[Gujarati]

I have three different very poor FE rides. Decided I am going to get one more ride but this time it will be a car that gives me a great FE. So I got myself a 2012 VW Passat TDI SE (diesel). As many of you may know US people mostly drive automatic vehicles, but VW gave a surprise by offering a TDI with 6 speed manual transmission. So I had to have one. This car gets FE of 18 kms per liter on highway and about 15 kms per liter in city.

I had promised myself that I will not do any mods to this car cause it gets expensive owning multiple cars and trying to mod everything. I am not rich.

It is really hard to find the diesel and manual trans combo so I found one 1200 kms away in another state. Decided to fly and go get it. Since I was going to drive that distance back did not want rock chips on my car before even I get it home. So decided to spend money and get the 3M Clear Bra protection film installed.
After using the car for barely a month I knew something had to be done about the sound system in the car. I liked the factory head unit and did not want to change it so did some research and everything I liked was very expensive. But I wanted a really great sound this time. So here is what I came up with.

Head Unit: Facotry
Processor: Audison Bit Ten (Line output converter and 31 band EQ)


Amplifier: JL Audio HD900/5 (Top of the line JL Audio amp small package big power)


Front Stage: Focal K2 165 KR components


Rear Stage: Focal PC165 coaxial


Bass: JL Audio HO110RG-W3v3 10" prefabricated box that actually fit my car like custom box.

Here are the pictures of the car and the car being torn apart to do the install.

[Gujarati]

Some more pictures of work progressing.

[Gujarati]

Everything coming together nicely. Speakers installed and ready to button up everything.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Congrats Gujarati..

That is a lot of sound deadning. I am sure that she must be sounding very nice now. Lovely install. Thanks for sharing.

CHEERS

[navin]

Originally Posted by Gujarati

Head Unit: Facotry
Processor: Audison Bit Ten (Line output converter and 31 band EQ)
Attachment 905865

Why did you choose the Bit Ten over the Bit One?

[Gujarati]

Originally Posted by navin

Why did you choose the Bit Ten over the Bit One?

For several reasons:

1. Bit Ten is perfect for my setup, I do not need more than 5 channels.
2. Bit One many has more features that are of no use to me. Such as Eight channel output, digital in, 2 aux inputs etc.
3. Why pay almost double for features that are of no use to me.
4. I am running passive set up vs. active. If I was running multiple amps and active setup without crossovers I would have no choise but to go with somehting like Bit One.

Moreover Bit Ten has all the great EQ features of Bit One without the complexity of install. Bit One will not even power up without hooking a laptop to it while it was connected to your system. Bit One software can also have issues depending on what OS you are running on your laptop.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Gujarati

Moreover Bit Ten has all the great EQ features of Bit One without the complexity of install. Bit One will not even power up without hooking a laptop to it while it was connected to your system. Bit One software can also have issues depending on what OS you are running on your laptop.

but Bit Ten does not have Time Alignment in any form does it?

[GTO]

You are a rare breed in the United States...a diesel and a manual transmission . Your friends must be wondering what planet you are from! Good taste though.

What was the hourly labour cost like? And how long did it take the shop to complete the install?

[Gujarati]

Originally Posted by navin

but Bit Ten does not have Time Alignment in any form does it?

Bit Ten does have Time Alignment feature in it. As far as tuning goes it has the same software as Bit One, and Time Alignment is a software based feature.

Here is the complete list of Bit Ten features:

• bit Ten is a multi-function digital processor featuring analog input, capable of transforming ordinary OEM or after-market system into a high-performance system.
• Provided with a 32 bit, 147 MHz clock speed DSP as well as 24 bit A/D and D/A converters, bit Ten is controlled by a software especially developed for signal treatment according to the vehicle acoustic peculiarities.
• Setting the parameters of each input single channel, setting the delays according to the listening position, adjusting crossovers and equalizers for each of the 5 output channels; all of these operations can be managed by the PC.
• During the installation phase, after converting the analog signal into digital, bit Ten automatically reconstructs a digital full-bandwidth stereo signal; de-equalizes the frequency response and, if necessary, reconstructs the central and subwoofer channels.
• The user can configure the output mode of each channel relative to the installed system. It is designed to be connected with the DRC, Digital Remote Control (optional - I did add one to my bit Ten, it was given to me free by the installed as he had few laying around).

Originally Posted by GTO

You are a rare breed in the United States...a diesel and a manual transmission . Your friends must be wondering what planet you are from! Good taste though.

What was the hourly labour cost like? And how long did it take the shop to complete the install?

GTO, you are correct most all Indians think I am from different planet when they see I am not driving a Benz, BMW, Lexus or the traditional brands like Toyota, Honda and Nissans. They are even more shocked to see me in the Jeep and the truck. I get lot of stare when I show up at social events at the Temple here.
But most of my close friends appreciate my interest and knowledge in cars and bikes. Almost all my friends have consulted me before buying cars. Some even have me do their oil changes on their bikes, brake jobs and other maintenance on their cars so they can save money and don't get ripped off with sub standard parts.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Gujarati

Bit Ten does have Time Alignment feature in it. As far as tuning goes it has the same software as Bit One, and Time Alignment is a software based feature.

Thanks a lot. I was not sure. Audison's website is not clear.

[Gujarati]

Originally Posted by GTO

What was the hourly labour cost like? And how long did it take the shop to complete the install?

GTO, they charge $85/hr. But we had agreed on a flat turn key rate of $1000 for the whole install complete, including tuning the system that can easily take 2-3 hours. That labor cost is little higher cause I wanted a place that stands by their work and was an authorized dealer for all the equipment I was buying. This place will keeps post my equipment in stock and if I have any issues during the warranty period they just swap out the equipment with new one. So that includes warranty on labor (lifetime from shop) and parts (manufacturer)
The place that did work for me is very reputable shop that works on very high end cars and have been in business for 30 years.
Moreover I had specific requirements on how I wanted the install done. Due to car being so new I did not want them to cut any wires, instead wanted them to run brand new set of wires. Wanted all that Dynamat installed as well. Moreover the German cars are as is more complicated to work on.
They kept my car for two weeks as you can see in the picture with a yellow hummer they have a very nice secured and clean facility. I use to go check on the work everyday to see the progress. Obviously they had many cars in an out of the facility and they did not actually work on my car for 14 full days.

Originally Posted by navin

Thanks a lot. I was not sure. Audison's website is not clear.

Navin, yes I agree it is kinda hard to find info on their products. Initially I had gone with AudioControl LCQ-1 unit, but we ran into issues with that unit and it did not work with my car. After that I did the research on the Bit One and eventually realized Bit Ten was a better product for me.
That worked out great cause I was way over my budget with all the high end equipment I picked and the crazy labor cost.

[Safari_Beast]

Hello gujrati
Brilliant setup you got it installed, you paid hefty amount for installation. Well in india we have to pay less amount for installation but price of equipment is way to much expensive in india compared to US. Moreover we dont have entire range of ICE products here, anyways you got a nice ICE setup. Any plan for subwoofer in future. I also got my car ice'd recently and it rocks.

[Gujarati]

Originally Posted by Safari_Beast

Hello gujrati
Brilliant setup you got it installed, you paid hefty amount for installation. Well in india we have to pay less amount for installation but price of equipment is way to much expensive in india compared to US. Moreover we dont have entire range of ICE products here, anyways you got a nice ICE setup. Any plan for subwoofer in future. I also got my car ice'd recently and it rocks.

Thank you, yes I understand what you are saying. I feel really lucky to be able to buy any product, made anywhere in the world at moment's notice. Also I am able to work with shops that I know the product is not a duplicate product and original product from manufacturer with full warranty.

I already have the JL Audio subwoofer in my setup. The last pic in the series of pics I posted is the subwoofer in the trunk.

[akbaree]

Thanks for sharing the WIP pictures. I am not sure if I have seen any WIP pictures on the forum for the work being done in US.

It would be great if you can share some pictures of the final look. I am also curious to see the tweeter placement.

Originally Posted by Gujarati

...
But most of my close friends appreciate my interest and knowledge in cars and bikes. Almost all my friends have consulted me before buying cars.
...

But I doubt if anyone takes your advice seriously. It is almost sacrilege to find Indians driving anything except Japs. I would suggest if you want to feel more welcome or heard, start advising buying those very brands

Well I am just kidding.

[Gujarati]

Originally Posted by akbaree

Thanks for sharing the WIP pictures. I am not sure if I have seen any WIP pictures on the forum for the work being done in US.
It would be great if you can share some pictures of the final look. I am also curious to see the tweeter placement.

I can share the final look was it is all factory. Once you put everything together it is like nothing was changed. Everything was installed in such a manner that you cannot see anything other than the subwoofer.

Originally Posted by akbaree

But I doubt if anyone takes your advice seriously. It is almost sacrilege to find Indians driving anything except Japs. I would suggest if you want to feel more welcome or heard, start advising buying those very brands

Well I am just kidding.

Funny but true. I normally don't advice unless someone ask me on buying cars. Most of them don't ask for advice on brands cause they already know what they want and you guessed it what they want. They usually come to me when those cars and bikes need fixing. Which is cool, as that is what friends are for.