Car & Bike Budget car-audio set-up

Kilroyquasar

Kilroyquasar

4 seconds, inhale; 4 seconds, exhale.
Skilled
Low budget car-audio set-up

Hello folks!

am 'almost' an absolute neophyte in automobiles & accessories. hence i would like to invite your suggestions in recommending me to get a car-audio set-up under 10k (or 8k preferably....less i know, but can spare only this much now :(). i have a Baleno, and it still has the 'bundled' kenwood cassette-player set-up since past 7 yrs or so. the car isn't used on a daily-basis or regularly, hence the plan of upgrading the set-up kept getting postponed all this time, but this time around the 'bill has finally been approved' ;)

i would put my queries pointwise:

1. can my current kenwood cassette-player set-up (in near-excellent condition) be sold? seems like a joke though....hehe....if yes, then what price should i be looking at? and if no, then can it be used as a stereo player at home so that i could utilise my large collection of cassettes and perhaps re-record them in digital format?

2. what components should i be looking for in my budget? i can accept chinese HU like convex, etc., too, provided they can prove to be a workhorse under due & diligent care. i did check ebay and came upon a few branded/chinese ones.

3. any link to a guide on the subject?

4. anyone from Thane who could guide me to a good car-accessories shop?

would be grateful to you guys if you could assist me in this. thanks in advance!
 
Kilroyquasar said:
Hello folks!

am 'almost' an absolute neophyte in automobiles & accessories. hence i would like to invite your suggestions in recommending me to get a car-audio set-up under 10k (or 8k preferably....less i know, but can spare only this much now :(). i have a Baleno, and it still has the 'bundled' kenwood cassette-player set-up since past 7 yrs or so. the car isn't used on a daily-basis or regularly, hence the plan of upgrading the set-up kept getting postponed all this time, but this time around the 'bill has finally been approved' ;)

i would put my queries pointwise:

1. can my current kenwood cassette-player set-up (in near-excellent condition) be sold? seems like a joke though....hehe....if yes, then what price should i be looking at? and if no, then can it be used as a stereo player at home so that i could utilise my large collection of cassettes and perhaps re-record them in digital format?

2. what components should i be looking for in my budget? i can accept chinese HU like convex, etc., too, provided they can prove to be a workhorse under due & diligent care. i did check ebay and came upon a few branded/chinese ones.

3. any link to a guide on the subject?

4. anyone from Thane who could guide me to a good car-accessories shop?

would be grateful to you guys if you could assist me in this. thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I am not a pro myself, but I was in a similar boat sometime back.

1. Will be difficult to find a buyer, try putting a sale thread but dont expect much.

2. From what I think. lay more emphasis on speakers, Look for the HU settles ur features need, u can find all sorts of options on ebay but I would suggest u checkout some at accessories shops in ur area.
But still look for JBL/Kenwood/Sony etc. HUs.

I tested JBL speakers and one more I dont remember, i chose JBL ones they sounded clearer.

Also u might need to sort out ur priorities like bass fan etc. That would help u decide.
 
1) You may not able to fetch any money for your cassette HU.

2) Get a Pioneer basic HU , the one with just USB and AUX (should cost around 2-3K)

3) Get JBL / Hertz 6x9" for rear and components for front.

You should be able to squueze everything under 10-12K.
 
pranut said:
I am not a pro myself, but I was in a similar boat sometime back.

1. Will be difficult to find a buyer, try putting a sale thread but dont expect much.

2. From what I think. lay more emphasis on speakers, Look for the HU settles ur features need, u can find all sorts of options on ebay but I would suggest u checkout some at accessories shops in ur area.
But still look for JBL/Kenwood/Sony etc. HUs.

I tested JBL speakers and one more I dont remember, i chose JBL ones they sounded clearer.

Also u might need to sort out ur priorities like base fan etc. That would help u decide.
Click to expand...

thanks a lot for your reply!

1. yes, i expect that.

2. i will indeed head out to shops here. i was under the impression that it would be difficult to audition ICE components, but now am getting the idea that it isn't. i was going through a few other threads. read some posts by greenhorn. he suggests getting chinese HU and to lay more emphasis on the speakers. what do you say? and should getting rear speakers be a priority right now? i mean, does it add to the soundstage or SQ? i currently don't have rear speakers in the car.

3. what is the use of a base-fan, may i know?!

- - - Updated - - -

Metalspree said:
1) You may not able to fetch any money for your cassette HU.

2) Get a Pioneer basic HU , the one with just USB and AUX (should cost around 2-3K)

3) Get JBL / Hertz 6x9" for rear and components for front.

You should be able to squueze everything under 10-12K.
Click to expand...
thanks a lot!

1. most probably yes.

2. makes more sense, as i don't have a CD collection worth mentioning. are there any HUs that would recognise FLACs as well? and do we have alpine HUs in that segment?

3. sure thing! and what size of speakers should i look for? sorry, but i was confused reading all the sizes on ebay!
 
If you are absolutely SURE that you will not be upgrading your setup any time soon, then get a chinese HU. else you will find it a limiting factor when you need to upgrade.

FLAC support? Alpine HU's? with a budget of 10-12k for the whole thing? surely you are joking :p With your budget, your best bet is to invest in one of those big CD wallets and a spindle of CD's

If you are looking for something with good SQ, would suggest looking at a JVC/Kenwood HU, whatever you get cheap. look for stuff second hand on tbhp classifieds. I just dont like the pioneer/JBL sound. too harsh. JVC has this nice little HU called the KD X30 which I've got my eye on, but can't get cheap enough. It costs around 4k, and within the rest of your budget, you should be able to manage a pair of 6.5" comps and coaxes for your front and rear. I wonder if hertz is still available. If they are, then would suggest them :)
 
greenhorn said:
If you are absolutely SURE that you will not be upgrading your setup any time soon, then get a chinese HU. else you will find it a limiting factor when you need to upgrade.

FLAC support? Alpine HU's? with a budget of 10-12k for the whole thing? surely you are joking :p With your budget, your best bet is to invest in one of those big CD wallets and a spindle of CD's

If you are looking for something with good SQ, would suggest looking at a JVC/Kenwood HU, whatever you get cheap. look for stuff second hand on tbhp classifieds. I just dont like the pioneer/JBL sound. too harsh. JVC has this nice little HU called the KD X30 which I've got my eye on, but can't get cheap enough. It costs around 4k, and within the rest of your budget, you should be able to manage a pair of 6.5" comps and coaxes for your front and rear. I wonder if hertz is still available. If they are, then would suggest them :)
Click to expand...

i understand....demanding FLAC support in my budget :lol:

yes, i won't be upgrading anytime soon. the 1st upgrade itself took, what, 7 yrs?! :O

i had earlier mentioned the name 'convex'. came to know that it's a malaysian brand. though even am looking forward to having a JVC/Kenwood/Sony HU with USB playback function compulsorily, but i think i will decide on that ONLY after a demo, because since you are saying you don't quite like the 'harsh' SQ of pioneer/JBL, i presume that personal-taste for a sound-signature is significant here as well, which means one's liking to specific genres will play some good part. to mention, i listen to all types of songs/genres EXCEPT hip-hop, romantic songs, & black metal.

i've noted down your suggestion regarding speakers. even if am not in a position to buy everything in a go after purchasing the HU, i would do so in steps. first will get a good source (HU) --> followed by decent speakers.

and should i get the sasta waala sony subwoofer, if not now, a little later?!
 
HU's I'd rate Alpine>Kenwood>JVC>Blaupunkt>Pioneer>Sony

nah, dont touch *any* sony stuff and also for speakers do confirm the brands - pioneer/kenwood/alpine/sony speakers are by default fakes, and with sony even the original ones dont sound that good :p

Speakers are a good thing to pick up second hand. unless water/corrosion/physical damage - all are visible, a few years really doesnt make a difference to speakers , and mumbai you should get some good deals on comps. buy a cheap pair of coaxes for the front right now, keep a lookout on tbhp classifieds for comps going cheap, and then put them in front and send the coaxes to the rear

If you've waited this long, You can wait a little longer ;) But do get a JVC/kenwood HU
 
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