[Ravveendrra]

I have been terribly spoilt by the ICE in the Laura - an all Alpine setup with 3 way components in each of the 4 doors. This setup plays almost all genres of music with great clarity and no "BOOM". I listen to almost anything from classical to heavy metal with a bit of blues, R&R and Jazz thrown in for good measure but stuff like ELP, APP, CCR, GFR, Eagles, Deep Purple and Pink Floyd would be playing most often. It was but natural that my attention would be drawn to the ICE in the beloved GTX and when this happened I was left frowing and fretting over the cost. Ambling through the redoubtable ICE section of TBHP only made my head spin. So I finally tracked down the elusive Hamid and asked him to check out the ICE. Here is the low down.

The previous owner had upgraded from the stock ICE and the car has (or rather had) the following:

HU = Sony Explod CDX GT470U (This shall do service till the world bank sanctions my loan/grant).

Amp. = Kenwood KAC 5202 drving the rear speakers (on hold)

Front Sp. = Xplod 5.25" dual cones (I kid thee not) and tweeters on dash (Out)

Rear Sp. = JBL GT5 963 (Good)

Examination of the existing sytem over, we immediately rip the front dual cones out. Then Hamid listens to a sampling of the music in the car and immediately tells me that the only way for me to go is to get good components in the front and a JBL amp to drive them. He and I are quite satisfied with the rear 6 X 9 ovals which will give a little fill and do double duty as woofers.

Future course of action:

Front Speakers: Option 1 was Hertz Energy 5.25" comps at Rs.6,800. Option 2 was Polk Audio 5.25" at approximately the same price. The idea is to fit the mid and tweeter in the stock locations.

Rear Speaker: Continue with the existing JBL GT5 963 for now.

Amp: Hamid swears by JBL so he recommended a 2 channel JBL at approx. 4500/- to power only the front compos, I decided to go in for a 4 channel at approx Rs.7000/- - he concurs and adds that the high frequencies come out better with the JBL. We shall put the Kenwood out to pasture.

HU: Continue with the present Sony HU till someone gifts me something better or I win a lottery.

The incidentals include a wiring kit for approx Rs.1,800/-, damping (wurth or soundkill) for the front doors (outer skin and under door pad) approx Rs.2000. Fitting charges rs.750/- and a provision for misc. exp Rs.250/-.

Phew, that is almost Rs.20K but if I get anywhere the kind of sound quality I am dreaming of, I shall be poorer but much happier. I have till this evening or tomorrow morning to decide as installation is slated for Sunday.

Cheers,

[pulsar56]

Well, Once bitten by the ICE bug, there is no turning back!
Hope the expenses will make the drives in the GTX more fun!

[lucifer919]

hey that sounds like a good deal. BTW, since Hameed mentioned the high being better from the JBLs, i'm guessing you are looking for components that will make the guitars and basically instruments be very clear in the music.

i would really recomment that you audition velocity components if you get the chance. for the same price range you can get amazing clarity. telling you this from personal experience. and i'm also running them in a palio powered by an MTX amp.

definitely worth a dekko.

cheers and happy listening.
Kiran.

[garry.brant]

HI BUDDs,
If you have been hit by the ICE tycoon then let me suggest something,
For the front compos: go for POLK Audio you wont regret , atleast if you are going for hertz over polk.
Rear Speakers: JBL oval are good
AMP: Before you go for JBL have a look at Blaunpunkt as well, the SQ is amazing.
Wiring : Spend 500 more and go fore a better wiring from JBL

[mobike008]

Ravvs, glad to see that you have finally decided to upgrade the ICE on your beast.

What you decided seems to be a wise choice (i.e) ripping out the front speakers and replacing them with 5" comps. While your at it, check out Infinity Reference 6030 CS comps too, their power is mind blowing and would be apt since your even upgrading your amp.

In future when WB sanctions loan, finally upgrade from your Sony HU which does not really add to the musical extravaganza, IMO and settle for either a Pio or Alpine HU.

Trust me, with just the front comps changed and powered by good amp can totally change the entire soundstage in your car.

Would love to check it out when we meet next. Goodluck

[frankmehta]

Congrats sir. You need to put up pics! Will be great!

[suren181]

Another one bites the dust... Ravvee knowing the kind of music buff that you are and add to that a perfectionist am sure this endeavor of yours would be a WIP. All the best, keep going on and on till you achieve the clarity you so seek.

[Ravveendrra]

It seems a bit daft to try set out what is essentially an aural story in a visual media but, notwithstanding my inept lensmanship here I go.

What was there:

A view of the 5 1/4"s extracted from the front doors.


The rear of the "twin cone".


Hmm, Red & Black is in nowadays, but this one is out.


The 'tweeter' nestling against the right 'A' pillar.


Its counterpart on the left.


The stereo amp. powering the rear.


The HU with a 16GB memory stick playing


A birds eye view of what it used to be - Ovals in the front, a peek of the Amp in the left bottom and the HU in the far distance.


One look at the thingys in the first three pictures gave me the jitters. I spent a sleepless night replete with monsters and goblins jumping out at me from the ICE system and almost called the whole ICE revamp programme off. I then had visions of the contributors to this thread bashing my head in for quitting so I somehow steeled myself and built up the resolve to go pick up Hamid and drive down to Sprocket.

Thanks all of you for making this happen. (If I become an incurable ICEaholic, I just might touch you for a spot of money now and then to tide me over the next upgrade.)

I am close to the 10 pic limit so in the great tradition of the Indian soap opera, I will continue in the next post.

Cheers,

[frankmehta]

BRAVO BRAVO ;-)

By the way, I think every post can house 30 pictures ;-)

[Ravveendrra]

Hamid and I reach Sprocket around noon and the owner immediately recognises me as the madcap who bought a Fiat from Mumbai and bought bulbs from him. He begins to remind me about my promised visit for ICEing the GTX, stops mid-sentence, looks at me, looks at Hamid, remembers that I am on TBHP and things click in place in his mind. He is a very sweet chap and discusses the pros and cons of the various speakers and insists that I try fit the 6 1/2" components in the GTX. Hamid tries and shows me the result - it fits fine with spacers but the ring in the map pocket cum speaker cover will have to be cut and the speaker will not be totally inside the ring therefore some of the sound will be lost. The 5 1/4" on the other hand will be totally inside the ring so all of the sound will be chanelled into the cabin. I therefore decide to go with the 2 way Polk Db 5 1/4" compos for the front. Two boxes are brought out and placed at a vantage point much like the 'trailers' for the lead artistes at an outdoor movie shoot.

These are the boxes:





Power wires, System (RCA) leads, Speaker wire and damping quickly materialise and Hamid and a friend of his get to work on putting the whole lot in.

Is it Wurth it?


Well it looks cool .. .


If it bounces some sound waves toward the cabin, prevents the skin from resonating and the speaker from moving the metal part it is mounted on, I would be satisfied. (The metal on the outside of the door of the un-damped Swift next to my GTX was moving as much as the speaker cone was!)


This is the stock location for the tweeter domes:



Once opened up - showing the RVM control cables and the hole for the wires.



The all important Crossover being wired and set to '0' (this one has a choice of -3, 0 and +3) before being tucked into the door and fixed with some double gummed tape.



We had to use some spacer rings even for the 5 1/4" as the rear frame (flange) of the speaker was a wee too wide and deep and prevented the speaker from perfectly sitting in the space between the metal frame.



Once one door was prepared and they had got a fix of what was required, Hamid and his pal decided to abscond! To be fair to them it was about 3.00 p.m.

....

Thanks Frank for the encouragment and for the tip about max no. of pics in a post. 30 pics however and this thing will become like 'War & Peace' or 'Gone with the wind'.

Cheers,

[Ravveendrra]

Hamid and co. return in about a quarter of an hour suitably refreshed and raring to get the job done.

Work is picking up in pace and the first comp goes in:

Looks good enough to eat - I cannot wait to hear it!



The tweeter is fitted into its slot and the triangular piece is fixed (one can barely make out the tweeter through those holes).



The copper coloured speaker peeking through the grille



Right side done, they quickly finish the left front door and move on to the wiring, the old wires from the HU to the Amp are ripped out as well as the wires to the rear speakers from the Amp. the power chord and earth wire of the amp get the same treatment. New wires (RCA) are run to the Amp using 1 X 2 splitters from the two rear outs of the HU. Wires are run from the Amp to the head unit for the left and right front components and there they are connected to the OE wiring which goes into the doors using connectors. A new power line is drawn and a grounding wire is fixed securely.





That done, it is time to install the amp. I decide that the position of the amp is on the side bulkhead at a height so that it is not damaged by loose tools, luggage etc. this positioning ensures that the tuning controls are accessible from the top and the fuses can be accessed at the bottom.

A view of the amp from the tail gate.


Two views of the amp from inside the cabin with the rear seat folded down.





Basic fixing complete, it is now time to fire up and listen to it.

But right now, there is a grave risk that I shall fall asleep at the keyboard so I shall tell the rest of the story tomorrow.

Cheers,

[garry.brant]

awesome write up and good quality pictures , here is another one with a GOOD CAM.
Congrats on the install buddy , my audition is due, i would love to check out the front compos as i am planing for POLK too.
let me know when can we audition.

[abhinav.gupta88]

OT: Planning to go to hyderabad for the audition garry

[vnabhi]

@Ravvs, congrats on your ICE upgrade, and eagerly waiting for the inaugral show!

BTW, I expected HRH RR to post this query--'Arre yaar, why does he need a better system to listen to songs like "I am Anamika from Allahabad" ?'

[pulsar56]

BTW, I expected HRH RR to post this query--'Arre yaar, why does he need a better system to listen to songs like "I am Anamika from Allahabad" ?'

Venu sir, that song is only for RR.

Wow... So the install is already done!
Will drop in soon for an audition before garry flies down from Gurgaon