ICE intro ( need recommend for my budget & installer)

[Ivansyl]

hi guys,

 

i have managed to stave off the desperation to zhng my ICE for 2 years now but finally giving in as I have some spare cash. was looking to either change my bodykit or ICE but decided ICE gets my priority.

 

i have a budget of 500-1000$ in mind but if exceed by a hundred or two can get me a MUCH better effect, i will consider. i know the madness of ICE can range up to much higher (20k for high end) but for a novice like me probably can only tell the difference btwn a stock system and smth much clearer with less noise)

 

now, i need recommendations for good installers/tuners to do it up for me and explain to me more in-depth.

 

i know for one that the whole setup includes

Headunit

Tweeters

Amp

Subwoofer

Speakers

and probably you'll need good RCA cables and a very good tuner too. soundproofing wise im nt sure if the end justifies the cost as im nt sure how much does it actually help?

 

also, if anyone can tell me whats the diff btwn an active and passive set. i have read it somewhere a year ago but decided not to go ahead and now forgotten whats the diff. any kind soul can save me the trouble of searching for it?

 

im looking for not only sound quality wise, but also aesthetically nice for viewing pleasure. always admired those sets!

 

i thank all of you bros for ur help in advance!

 

[Ivansyl]

after reading many forums, i've found out that 500-1000 cant get me a decent system. i guess i have to up my budget to about 2k.

[Verve]

the basics of sound

 

1) Soundproof front 2 doors - without this even a good system is useless - budget around $250 - 300 - you need to prevent vibrations for sound to come out well

 

2) Get a reasonable head unit - the standard de facto models are alpine 9870 and P 80 RS - this will set you back around $600 new and $300 used

 

3) Adequately good amplification - and i dont mean in watts alone, go www.sgsoundsystem.com to read up on this, if you dont mind used you could probably get some thing decent used for around $800 for 1 x 4 channel amp and 1 x 2 channel amp

 

4) Subwoofer - avoid the underseat at all costs unless you dont mind loud but low quality sound, you need to factor in a bit of boot space but try to get at least an 8 inch - 10 inch sub,

 

5) Cables - you need good rca cables for the headunit to come out right, the best value for money ones are mogami cables go and read about them, speaker cables if you're on a shoestring just normal ones will do - factor in $300 - $500 for cables

 

there are 2 kinds of sound

 

sq - sound quality

 

or the other type which is just loud loud music

 

you need to see which school of thought you are into, for loud music its cheap sq it could be anything for a few grand or a hundred grand.

 

i ve saved you hell of a lot of homework time to surf the forum for the rest of the info. and another tip i am not going to promote any installer but also to the right installer is 50% of the sound effect you eventually get. i have friends who spend twice as much to get half the sound i get.

[Genes]

With that budget I guess it's possible to get a decent system, but you might have to surf around for 2nd hand units. One of the audio forums also has admin promos once in a while. Might be useful to poke around there too.

 

Or I could point you to my installer if you would like to speak to him a bit.

[Verve]

kaypo, your installer start with f, a or c ?

[Ivansyl]

hi verve, thx alot for the info, understood every single thing u said as i've been reading up alot on all the forums for I.C.E. today went down to ask for advice from installers.

 

i got 3 quotes so far, and if any bros here have anything to say regardless good/bad/neutral comments. would just like to hear.

 

Setup 1:

Alphine 9887

Hertz ESK165

Hertz EP4 Amp

RF P1S10 Subwoofer

total cost: $1700

 

guy said if get 2nd hand 9887 can upgrade the Hertz to Rainbow CSX and Audison

 

Setup 2:

Alphine 9887

German Maestro CS6508 IV

Arc Audio 4CH

RF P1S4 10 Subwoofer

total cost: $1620

 

Setup 3:

Alphine 9887

Flux 4CH

Flux Comp Spkers

RF P1S4 12 Subwoofer

total cost: $2260

 

all 3 setups include wiring and installation.

 

any comments bros?

Edited November 12, 2011 by Ivansyl

[Fastfive1]

hi verve, thx alot for the info, understood every single thing u said as i've been reading up alot on all the forums for I.C.E. today went down to ask for advice from installers.

 

i got 3 quotes so far, and if any bros here have anything to say regardless good/bad/neutral comments. would just like to hear.

 

Setup 1:

Alphine 9887

Hertz ESK165

Hertz EP4 Amp

RF P1S10 Subwoofer

total cost: $1700

 

Setup 2:

Alphine 9887

German Maestro CS6508 IV

Arc Audio 4CH

RF P1S4 10 Subwoofer

total cost: $1620

 

Setup 3:

Alphine 9887

Flux 4CH

Flux Comp Spkers

RF P1S4 12 Subwoofer

total cost: $2260

 

all 3 setups include wiring and installation.

 

any comments bros?

 

I've heard that flux is pretty good from my friends but i've not heard how they sound like. Have you taken a listen to the 3 set ups? If you have, select the one that best suits your ears. My take on it is that it's a really expensive set up. If i were looking for something within the 500 to 1k range, i'd go with a simple pioneer headunit with a front USB input, rockford fosgate speakers, amps and woofers. Do you listen to download your music or do you buy them from CD stores? If you do the former, then i think getting an alpine is rather unnecessary. By the way Rockford Fosgate Products in Singapore are way over priced.

 

[Genes]

kaypo, your installer start with f, a or c ?

 

shop's name starts with a d

[Genes]

hi verve, thx alot for the info, understood every single thing u said as i've been reading up alot on all the forums for I.C.E. today went down to ask for advice from installers.

 

i got 3 quotes so far, and if any bros here have anything to say regardless good/bad/neutral comments. would just like to hear.

 

Setup 1:

Alphine 9887

Hertz ESK165

Hertz EP4 Amp

RF P1S10 Subwoofer

total cost: $1700

 

guy said if get 2nd hand 9887 can upgrade the Hertz to Rainbow CSX and Audison

 

Setup 2:

Alphine 9887

German Maestro CS6508 IV

Arc Audio 4CH

RF P1S4 10 Subwoofer

total cost: $1620

 

Setup 3:

Alphine 9887

Flux 4CH

Flux Comp Spkers

RF P1S4 12 Subwoofer

total cost: $2260

 

all 3 setups include wiring and installation.

 

any comments bros?

 

Agree with bro Fastfive1. You should audit and see which one appeals to more. Some times higher cost != sound quality that you like.

[Ivansyl]

Agree with bro Fastfive1. You should audit and see which one appeals to more. Some times higher cost != sound quality that you like.

 

but ive heard that the sound in the car and in the shop will sound different.. would i be a troublesome customer if i ask them to setup for me to hear?

[Genes]

but ive heard that the sound in the car and in the shop will sound different.. would i be a troublesome customer if i ask them to setup for me to hear?

 

It will definitely be different sounding in the car than from the soundboard. But at least you would have an idea of the type of sound you would be getting from that setup. Most shops should already have a setup of whatever they are selling, setup on the soundboard, so I don't see a problem. Unless you are asking them to setup from scratch, then gotta see if they will find it worth their while or not. If you feel you already have made a reasonable request and they are still not willing to agree, then maybe it's time to move on. Plenty of audio shops around. Of course, if you make the same request and get rejected at all the shops you go to, then maybe you need to relook your requests.

 

Have fun shopping!

[Fastfive1]

but ive heard that the sound in the car and in the shop will sound different.. would i be a troublesome customer if i ask them to setup for me to hear?

 

I agree with what Genes said. There will definitely be some difference but the difference is unlikely to be very extreme.

Anyway you seem to be going for a rather simple set up where your headunit is connected to your components and amp. The amp is then hooked up to your sub woofer. Is this how your set up is connected? If it is, i think you're paying way too much.

[Budgetice]

so u going passive ? if passive, can try danish acoustic speakers

 

For those pricing, do check the following

1) size of power cable

2) speaker cables (u can get belden at SLT.. quite cheap)

3) distribution lock included ?

 

I think package 2 is not bad .

 

anyway.. besides wiring and installation, nego for tuning as well.

[Ivansyl]

I agree with what Genes said. There will definitely be some difference but the difference is unlikely to be very extreme.

Anyway you seem to be going for a rather simple set up where your headunit is connected to your components and amp. The amp is then hooked up to your sub woofer. Is this how your set up is connected? If it is, i think you're paying way too much.

 

im not too technically sound in this area so im nt sure if there are any other ways to set it up. but it definitely is a passive setup.. hmm are u confident that im paying quite alot more? because i really have no idea how much the market price is and the 2 installers i went to are 'favourites' among forumers... one starts with F quite obvious is who, and 1 starts with S at sin ming

[Ivansyl]

so u going passive ? if passive, can try danish acoustic speakers

 

For those pricing, do check the following

1) size of power cable

2) speaker cables (u can get belden at SLT.. quite cheap)

3) distribution lock included ?

 

I think package 2 is not bad .

 

anyway.. besides wiring and installation, nego for tuning as well.

 

hi budget ice, yes i guess so, for my budget i think from what i heard from the installers quite hard to go active? must add another amp which is 300-400?

hmm, i did ask them about the cables, but they said dun worry they will include all their own cables and wun use my stock cables. they sounded like ask me to 'fang xin' they wun use lousy cables.. and whats distribution lock?

 

hmmm the package 2 is the first setup i got quoted but i went to another installer and they say sometimes nt very good to go chapalang setup? better to stick with 1 brand for the diff parts..

 

isnt tuning included in the package? i believe so.. they cant possibly setup everything then ask me tune myself.. haha

[Fastfive1]

im not too technically sound in this area so im nt sure if there are any other ways to set it up. but it definitely is a passive setup.. hmm are u confident that im paying quite alot more? because i really have no idea how much the market price is and the 2 installers i went to are 'favourites' among forumers... one starts with F quite obvious is who, and 1 starts with S at sin ming

 

Well the thing is that on this basic set up, you don't need an alpine. In fact you can get a cheaper alpine headunit with a USB feature. This is very useful if you own an iphone or apple products. Actually a pioneer should suffice. By the way have you taken a listen to the alpine headunit you're interested in and compared it to other headunits? If you haven't, i suggest you should as the sound difference is almost negligible. Most of the time it's more of your speakers and sub that make a difference to the sound. While the CD player may make a slight difference, ultimately it depends on where the source of your music is from. If the songs in your disc consist of poor quality downloaded songs, then no headunit can possibly make them sound better. As for speakers I'd go for either helix or rockford fosgate. Rockford fosgate has been in the industry for years and is one of america's top brands in car audio.

 

Err price is subjective. The point i'm trying to make here is that since your set up is a rather simple one, a similar one can be done within the budget of 1k. I believe the main reason why this set up is expensive is because of your choice of headunit. People usually get more advanced headunits because they wanna play with time alignment, sound staging, etc. In actual fact what you should do is to is to get a simple pioneer headunit first, hook it up to component speakers(like rockford or helix) then test the sound of it. If you feel that you want more bass, then you get a sub. Do note that i get my rockford fosgate products from a friend who lives in the states and comes back every 2 months. The reason is simple, they cost a fraction of what you'd pay here, over there.

[Fastfive1]

hi budget ice, yes i guess so, for my budget i think from what i heard from the installers quite hard to go active? must add another amp which is 300-400?

hmm, i did ask them about the cables, but they said dun worry they will include all their own cables and wun use my stock cables. they sounded like ask me to 'fang xin' they wun use lousy cables.. and whats distribution lock?

 

hmmm the package 2 is the first setup i got quoted but i went to another installer and they say sometimes nt very good to go chapalang setup? better to stick with 1 brand for the diff parts..

 

isnt tuning included in the package? i believe so.. they cant possibly setup everything then ask me tune myself.. haha

 

The good thing about all of them is that they at least suggested using a Rockford Fosgate sub. Take a listen to all the speakers and decide for yourself if you want them. You should also take a listen to rockford fosgate's speaker range. The punch series.

[Budgetice]

hahaha.. then u better stay clear of that installer..

 

chapalang quite common lah..

 

just dont be short change for ur cable if you have the intention to go active.. at least lay the cables correct.

 

also.. if u realise most shops dont have speakers for ppl to audit.. there is a reason .. for it..

 

i think u should go to the meetup and listen to some setups before u decide.. 1.5k - 2k is not much, but still its hard earn money.

 

but if u are very clear that u are not going active, then u can get entry level headunit.. those should suffice..