[febyphilabr]

Originally Posted by maverickzCar

Honestly speaking, I never heard the alphabets s-o-n-y together when reading bout quality ICE on this forum! But let me google this a bit.

You can't compare Sony amps to the likes of Rainbow iPauls, RFs, HK, Brax, Steg etc.

But IMHO, for your budget of 7k, Sony amps will do the job and are VFM products!!

Else, by shelling out a bit more moolah you can get the JBL GTO1004. Its a proven product!!

And regarding the quality of Sony amps, I believe the Car Audio Guru's on this forum will be able to help you out!

[thelord]

@maverickzCar
I have used the Kenwood M845 amp for quite some time and found it very good for the price. Not as warm as the 8401 or 8404 but still great performance. I'd suggest that you try to get the 8404. I know a dealer here who has some stock left for the 8401. Feel free to contact me incase you decide on this one.

I've heard good things about the JBL 1004 as well, more power than the above mentioned amps. Can't say if the sound is better than the Kenny's as i haven't auditioned it yet.

Good luck!

[prince85]

From the two installs in the pics below..its clear that in your install (pic no.1), the installer has not fixed the trim-plate supplied with the HU on the borders......Now this could be coz there is not enough space around the HU (top portion especially) for the trim plate to go in. This is leading to a visible gap between the Hu and the din-box below. Also notice that in your MGA kit, the din box in a little on the inner side and not inline with the dashkit compared to the Scosche version in which the din box sits flush inline with the HU. Now if you notice there is a visible gap between the lower portion of the din box and the outer dashkit frame as well. But there are absolutely no gaps in the scoshe kit.





Now this could be due to varying designs but in the Pioneer HU install with the Scosche HU (pic no.2), One can clearly see that the trim plate has been nicely put in place around the HU and thereby covering any gaps.

I suggest you go back to your installer with the HU supplied trim plate and ask him to fix it. Or else change over to the Scoshe dashkit and i guess you should be done!

Cheers

[abhibh]

Prince its the issue with kenwoods HU. A fellow TBHPIAN maverick555 also had same issue when he upgraded from pioneer to kenwood 6539.

[maglev]

@ Prince85

The maruti dash kit actually fits quite snugly around the HU. That is the reason as to why one does not need the trim kit. The gaps which we see in these pics are not so prominent / visible in person.



@ MaverickzCar

The empty box below the HU can be very easily installed inline with the remaining dash kit, But it will be slightly recessed as it is in all other similar Maruti's such as the Swift or Ritz. (Pic Attached, Image Source: Team-BHP)

To achieve the exact alignment just drill some new holes in the Radio/Tuner bracket but either do it yourself or get it done from an experienced installer.
You'll be able to achieve the desired results.

Image Source: Team-BHP

[maverickzCar]

@Prince85 & @Maglev,

The dash kit is fitting quite nicely (thanks Maglev for all the info on obtaining it - it really helped). The gripe is the space left between the kit & the lower pocket, also the tuner's trim plate cannot be fitted in the space provided by the dash kit (maybe sx4 designers dont want people to use kenwood? ). The new hole option was rejected by installer since the pocket wouldn't fit in snugly as in pics above. It was late evening by the time installation started so maybe lack of motivation at his end; will have to recheck.

[prince85]

Originally Posted by maglev

@ Prince85

The maruti dash kit actually fits quite snugly around the HU. That is the reason as to why one does not need the trim kit. The gaps which we see in these pics are not so prominent / visible in person.

I totally agree with you maglev that the MGA dash kit fits quite snugly around the HU in most cases. Infact was't i one of the first bhpians to recommend fellow sx4 owners including you to buy the MGA dashkit from the early 2007 vxi batch?

Even i bought one, infact 2 just incase one gets damaged.

Coming to the MGA kit, see most HU's like the pioneer, sony single-din HU's and jvc double-din like yours fit in the MGA kit perfectly with slightly or no visible gaps around the HU. But there have been instances like the kenwood HU in question or even this 6dvd changer HU from pioneer like the one in this attached pic.



Notice a small but a glaring gap below the HU with the MGA kit around it even though the HU trim plate was used (notice the trim plate covering the gaps on top of the HU and on the two sides but fails to hide the gap below the HU). THe same pioneer HU was later installed in a friend's sx4 with the scosche kit coz of this issue and there were no gaps whatsoever.

OT-Maglev, you havent updated your thread in a while now. Did you get the reverse camera angle sorted out? is the pac unit installed? waiting to know bro

cheers

[maverickzCar]

>> Just hung up the phone with a buddy in states. He has agreed to bring in the double-din Pio P3100BT Maybe its better to have a double-din thingy fill the whole space than to find workarounds.

>> My Kenwood is going on sale. Loved the baby, but maybe I will love the bigger baby even more

Hope this will help me take my mind off the looks dept, and concentrate more on the meat i.e. speakers sub & amp

[maverickzCar]

HU is OT now. Can i put forward a very basic question:

Currently I just have the speakers - JL audio C2-650 and C2-650x with following power ratings:

C2-650x Co-axial (rear):
Continuous Power Handling: 60 Watts
Rec. Power Range (per channel): 15 - 100 Watts
System Efficiency: 91.0 dB @ 1W/1m
System Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms
System Frequency Response: 59 Hz - 22 KHz ± 3 d

C2-650 Component (front)
Continuous Power Handling: 60 Watts
Rec. Power Range (per channel): 15 - 100 Watts
System Efficiency: 91.0 dB @ 1W/1m
97.0 dB @ 1W/0.5m
System Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms
System Frequency Response: 59 Hz - 22 KHz ± 3 dB

Wont be able to add a sub as of now, hence planning to play the above speakers at their full potential. Thus will someone pls tell if adding a 4 ch amp just make these loud, or add to the overall richness of the sound? And is there a way that an average amp (~7-8k), when added to these speakers with above mentioned power ratings, then the setup be able to compensate the absence of a sub (to some extent, with proper tuning)?

Thanks

[maglev]

Just saw the ad for the JL's in the classifieds, so whats coming instead of them??

[maverickzCar]

Finallllllyyyy, some stuff moved in over the weekend:

- Pio P3200DVD is installed
- An entry-level but recommended amp - kenwood 845 - is powering the 4 speakers now

The HU looks way cool - double-din with touchscreen. Also, owing to amp, sound has *improved* considerably - atleast now my JLs are playing to their potential of 60w rms. Bass is not that boomy, which is expected, but that wud be the case till i put in a sub

Also, fitted in a rear camera but somehow the HU is sometimes displaying an inverted image - only sometimes ...so the fault maybe in camera's install, or, possibly some setting on HU needs to be tweaked. Anybody has experience with this?? Will visit installer again for this.

Also, one thing remains - PAC steering control kit - seems to be a potentially complex install since not everyone seems comfortable doing it.

Everything installed at Driven - done neatly, even in the absence of mr rana. Thnx to Gunbir for taking out time for tuning. And he has agreed to help me out in PAC install. See you soon man!

Still if someone got a first-hand experience with the 2 pending items - (At times) Inverted image from rear cam + PAC install for Pioneer in SX4 - any inputs wud be much appreciated.

[maverickzCar]

Originally Posted by maglev

Just saw the ad for the JL's in the classifieds, so whats coming instead of them??

Possibly just a sub...or maybe 6x9s (though this one is highly improbable)

[prince85]

Originally Posted by maverickzCar

Finallllllyyyy, some stuff moved in over the weekend:

- Pio P3200DVD is installed
- An entry-level but recommended amp - kenwood 845 - is powering the 4 speakers now

The HU looks way cool - double-din with touchscreen. Also, owing to amp, sound has *improved* considerably - atleast now my JLs are playing to their potential of 60w rms. Bass is not that boomy, which is expected, but that wud be the case till i put in a sub

Also, fitted in a rear camera but somehow the HU is sometimes displaying an inverted image - only sometimes ...so the fault maybe in camera's install, or, possibly some setting on HU needs to be tweaked. Anybody has experience with this?? Will visit installer again for this.

Also, one thing remains - PAC steering control kit - seems to be a potentially complex install since not everyone seems comfortable doing it.

Everything installed at Driven - done neatly, even in the absence of mr rana. Thnx to Gunbir for taking out time for tuning. And he has agreed to help me out in PAC install. See you soon man!

Still if someone got a first-hand experience with the 2 pending items - (At times) Inverted image from rear cam + PAC install for Pioneer in SX4 - any inputs wud be much appreciated.

congrats bro, concerns regarding the fit and finish of the HU are a thing of the past i hope...And i am sure you cannot go wrong with the PAC install when its done under gunbir's supervision....he is a class act..

anyways Hu and amp install pics are eagerly awaited my friend..........and once again congrats dude

[Piyush_Vroom]

Originally Posted by maverickzCar

Possibly just a sub...or maybe 6x9s (though this one is highly improbable)

Go for the sub dude. It will bring out the essence of music. I listened to your set up and found only the Lower frequencies missing.

Moreover i think you need to get the installation checked bcoz of the orientation of LCD. There seems to be something wrong in wiring..

[maverickzCar]

The ONLY pending install in my SX4 ICE - the PAC steering wheel control kit.....got it done finally. This is its lil story:

Its been ages now...4 months to be exact that I got the PAC kit for steering controls. And surprise, i could get time last weekend only to have it installed. Life in motion!

And typical of installers in India, had to go thru emotions of concern -> anger -> humor -> relaxation - all in the 3 hours it got installed.

Story begins with me visiting Mr Rana at Driven. He is a nice guy who just sometimes promises in a bit of extra enthusiasm , so when we had planned to find some "PAC expert" there to do my install, but that guy failed to turn up! Dilli ke installers!! So now, Mr Rana asks his trusted and well experienced installer, Mr Subhash - he is an experienced person of age and a very cool individual - to try get this done. He, as careful as he always is, starts with taking out HU, cutting the right wires etc. Plan is to call the "PAC expert", who has agreed to provide support on phone, once programming needs to be done. So once Subhash is thru with his tasks, calls up this expert and he, being a self-proclaimed expert as we find in India at every turn, tells all sorts of weird methods...and as expected nothing works. The expert asks us to bring the vehicle to him, around 2-3 kms away, so that he can "personally" look into it and resolve the issue in minutes. Okay, can do!

I and Mr Subhash reach the person and this expert comes in and, to convert my concern into anger, says "Arre ye to doosra koi model lagta hai". Still, a known expert that he is, the guy starts trying all methods - pressing the programming button, connecting diff wires etc. - but my PAC refuses to be tamed. I politely ask the guy to leave the driving seat and reclaim the throne of expert in his own shop. 30 mins wasted and no output! phew!

We now leave for another fixer - this guy is also a PAC "consultant" lol...he has done a few installations on SX4 too - as we are told. We reach him, he is there on a scooter and, as to convert my anger into frustration, utters "Arre ye to SX4 hai". Yeah, so? SX4 se koi allergy? "Nahi saar, maine to Honda city me kiya hai - Rana ji ne mereko bola Honda city me karna hai". Surprise!! Rana ji ko itna bada confusion! Anyways, its already 7 in the evening so i ask him - "Boss i cant change the car now, can you find someone to complete this thing?". As happens in India, and am not over-bloating, a guy comes from out of the blue, and this scooter guy says "Saar ye ladka kar lega..bol chotu, kar lega na!". And chotus NEVER say NO in our Delhi . So now this guy takes the seat, started doing all sorts of permutations & combinations. 25 mins and 8 wire-changes later, my patience gets thin & this guy has to leave. 7:30 PM.

Mr Subhash is a family person and he too is getting late. The best thing about him is that he never over-promises, so he says that he wont be the best person to accurately program this thing so lets do this on some other day. So we decide to go back to driven and tackle this another day. Somehow, by grace of a magical flash in my head, i think of googling this thing out - since all we have to do it join correct wires and program it in a particular fashion. So, Once at Driven , i take out my mob and punch in google. It throws up a site which asks me to select car model, and viola, SX4 is listed there! The model is 2008 though. A ray of hope? Can i pull this off by just following instructions on a mobile?? I think Yes why not, and a supportive Mr Subhash agrees to lend support. So again we open the HU setup and all, i follow the instructions exactly as written on tiny mobile screen, and we start getting good vibes! Light on the PAC begins to glow at times and though a bit confusing initially, we manage to get hold of it. A little issue of improper grounding propped up but was duly resolved by Mr Subhash. So, after 15 mins more of careful programming, I pressed a button on my SX4 steering wheel and it changed the volume of my HU!!!! I program the buttons EXACTLY as per my liking, the best part, and we are done!

WOW! That was one helluva feeling!! And however over-dramatic it may sound, i recalled the famous lines of Big B's BPL ad years ago "Believe in yourself". Lol. Anyways, a happy ending to a tense start. I thank Mr Subhash for his time and leave for home, all the way enjoying a very nice experience this PAC kit had introduced to the car!