After listening to the stock ICE for sometime, I was sure that an upgrade was going to happen. So, as a first step, thought of upgrading the HU and also started a discussion on the speakers etc. in parallel.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/ask-gu...ml#post3273088 Courtesy
First of all, a big thanks to the 2 main BHPians who helped me out.
amolpol - He was kind enough to help me audition the ICE setup on his Fortuner. Also gave me some important tips from his experience.
DerAlte - He was patient enough to help me out with my silly doubts which helped quite a lot.
unni.ak - My good friend & fellow BHPian who helped me a lot and spent almost 1 whole day with me for the installation, and later helped tune the HU settings to my likes & finally making the happiness visible on my face.
Thanks to all my fellow BHPians who contributed to the thread and made my decision easy.
Decision on the Components
First of all, I wasn't an audiophile and all I knew is that I wanted to hear good music with decent bass. So started off hearing an ICE setup on a Swift which had Ground Zero components installed. Though I liked the loudness, I wasn't that happy with the clarity of sound.
Then came the invitation from amolpol to try audition the ICE Setup in his Fortuner (Infinity Kappa components, along with Ground Zero Sub & Blaupunkt Amp or so).
However, I wanted to audition the Focals as well, but could not get an opportunity. So started going through the threads in the audio section.
Finally, I was sure Infinity Kappa series is going top on my list, as I didn't want to go with something I could not audition.
Decision on the buy & the installer
So the hunt & price check on components starts with some of the recommended retailers/installers in Bangalore. Prices just went over my head. So here comes to my rescue a website
www.snapdeal.com . The experience was pleasant and also got some good discounts on some of the components.
Once I decided on the components, the next question was the installer.
Though there were a couple of recommended shops in Bangalore and I have had good experiences with them in the past, I thought of trying Evo managed by Satya (I had read mixed reviews from the threads).
ICE Components
Head Unit : Pioneer AVH X8590BT - Rs 35,000/-
Front & Rear Components : Infinity Kappa 60.11cs -270W-Rs 13,873/- [2 pairs]
4 Channel Amplifier : Infinity Kappa 4 Channel Class D -1200W-Rs 11,000/- [Ordered from Delhi]
Mono Channel Amplifier : Infinity Kappa 1 Channel Class D -1600W-Rs 11,467/-
Sub Woofer : Infinity Kappa 120.9W -1400W -Rs 10,042/-
Damping : American Damping -6 pcs -Rs 15,000/-
Wiring :
Acustika 4 Gauge Amp Kit -Rs 4,000/-
Acustika - A-VH5M -Rs 6,00/-
MDF Speaker Rings : 4 Nos -Rs 6,00/-
MDF Subwoofer Box: -Rs 1,500/-
Labour Charge: -Rs 1,250/-
TOTAL COST - Rs 1,04,332/- Installation experience - Based on my discussion with Satya, he had asked me to come over to his shop by 12:00 pm on 26th April 2014. Myself along with BHPian unni.ak reached the shop on time.
However, since Satya was busy with some other engagement, he got delayed by an hour.
Finally the installation started at around 1:30 pm and went on till 09:30 pm, as there was only a single guy who was concentrating on my car and just another person to help him. After the installation was 80% complete, it was understood that the guys installing had used 2-4 Gauge Kits from the battery. On finding that, Satya had asked the guys to get a single connection from the battery and use a distribution block which took another 20-30 minutes.
Overall, I would give 4/5 for the installation and 3.5/5 for my dealership experience mainly due to the attention on the work.
Listening experience - After the installation was over at around 09:00 pm , Satya had tuned the Amps etc. and there was some issue with the components in the front door. Finally on inspection, it was found that there was some problem with one of the crossovers when the box was tightened with 2 screws, so finally had to have it installed with one screw and fix it tight with some damping material.
I was sitting at the back when the sound was played and things seemed to look fine. Since we were tired by that time, did not want to spend more time. Sitting on the front seat and listening, it was somehow felt that the sound was coming from the rear which made me feel awkward after spending a bomb shell.
Later, I spent a day with bhpian unni.ak, downloaded a set of songs and he helped me tuning it to my preferenace. Finally, we understood why that ‘sound from back’ sensation was being felt. It was the front tweeters which were the culprit. The tweeter in itself had a mesh - followed by the custom mesh which comes with the vehicle - almost leaving no sound outside. This was later fixed by the guys at Satya's shop itself, though had to face a couple of hurdles since I lost the flush mount in the shop and had to keep searching for alternatives.
Finally, I'm really happy now and feel that the setup is worth every penny, making it so pleasing to the ears.... hearing minute details as well. Needless to say, the subwoofer digs really deep and sounds perfect with a perfectly tight bass.
Let the pictures speak -
At Satya's shop 'EVO' .
The Audio Components going in.
The Stock Speaker [20 W, 4 Ohms] & tweeters with plastic sheet damping
The damping & the wire pull out process
unni.ak overlooking the install.
And the final click for the installation day
The ICE in action
Here you go with some videos