[Joe-Ker]

Background:
I am taking delivery of my White Alto Lxi (o) in 15 days.
I have not ordered any accessories , i said a firm no to those compulsory free accessories. so i will be getting a bare bones stock car.

Requirement:
I want to something decent with ICE. (have a dream of making a sleeper ICE in my alto just to shock the hell out of people who are still trying to dissuade me from my choice of car.
)
Also, Being a car guy, i feel automobile industry in general and In car audio in particular has not evolved with the times. Head units in particular are most deserving of this accolade of being the dinosaurest of dinosaurs.

My Idea:
1) Buy decent 6.5" components (not too costly, after all its an alto 800, there is only so much you can get in terms of a quiet cabin required to really discern the difference between a reaaally good speakers and a good speakers.)
2) Pair them to decent 4 Channel amplifier (again budget ones to suit the components and 4 channel because i want to be able to add a pair more speakers later.
3) Now the controversial point
I Want to dispense with the Head unit altogether! I am mulling getting a bluetooth receiver and hooking it up to the amp. also i have a spare nokia 5230 lying around that might just fit in the single DIN. So also mulling over fixing the nokia in the HU place and pair it with the BT receiver.

HERE ARE MY REASONS:
1) Most parts of head unit like amplifier are redundant as I have a dedicated amp
2) Thieves wont bother to steal the HU as there is none (esp since the Alto 800 which i assume is childs play for a thief worth his salt)
3) And as said before: just to shock ppl and to flip a bird at the HU companies which have been peddling the same **** for decades just adding a Aux here and BT there etc.
4) I believe with this setup i can build an awesome ICE setup at 8k and leave room for improvements later.

This thread is open for any kind of discussions on the topic. If anyone can suggest brands, costs, things i need to consider etc i will be very grateful. I am not very electronically inclined but i do get the basics. (I have installed my creative 4.1 in my M800 about 10 yrs back with decent results but was handicapped by the non availability of a good headphone amp and funds) This time i intend to get the installation done professionally. I may buy the speakers and amp and receiver online though if its considerably cheaper. And my idea of solving a problem is not to throw more money at it even though i may throw more money at it if it gives me satisfaction of designing a system tailored to my preferences.

Help me gurus

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Joe-Ker

And my idea of solving a problem is not to throw more money at it even though i may throw more money at it if it gives me satisfaction of designing a system tailored to my preferences.

Help me gurus

In case you decide to throw money at this problem, I would very much like to have that Amp which you are going to throw out

Here is my take on this, Do you need an HU? - Nope!

If your AMP has RCA inputs then a bluetooth adaptor or a headphone jack adaptor will hook it up to your phone. Use a streaming service for music and you are done.

Make sure to have some kind of wired remote for the Amp volume and mount it somewhere easy to reach.

One of my vehicles, my daily drive has no music system. I use a JBL BT Speaker that also doubles up as my handsfree system. The phone on the holder is mounted in a way that its at my finger tips, streaming music through GPM paid subscription as I use Android Auto app while driving.

I do not miss an HU at all but Good amp and speakers - yes very much.

Hope this helps!

[sidpunjabi]

Originally Posted by Joe-Ker

This time i intend to get the installation done professionally. I may buy the speakers and amp and receiver online though if its considerably cheaper. And my idea of solving a problem is not to throw more money at it even though i may throw more money at it if it gives me satisfaction of designing a system tailored to my preferences.

Help me gurus

If you are able to drive down from MH-14 to MH-02 (Mumbai) , get in touch with fellow Bhp-ian Ramie2400.

His speciality lies in ICE setups and many people on this forum have got their ICE systems done from him.
I too plan on going next week to get the ICE upgraded in 2 of my cars, 1 of which is a bare bones car as well.

His details can be found here.

[Joe-Ker]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

Here is my take on this, Do you need an HU? - Nope!

I do not miss an HU at all but Good amp and speakers - yes very much.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the encouragement!
And its good to know that there are more people like me

I am ordering a cheap bluetooth receiver online to see how it works on my other car (aux only HU) and see if the audio quality is ok. the HIFI BT receivers cost almost as much as HUs.

Some options i am considering
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B071KK554H/..._t2_B015Q2NND2

Originally Posted by sidpunjabi

If you are able to drive down from MH-14 to MH-02

Unfortunately I am getting the alto in TN14 , but happy for a useful tip from a fellow Bhpian!

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Joe-Ker

Thanks for the encouragement!
And its good to know that there are more people like me

I am ordering a cheap bluetooth receiver online to see how it works on my other car (aux only HU) and see if the audio quality is ok. the HIFI BT receivers cost almost as much as HUs.]

Happy to see that it is not a cheap receiver , the cheap ones may have more delay which will ruin video playback and also the Google assistant response.
You can use an aux cable as well.

[audioholic]

I would also suggest to keep aside some budget for damping. Given how thin the door pads are, it won't be able to withstand the vibrations of a good speaker and will end up buzzing or rattling to the music. Hence, it will be a good idea to consider damping the entire cabin for a quieter ride and better sound. I did this on my Celerio and just love the difference it made even to the stock speakers of the car.
Also, get a basic HU with only BT/USB/Aux so that you won't have to have a jugaad setup in a new car and will provide the option of keeping a pen drive full of music and reduce dependency on the phone for music.

[Joe-Ker]

Taken delivery of the alto , i have decided to wait until the nvh is in order. the alto is very poorly insulated and you can literally hear the engine breathe through the firewall.

Any good audio install is going to be wasted in this case, so i am thinking of how to achieve damping& insulation first as @Audioholic suggested.

I m thinking of options keeping the budget in mind. Yoga mats? insulation material? rubber pads? these are the current thoughts running thru my head.

Anybody can pointers towards similar damping&insulation projects will be welcome.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Joe-Ker

Taken delivery of the alto , i have decided to wait until the nvh is in order. the alto is very poorly insulated and you can literally hear the engine breathe through the firewall.

Any good audio install is going to be wasted in this case, so i am thinking of how to achieve damping& insulation first as @Audioholic suggested.

I m thinking of options keeping the budget in mind. Yoga mats? insulation material? rubber pads? these are the current thoughts running thru my head.
.

You can try this out: https://www.amazon.in/Tufkote-Tufcla...=damping+sheet

It is a very VFM product and I have extensively used it around my car and it has given very good results. For my Celerio, I used two such packs, or rather 10 sheets for the front door pads, front door skin, hatch lid. The rear doors are not damped. I think for the whole car you will need around 20 such sheets if damped extensively. The NVH reduction at front is pretty significant, since I cant hear the engine unless revved hard. Even external noise is filtered pretty well and the door shuts with a solid feel now. For the alto, I think you will have to damp the firewall and floor as well. Another thing I did was to coat the wheel wells with rubberised spray but really cant claim the difference it made since it was done along with damping.

[bmr_ind]

Hello BHPians,
I want to install audio system without a head unit in my THAR. Being a soft top thinking of something similar to Kenwood KAC-M1824BT or JBL GTR-105 or JL MBT-CRX. Kindly share your suggestions / inputs so that I can finalize one.