[mashmash]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Check the manual first. There may be a setting to charge the phone or not. Worst case, it may be possible that the HU is not putting out the right voltage on the USB socket pins.

Yes I had, found nothing. Checked with the service engineer and according to him, the HU is designed primarily to accept Pen drives only. Some phones might charge if one is lucky. HU is not designed to accept phones via USB.

So now my focus shifts to using the 12v socket to charge my phone, ipod, etc. Belkin inverter is an interesting device, but its a little big and bulky for the requirement. Anything else which is more compact? I have been looking at some gadgets on online shopping websites, any suggestions would be welcome.

MaSh

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by mashmash

Yes I had, found nothing. ...

Possible - most OE HUs don't support iPod / iPhone, and that includes charging. All phones that map as a USB drive to a PC will show up as a pendrive to the HU. If the charging current demand is low, it will charge too. The iPhone is not charging because it expects a source current capability of 400-500mA at 5V, which the HU may be throttling to a very low value.

Since the iPod / iPhone won't play (doesn't map like a pendrive), no point in trying a jugaad. Better get one of the ubiquitous car chargers with a USB socket, to which you can connect the iPhone cable.

[mashmash]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Possible - most OE HUs don't support iPod / iPhone, and that includes charging. All phones that map as a USB drive to a PC will show up as a pendrive to the HU. If the charging current demand is low, it will charge too. The iPhone is not charging because it expects a source current capability of 400-500mA at 5V, which the HU may be throttling to a very low value.

Since the iPod / iPhone won't play (doesn't map like a pendrive), no point in trying a jugaad. Better get one of the ubiquitous car chargers with a USB socket, to which you can connect the iPhone cable.

Yes that makes sense.

Looking at something in the lines of this: http://www.flipkart.com/philips-dlp2...f-dae0636e533a

[rambo1o1]

I am a novice in car audio so please excuse if i get the basics wrong.
I have a basic ICE set up in my figo.
HU: pioneer deh 1390mp
front and rear speakers: some pioneers ones, don't really know because dad had installed them.

I listen to a lot of trance music & hip hop. I am satisfied with my current setup but i find my speakers jarring as a crank the volume and bass is not good( expected for such a set up).
my budget is 9 to 10 k max(dad feels spending this amount on car audio is a crime!)

I was thinking of retaining my current HU and adding an amp and front components and leaving the rear speakers as they are. Will not add a sub in future at all.
Now this is where i am confused.
I was thinking of getting a four channel amp and connecting all four speakers to it. Will my HU with one 2v pre out be enough for this set up?
OR
should i get a 2channel amp and just power the front speakers and let the rear speakers be powered off the HU?In this case having a single pre-out be a drawback?
What is understand from a single pre out is that i wont be able to control fader settings as compared to two pre outs( one for front and other for rear)?? Is there any other drawback in having a single 2v pre out?

If any one can suggest the appropriate amp and speakers based on which option i go with , i would really appreciate it.
As for auditioning, most stores here in Goa don't offer proper auditions, so i am only going to go for equipment based on your recommendation

Thanks.

[navin]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

I am a novice in car audio so please excuse if i get the basics wrong.
I have a basic ICE set up in my figo.
HU: pioneer deh 1390mp
front and rear speakers: some pioneers ones, don't really know because dad had installed them.

I listen to a lot of trance music & hip hop. I am satisfied with my current setup but i find my speakers jarring as a crank the volume and bass is not good( expected for such a set up).
my budget is 9 to 10 k max(dad feels spending this amount on car audio is a crime!)

I was thinking of retaining my current HU and adding an amp and front components and leaving the rear speakers as they are. Will not add a sub in future at all.

What is understand from a single pre out is that i wont be able to control fader settings as compared to two pre outs( one for front and other for rear)?? Is there any other drawback in having a single 2v pre out?

If your speakers are jarring it probably due to too much bass being sent to them. In this case a subwoofer and amp is your best answer.

Since you do not want to add a subwoofer I would look at upgrading the rear speakers to something that is more suited to the bass heavy music you listen to. The rear speakers provide most of the bass as the front door speakers don't have the size nor enough rear volume (the volume of your door is much less than your trunk) to provide as much bass.

If you find that only your front speakers are jarring then add a bass blocker to them. A bass blocker is just simple 2 470uf caps wired in series and wired between your amp and the front speakers.

For the price difference, it makes more sense to get a 4 ch. amp. A decent 2ch. amp is about 4k and you can get an equivalent 4 ch. amp for 6K.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by navin

If your speakers are jarring it probably due to too much bass being sent to them. In this case a subwoofer and amp is your best answer.

Since you do not want to add a subwoofer I would look at upgrading the rear speakers to something that is more suited to the bass heavy music you listen to. The rear speakers provide most of the bass as the front door speakers don't have the size nor enough rear volume (the volume of your door is much less than your trunk) to provide as much bass.

If you find that only your front speakers are jarring then add a bass blocker to them. A bass blocker is just simple 2 470uf caps wired in series and wired between your amp and the front speakers.

For the price difference, it makes more sense to get a 4 ch. amp. A decent 2ch. amp is about 4k and you can get an equivalent 4 ch. amp for 6K.

the Figo has space for 5x7 speakers right? So which speakers should i put in the rear, the usual 6.5inch wont fit right? and should i not upgrade to components in the front?
I will be mostly alone in the car. If i also upgrade my rear speakers then i think i will cross my 10k budget or i will have to compromise on the front speakers.

Are Sony amps good? There is one4 channel model on snapdeal for 5k. is it any good?

Sorry for asking too many questions, am a total noob in this.

[navin]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

the Figo has space for 5x7 speakers right? So which speakers should i put in the rear, the usual 6.5inch wont fit right? and should i not upgrade to components in the front? .

Are Sony amps good? There is one4 channel model on snapdeal for 5k. is it any good?

Sorry for asking too many questions, am a total noob in this.

1. You can get 5x7" and even fit 6.5" using an adapter.

2. Sony amps are cheap but I find them grainy in sound. Pioneer, Kenwood, JBL, etc. are better.

3. Since your biggest issue was the jarring and I suspect the jarring is due to the speakers getting overloaded with excess bass a subwoofer would the "right" solution. However since you are unable to use that the better option would be to upgrade the speakers to one that wont jar. Since the front and rear speakers are the same I assume they are all jarring equally and this jarring happens only on bass heavy passages.

Let me when the jarring occurs so we can find the correct solution for you.

[coolkurt]

I have a somewhat similar problem as the above. I want to improve the audio experience in my Civic but my budget is 10k only. I listen to a lot of Trance, House and thats where the stock speakers fail to deliver the punch or the bass. They're pretty good as far as pop and rock is concerned.
Now I'm in a dilemma. In my budget, only one of the following is possible.

1. I upgrade front speakers to components and rear to co- axials. The sound quality will improve but the desired improvement in bass will not be much.
2. I keep the stock speakers and add an amplifier and a subwoofer.

What do you guys think is the better option for my needs? Will the stock speakers ( regular paper cone speakers) be able to work well in the 2nd setup?

[rambo1o1]

After going through various threads, you tube videos, i have decided to add components in front and a 4ch amplifier.However i am not sure whether to go for a sealed sub or 6x9 ovals on the rear parcel tray for bass.

A sealed sub will be more compact than a ported one, since i do not want to occupy my boot with a big box.However sealed subs require more powerful amps to drive them and i am not sure my 4ch amp of 6 to 7k will be enough to drive a sub and 2 components.

if i go for these subs as examples, would a pioneer - GM 6500F 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier be able to run these properly in a sealed box?

Infinity - Reference 1262W 12'' Dual Voice Coil Subwoofer (300wats RMS)
Rockford Fosgate - Prime Series - R1S412 - 12'' SVC Subwoofer (150w RMS)
Infinity - Reference 860w 8'' Single Voice Coil Subwoofer (250w RMS)
Pioneer - TS W304R 30 cm Component subwoofer (300w RMS)

If the above fails then i would have to get 6x9 ovals(JBl GTO949) on the rear parcel shelf to provide bass since a monoblock for the sub will be too expensive for me.

And my current HU is a pioneer deh-1390mp,16 bit DAC,1 pre-out.Will this HU hamper SQ? I don't think i can put another HU since i would seriously be crossing my budget and i can live without usb feature but if this HU is going to hamper my set up's performance then at most i can upgrade to a kenwood KDC U356.
So sorry for asking too many questions, am a nut in this area

Thanks and happy Independence day!!

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

... not sure whether to go for a sealed sub or 6x9 ovals on the rear parcel tray for bass. ...

You haven't mentioned which car.

If you are getting an amp, get a sub in a sealed box. 6x9 wouldn't go that low.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

... A sealed sub will be more compact than a ported one, Not necessarily
... since i do not want to occupy my boot with a big box.However sealed subs require more powerful amps to drive them and i am not sure my 4ch amp of 6 to 7k will be enough to drive a sub and 2 components. It will suffice for normal listening, but not for use as a PA system

if i go for these subs as examples, would a pioneer - GM 6500F 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier be able to run these properly in a sealed box?

Yes it will.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

... Pioneer deh-1390mp,16 bit DAC,1 pre-out.Will this HU hamper SQ? ...

Good enough, you don't have to change the HU.

[rambo1o1]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

You haven't mentioned which car.

If you are getting an amp, get a sub in a sealed box. 6x9 wouldn't go that low.

Yes it will.

Good enough, you don't have to change the HU.

I am installing the equipment in the Figo.
I would be going for a sub instead of 6x9 on the rear tray.I would be going for a 10 inch sub since i listen to a lot of trance and techno tracks and need the punchy mid bass,i don't like that low rumbling bass.

A 12inch sub below 5k will not be able to handle those fast punches of this type of music?

Thank you for all the help,really appreciate it.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

... need the punchy mid bass,i don't like that low rumbling bass. ...

Hear whatever the music producer / recording engineer recorded. If for some reason you don't hear what was meant to be heard, you are missing something.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

... A 12inch sub below 5k will not be able to handle those fast punches of this type of music? ...

Depends. Somehow I get a feeling you are mixing up punch and low bass.
- A sub usually goes down to 40Hz, some even lower. On the higher side, a sub can handle up to 250Hz, beyond which it loses efficiency
- A mid-bass speaker seldom goes below 80 Hz on the lower end, going up to ~4KHz
- "Punch" is usually conveyed by the upper harmonics of the bass notes, as well as notes from other instruments, which are in the 80-120Hz area
- Usually one puts a Low Pass Filter at 80Hz for a sub, i.e. only frequencies below 80 Hz are passed on to a sub
- If one increases the LPF frequency to 120Hz, assuming that the sub is kept in the rear, the front image gets pulled towards the rear. Ideally, the front image should be near the dashboard or beyond. The more the LPF frequency is raised, the more rearwards is the image pulled

[navin]

Originally Posted by coolkurt

I have a somewhat similar problem as the above. I want to improve the audio experience in my Civic but my budget is 10k only.

1. I upgrade front speakers to components and rear to co- axials.
2. I keep the stock speakers and add an amplifier and a subwoofer.

What do you guys think is the better option for my needs? Will the stock speakers ( regular paper cone speakers) be able to work well in the 2nd setup?

An amplifier and a subwoofer would allow you to reduce the amount of bass your current front and rear speakers have to reproduce.

If your HU does not allow you to High Pass the front and rear speakers you can use simple "bass blockers" for this.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

After

components in front and a 4ch amplifier.However i am not sure whether to go for a sealed sub or 6x9 ovals on the rear parcel tray for bass.

if i go for these subs as examples, would a pioneer - GM 6500F 4-Channel Bridgeable Amplifier be able to run these properly in a sealed box?

Rockford Fosgate - Prime Series - R1S412 - 12'' SVC Subwoofer (150w RMS)
Infinity - Reference 860w 8'' Single Voice Coil Subwoofer (250w RMS)

And my current HU is a pioneer deh-1390mp,16 bit DAC,1 pre-out.Will this HU hamper SQ?
at most i can upgrade to a kenwood KDC U356.

The 356 has 2 pairs of pre-outs of which one pair is switchable between rear and sub.

This HU will hence allow you to let your HU drive the rear speakers, then use the amplifier to drive the subwoofer and front speakers.

Since you are bridging an amplifier to drive the subwoofer you must keep the impedance of the subwoofer above 4 ohms. This can be either be a DVC having 2 coils of 2 ohms each in series, an SVC sub having 1 coil of 4ohms, or (less common for car audio) a DVC sub having 2 coils of 8 ohms each in parallel.

Originally Posted by rambo1o1

I would be going for a 10 inch sub since i listen to a lot of trance and techno tracks and need the punchy mid bass,i don't like that low rumbling bass.

A 12inch sub below 5k will not be able to handle those fast punches of this type of music?

A decent 12" sub like the Infinity 1262W or Rockford Fosgate R1S412 will be adequate. These subs like DA explained are usually crossed over pretty low (80Hz is common). The "punch" is mostly midbass from 80-250Hz and will be provided by the midbass. If the midbass is relieved of reproducing the low bass (since the subwoofer would be doing that) it will be in a better position to reproduce the punch accurately (less excursion).

[Sawyer]

On a preowned stock Honda Civic 2008 bought by my son last week for his driving use, he plans to upgrade the audio system in phases. Pioneer 5590 HU has been installed. What would be the next logical step to give audible SQ improvement?
Damping mats?
Or front speaker upgrade?
The idea is to leave amplifier addition for later, when he has more money to spend.
My home audio experience of many years suggests damping. But if front speakers upgrade first makes sense, any suggestions for replacement of the stock speakers and tweeters in front? Even if these ought to follow the damping, speaker suggestions welcome and appreciated.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by navin

... This HU will hence allow you to let your HU drive the rear speakers, then use the amplifier to drive the subwoofer and front speakers. ...

He will be able to do that with his current 1 Pre-out Pio too, since he plans to get only 1 4ch amp for the components and sub.

Originally Posted by navin

... If the midbass is relieved of reproducing the low bass (since the subwoofer would be doing that) ...

I forgot to mention that when the LPF is applied on the sub signal (at the amp), one must also apply HPF (again, at the amp, not at the HU) at the same frequency for the mid-bass.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

... What would be the next logical step to give audible SQ improvement?
Damping mats?
Or front speaker upgrade? ...

Given that the OE speakers are usually insipid and constrained, the most immediate gain would come from replacing the front OE speakers with a pair of good components. It is OK to add the damping when he is adding an amp and possibly a sub.