[quadra]

After i got the car from the docks (read here i went to EVO and here is what happened next

Current setup
Stock Kenwood HU
Stock front speakers (NIPPON....lolz)

Queries i had before going to EVO:
Get some accessories details for Spark (gear lock, steering lock, roof antena, etc etc), get a picture of on ICE setup the spark is eligible for, come back home and go to work (like a good boy) sort out the budget, visit EVO again and get things installed (later)

When i reached there:
Luckily i found parking exactly on the front of the shop (the area outside to do repairs)
Stepped out and asked a gentleman if he is satya, he said yes & i was happy that i bumped into the right person at the right time.
Told him that i wanted few accessories, he called few people to check on the steering lock availability...turns out, we may need to wait.

Satya - Howz the ICE ?
Me - o yeah, its crap as its stock & that i want to upgrade in a phased manner.
Satya - Lets check (took the keys, inserted his demo CD and opened up the volume). He confirmed that its crap

We go inside the shop & start discussing

I told him the plan that i had in mind:

Phase 1
Add fronts (keep HU as stock)

Phase 2
Add rears

Phase 3
Sub + Amp

For Phase 1, he showed, Boston & JBL components for around 2k (forgot the price tag)

Me - Just out of curiosity So..whats the next best ????
Satya - Kicker ES4.2 cost around 5k(approx) with fitting is a kick arse component.

A gulp / chill ran down my throat and spine respectively...lolzz.
From 2k to 5k, now where the heck is my budget going. (realized team-bhp's official ten commandments + a grin)

After giving a thought, i went where the heart took me, to heck with budget, lets get the kickers IN as of now

Satya called his installers to start the fitting.

Curosity struck me again and again and again when i was inside his shop. So many things to drool at and yet so less the budget.

1. Bosch wiper blades (Areotwins):
Satya checked the existing wipers, asked if the existing wipers leave a trail, i said no - he told to wait and not to replace the stock.

2. Headlight bulb:
I didn't want a projector or out of this world headlight setup, i however just wanted an increase in the light intensity and an all weather headlight (for rains specially)
Satya suggested a Bosch headlight (correct me if am wrong if you read this) for around 1200 with wiring (which made perfect sense after he explained how you need a good wiring for a higher capacity headlight)

I postponed this coz i didn't foresee any travelling during night in a while.

3.Horn:
Was speaking with satya about horns, asking which one is a good one, he advised to go for Bosch (skoda type horn) dual horn.
Proactively he asked him folks to give a demo, it was nice...wow. The horns were naked so they made a hell of a noise, satya then told that behind the bumpers, the noise will be melody.

Again i went where my heart took me and told them to get the Bosch IN & they do sound pretty awesome (no regret buy)

After the kickers went IN:
The demo CD was played and there was an magnitude of a change in the sound quality. Satya tweaked the HU and yeah, it was starting to sound good. So good that i almost forgot to watch the front car while driving..busy changing to the next track / increasing the volume.

Satya was not 100% happy (AFAIK) so then he told the HU is playing good but its not unleashing the true potential of the kickers. The phase thing was re-designed now...

Phase 1(completed)
Kickers 4" fronts (already in)

Phase 2
HU
Satya suggested a HU with a sub-out option as he explained that you have more options to tweak the sub then. He left to me on what i wanted as the HU with sub-out option were somewhere around 8kish.

Phase 3
Rears + Sub / Rears + amp / rears + sub + amp
TBD later

Installation job:

Audio - Very neat job done. Satya specifically asked his installers to check with him on where to place the tweeters (Personal attention is good)
Everything was put back in place, all wires and litter (from installation) removed.

Horns - Again a brilliant job done there. For Spark, there are lot of screws that required to be opened for the front bumper to come out completely. The folks there were patient enough to get this done. The front bumper was removed and what i saw was very thin wires (stock wiring) powering the fog lamps, tied badly with each other.
First, they removed the wires carefully, then replaced the horns (which was again a tricky job) then using tags (one that is used to tie baggage lock - white color wire) they organised the wires properly, used a green tape to tie the wires so they dont fall out - all of this resulted in one neat setup.

Cost:
Kickers + Bosch dual horns + Pine tree perfume (which you hang on the rvm) = 5500 (approx) = a happy customer

For Satya - Thanks a lot buddy. Your inputs + the installation were just awsome. Keep up the good work & most importantly, see you soon
PS: I was not sure if i could share the price details but still went ahead with it. Sorry in advance but i felt others should know about your work rather than the cost.

Cheers

[quadra]

Some pics of Bosch & stock horn + Stock speakers

[quadra]

Few pics of the install

[SPARKled]

Congrats!! I Guess with the 4 inch components your car must be sounding pretty good now. Get the amp and the sub asap and you will really having a rocking Spark.

[jacs]

Hi Quadra,

You've got a decent install, and glad to see you are patient enough to do a phase by phase upgrade without burning your pocket. Many of our folks end up in swiping their credit card EMI when it comes to audio .

My long cherished audio upgrade is still in waiting list (since last 2 years) due to shoestring budget, longing to visit EVO.

[quadra]

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Congrats!! I Guess with the 4 inch components your car must be sounding pretty good now. Get the amp and the sub asap and you will really having a rocking Spark.

Thanks SPARKled. It is yeah sounding pretty good. I am planning to get a HU first > Sub / amp / rear.

Originally Posted by jacs

Hi Quadra,

You've got a decent install, and glad to see you are patient enough to do a phase by phase upgrade without burning your pocket. Many of our folks end up in swiping their credit card EMI when it comes to audio .

My long cherished audio upgrade is still in waiting list (since last 2 years) due to shoestring budget, longing to visit EVO.

Thanks Jacs. Glad you liked it. Talking about patience, i wanted the amps + sub + rears the same day and i wanted it pretty bad...like very very badly.

Somehow i convinced myself to take it slowly and consider a step-by-step approach.

So the 95% of me wanted all things at one go and rest 5% wanted a phased manner approach & you already know who won

SPARKled, Jacs : please share your current ICE setup. It is always helpful for this community. If you in blr, drop by sometime

Cheers

[quadra]

I think the time has come for phase 2 (Head Unit upgrade)

Budget:
> around 8k-10k

Present setup:
> Kicker 4.2 component (phase 1 = complete)
> Stock HU (phase 2 = now)
> No rears (phase 3 = later)
> No sub (phase 3/4 = later)
> No amp (phase 3/4 = later)

Type of music i hear:
1st prefrence > Hip-hop
2st prefrence > bollywood
3rd prefrence > punjabi (oldies + new age)

4th > Linkin park types
5th > Ghazals (occasionally)

HU option:
1. Satya spoke out HU with sub-out option during phase 1. What options do i have in under 10k budget ?

2. Should be Ipod, CD, USB (what is the max size) compatible

3. How many preouts are sufficient for this setup ?

4. Do you think i should shuffle the phase (maybe add rear / sub / amp now with HU) ?

5. Anything else regarding the setup, please let me know.

NOTE:
The new hardware should compliment / support the existing hardware as well. So please advice accordingly.

Thanks

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by quadra

I think the time has come for phase 2 (Head Unit upgrade)

Budget:
> around 8k-10k

Present setup:
> Kicker 4.2 component (phase 1 = complete)
> Stock HU (phase 2 = now)
> No rears (phase 3 = later)
> No sub (phase 3/4 = later)
> No amp (phase 3/4 = later)

Type of music i hear:
1st prefrence > Hip-hop
2st prefrence > bollywood
3rd prefrence > punjabi (oldies + new age)

4th > Linkin park types
5th > Ghazals (occasionally)

HU option:
1. Satya spoke out HU with sub-out option during phase 1. What options do i have in under 10k budget ?

2. Should be Ipod, CD, USB (what is the max size) compatible

3. How many preouts are sufficient for this setup ?

4. Do you think i should shuffle the phase (maybe add rear / sub / amp now with HU) ?

5. Anything else regarding the setup, please let me know.

NOTE:
The new hardware should compliment / support the existing hardware as well. So please advice accordingly.

Thanks

Nice setup there, ur pics are always detailed. I had also gine to evo last friday to get the amp wiring sorted out and now the system is sounding much better. My next Phase is a HU as well, my only pre-requisite is 2 rca out.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by quadra

I think the time has come for phase 2 (Head Unit upgrade)

Budget:
> around 8k-10k

Present setup:
> Kicker 4.2 component (phase 1 = complete)
> Stock HU (phase 2 = now)
> No rears (phase 3 = later)
> No sub (phase 3/4 = later)
> No amp (phase 3/4 = later)

Type of music i hear:
1st prefrence > Hip-hop
2st prefrence > bollywood
3rd prefrence > punjabi (oldies + new age)

4th > Linkin park types
5th > Ghazals (occasionally)

HU option:
1. Satya spoke out HU with sub-out option during phase 1. What options do i have in under 10k budget ?

2. Should be Ipod, CD, USB (what is the max size) compatible

3. How many preouts are sufficient for this setup ?

4. Do you think i should shuffle the phase (maybe add rear / sub / amp now with HU) ?

5. Anything else regarding the setup, please let me know.

NOTE:
The new hardware should compliment / support the existing hardware as well. So please advice accordingly.

Thanks

Most of the HUs come with atleast one preout and which is usually the sub out even you current one will have a sub out. Changing the HU is a serious upgrade and needs to be taken seriously cause this is the part which will decide the future of your ICE. If i was you i would buy a 4 channel amp and a sub bridge 2 channels and power the SUB and use the other 2 channels for the front components. this should cost you below 10k, i met a shop owner who sells 700 watt JBL amps for 7k with B&W, which is the lowest i have heard so far, and JBL 1100 Watt Subs for 2K again with B&W. So the over all component cost is 9k add another 2k for the sub enclosure( don't go for a fiber glass enclosure, they are crappy) and installation and trust me you would be thanking me after this . in the next stage you can go for medium built coaxs in the range of ~3K and buy a 2 channel amp for ~3.5k(JBL 2 channels are available with B&W under this price) now you can power the sub with the bridged 2 channel and use the 4 channel for front and rear(you might have to sue the speaker level inputs for this and converters which convert these into RCA are easily available).

If you are on a budget then just go for rear coax now, this would generate a lot of bass for you and your sound stage will also be balanced.

Pramod

[jacs]

Originally Posted by quadra

Thanks Jacs. Glad you liked it. Talking about patience, i wanted the amps + sub + rears the same day and i wanted it pretty bad...like very very badly.

SPARKled, Jacs : please share your current ICE setup. It is always helpful for this community. If you in blr, drop by sometime
Cheers

Hi Quadra,

My current ICE setup.

Palio - Sony XPLOD CD/MP3/FM HU (52Wx4/AUX-in/Sub-out), XPLOD 6"x8" rear Speakers, XPLOD 5.25" front speakers, XPLOD Tweeters on front. (Everything is 6 year old and HU has some minor CD read errors and one of the front speaker is not working)

Accent - Kenwood CD/MP3/FM HU (50Wx4/AUX-in), Hyundai OEM speakers on front and rear (5 years old)

I am delaying since Palio is now used only for very short drives by Wifey due to Petrol cost and there is a wicked plan of upgrading Accent to Xylo. Not sure whether all this will happen in 2010, but then the Kenwood HU will go in to Palio and Xylo would get the ICE treatment (Phase by phase).

[motomaverick]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Most of the HUs come with atleast one preout and which is usually the sub out even you current one will have a sub out. Changing the HU is a serious upgrade and needs to be taken seriously cause this is the part which will decide the future of your ICE. If i was you i would buy a 4 channel amp and a sub bridge 2 channels and power the SUB and use the other 2 channels for the front components. this should cost you below 10k, i met a shop owner who sells 700 watt JBL amps for 7k with B&W, which is the lowest i have heard so far, and JBL 1100 Watt Subs for 2K again with B&W. So the over all component cost is 9k add another 2k for the sub enclosure( don't go for a fiber glass enclosure, they are crappy) and installation and trust me you would be thanking me after this . in the next stage you can go for medium built coaxs in the range of ~3K and buy a 2 channel amp for ~3.5k(JBL 2 channels are available with B&W under this price) now you can power the sub with the bridged 2 channel and use the 4 channel for front and rear(you might have to sue the speaker level inputs for this and converters which convert these into RCA are easily available).

If you are on a budget then just go for rear coax now, this would generate a lot of bass for you and your sound stage will also be balanced.

Pramod

+1 i certainly agree there with pramod. Infact the 800w jbl 4ch amp is for 5700 with b/w here in bangalore.

Not sure with the volume of the boot in spark but if its comparable to an indica then u can certainly look at jbl gto948 along with the 4ch amp to drive the front compo's and rear gto's, this is my current setup and the sq is pretty good. Infact a new HU will further enhance the SQ.

[quadra]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Nice setup there, ur pics are always detailed.

Thanks for the compliment

Originally Posted by motomaverick

I had also gine to evo last friday to get the amp wiring sorted out and now the system is sounding much better. My next Phase is a HU as well, my only pre-requisite is 2 rca out.

Me 2 on stock HU now. Looks like it may be IN later.

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

Most of the HUs come with atleast one preout and which is usually the sub out even you current one will have a sub out. Changing the HU is a serious upgrade and needs to be taken seriously cause this is the part which will decide the future of your ICE. If i was you i would buy a 4 channel amp and a sub bridge 2 channels and power the SUB and use the other 2 channels for the front components. this should cost you below 10k, i met a shop owner who sells 700 watt JBL amps for 7k with B&W, which is the lowest i have heard so far, and JBL 1100 Watt Subs for 2K again with B&W. So the over all component cost is 9k add another 2k for the sub enclosure( don't go for a fiber glass enclosure, they are crappy) and installation and trust me you would be thanking me after this . in the next stage you can go for medium built coaxs in the range of ~3K and buy a 2 channel amp for ~3.5k(JBL 2 channels are available with B&W under this price) now you can power the sub with the bridged 2 channel and use the 4 channel for front and rear(you might have to sue the speaker level inputs for this and converters which convert these into RCA are easily available).

If you are on a budget then just go for rear coax now, this would generate a lot of bass for you and your sound stage will also be balanced.

Pramod

Thanks Pramod for the detailed update. Lets see what finally happens.

Originally Posted by jacs

Hi Quadra,

My current ICE setup.

Palio - Sony XPLOD CD/MP3/FM HU (52Wx4/AUX-in/Sub-out), XPLOD 6"x8" rear Speakers, XPLOD 5.25" front speakers, XPLOD Tweeters on front. (Everything is 6 year old and HU has some minor CD read errors and one of the front speaker is not working)

Accent - Kenwood CD/MP3/FM HU (50Wx4/AUX-in), Hyundai OEM speakers on front and rear (5 years old)

I am delaying since Palio is now used only for very short drives by Wifey due to Petrol cost and there is a wicked plan of upgrading Accent to Xylo. Not sure whether all this will happen in 2010, but then the Kenwood HU will go in to Palio and Xylo would get the ICE treatment (Phase by phase).

Xylo ICE would be fun. Hope to see a thread soon...

Originally Posted by motomaverick

+1 i certainly agree there with pramod. Infact the 800w jbl 4ch amp is for 5700 with b/w here in bangalore.

Not sure with the volume of the boot in spark but if its comparable to an indica then u can certainly look at jbl gto948 along with the 4ch amp to drive the front compo's and rear gto's, this is my current setup and the sq is pretty good. Infact a new HU will further enhance the SQ.

good to see that someone already has ICE suited best for my next phase.


Summary
Guys, i think i will skip the HU for the time being as i only have front comp now (kicker 4.2). Adding a HU now would not leave me a budget for rears / sub / amp. Also new HU with just the fronts wont mean fun

I think i would go for rears with / without amp as of now.

Question
1. There are plenty of rears in the market like gto948, kickers etc.
I am looking for something which offers good bass with / without amp. Of course i would add an amp later on but bass should be good to begin with till i get bored of it and then add amp, sub

2. The more the RMS the better the SQ ?? (of course you need amps to squeeze the true potential)

Please advice.

[anku94]

Originally Posted by quadra

2. The more the RMS the better the SQ ?? (of course you need amps to squeeze the true potential)

I've always wondered this. Can technical specifications tell you everything about the type of sound a component produces ?

BTW, eagerly following your thread. My dad has a Spark too and maybe I'll coax him into getting 4 coaxials with a HU after showing him all this stuff. He listens to radio on his cellphone as of now.

[blueraven316]

Originally Posted by anku94

I've always wondered this. Can technical specifications tell you everything about the type of sound a component produces ?

Never!

Tech specs are misleading to most extent today.

People who are new to car audio get wooed by freq range and rms and what not, though it gives an idea, but if you look at it like that Sony should be having some of the best car audio speakers, whereas in the branded products it's one of the worst.

I myself have burnt my fingers a long time ago only going by specs specified by Audio manufacturer. No one is born experienced, so everyone has a learning curve.

I have seen a 40 RMS speaker in some instances beat the daylights out of some 80 to 100 RMS speakers in loudness and longevity.

[navin]

Originally Posted by blueraven316

I have seen a 40 RMS speaker in some instances beat the daylights out of some 80 to 100 RMS speakers in loudness and longevity.

I have realised that for some unknown reason good intelligent people put their common sense on the backburner when reading audio specs sheets.
It is like they want to believe the published specs!