Need suggestions for Honda City 2014 with 8 speakers

[gman]

Hi All,

I have the new model of Honda City (Petrol) which comes with 8 speakers, but I find them very weak. Mine is a V MT model which comes with a OEM HU and I would like to retain it.
What are the options to improve sound quality without making mods like cutting rear tray etc.
Would like to avoid placing any sub in the boot.

Would like decent bass for sure (dont need night club like booming bass) and more importantly would like all subtle instruments/effects being audible.

Cost is not an issue.

Your suggestions please...

 

[mshifi]

Most oem units that come with cars today are not to the liking. You will have to connect a separate amp and sub to get the effect. It would be advisable to take the car to the store who deal with music system so that they could evaluate if adding and amp and sub is possible with your system or not.

 

[PGY]

Hi All,

I have the new model of Honda City (Petrol) which comes with 8 speakers, but I find them very weak. Mine is a V MT model which comes with a OEM HU and I would like to retain it.
What are the options to improve sound quality without making mods like cutting rear tray etc.
Would like to avoid placing any sub in the boot.

Would like decent bass for sure (dont need night club like booming bass) and more importantly would like all subtle instruments/effects being audible.

Cost is not an issue.

Your suggestions please...

Hi gman,

Retaining OEM is a good option, I would suggest you to change the door speakers to some good quality components, There are few models of Blaupunkt which gives a good bass. Probably you can go head with that for front or back doors, then listen to it and check whether you are able to feel the difference, If you are satisfied you can change the other pair too, I wont suggest to cut the rear parcel tray to have additional speakers, when you have options to change 8 speakers already.

Cutting the rear tray is not at all required to achieve a good music. You can change the existing speakers to make it good.

I heard that there are so many popular installers in Chennai who rock in car audio, My installer in HYD always praise the installers in chennai .

Most of the installers will blame things, for Example

After changing the speakers - if you are not satisfied, they will direct you to change the head unit, Once the head unit is changed, they will say amplifier should be there to drive the speakers, After amplifier, they may say we damping is the problem .

My recommendation is to find a pair of Component speakers which has good bass, change it in front or rear door feel the difference and go head with the rest of the speakers.

 

[gman]

@mshifi - thank you
@PGY - thanks for the detailed response. The car audio shop one near my home doesnt do any demos, unfortunately. Will have to try one of the distant ones - the only disadvantage is to travel all the way to them whenever there is a niggle. Will check out anyway. Cheers.

 

[PGY]

Antyime gman,


Just check whether you are able to find out this component speakers in the market, i heard a lot of about this "Alpine SPR-60C 6.5" Car Audio Component System", I have mentioned as blaupunkt in my previous post, sorry for that it was Alpine. I personally use polk DB6501 in the front doors, it is clear and crisp but it wont give you a smooth rich bass. Since i have a sub, i didnt care much about it.

 

[amneo]

Hi Gman, there is a very good install place called PowerZone. They are near express avenue . And he does a clean job . I did my duster there . Did not change HU , just added kicker components in the front ,kicker co axial in the back and did damping . I did not need any amplifier and sub woofer . It was a clean install and this guy listens to your requirements well and does it . If you need his contact will pm you the same .

 

[shuv]

+1 for Power Zone.

That said, the stock HU will always be the bottleneck. I had a second HU installed because my stock HU has display for the AC, etc.

 

[gman]

@amneo, you seem to have blocked pm option. Couldn't sent pm to you. But you could post his number in this thread itself as it might benefit others as well.
Btw, which all places did u do the damping? how much did it cost? did u use Dynamat or something else?

@shuv, thanks for your note. I am very much ok to inlcude amp if needed - if that leaves my HU untouched.

 

[shuv]

@gman, You can opt for amplifiers with high level inputs if the stock HU comes without preouts. Is there any particular reason why you want to retain the HU?

 

[Fantastic]

If you have an additional car amp installed inside your car, make sure the power lines are fused directly at the battery connection also and that it uses heavy guage wires for the supply. Also check what happens to your car insurance if you have aftermarket power lines installed !
A few months ago an expensive car ( I think it was a BMW ) went up in flames due to a short circuit. They never said what went wrong but it's extremely unlikely it was the car's original circuitry! It had a very upmarket music system installed.

Correct wiring for large aftermarket music systems is covered in detail on the Net. Have a look at those sites.

 

[kanna.sridharan]

If cost is not a problem and you wish to retain your OE HU, I would recommend the following:- (this would sound as good as fitting after market HU)

1. The first and most important, get a good processor like Audison Bit One / TEN (if you want a simple setup) or Mosconi 4to6 / 6to8 or Rockford 3.SIXTY (ranging from 15K- 50K)
2. a 4Ch amplifier - Class A/B from the good brands (avoid Pioneer, JBl, Sony and the regular stuff). a few good ones are Celestra, Mosconi, DLS, etc (range from 25K - 1L)
3. a good pair of speakers components for both front and back which would work well the amplifier. PHD, Focal Audio, Morel, etc ( 25K - 60K per pair)
4. an installer supplying you with all the above would recommend the best of cables(power, RCA & speaker) and Fuse (a minimum of 10% of the setup cost, would be ideal)

I've never done an install in Chennai, but I've heard they do a very good job.
+1 to Powerzone (Saravanan), this guy never met him, but is very knowledgeable, spoke with him once. He would give you the best solution.

The audio field both @ home or in car, is limitless. I would suggest you start with fixing a budget.

Cheers & good luck with your build..

 

[kanna.sridharan]

posted the same, again.. hence deleted

 

[amneo]

I am sorry for the pm fiasco .. Will check my settings .. 98-41-534934 . This is his number . I damped only the four doors . There is definitely an improvement . Also ask to sit in his zen and check the audio output that he was able to get out of just one component and an amplifier with a cheap Chinese head unit .

 

[gman]

@gman, You can opt for amplifiers with high level inputs if the stock HU comes without preouts. Is there any particular reason why you want to retain the HU?

Hi shuv, just want to avoid the hassle of messing up with the HU given it is also connected to display and control of AC as well. I know i can replace an entire HU, but just want to do as minimal a change as possible.

If you have an additional car amp installed inside your car, make sure the power lines are fused directly at the battery connection ........
......
Correct wiring for large aftermarket music systems is covered in detail on the Net. Have a look at those sites.

Sure @fantastic. I am having an eye on the possible impact it has on safety and on the warranty as well.

 

[venki7744]

Do you want to get best music system for your honda city, then visit Caska India and purchase affordable music system suitable for your car. visit the site and get the details.

Not sure you will get the "best" music system by opting for Caska but IMO you would get something which is a direct replacement for stock HU. For better Sound you have many other options (like going to a mainstream HU or DSP etc).