[prince85]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

So - this is what my equipment list is shaping up to be:

1. Head unit: Kenwood DDX-616
2. Amp: Alpine PDX-5 (5-ch, 75W x 4 + 300W x 1)
3. Front speakers: Alpine SPX-13REF (5.25" components)
4. Rear speakers: Alpine SPS-507 (5x7 coaxial)
5. Sub: not yet chosen, but will be a shallow-mount sealed enclosure (I'm looking at the Rockford Fosgate P3L-S10 which has a terrifying price tag)
6. RCA wiring: not yet chosen
7. Speaker wiring: not yet chosen
8. Power wiring: not yet chosen, probably Sam Kapasi-approved Finolex
9. Damping: not yet chosen

1. HU - Great Choice man!

2. AMP - Alpine PDX-5 is a very good 5ch solution and you cannot go wrong with it. You can also look at the DLS Ultimate A-7, Audison LRX 6.9 and Audison LRX 5.1k as alternatives. Though the 3 above mentioned amps would cost you relatively more than the pdx, they are well worth it.

3. Front Comps - I strongly suggest you go in for 6.5" comps over 5.25". I am sure the 6.5" can be made to fit in fiesta front door with an adapter plate (like in frank's fiesta iirc).

Cheers

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by prince85

Front Comps - I strongly suggest you go in for 6.5" comps over 5.25". I am sure the 6.5" can be made to fit in fiesta front door with an adapter plate (like in frank's fiesta iirc).

Excellent suggestion - I've checked and found that Alpine's SPX-17REF comes with a 5x7 mounting adapter.

frankmehta's got the SPX-17PRO, which has slightly smaller dimensions than the REF series. The differences are minor, will this cause an issue?

Frankmehta's SPX-17 PRO (Alpine SPX-17 PRO Specs)
Woofer Diameter (mm): 153mm
Woofer Diameter (in): 6"
Woofer Mounting Diameter (mm): 134mm
Woofer Mounting Diameter (in): 5-9/32"
Woofer Mounting Depth (mm): 64mm
Woofer Mounting Depth (in): 2-1/2"

The more affordable SPX-17 REF (Alpine SPX-17 REF Specs)
Woofer Diameter (mm): 161.20
Woofer Diameter (in): 6-11/32"
Woofer Mounting Diameter (mm): 134mm
Woofer Mounting Diameter (in): 5-17/64"
Woofer Mounting Depth (mm): 65mm
Woofer Mounting Depth (in): 2-17/32"

[ghodlur]

Hi Arun.

I am not an audiophile but love to listen to good music and may not be able to share the same feelings as you do as far as the revamping of the stock music system is concerned. But I was closely following this thread as well as Frank Mehta ICEing of the Fiesta.

I have one request, whenever you complete the revamping, pls do take some pics of the same and do a favour of mentioning the different components in the pics. This will be a good reference of how the system set up would look in a Fiesta or for that matter a sedan.

BTW which variant of Fiesta have you booked?

[navin]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

The differences are minor, will this cause an issue?

Nope. THe differences are too small.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

1. Head unit: Kenwood DDX-616
2. Amp: Alpine PDX-5 (5-ch, 75W x 4 + 300W x 1)

PDX5 is a 1st generation PDX amplifier. The 2nd generation PDX amplifier is supposed to be a lot better than the 1st generation PDX, but 2nd gen PDX does not have a 5 channel version.

Please see the attached pdf file of 1st & 2nd gen PDX comparison.
Alpine Product Resource Guide 2010.pdf

From what i read on diyma, a lot of people were not happy with the performance of the 1st gen PDX amp. Looking at the comparision sheet Gen 2 have improved upon Gen 1 for sure.

I say if you're buying PDX, get a second gen 4ch and buy another mono amp. Or if you're looking for 5 channel option look at other options.

Originally Posted by nitrous

Heads up!
This Clarion VX/VZ/CZ are rebadged no-name brand head units.
Beware and research well.

Really? But I don't think so.
From where did you get this info?

[nitrous]

Look for a connection between Clarion and Jensen.

[Sankar]

Jensen's current range of In Dash Receivers looks like its inspired by the previous generation Clarion CZ series like this CZ309 and this CZ509 and by DXZ series. But the current generation CZ series is an all new design. Like stated before, there is no similarity in JENSEN's current multimedia line up and Clarion's current multimedia line up.

And i don't think a company which rolled out some high end head units like the HXD series would play the rebadge game.

[nitrous]

A friend installed the Clarion VZ309 and during installation, I noticed a lot of discrepancies that were telltale signs of this not being from a top brand like Clarion,Alpine, pioneer, etc.
There were errors in the manual. For eg. America was spelt as 'Ameica' without the R on the back cover. I'm yet to find an error in any manual from the big brands.
There were this two screws on the top of the HU to protect the CD player mechanism which is a feature on "chinese" HUs. This one was told to me by the installer.

There has been a similar case of Alpine rebadging a Panasonic headunit here since they didn't have a low end deck in their lineup.

Its like GM rebadging Daewoos as Chevrolets in India.

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by nitrous

There were errors in the manual. For eg. America was spelt as 'Ameica' without the R on the back cover. I'm yet to find an error in any manual from the big brands.
There were this two screws on the top of the HU to protect the CD player mechanism which is a feature on "chinese" HUs. This one was told to me by the installer.

I too found one discrepancy in the user manual which came with my previous HU, the CZ300; mine was missing a page in between, page wasn't torn but missing like forgot to print. My CZ300 too had the "remove before installation screw" on top. Build quality wasn't hot either. That HU was bought from US.

If Jensen part is true then i guess OP is better off with a genuine non rebadged headunit.

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by nitrous

A friend installed the Clarion VZ309 and during installation, I noticed a lot of discrepancies that were telltale signs of this not being from a top brand like Clarion,Alpine, pioneer, etc.

A friend of mine bought this exact same HU some 2-3 weeks back. I hope it's not too late to return it. I'd rather not tell him if its beyond the return date.

A Panasonic rebadged as a low end Alpine is little more palatable because Panasonic makes some good stuff, but a Jensen posing as a Clarion is the pits!

People buy Alpine, Clarion etc blindly trusting their brand and SQ. This is how a brand loses its value.

Nitrous: What about the VX/VZ 400? Are they Jensen as well or real Clarion? Nothing conclusive about them on the internet, but there is enough on the 300 series to conclude that it is indeed a Jensen.

[nitrous]

I'm just not trusting Clarion anymore.
Tread very very carefully for the real deal.

[anachronix]

@Nitrous, I guess its the 300 series thats from Jensen audio redbadged and sold as Clarion!

I have posted a query on Crutchfield asking them to clarify on the same. I would update when I have a response from them.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by navin

Nope. THe differences are too small.

Navin - thank you for confirming that - 6.5" compos it is, then!

Originally Posted by Sankar

[/list]PDX5 is a 1st generation PDX amplifier. The 2nd generation PDX amplifier is supposed to be a lot better than the 1st generation PDX, but 2nd gen PDX does not have a 5 channel version. Please see the attached pdf file of 1st & 2nd gen PDX comparison.

Sankar - I was aware of the generation difference between the new 4-ch PDX and the 5-ch PDX I've chosen. However, thank you for that PDF detailing the differences - that is definitely an eye-opener, esp. the improvements in SNR.

Do these improvements make a noticeable difference? If so, I'm probably back to product short-listing!


Gilead, nitrous & Sankar - Fortunately for me, my HU choice has moved on from Clarion to the Kenwood DDX616.

Gilead - sorry about your friend's Clarion VZ309 purchase - I can just taste the bitterness in my mouth if I were in his shoes and found out about this problem - you're probably right in not letting him know.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

...I was closely following this thread as well as Frank Mehta ICEing of the Fiesta.

My, my, my - Frank Mehta's ICE setup is the higher-end of the spectrum, its just early days for me. That said, to be mentioned in the same sentence as Frank's ICE setup did bring a smile to my face

Originally Posted by ghodlur

I have one request, whenever you complete the revamping, pls do take some pics of the same and do a favour of mentioning the different components in the pics.

Absolutely, photos are pretty much mandatory in this forum, and specially in the ICE section. And I totally agree about the benefit to future upgraders, Frank & sathee46's threads have been very useful to me.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

BTW which variant of Fiesta have you booked?

A sea gray 1.6S. Oh, the waiting period is torture!

[Gilead]

Originally Posted by arunphilip

Fortunately for me, my HU choice has moved on from Clarion to the Kenwood DDX616.

How much is the 616? I am sure you must be aware of the DDX 896 which is the top of the line in the multimedia/navigation series. The exact same product is sold here as the 8036BT and costs 58k with B&W and 38K in gray. The official Kenwood distributor himself is offering it in gray and will even take care of future firmware upgrades. Take a look if you are interested. This HU will be future proof for a while as it even comes with a Dolby and DTS 5.1 decoder in case you decide you need surround sound for movies in the future.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Gilead

How much is the 616? I am sure you must be aware of the DDX 896 which is the top of the line in the multimedia/navigation series. The exact same product is sold here as the 8036BT and costs 58k with B&W and 38K in gray. The official Kenwood distributor himself is offering it in gray and will even take care of future firmware upgrades. Take a look if you are interested. This HU will be future proof for a while as it even comes with a Dolby and DTS 5.1 decoder in case you decide you need surround sound for movies in the future.

Ordering the 616 online comes to 31k including shipping. Therefore, if I source it from India it should be even cheaper.
My reasons to choose the 616 over the 896/8036BT are laughable. Then again, I'm never fully logical:

• I didn't like the display icons encased in "glass", the 616 has them sitting on a tray
• No physical volume control

Dolby & DTS 5.1? Don't you dare tempt me!