Car Audio options for Chevy Cruze LT

[Sanjay Khanna]

I am on the verge of getting a new Chevy Cruze LT.I opted for it because the LTZ has a sunroof,which I don't need.Instead,I want to jazz up the Audio a bit by adding the following - JBL GTO 949's as the rear speakers,JBL CS 5's in the front, JBL GTO 18 T for the tweeters.And the CASKA 3610. All comments,suggestions , etcare most welcome as I know BA about car audio.

 

[amit]

Hi, Casca is a good system overall.. recently purchased Skoda Laura Elegance and have hooked up in it. Laura custom made 7' touch screen is awesome... awesome connectivity option including GPS and reverse cam. Sounds very good (vocals) but found bass light to begain with.. fiddled with equaliser and now sounds as per my liking... Just thought of sharing

Thanks & Regards,

Amit

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

An update.Got the CASKA 3610 fitted in the Cruze and am really happy with it.The touch screen is is really handy, the GPS is awesome and the I Pod is very convenient to use as all the functions are displayed on the screen itself.Along with the new speakers,the sound is great - once I had figured out how to set the bass, mid range,treble,etc.It's operation takes a little getting used to, especially for dhakkans like me.

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

An update.Got the CASKA 3610 fitted in the Cruze and am really happy with it.The touch screen is is really handy, the GPS is awesome and the I Pod is very convenient to use as all the functions are displayed on the screen itself.Along with the new speakers,the sound is great - once I had figured out how to set the bass, mid range,treble,etc.It's operation takes a little getting used to, especially for dhakkans like me.

What I now need is some way to add a cassette player, as they are no longer part of the standard set up.Are they still available ? For the moment, I am playing my Sony Walkman through the Aux input, to hear my large collection of self recorded tapes while driving. All suggestions are welcome.

 

[madbullram]

Sanjay: WHy dont you convert the cassettes into a digital medium? Its more convenient for car

 

[kapvin]

I am on the verge of getting a new Chevy Cruze LT.I opted for it because the LTZ has a sunroof,which I don't need.Instead,I want to jazz up the Audio a bit by adding the following - JBL GTO 949's as the rear speakers,JBL CS 5's in the front, JBL GTO 18 T for the tweeters.And the CASKA 3610. All comments,suggestions , etcare most welcome as I know BA about car audio.

your front speakers should be the best quality (assume that you will be driving) since that will define the soundstage for you. I am reasonably sure you can do much better than cs5s in the front.

regards

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

Sanjay: WHy dont you convert the cassettes into a digital medium? Its more convenient for car

Actually,the most sensible and practical option.However,I don't fancy converting 400 cassettes into digital form. Besides, I don't know where or how to begin !!!! I'll tootle along to the Forum meet in Hyderabad on 11th December and get some ideas from all the gurus there.Thanks and cheers.

your front speakers should be the best quality (assume that you will be driving) since that will define the soundstage for you. I am reasonably sure you can do much better than cs5s in the front.

regards

You are probably right.I chose the Cs5s mainly to have all the 6 speakers uniformly from the same manufacturer.However,I'm told that this is not at all imperative,so I should have looked at Polk or Focals or others.Did it in a bit of a hurry to beat a mythical price rise report on the car. Thanks and cheers.

Hi, Casca is a good system overall.. recently purchased Skoda Laura Elegance and have hooked up in it. Laura custom made 7' touch screen is awesome... awesome connectivity option including GPS and reverse cam. Sounds very good (vocals) but found bass light to begain with.. fiddled with equaliser and now sounds as per my liking... Just thought of sharing

Thanks & Regards,

Amit

Hi Amit,I am as pleased with the CASKA as you are.However,I am also finding the bass a bit light.I have tried to rectify that by using the 'custom' option on the equaliser and then setting the treble,bass and mid range levels manually, with some improvement.Can you please share your remedy and post setting experience ? Thanks and regards.

 

[amit]

Hi Sanjay,

Its sounding much better now and as per my liking. Had to reduce high as Laura elegance has 4 woofers (door) and 4 tweeter (near the door knob). There is more setting BBE which you can try out. Also to have well balanced sound you need to keep the volume at about 8 to 9 or you will have lows vanish completely, could be because of the speakers as well but you may try it out.

Thanks & Regards,

Amit

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

Hi Sanjay,

Its sounding much better now and as per my liking. Had to reduce high as Laura elegance has 4 woofers (door) and 4 tweeter (near the door knob). There is more setting BBE which you can try out. Also to have well balanced sound you need to keep the volume at about 8 to 9 or you will have lows vanish completely, could be because of the speakers as well but you may try it out.

Thanks & Regards,

Amit

Hi Amit,
Have set bass,treble and mid range,but can't find the BBE, although the manual mentions it.Where is it located ?Cheers,
Sanjay

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

Sanjay: WHy dont you convert the cassettes into a digital medium? Its more convenient for car

I tried looking for an old HU with a cassette playing option but they are not available for love or money,even in the Salar Jung Museum !! I then got an inverter from Chevrolet, bought a 220 V - 3 Volt step down, connected the 2 of them to my old Sony Walkman, ( recently serviced ) which is connected to the Caska ----- and voila I now have the pleasure of listening to all my custom compiled cassettes, some of which go back to 1974.Cheers

 

[amit]

Hi Sanjay,

Sorry for delayed reply. The BBE setting can be accessed from the right side knob (on the console). It reads audio / tune. Press it and you can adjust bass / mid / highs on the fly be repetadely pressing it (max upto 8). The next option is BBE and you can make it as high as 16. My current settings are bass - 8, mid - 0, treble +2 and bbe - 16. Hope u will find it useful to set it up according to your choice.

Thanks & Regards,

Amit

 

[Sanjay Khanna]

Hi Sanjay,

Sorry for delayed reply. The BBE setting can be accessed from the right side knob (on the console). It reads audio / tune. Press it and you can adjust bass / mid / highs on the fly be repetadely pressing it (max upto 8). The next option is BBE and you can make it as high as 16. My current settings are bass - 8, mid - 0, treble +2 and bbe - 16. Hope u will find it useful to set it up according to your choice.

Thanks & Regards,

Amit

Hi Amit,
Thanks for the info. Will get cracking on the settings over the week end.Cheers
Sanjay

 

[sgajjala]

Hello Sanjay/Amit and others,
Could you please let me know the price of the CASKA unit.
I am planning to buy Honday City and wanted to know overall budget for Caska and good speaker system as well.

 

[amit]

Hi, The prices of the system vary according to make & model of the car. Mine is custom built for Laura, has a 7' touch screen, GPA, recerse camera, bluetooth audio, DVD/ USB / SD card / CD & all other features. Since its custom built, the fit & finish is excellent. It looks as good as factory fitted. They also have a universal system which hits any car using a supporting bracket.

May be you can check Caska India site. Caska

Thanks & regards,

Amit

 

[sgajjala]

Hello Amit,
Thanks for your information. I just enquired with caska dealer in Bangalore. He has a unit that supports Honda City and the price quoted was 50K. He also mentioned that the Universal system available though I didn;t ask the price of it.

I think this price is only for the head unit. How much do i need to shell out for speakers??

 

[amit]

Is that price inclusive of reverse camera? I was quoted 53K including the cam, negotiated hard and got it @ 48k including cam.

As regards to speakers, it depends on your budget and choice. I didn't change the org speakers came with the car. You may try that 1st and if not satisfied then look for brands like JBL, Focal or Infinity. Speaker power and size depends on system and car specifications.

Regards,

Amit

 

[sgajjala]

the price is excluding the cam. But he said cam are available from 1500 through 4K. So whatever quoted to u is the same price quoted to me as well.

I am planning to take the base version of City which doesn't have music system . So I need to look for speakers as well.
Do u have any idea about the price of the Universal model?? I might go for that if there is a huge diff. in price..