PR9603is improve things in any way?

The head unit has a small MOSFET power amp IC. If the head unit's rating is 50x4 W max peak-peak power and if measured correctly it comes approximately 17.675W RMS rating. Power will not be that exact at all what I have calculated, practically it will be less. An amplifier will give you a proper boost in instanteneous RMS power rating. Select a proper amplifier with 4 channels as an investment (avoiding 2-channel amplifier as you might feel in future you might need extra 2 channel amplifier). Infinity PR9603is has 90W RMS and an amplifier will drive it better.

The RMS power - whenever mentioned - is written variously as 14W or 18W by different manufacturers. Your calculation is not incorrect. Practically measuring it is difficult - since power requirements of music practically are quite different from sine-wave based measurements. Power consumed practically depends on music content - usually 0.5-12W in normal listening. Cranking up the volume, the minima doesn't change much, but the maxima causes audible distortion due to lack of 'headroom' - not enough power available on tap to pump out without distorting.

Instantaneous rating? Ratings are always continuous. What you are trying to say perhaps is an external amp is able to amplify loud music passages without 'running out of breath' or distorting. Commonly called 'headroom'.

Correct. But, it is better that at least the front OE speakers are changed to decent components to avoid a rear-heavy image, especially when driven by an external amp.

A 4-channel amp makes more sense, since while adding a sub (listening to a good system always shows up the insufficient low-bass in your system, so it is always a matter of time before one feels the need for it) the tray ovals can be shifted to the HU internal amp, and the sub connected to the freed up channels in bridge mode.