[Gill]

Hi anup,
any more reviews or feedback on HU??
Any idea how much the aux input cable gonna cost here for this hu!

What is time alignement ding to the sound stage??
Any more inputs??

[hydrashok]

@Gill, everything sounds good.

I'm now pretty-much used to the interface. It was a bit tough the first few hours I used it after it was installed, but now I can work it in my sleep.

The iPod integration is really good. It feels like you're actually using the iPod directly. The browsing interface lags for a sec or so, if you try and scroll really, really fast. You can use the 6 preset buttons on the face of the HU to jump the list (Artist/Album etc) by pre-set percentages, so you really don't have to scroll all through the list all the time.

I'm using TA now and find it to be quite good. Bass is really and properly upfront. The HU has simply transformed the mid-bass response (of the 3-ways), so even with TA off, the overall bass is quite in-your-chest. But (with TA off) at some points in some tracks when the sub needs to do a lot of work, the bass can be felt as coming from the back.

I find the display to be a bit flashy. I wish I could have been able to switch off the button lights and the animated background, leaving just the info display on (Track info, time, volume etc). Right now its all or nothing. That is I can leave everything on, or I can switch off the entire shebang (the HU looks like nothing is on).

I'm still as happy and thrilled with the HU as I was last Saturday, when I got it installed.

[Vino_David]

if i want to see pio 6950 for seconds how much it will go ?

[hydrashok]

UPDATE

The IDQ's box was changed yesterday. Now it is in a smaller box. Just above 0.75 cu. ft. The box is so small, the sub actually looks like a 10' sub now.

The bass hits harder and sharper now, and it blends even better with the midbasses. And the sub still goes pretty low when the music demands it. Maybe it is just a feeling, but I get the feeling the beats transition even faster now.

I'd visited Zuheimi in the afternoon to confirm my late evening appointment. But the sub was already ready in the new box (I'd dropped the sub off with him on sunday). So we dropped the sub into the boot and I left without any of the work in the boot (sub's floor-frame thing needed to be changed to account for the new box). The bass was a bit inadequate then (all tuning was done earlier with the older box which was a shade over 1 cu. ft.). In the evening, he re-tuned the setup and set the bass level with the new box late evening, and now it sounds GREAT!

The sub's floor-frame thing has also been redone. The cd-changer's opening is still closed with a temporary thing, and something will be done about it soon. Right now, the boot looks more or less exactly like it did before, so I'll post pics after the old cd-changer's opening is plugged.

BTW, the speaker cable (for the sub) was changed to Connection Audison Sonus.

I'm blown away with the level of interest Zuheimi is taking with my setup. (There is a lot of stuff he's doing for the setup on a personal level that he may not appreciate being mentioned in an open forum, and that I feel is not appropriate to mention either). I'm saying this because the effort he's taking, and the interest he's taking (without really having to do any of it) should be appreciated. Not that this is something new, but he's got a friend and a fan for life in me.

OT:
There's a new ICE Star rising in the horizon at Kochi. I listened to the car quite a bit yesterday and was blown away. I just wrote a lot about it here and deleted all that when I realized this is my thread (heh, heh). I'll post the (rave) review in its thread when the BHPian in question puts up a new thread (with pics, please) in a few days.

[gunbir]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

OT:
There's a new ICE Star rising in the horizon at Kochi. I listened to the car quite a bit yesterday and was blown away. I just wrote a lot about it here and deleted all that when I realized this is my thread (heh, heh). I'll post the (rave) review in its thread when the BHPian in question puts up a new thread (with pics, please) in a few days.

Good going Hydra. You have enough power on tap and this was the right step ahead. As for the new ICE Star... I'm looking forward to it soon

[speedzak]

Hydra! I just cannot believe the determination and sacrifices you have taken for your ICE setup. Knowing how busy and deep neck you're in your office, It's truly hats off to you bro!
Definitely, your car should be the most ICE appreciated one in this part of the world. Now that you have your sub according to the best SQ specs, you should be a really really happy eared person too.
God was also kind enough to bless you with one of a kind installer who'll not even eat for days till he has got what he want in an ICE setup. Congratulations!

Did you say ICE STAR? In rising? It's just waiting for it's useless owner to arrive. It'll be in a day or 2 I guess.

[Vino_David]

I think the STAR in rising is... if my guess is right has to be speedzak himself, coz Hydra was telling about a Swift that's involved, and speedzak indeed has a Swift, and one could feel the intensity of getting supercharged ICE, in him as well

advanced congrats on the ICE speed

[rocksterraghu]

Sorry Anup, I was busy for a while. Congratulations, you finally got the 9887! I read the review and boy-oh-boy, you're on cloud 9 in heaven!

Your setup needed this upgrade and you've aptly chosen the best HU in the available line. Great going!

Originally Posted by hydrashok

The iPod integration is really good. It feels like you're actually using the iPod directly. The browsing interface lags for a sec or so, if you try and scroll really, really fast. You can use the 6 preset buttons on the face of the HU to jump the list (Artist/Album etc) by pre-set percentages, so you really don't have to scroll all through the list all the time.

So, they've finally fixed it. It is a pain to scroll in my 9856. By the way, my HU doesn't allow me to search by Genre nor play my Podcasts - any fixes there?

Originally Posted by hydrashok

The sub's floor-frame thing has also been redone. The cd-changer's opening is still closed with a temporary thing, and something will be done about it soon. Right now, the boot looks more or less exactly like it did before, so I'll post pics after the old cd-changer's opening is plugged.

I didn't quite get you there. What did you say you're doing with your old Blau changer? You're just taking it off right?

[speedzak]

He has removed the cd changer from the setup. There's a hole left there which is temporarily fixed for now. There's some good work going in there soon. So, wait with your eyes wide open!

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by speedzak

He has removed the cd changer from the setup. There's a hole left there which is temporarily fixed for now. There's some good work going in there soon. So, wait with your eyes wide open!

Oh, alright. I was wondering about it when he said 'once the CD changer's opening is plugged'.

And yes, Hydra's upgrades always make me keep a keen eye on things!

[hydrashok]

@gunbir, thanks The fact that there is space now for one more IDQ12 in the boot, and the fact that the sub-amp can do 900w RMS was giving me a lot of heartburn till I listened to the setup, tuned properly. I initially expected the overall loudness of the bass to reduce because of the smaller box, but there was none of that! I've got more than enough bass for my needs, and one more would be overkill, so all is ok (whew!).

That ICE Star is well worth a looooong review.

Thanks, Zak! I did suffer for the loss of work-time yesterday (Life is unfair! Grrrrr....). I'm waiting impatiently for that (formerly) skinny-@$$, lazy owner to come claim the car so I can listen to it some more

Thank you, Raghu! Yep, they've fixed the endless scroll-nightmare-thing! I'm using a 4th Gen iPod that doesn't have Podcast support in the FW. But the "Podcast" option did appear when I hooked up Zak's 5th Gen iPod with Video. Not too sure of the "Genre" option, but I think it does work. Will check and confirm. There's some cosmetic stuff going in to plug the gaping hole left by the CD-Changer when I had it removed. That's what I was talking about. <ran outta smilies>

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

That ICE Star is well worth a looooong review.

Thanks, Zak! I did suffer for the loss of work-time yesterday (Life is unfair! Grrrrr....). I'm waiting impatiently for that (formerly) skinny-@$$, lazy owner to come claim the car so I can listen to it some more

...There's some cosmetic stuff going in to plug the gaping hole left by the CD-Changer when I had it removed. That's what I was talking about. <ran outta smilies>

ICE Star eh? Look who is talking! and as if you are not upgrading!

The star will be moving south soon. Was wondering how 20k of damping went in!!!

[navin]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

The iPod integration is really good. It feels like you're actually using the iPod directly. The browsing interface lags for a sec or so, if you try and scroll really, really fast. You can use the 6 preset buttons on the face of the HU to jump the list (Artist/Album etc) by pre-set percentages, so you really don't have to scroll all through the list all the time.

wow! this is cool. I have about 300 artists so scrolling them on my 9835/9833 is lethargic. THe workaround I use is disconnect the ipod find the artist I want to listen to and then reconnect the ipod.

[hydrashok]

Originally Posted by navin

wow! this is cool. I have about 300 artists so scrolling them on my 9835/9833 is lethargic. THe workaround I use is disconnect the ipod find the artist I want to listen to and then reconnect the ipod.

Yep! Its really convenient. I know exactly what you mean about scrolling all the way. It took me a day to figure this out, and I had to scroll and scroll at first! But once I figured it out, using the iPod became really convenient.

We can jump alphabets (of all the listings/hierarchies -- Album, Artist, Song etc) by a preset %. We can use the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 preset buttons on the face of the HU to jump to 0, 17%, 33%, 50%, 67% & 83% of the listing. For eg. I don't need to scroll all the way from "A" to "P" to locate Patty Griffin. Just use the appropriate button (I think '5') to jump forward by 67% of the listing (in my case), and scroll forward a bit to locate the artist.

We can search the iPod by Artist, Album, Song, Podcast, Genre, Composer & Playlist.

@Raghu, the Genre & Podcast hierarchies are also supported by the HU. I confirmed with the manual.

[rocksterraghu]

Originally Posted by hydrashok

@Raghu, the Genre & Podcast hierarchies are also supported by the HU. I confirmed with the manual.

Great! Thanks Hydra for the information! And congrats again!