[CJP]

It's been over six months since I bought my Innova. After doing considerable reading here on T-BHP and elsewhere on the web, asking around, PM'some of our resident gurus, doing a lot of auditioning here in Bangalore and abroad, I finally decided to take the plunge.

After finalizing the equipment, it took me over 4 months to get everything organized, buy some of the components in the US, get various friends to bring them over. I also bought some of the components 'used' and recycled some parts from my previous car.

Here is the finalized list:-

1. Infinity Kappa Perfect 6.1 - 6.5" Components - for both doors (front and rear)
2. Infinity Kappa 124.7 12" Sub
3. Audison LRx4.5 Main Amp - bought used from a fellow T-BHPian
4. Pioneer 3000 - 200 W Amp - recycled from my older car - to power the sub
5. Eclipse CD5100 head unit

Being an avid DIY'er, I mulled over doing this project myself. Being rather busy at work, plus the perils of breaking something and then blowing more money fixing broken stuff - I decided to leave the installation in the hands of professionals. Good decision :-)


But, the DIY'er in me got the better of me in some areas, so here are the things that I did myself:-

1. RCA - Interconnects - 6 pairs
2. Sealed subwoofer cabinet

This is the picture of all the equipment assembled on the floor of my living room. What is not visible here is the sub woofer cabinet, that came later.


A close up of the sub.


After calling up Satya (BlueRaven) and setting up an appointment for the 28th of May, we drove across town to EVO in Cambridge Layout. A brief discussion with Satya about the installation, a quick review of all the equipment and we were all set.

Couple of things must be mentioned here:-
1. The Infinity Kappa's have really BIG magnets, a quick check confirmed that they could fit with in the door panels. And the MDF rings could accommodate their weight.

2. Most open terminations were given 'heat shrink' tube fittings in order to protect the bare conductors. I had picked up an assorted pack of heat shrink tubes from Radio Shack. They are also available on SP Road.

3. The head unit and the speakers were sourced from the US, through HiFi Sound Connections. Great prices and good service.

Here are some pictures of the installation in progress:-

The giant cross overs where the first to get located.


A quick comparison of the stock speakers and the Infinity.


The first speaker is installed in the left front door.


After this one, the other doors followed in quick succession. Here is a pic of the Audison placed on the under seat location.


Dinesh at work, phenomenally patient and very thorough. You can see my DIY RCA Interconnects in the background flowing out of the head unit mounting space.


The doors are drilled and the beautiful tweeters mounted.


Here is another pic of the tweeter.


The head unit is mounted. Looks really nice.


Here is the finished sub, relocated for photography. Yes, the grill is a Polk :-)


Another pic of the sub woofer. I particularly liked the way the sub turned out. It's a sealed unit, 1 Cu Ft. built out of 19mm marine ply and covered with 12mm nicely polished rubber wood to match the beige of the Innova's interior. Since we don't use both seats at the back, I've folded one seat and placed the sub on the floor, with 'velcro' straps hooked into the seat latches to prevent the sub from tilting or moving forward under braking. The wires have a Molex type connector for quick detach-ability.


Once the installation was completed, Satya tuned the system and I returned home a tired but very happy man.

After listening to the system for a day and feeling the rather large door panels vibrating, I figured that I will have to do some additional investment into sound deadening. A quick call to Satya and he did a wonderful job.

Here are some pics of the sound deadening job. Satya used DLS material on all four doors and packed the rear hatch to prevent the plastic panels from vibrating.



The drive home from EVO that evening was just heavenly and now am truly happy! (Till the next upgrade bug bites, there is a niggling itch coming up over the replacement of the wimpy Pioneer, but it has to wait for now).

Here is a final list of everything including indicative pricing.

1. Head unit – Eclipse 5100 Rs. 9,200.00
2. Main Amp – Audison LRx 4.5 Rs. 28,000.00
3. Main speakers – Infinity Kappa Perfect 6.1 components Rs. 16,100.00
4. Subwoofer Amp – Pioneer 3000, bridged, 200w RMS Rs. 5,000.00
5. Subwoofer – 12” Infinity Kappa 124.7 – 350w RMS Rs. 4,600.00
6. Subwoofer cabinet Rs. 3,000.00
7. Interconnects – Cable & connectors only Rs. 1,260.00
8. Main Speaker wire – 16 ga - Rs. 650.00
9. Subwoofer wire – 14 ga
10. Power Cable – Striker 4 ga
11. Distribution Block – Audison - 1,500.00
12. Distribution Cable – Audison 8 ga
13. Sound Deadening – 4 doors + rear hatch – DLS – approx. 5 sheets in all Rs. 11,600.00
14. Installation Charges (includes cost of items #9, #10, #12) Rs.4,000.00
15. Total Rs. 84,910.00

Quick disclaimers –

1. Prices are indicative, since most of the key electronics were bought in the US. And please don't hold Satya to some of the prices mentioned here, as you would be aware that some of these prices change on a daily basis.
2. The main amp was bought used, price for a new amp would be in the range of Rs.40k (I guess)
3. The subwoofer amp is from my old car. This definitely needs to be changed. This amp simply does not have the power to drive the sub.

My review:-

1. Sound is clean at any volume – there is no audible distortion across the spectrum. Any music simply sounds great. It also helps that the Eclipse head unit has high volt outputs, this helps drive the amps at lower distortion levels. The head unit is last year’s model – that’s how I got it real cheap.
   
2. Sound deadening really works. There is an audible difference. The car is quieter and you can hear the music clearly. At highway speeds, the sound from the road and the car body simply disappears. Yoko C Drives also help in deadening road noise.
   
3. EVO does a great job of installation. Satya is highly recommended. My personal experience has been consistently great.
   
4. The subwoofer amp needs to be changed. I need more muscle for the sub. This is a future upgrade.

Overall, it’s taken me six months to get all the components together and complete the install.

This project would not have been successful if it weren't for DerAlte, EVO (Satya), several similar projects here on T-BHP, and a bunch of friends at work - who were courteous enough to bring stuff over when I requested.


So far, am very happy and so is my family

As usual, comments and feedback welcome.

[sathee46]

Excellent setup, very good selection of equipments. I personally love the components and the sub woofer. A special mention for the tweeter pods, the beautiful subwoofer enclosure and the grill which looks like it's made for the infinity.

A beautiful installation by Satya as usual, Waiting for a detailed review of the setup.

[Pr_007]

Great Setup, CJP, I especially liked the sub enclosure. Nice matching with the color of the wood and the grill.

Did the grill come in that color or was it painted in matt black color?

I have sent you a PM asking a few details.

[SPARKled]

Congrats!! Nice set up and some great components. Does the Eclipse CD5100 have TA ? Also how good are the Infinity perfects compared to some other high end speakers like DLS and Rainbow. I am asking this as I think these were in your budget too.

[thelightening]

Great to hear that you are a happy man at the end of the day. Even I felt the same during my ICE.

By the way how is eclipse HU, do it have usb control and port?

[CJP]

Originally Posted by thelightening

Great to hear that you are a happy man at the end of the day. Even I felt the same during my ICE.

By the way how is eclipse HU, do it have usb control and port?

Yes, this model does have USB control and a port on a cable. The navigation is very basic and the firmware does scramble long file names somewhat. But the display settings allow the display of Artist and Title.

Originally Posted by SPARKled

Congrats!! Nice set up and some great components. Does the Eclipse CD5100 have TA ? Also how good are the Infinity perfects compared to some other high end speakers like DLS and Rainbow. I am asking this as I think these were in your budget too.

The CD5100 does not have TA, I do wish it had. It images very well, but the image is in the footwell :-(

I can't recollect auditioning the DLS or the Rainbow. I did try out a large variety of speakers at custom shops in the US. I liked the smooth delivery of the Infinity, esp. mid bass. There are no jagged edges or harshness. And it does pack quite a punch too!

Originally Posted by Pr_007

Great Setup, CJP, I especially liked the sub enclosure. Nice matching with the color of the wood and the grill.

Did the grill come in that color or was it painted in matt black color?

I have sent you a PM asking a few details.

The grill was bought as such.

and I have replied to your PM as well.

[donarun]

Good choice of equipments and a neat install. Even i was interested in getting the Kappa perfect 6.1 for my setup, but dropped it since some reviews said they are a bit bright. How do they sound ?

As others have pointed out, the sub enclosure is stand out. Looks real classy . Any chance of an audition ?

[CJP]

Originally Posted by donarun

Good choice of equipments and a neat install. Even i was interested in getting the Kappa perfect 6.1 for my setup, but dropped it since some reviews said they are a bit bright. How do they sound ?

As others have pointed out, the sub enclosure is stand out. Looks real classy . Any chance of an audition ?

The Kappa Perfects are not very bright, as a matter of fact. And there are two places where you can eq it down.
1. in the cross over unit there are jumpers to eq it down by -4db or up to +5db, the factory default is 0db.
2. on the head unit's equalizer

In my install, I've left it at factory default (since it is installed inside the door panels), and adjusted on the headunit. It works pretty well for the kind of music I listen to, which is mostly classic rock.

Thanks for the compliments on the sub enclosure, I am quite happy with the way it turned out too

Audition - sure thing - just let me know when and where - as long as it is nearer to North/North Eastern Bangalore. More than happy to let another pair of ears do the evaluation.

[s3va]

nice install

where do you get those polk grills ?

is Dinesh newly hired at Sathya's ? Never seen him before

[thelightening]

Originally Posted by s3va

nice install

where do you get those polk grills ?

is Dinesh newly hired at Sathya's ? Never seen him before

I came to know that he is the oldest.. by the way i am also interested in those grills 12" one.. any chance?

[CJP]

by the way i am also interested in those grills 12" one.. any chance?

where do you get those polk grills ?

thelightening and s3va,

these are 12", Polk grills - bought it from Satya (EVO). Perhaps a quick PM to Satya and he could help source them for you.

[thelord]

Excellent setup this one!
The tweeter install and the sub-enclosure are very neatly done!
Keep the gains low for a week or two so that the sub can break-in.

Enjoy the music!

[CJP]

Hello again, folks,

This has been a very eventful week. At long last my dream of upgrading the subwoofer came true. I managed to buy a used GENESIS Profile Sub amp here from the T-BHP Classifeds. The Amp arrived Friday evening, as I was back home from Kuala Lumpur.

This morning, after breakfast and finishing off some urgent chores; settled down to install the amp. Here are some pics of the beauty.

Completed the installation, in somewhat rough form, need to get spade connectors and terminate the cables properly. But I was eager to hear the quality from the GENESIS amp.

Spent several minutes setting it up and tuning it properly. I must say, what a huge difference. The GENESIS is a small amp in terms of physical dimensions, but the quality of the sound, the authoritative punch and depth to the low freq is just outstanding.

At last I have something in the car that come close to my 12" Eminence LAB12 in the home. The LAB12 goes really low, and am happy to say the GENESIS drives my Infinity 12, not low enough but close. I have lowered the gains, the non-fade vol to -2, and turned down the base. The Infinity is a dual voice coil sub, and can be switched between 2 ohms and 4 ohms. I have set it up at 4 ohms. Else, the Infinity could get destroyed.

Another upgrade raises its head - need to change my sub to something that can handle this power without breaking into pieces or frying its voice coil.

The family loved the sound so much, we had to take a mandatory ride along the ring road just hear all the familiar tracks all over again.

Very happy