[krish82]

Hi Guys,

I am getting an Optra, i would be icing it soon, so please advice. I will tell you what i want, and what i already own.

Prev car set up: Pioneer 7750 Head Unit - retained
Sony 554 ZR 4 channel amp - - retained
JBL 12" 1000 watts -- retained
Blaupunkt comp (given)
Pioneer oval (Duplicate i was cheated - given)

This set up was good for college days when the requirement was just high freq and bass. Now i am looking for clarity all the way up to full volume.

I sat in my relatives accord one day and played Richard claderman DVD, Though the bass was less i was able to drive full volume with excellent mids, highs and wrap around sound without any distortion, after listnening to that my car set up with all gimmics sounded feeble, lifeless.

So i am in search for something like that, and my questions are:

1. Whats the reason of such a great quality of sounf in high end cars, is it the head unit, the speakers, amp or combination of all these?

2. If i retain my head unit 7750 and add good components , will it provide me such a clarity?

3. please suggest me head units and speakers for a similar setup experience.

To add more i have 51/4 " JBL comp in my getz and sony head unit, it also fails miserabely to come atleast somthing near to the quality the accord has.

Thanks
Krish

[St. Anger]

@Krish82,

I would like to welcome you on your ICE journey. You have already made your taken your first step in moving away from gimmicks in your setup.

Many a good system built with some great components can go horribly wrong due to inexperienced hands so,

Get hold of a good, knowledgeable installer. Someone who has the expertise will be invaluable in getting you closer to your dream. Once you discuss your setup with him/her, you can fix a scalable budget and prioritize your purchases. We all have different sensitivities towards sounds. Try and get a rough idea of what you like and more importantly, what you don't!

Working with your existing equipment,

if the HU works fine and you are happy with the sound, then its great. Else, the usual suspects would be Kenwood, JVC, Alpine and the sleeper hit on this forum, the Clarion DXZ78* if you can still source it.

Next would be components. These again make a huge difference on the sound and audition as many as you can in your budget. Most members on this forum would be happy to give you an audition, so make maximum use of this. Beginning with products from Bull Audio, JBL, Illusion Audio, GZ, Rainbow, etc you could go on to many more as the budget increases. A capable installer would even be able to source you components not easily available in the market.

The lesser we open up our cars the less rattles that they tend to pick up over time. So damping and cabling should be taken care of next. The usual rule for a front-stage & sub setup is to damp the front doors and the boot. Two layers is desirable for the doors. Later, you can damp the floor/rear-doors/roof, etc as much as your wallet and heart permit.

Then, lay your cabling. Pay special attention here as most pops/clicks and whines start here. My suggestion would be to go in for cabling considering future upgrades as the cost and efforts that go into it makes it unwise to re-do later (unless there is a rare failure).

Going by that guide, your power wiring could be 4AWG or 8AWG at the minimum. Lay your powercable for a twin amp setup, unless you are certain that you will NOT add another amp in the future or if you are going in for a single 5/6 channel amp setup.

for speaker wires 16AWG is the norm unless your installer says that you need 12AWG

Some would say that the amp and the sub should be changed after the components, but many fail to understand why these should come after the damping & cabling.

Options for amps begin from JBL, GZ, Alpine, to JL Audio, DLS, Rainbow, etc.

In the sub department, i think you are good right now and can think about upgrading as you go along your journey.

I'm no expert and a lil' rusty with the brand options, so please get this approved by the experts here on the forum.

Build slowly and upgrade wisely.

Cheers

[krish82]

Hi ALL,

Lot of work in office, not getting time to ask. Trying to kick start back this forum, i have certain questions in mind. Car is Chevy Optra.

I want to fix up 6 1/2 " comps in front, two 6" coax at rear door (no ovals no cuttings).
Pioneer AVH-P3250DVD - What do you feel about this head unit?
Sub: JBL 12" 1000watts (existing)
Amp: Sony 554 ZR 4 channel (existing)
Plan: 2 channels of amp bridged to front comp and bridge other two to sub, rear coax's will be powered by head unit.
Wiring Kit: Rockford fosgate.
Dampng: Rockford fosgate.

Please suggest comp's and coax and HU, also other views are welcome.

Comps: Blaupunkt velocity 6 1/2 or rockford fosgate or polk or what?
HU: No idea, i need good sound quality.
Existing HU: Pioneer 7750, has everything good, but old, no dvd, no screen.

[prince85]

Hi krish,

HU - If you are looking for a DVD HU in particular, then i would suggest you the pioneer 4250dvd over the 3250dvd. Its a very good unit and is available for around 24k in grey.

Sub - The JBL sub you have is a fairly good one, you can retain that.

Speakers, Amp, Wiring etc - It will be better if you set yourself an approximate budget. Depending on that budget i am sure gurus here would be able to help you plan out something in a much better way.

cheers

[krish82]

Come on guys, please reply need to fix up the old head unit atleast by next saturday. What components? Is blaupunkt velocity a good one?

[krish82]

I think Guru's are all in leave. Have to take decision myself , Help please!

[DerAlte]

Blaupunkt Velocity components are good, especially if you get a good deal on them. Alternates are Blau THc, Infinity, JBL, etc.

Your plan is well thought out, go ahead.

[krish82]

Hi Guys,
Installation was done yesterday for my Optra, from morning 11 to 9 pm night. Guy did it slowly but accurately, no screws left, no body panels scrached. I auditioned the Rockford fosgate - coaxial, but after fitting it in the front, somehow did not like the midrange. I immediately opted for Blaupunkt Velocity VC 652 components for front, Its really amazing, The pioneer 7750 head unit is just awesome able to adjust all king of frequencies in the head unit, and the output and quality was so nice that bypassers stopped to peep in the car and ask for the particular setup.

I did not take camera, but i will upload photos taken in mobile shortly, Here goes the final equipment list.

Pioneer 7750 Head unit
Sony 554 ZR 4 channel amp
Front: Blaupunkt velocity vc 652 (61/2) components
Rear: Stockfactory speakers in door.
Subwoofer: JBL 1000 watts

2 channels powering the components and 2 channel to the sub. i am really loving the clarity and the attack the front components are providing. The sound stage is just amazing. I will recommend this comps with my eyes closed, or ears closed. i plan to upgrade the rear too these comps.

Total cost:

Pioneer 7750: 15000 (bought year 2005)
Sony 554zr amp: 5500 (bought year 2005)
BLAUPUNKT vc 652 5300 (newly aquired)
Sosche High power kit 2800 (newly aquired)
Sosche Extra RCA 300 (newly aquired)
JBL Sub 5000 (bought year 2005)
Installation & misc 1000
----------------------------------
34900
----------------------------------
No Dampning as yet, i dont pump up the sub too much, love it smooth, i like the music to be best within the car, the doors are not rattling as of yet, thanks to optra's thick doors.

Future upgrades:

Rear compos
4 channel to power the 2 compos
mono block for sub
Planning to source a Alpine head unit, can you guys tell me which model and will it be better than the exisiting pioneer 7750, or shall i go for DVD head units like pioneer 4250.

Thanks

[kanhaiyo]

hi krish,
do you know if 6.5'' speakers can be fit into optra's rear door panels?
the rear door grilles seem quite smaller than the front ones and my guess is that it will take 5.25" max?

pls correct me if i am wrong.. many thanks!

[krish82]

Originally Posted by kanhaiyo

hi krish,
do you know if 6.5'' speakers can be fit into optra's rear door panels?
the rear door grilles seem quite smaller than the front ones and my guess is that it will take 5.25" max?

pls correct me if i am wrong.. many thanks!

I think yes, those can be installed with spacers i believe. But surprisingly the stock speaker in the Optra has more bass than the newer we fit. So i left the rear door speakers as it is, but clarity is bad.

[kanhaiyo]

agree with you there regarding the bass and clarity on the stock speakers..
thanks for your help!

[mudittandon]

Thats absolutely true. I have also left my rear speakers as stock on my Optra. Fine bass, they provide.

Time to check out the components you suggest for the front.

Just a word of warning on components in the Optra though -- I had JBL components on it earlier -- but because opening the tweeter socket is just a flick of a key, some !#!@#$ valet or service station stole the tweeters! And I didnt realize it until much later, and now I cant identify when or where I lost them... Aargh.

[kanhaiyo]

^ thats #@~!$*# horrendous mate! You must have been murderous..

I am planning to get Infinity Kappa comps for the front and Kappa coaxs for the rear as of now, with a Clarion CX501 HU.

Anybody got these installed in a magnum?

Cheers!

[Poitive]

Originally Posted by kanhaiyo

hi krish,
do you know if 6.5'' speakers can be fit into optra's rear door panels?
the rear door grilles seem quite smaller than the front ones and my guess is that it will take 5.25" max?

Originally Posted by krish82

I think yes, those can be installed with spacers i believe. But surprisingly the stock speaker in the Optra has more bass than the newer we fit. So i left the rear door speakers as it is, but clarity is bad.

This may be late, but am updating anyway.

From what I saw/found out, atleast the current Optra Magnum has circular/eleptical protrusions from the door pannel, which fit in well onto the speaker edge. GM has done a good job here, with ample foam and to seal it well.

Shopkeepers would happily fit in bigger (6"+) speakers in that place with spacers, however, one may not get the desired effect, as the opening is only for about a 5"+ speaker. The air-space may not be sealed well enough. If one is not particular about the sound in the rear bench, it may not make sense to touch these.

Ideally, of course, one should get 5-5.25" speakers. However, they are not readily available.

If anyone has been able to source 5" - 5.25" speakers, please update here. Components or Coaxials.

BTW, do audition Auditor speakers. I was impressed with the quality to price ratio of those. They do have a 5.25" line, but not sure if the India importer even gets those.

PS: Will be adding whatever I found on my ownership thread sometime, or maybe a new thread with a review etc of the Optra ICE and updates.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by Poitive

... 5-5.25" speakers. However, they are not readily available. ...

No issues on availability of 5.25" components or coaxes. Where did you check?