complete audio package for my car

mannu1

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Hi
I drive suzuki sx4 and looking for a complete audio package for it.( includes HU, speakers,amp,Bass tube or sub).My budget is around 50 k. Should i go for a base tube or a sub ( for a tight bass) . Please specify the brands and every possible detail (like mono map or 4 channel. pros n cons). Since i dont have much knowledge about it. Please guide.
 
This is how I'd apportion a budget of 50K:

Head unit: 8 to 10K (plus 1.5K or so for the Sx4 HU fascia adaptor)
Front speakers: 6 to 8K (2-way components)
Rear speakers: 4 to 6K (Coaxials)
Subwoofer (12"): 8K to 10K (plus 1.5K to 2K for the box)
4-Channel amp: 12K to 15K
Power wires (8AWG) + 2 pairs of RCA interconnects (if not in the kit) + cable for subwoofer: 4 to 5K (for the speakers, just use the wire that came with the speakers)
Damping (minimum): 3K (just front door) or 5K (front door + rear parcel tray + a bit of the boot)
Installation: Ideally free, as you're buying all this stuff. Or 3K to 5K, depending on the quality of the install.

For tight bass, you should go for a sub in a well-tuned ported box or a sealed box. A sealed box will need about double the amp-power to drive the same sub to the same level of loudness as a ported box. But getting a well-tuned ported box made is not very easy -- you need a good installer. So I'd suggest you go for a sealed box :) A bass-tube is all about boomy bass with no definition.

I assume you will be changing the head-unit (HU) of the SX4 to an aftermarket unit. If you do, you will get better sound quality. If you don't you will save the amount budgeted for the HU. Also, if you keep the stock HU, you will need an amp that takes speaker-level inputs, or invest about 4K in a line-level-adapter (converts speaker level output to RCA output).

You'll notice I've mentioned only a 4-channel amp, to keep the expenditure down. You'll need to drive the components in front with 2 channels of the amp, and bridge the remaining channels to feed the subwoofer.

I've not mentioned any brands, as ideally you should go around listening to various brands and decide what sounds best to you. And my favourite brands may not be your favourites.

The above breakup IMHO will get you the maximum benefit from all the individual pieces of equipment: Best "matching", so to speak.

Happy hunting :)
 
hydra - excellent - thats as good as it can get when it comes to advice.

I know hydra did not want to mention any specific brand. But I will mention few brands to help you narrow your choice.

HU - You can choose between Alpine, Kenwood, Pioneer. Alpine is generally said to be musical. Pioneer more emphasis for bass.
Kenwood for neutral - though the kenwood on my car seem to be little bright - may be because of the speaker/amp combo. JVC
is a VFM option (Jack of all trades but king of none). You should be able to find a HU with USB but with/without bluetooth in
that budget. Just check if you have time alignment option in your HU. Will help you with setting up the soundstage/imaging.

Front speakers - components - go for Illusion electra (said to be laid back), JBL GTO, Bull Audio or Morel or Alpine (some of them
might not fall under your budget - I am not following the prices off-late.).

You can avoid rear speakers totally if you will not have passengers travelling with you all the time. You can spread the money
allocated here towards HU/Fronts/Sub/AMP.

Sub - one of the most important component. Alpine, Ground Zero come to my mind. Might be little on the costiler side but
would be well worth it. For tight bass, sealed is the way to go. Bass tube will be loose bass and boomy. I had once on my
car and changed it in days.

AMP - Good 4 channel AMP like hydra suggested. JBL, Focal, Alpine, Ground Zero come to my mind within the budget suggested.

Would advise to take it in stages. Go for good HU, Fronts and may be AMP to start with. Then add the Sub.

Tuning is one of the most vital part of the system. Learn how to tune your system and experiment with different settings until you
find the setting that suit your taste.
 
In your budget you can go for an image dynamics subwoofer. Google for their website and reviews.
 
...
You can avoid rear speakers totally if you will not have passengers travelling with you all the time. You can spread the money
allocated here towards HU/Fronts/Sub/AMP.
...
Would advise to take it in stages. Go for good HU, Fronts and may be AMP to start with. Then add the Sub.

Two great ways to get maximum bang out of the money spent.

In your budget you can go for an image dynamics subwoofer. Google for their website and reviews.

Yep, the ID CTX12 will fit right into the budget. One of my favourites too! :)
 
In your budget you can go for an image dynamics subwoofer. Google for their website and reviews.

When I was listing the sub names, I know I was missing something. Have heard/read a lot about image dynamic subs though have never had a chance to audition them.
 
I can't but help frown at your approach ... in the audiophile community it is normal to first select the audio gear then decide which car will suit it best :cool: Oh well ... never mind ... :rolleyes:

:)
 
like you should buy your stereo and then build a house around it :)

I can't but help frown at your approach ... in the audiophile community it is normal to first select the audio gear then decide which car will suit it best :cool: Oh well ... never mind ... :rolleyes:

:)
 
Have you guyz tried Mutant...

Its a fabulous quality brand from Armour Automotive, UK. A company from the Armour Group, which owns brands like QED, Q Acoustics, Myryad, and more than 30 brands...

visit Mutant and Armour Auto and Armour Home

Try these speakers, subwoofers and amps...i am sure you will be amazed...
They do have HU but they are on a higher side, so many uses Pioneer with it...

Contact Mr. Palani, Audio Planet... @ 09845019192 and he will be able to assist you in this regard...even if you are not in Bangalore he will be able to assist you with a local dealer near you...

I say u must atleast take a demo before making your decision...
 
Thans for reply....

want to know few more things. What should be the power of the mentioned units. Like front speakes, rear ones, amp, sub etc. Does power plays role in sound quality? What is damping, coaxials, 2 ways you wrote about?
 
Thanks for reply....

want to know few more things. What should be the power of the mentioned units. Like front speakes, rear ones, amp, sub etc. Does power plays role in sound quality? What is damping, coaxials, 2 ways you wrote about?
 
Thanks for reply....

want to know few more things. What should be the power of the mentioned units. Like front speakes, rear ones, amp, sub etc. Does power plays role in sound quality? What is damping, coaxials, 2 ways you wrote about?

I might not answer it very accurately but I will make an attempt. Just like home audio components, car audio components such as AMPs, speakers etc have their power ratings, ohms etc. It is not that you will have problem if you mix and match. But it would be best if they complement each other. For instance a AMP spec would say something like 100 watts at 8 ohms and say for example 120 watts at 6 ohms (all numbers are just for example and are not accurate). So see what your speaker spec says in terms of power handling / ohms etc and see if your AMP will be a right fit (or otherway). There will always be a threshold so a little less or little more is always fine. Like I said earlier even if they dont completely match, it would still be fine as long as you dont take it to their extremes/limits and test them (like crancking up too much volume etc).

If you are planning to buy a 4 channel AMP and bridge 2 channels for the sub I would advice you to certainly look at the power ratings as the bridged connections should give enough juice to the sub, otherwise your sub will not sound effective.

If you shortlist a few combinations, we can help you if they will all compliment each other or not.

Just like home audio, where they say for example Norge 2000 is laid back and Norge 1000 is neutral, the AMPs in car audio also have their own sound signature. You will have to do some research and find which sound signature you like and which AMP will suit it.

Damping - If you want to create a dedicated room for HT, people go for carpets on the floor and curtains and even make some modifications to the walls etc. This is just not for decor but also to absorb the bouncing sound waves(?) - to avoid reflections/reverberations that spoil the SQ. Same way in your car, you can pad your doors, even floors, ceiling with a material to absorb the bouncing frequencies. It also helps with the rattling sound which are prominent in our cars (due to the road, car build quality etc). Damping does make a difference in SQ but must not be one of the very first item in your to do list. You can damp your car at a later point when you want to improve your car SQ with existing equipment.

The 2 things that hydra spoke about are
1) avoiding rears if possible to allocate the budget for a better HU, fronts, AMPs
2) To build your car audio step by step instead of going for everything in
one go - i.e. to buy a good HU, fronts first, then add a AMP, then add a sub.
IMO HU and fronts are very important. If you dont have a proper HU, then no matter what you add later, certain things may never be possible to achieve.
 
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