[anku94]

Hi, we're planning a basic ICE for our 2009 Chevy Spark LS. The budget is around 10k. The breakup I'm planning is something like this:

1. HU (4K)
2. Front 4" (2K)
3. Rear 6x9s (4k)

I don't think we'll go for an upgrade in the future. Also we live in Patiala, and anything exotic will prove difficult to source.

Couple of questions:

1. HUs in the range seem to be Pioneer 169/179/1790 and a couple of JVC models. What would be better? (USB/Aux would suffice for us. CD etc is not required).

2. For 6x9s I was thinking of JBL GTO 930/940s. Also, Rockford Fosgate P1692/1693 are available online for Rs. 3500. What would you recommend?

3. For 4", Hertz 100.3 seems to be available online for around Rs. 2000. Are these a decent choice? Otherwise I was thinking of going with whatever's available among JBL/Pioneer etc.

Any suggestions on anything I might have missed would also be welcome! Thanks.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by anku94

Hi, we're planning a basic ICE for our 2009 Chevy Spark LS. The budget is around 10k. The breakup I'm planning is something like this: ...

Stick to what you get off the shelf at local dealers. At least you will be able to change it if you don't like it. Buying online might not be a wise thing for you, as you will not have the possibility of changing if you don't like the product.

Pioneer has a very decent 4" coaxial. For HUs, you might get Sony too. Pio and JVC are good.

[lalittalwar]

I wanted to add a quick review for the audio upgrade a did to my GT TSI. I replaced all 4 speakers with Focal 165VW coaxial ones and the result is really worth the upgrade. I retained the stock HU though.

There are gains all through the frequency range bass, mid and high. The vocals are much clearer.

All in all, I would recommend this upgrade as they are VW integration speakers and come with VW socket so no wire cutting etc. The output is excellent, considering no amp is installed

[Abeer]

I am looking for a decent Bluetooth enabled HU (Single Din) for my Hyundai Accent. Any recommendations on which one to go for?
I only listen to the songs being played via the radio stations and very rarely songs via the connected usb and/or CD, but i need the functionality of CD and USB.

[Mashblue]

Originally Posted by Abeer

I am looking for a decent Bluetooth enabled HU (Single Din) for my Hyundai Accent.

Blaupunkt Toronto 420BT will be awesome. It has a mighty powerful built-in amp (22 watts X 4 rms) and you will always be future secured with 4 channel pre-outs (should you opt to expand your set up with amps and components later). Good luck :thumbup:

[anku94]

Most of the dealers in Patiala seem to stock JBL GT6 S699 (300 W)and CX-967 (400 W/100W RMS). Does anyone have any prior experience with the latter? I can't seem to find any reviews of CX-967 online.

Also, I've held off the front speakers (4") purchase for a couple of days since the dealer had JBL CS-4 in stock (also Sony and Blaupunkt with I neglected), and promised to get Rockford Fosgate in a couple of days.

I'm waiting to audition the RF speakers, but from what I found, RF offers only 30W RMS speakers in 4". Since the rears are dominating already (I got the CX-967), does it make sense to consider them against 45W JBL CS-4?

[Mashblue]

Originally Posted by anku94

I can't seem to find any reviews of CX-967 online.

I'm waiting to audition the RF speakers, but from what I found, RF offers only 30W RMS speakers in 4".

I've come across a lot of JBL products which do not have any reviews and more shockingly aren't even mentioned on their website, which leads me to suspect these may be counterfeits.

JBL CS4: i have these currently installed in my car as rear-fill, and trust me buddy, its far from 45watt rms they claim :thumbdown:. The best 4 incher is definitely polk audio db401 (Absolutely worth the price they demand )

[anku94]

Originally Posted by Mashblue

I've come across a lot of JBL products which do not have any reviews and more shockingly aren't even mentioned on their website, which leads me to suspect these may be counterfeits.

It is there on their website - http://harmanaudio.in/car-audio/speakers.html . Might be an India-specific variant.

JBL CS4: i have these currently installed in my car as rear-fill, and trust me buddy, its far from 45watt rms they claim :thumbdown:. The best 4 incher is definitely polk audio db401 (Absolutely worth the price they demand )

As tempted as I am, the issues would be local availability and Budget Limit Exceeded. We had a budget of 10k - 4000 each for the HU and rear 6x9s and 2000 for 4 inchers. Procurement would also be a problem in my city.

PS: interestingly, both JBL and Pio boxes bear the stickers "Warranty void if bought online". Was saved by DerAlte there, request people to be careful.

[Mashblue]

[/quote]=anku94;3718789]

PS: interestingly, both JBL and Pio boxes bear the stickers "Warranty void if bought online".[/quote]

Don't worry, major online stores (flipkart,snapdeal & amazon atleast) come with a bill from a local store and not directly as purchased from them so no issues with the warranty claim part. I have purchased a lot of products online and also have claimed warranty for a couple of products, never faced an issue.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by anku94

... I've held off the front speakers (4") purchase for a couple of days since the dealer had JBL CS-4 in stock (also Sony and Blaupunkt with I neglected), and promised to get Rockford Fosgate in a couple of days.

I'm waiting to audition the RF speakers, but from what I found, RF offers only 30W RMS speakers in 4". Since the rears are dominating already (I got the CX-967), does it make sense to consider them against 45W JBL CS-4?

JBL CS4: look elsewhere, this one can be severely sibilant. Even a Pio whizzer-cone 4" sounds far better. Haven't heard the RF one, but the Polk one is decent.

Originally Posted by Mashblue

Don't worry, major online stores (flipkart,snapdeal & amazon atleast) come with a bill from a local store and not directly as purchased from them so no issues with the warranty claim part. I have purchased a lot of products online and also have claimed warranty for a couple of products, never faced an issue.

Don't believe that - "I have purchased a lot of products online and also have claimed warranty for a couple of products, never faced an issue" is not the same as the JBL and Pioneer issue. Nothing prevents a brick & mortar dealer from getting their hands on dubious grey imports, and issuing a bill (perfectly legal) and warranty card (not so, since it is dependent on company policy). You won't know this, nor whether it is a fake. If you take it to the service center, and they refuse, you have no one to turn to:
* Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon et al are just shopfronts, and will say "We play no role in this"
* The b&m shop will no longer exist, or the phone number you had at the time of ordering will tell you to go claim it from manufacturer

Sure, one doesn't face this with all products and manufacturers - just some. If JBL and Pioneer are putting the sticker on the box, they mean business. They can't be wasting time with something they don't make money on. Nothing comes for free in life.

[Mr. Nobody]

Please excuse if query sounds too noob. why does a head unit cost like 6-8k ? most of the entry level ones at this cost look weird and the display cant even display a picture/video. You can get a great touch screen mp3 player in under 10k these days. why cant we just install that and connect it to two speakers installed at the back assuming no radio or cd use is required ?

[Mashblue]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nobody

You can get a great touch screen mp3 player in under 10k these days. why cant we just install that and connect it to two speakers installed at the back assuming no radio or cd use is required ?

speakers in car environment need more power to be audible. The internal amplifier in a MP3 player will not be powerful enough to drive the speakers in a car (they are meant to power earphones).
The cost of a headunit depends on the quality of internal components (built-in amplifier, DAC, Per-amp outputs etc.) and features (Time alignment, Bass boost, Eq etc.). Some brands like Alpine & Clarion have better brand value/Perception than others and their products tend to sell for more compared to products with similar features of other brands.

[Zahoor23]

Gurus, advice please ??
I zeroed in on Pioneer SW-301 shallow mount subwoofer for XUV whose specs are:
Nominal Power (RMS) : 250W at 4 ohms

kindly advice me on which amp to go for from the following:

GM-A3602 2-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier
Wattage RMS (4 ohms <= 1 % THD+N) 60 W x 2
Wattage RMS Bridged (4 ohms) 180 W x 1


GM-5500T 2-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier with Bass Boost Volume Control
Wattage RMS (4 Ω <=1% THD+N) 125 W x 2
Wattage RMS Bridged (4 Ω) 400 W x 1


GM-A6604 “4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier with Bass Boost Volume Control”
Wattage RMS (4 ohms <= 1 % THD+N) 60 W x 4
Wattage RMS Bridged (4 ) 180 W x 2

Thank you

[schakravarthy]

Originally Posted by schakravarthy

My car has a twin amp set up- a 4 channel Ground Zero that feeds the front and rear door components and a Cerwin Wega mono that feeds the sub in the boot. The amps are placed below the front seats. The HU is Pioneer AVH P5150 DVD.
.... There is a random high volume distortion noise. The noise is very loud and there is no method to the madness; the occurrence is totally random and the noise is unbearably loud. It stops only if I turn off the HU; volume control has no effect on it.

As the first step in trouble shooting, I sent the amplifiers for check up as they were still under warranty. The service centre fellows kept the amp for more than two weeks and sent them back saying they couldn't replicate the issue and that the amplifiers seem fine.
Next suspect was the HU. The Pioneer centre here is highly incompetent. They had never seen such a HU and asked me to get in touch with a certain electronic shop fellow in Bangalore, who they thought might be able to fix the problem.

SunnyBoi was kind enough to lend his Kenwood HU. There was some other work we had to do, so all the seats and all the plastic trims were stripped off from the car. It was then that we discovered that the main grounding wire had come loose from the bolt. The crimp was sticking to the bolt, while the wire had come undone from the crimp. SunnyBoi used a different wire and completed the HU swap job.
The setup worked trouble free for as long as I had it and no loud screeching ghosts came to haunt.

We suspected that it might have been the grounding cable that had caused all the problem. So, after a few weeks, we decided to reuse the Pioneer system.
The system was working working fine, until last week, when the issue resurfaced. But this time I 'think' I can finally find a method to this madness.

The issue pops up only when the system has been playing at a very, very low volume for quite a long duration and the volume is increased after that. Now that I try to recall, the earlier events too look like they had similar origins.

After the above mentioned occurrence, I ejected the HU panel and reconnected it after some time. I've been careful not to turn the volume all the way down. The issue hasn't resurfaced again. Yet.

[wildsdi5530]

I've just bought a carnelian red honda Mobilio RS. Am not much of an audiophile, but I'd like to upgrade the head unit. I need rear camera display, parking sensors of possible, Bluetooth telephony, navigation and steering mounted controls. I was offered MapmyIndia 301 by the dealer, but the camera would be mounted low on the thin bumper. I wanted something mounted on the rear hatch. Please advice models.