[rg_chn]

You make me jealous, and wonder why i didn't become a dentist :P

Good luck with this one too, and hope it lasts longer.

[ghpk]

Congrats Franky, Your chosen equipments are always a BIG BIG Surprise for the readers.

No doubts if people in mumbai start saying "don't use glasses on home/shop window" a crazy fiesta would come and all glasses get cracked with 7.1 channel sound tornado.

WARNING: people with cheap/duplicate windscreen should avoid passing by this fiesta as your windscreen would end up in pieces.

I am not going to his clinic for audition, he'll take out all my teeth for this.

I Hope frank doesn't mind little leg pulling :-)

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

Thanks guys!

@ Nitrous: Here's a screenshot of the processors on the STX and D2X.
The D2X has a better processor as well as the ALL IMPORTANT TI Burr-Brown PCM1796 *4 DACS, the same ones in the holy grail of Car audio head units: The Clarion HXD2/DRZ9255
Attachment 356759


Also, the STX dedicates a bit of it's precious VRMS (preout voltage) to the headphone amplifier built into it. I don't need something like that in the car. ALL the preout voltage MUST be dedicated to the RCA outputs
I would have chosen the Essence for it's astounding SNR hands down, but these 2 factors compelled me to get the D2X

The d2x sounds a lot worse than the essence if pure sound quality is all you care about. Also both output line level 2V signal so the vrm mumbo jumbo you talk about is immaterial. Plus the essence has a PCM1792A which is burr brown's highest end dac and much better power filtering thanks to better caps. Also the asio driver on the d2x is broken. Only essence has a working 32bit asio 2.0 driver.

Must also add that the asus av100 and 200 are the exact same chip built by c-media

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

The d2x sounds a lot worse than the essence if pure sound quality is all you care about. Also both output line level 2V signal so the vrm mumbo jumbo you talk about is immaterial. Plus the essence has a PCM1792A which is burr brown's highest end dac and much better power filtering thanks to better caps. Also the asio driver on the d2x is broken. Only essence has a working 32bit asio 2.0 driver.

Must also add that the asus av100 and 200 are the exact same chip built by c-media

Phew!
Thanks for the clarification.
I've been using the Essence STX(for home audio) and chose it after doing a lot of research.
And I've been scratching my head ever since Frank said that the Essence is inferior to the D2X

[SinghBHP]

I know nothing about the technicalities of Carputers but from whatever I've read above it seems to be Pretty Savaging. All the best for your install.

[kiku007]

Hey frankmehta, check out ACI-June10 edition. There's mention about your White Fiesta 1.6S

[frankmehta]

Originally Posted by quadra

Very interesting and good to read post. Best of luck FrankM

Thank you quadra!

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Finally the thread is up. All the best with the installation Frank.

Thinking of making another Mumbai Trip soon

Come soon (but not before the install!)

Originally Posted by moralfibre

All the best Frank.

How do you plan to do time alignment?

Thanks Kiran. I intend to use a mix of VST plugins, Console (and/or) Audiomulch for TA.

Originally Posted by yajaman99

Way to go Frank, A Carputer the Fiesta, this going to be interesting. I know it will be a detailed writeup as always and am waiting to read it all.

Thanks a ton! I will try to post as much detail as possible. I have always noticed a dearth of information on car-pcs.

Originally Posted by Gilead

What a fantastic list of components, Frank. I see you have put a lot of effort into the research. The D2X is a very good choice. I have heard lots of good things about it. Now coming to Centrafuse. Are you buying it or getting a cracked one?

Thank you Gilly ;-)
I will be purchasing the Centrafuse officially. The *ahem* versions sometime might just show up an evaluation/piracy warning and just lock down my whole computer (faced issues like this with *ahem* XP and Vista)

Originally Posted by Piyush_Vroom

Frank Bhai.I was waiting for this thread.Its finally here.. Great choice of Equipment

As i am a Computer Hardware/Software guy.

I would suggest you to go for a Lower Config machine than this one if it is to be used only in Car.

You can save nearly 10k on the config alone.

Please let me know so that i can give u a detailed configuration of the same

Thank you Piyush. I wanted a Core i3, since I thought, if I am buying a PC just like another PC, why not the latest. I might also shift this processor and motherboard to my house if an opportunity for an upgrade (at home/car) beckons. Leaves flexibility. As far as 10k difference, I think it's more like 5 k. I am getting the MObo Processor right now for about 12.5 k, which will go down to about 11.5 k when I purchase it in the coming month.

Originally Posted by Gill

How much have you kept aside for this computer?
Another question:-Will you use external crossovers?If not, then how will segregation of High, mid and low take place?

All digital crossovers embedded into the software. Waiting to power up the card and pc to see how much control I will have over the tweaking.
I have kept aside a substantial amount and will go ALL THE WAY if required. I don't want to skimp on a dream. This has been on the wish-list for a long time. Don't want to lose out on anything this time.

Originally Posted by rg_chn

You make me jealous, and wonder why i didn't become a dentist :P

Good luck with this one too, and hope it lasts longer.

Come on. My car is your's. Just come down to Mumbai from chennai and rip it

Originally Posted by ghpk

Congrats Franky, Your chosen equipments are always a BIG BIG Surprise for the readers.

No doubts if people in mumbai start saying "don't use glasses on home/shop window" a crazy fiesta would come and all glasses get cracked with 7.1 channel sound tornado.

WARNING: people with cheap/duplicate windscreen should avoid passing by this fiesta as your windscreen would end up in pieces.

I am not going to his clinic for audition, he'll take out all my teeth for this.

I Hope frank doesn't mind little leg pulling :-)

GH, 'PK' aaye ho kya?

Thank you for the kind words, but I still haven't powered the system. I don't know if it is going to sound as well, or better, or even worse than the present system. From what I see, the difference in quality is going to be *give or take* 20% at the max.

[frankmehta]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

The d2x sounds a lot worse than the essence if pure sound quality is all you care about. Also both output line level 2V signal so the vrm mumbo jumbo you talk about is immaterial. Plus the essence has a PCM1792A which is burr brown's highest end dac and much better power filtering thanks to better caps. Also the asio driver on the d2x is broken. Only essence has a working 32bit asio 2.0 driver.

Must also add that the asus av100 and 200 are the exact same chip built by c-media

Thanks for really distinguishing between the two. I think the D2X will suffice here. I was not too comfortable on spending an amount on the sound card as much as the MOBO and CPU put together.

But yes, I thought the D2X would be slightly better and cleaner due to the absence of the headphone amp that might share some of the power going through the card. In my Eclipse (and almost all deadheads), the internal amplifier has been sacrificed for MAXIMUM preout voltage. I used the same principle for sound cards too. The voltage would be shared by the headphone amp, hence putting the preout voltage by a small wee bit.
But let me not argue here, or nitpick, or even dispute the fact that the STX is the better of the two. i am now sure, it is.

Originally Posted by nitrous

Phew!
Thanks for the clarification.
I've been using the Essence STX(for home audio) and chose it after doing a lot of research.
And I've been scratching my head ever since Frank said that the Essence is inferior to the D2X

Get the STX for home brother. It is a better choice. Make sure you get the equipment to complement the high end soundcard.

Originally Posted by SinghBHP

I know nothing about the technicalities of Carputers but from whatever I've read above it seems to be Pretty Savaging. All the best for your install.

Thank you Singhji. The battle has not even begun! Wait till we power it on. I am raring to have it up and running!

Originally Posted by kiku007

Hey frankmehta, check out ACI-June10 edition. There's mention about your White Fiesta 1.6S

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!
You sure have a KEEN eye!
This is ultra cool ya!
Thanks for pointing that out!
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...al#post1594522

On a light note:
On the way back, I was driving my S along the Bandra Worli Sealink. I saw a Parika Red S with a TN Registration. I stepped on the gas to see who was driving the S, because S'es are slightly less in number as compared to the omnipresent SXis, ZXi's and EXis.
Looked into the car, and there I saw Shahpur Kotwal (editor of Autocar India) driving the S, with his wife and a guest in the passenger and rear seats respectively. I saw him staring at my car and he saw me ogling at his. As soon as our cars came side to side, I raised a thumbs-up and he obliged, as if in approval of his car, and mine. What a great moment it was to find someone of my brethren. S owners are always the enthusiasts, so when one S owner meets another S owner, the chemistry is pretty amazing. I had a smile on my face on the way back home.

Cheers to all S owners. Would love to see more of you'll!!
By the way, I still dance like a child on seeing another S on the road, still!!

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

Some photos of the sound card that arrived in it's mail this week:

Why have you ordered two soundcards? Doing 10.2?

[frankmehta]

And some more stuff ;-)

[Invinsible]

Way to go Frank, Finally the construction has commenced.

Good choice of hardware. Did you have a look at the M-audio audiophile 192 card ?

[Invinsible]

I would suggest you also look at the Logitech diNovo mini keyboard, something what will be useful in night in the car as its backlit.

[rg_chn]

Originally Posted by frankmehta

Come on. My car is your's. Just come down to Mumbai from chennai and rip it

Did I just read that right? I'd be more interested in an audition! It's not everyday that I see audios this kind.(I live in a country where people think the best speakers ever made are the xplods)
What's the financial damage this time?

[anku94]

A TB MyBook for a Carputer ? That explains Cyrus43's 'You Crazy Crazy Dentist!!' part. =))

[shreyasma]

Congrats Frank! Things are coming along very well. And nice choice of equipment as always.

Why not a slot-load drive instead? I know that the optical drive wont be used so often. But still..

EDIT: 2 optical drives?