Speaker Change on my Emo Pack

Hi guys,

I keep the music on almost all the time when I am driving. I usually listen at a volume setting between 6 to 8. Occasionally when I am on a highway, I play it at a volume setting of around 10 to 12. Even though I listen at low volumes, I have not been very satisfied by the quality of music output by the stock speakers - when the B&M lady speaks, she is almost unintelligible because of the distortion from the speakers. So, I had been contemplating a speaker upgrade for some time.

Since I listen at relatively low volume settings, I did not feel it worthwhile investing in an amp. The sub is a touchy topic. We do a fair amount of touring, and my family likes to travel with "lots" of luggage. Therefore, every cubic centimeter of boot space was precious - a sub did not feature in the equation.

So, based on functional realities, I decided on 6.5" compos for the front door, and 5" co-axials for the rear door. I put off the upgrade for a while hoping to locate a good installer in NOIDA. Since such an entity was not forthcoming, I decided to find one in Delhi.

I had got 6.5" co-axials fitted on my WagonR dicky door some time back at Khan market. I had used used Pioneer speakers. The speakers were good but the install was done very badly - lots of rattling at even medium volume. So Khan market was not an option. I finally read about "Gyro Auto Essentials" on a post on TBHP. I contacted "Gyro Auto Essentials" and decided to take the plunge.

The TBHP post had a Google map. Unfortunately, this map is not quite correct. "Gyro Auto Essentials" is located at the IOC petrol pump, located next to the Motibagh Gurudwara on the Ring road (on the same side of the road as the gurudwara. When approaching Duala Kuan from AIMS, the IOC pump comes just before the Gurudwara). It run by three young guys. One of them Abhimanyu is very knowledgeable on 'audio matters'. They had a pretty good showroom on the ground floor earlier. Currently, due to some 'issues', they have moved to a small room on the first floor - not a very user friendly setup. I had planned to audition some speaker brands as advised by 'arishi' from TFI. Auditioning was out of the question with the current setup. So I had to go by 'informed recommendations', and my own opinions.

These guys stock some good audio brands including Rainbow, MTX, Focal (including their high end polyglass range), Bull, Hertz etc. They did not stock Blaupunkt and JBL (reliability issues as they put it). My choice, based on my budget was between MTX and Focal. The 'informed recommendation' was that Focals had a very balanced sound, but needed an amp and a sub. The MTXs also had a balanced sound, but would be OK with just the HU driving them. The speakers in question were the MTX Thunder 6000 series T6S652, rated for 100 watts rms each. I decided on these for the front doors.

The only 5" co-axials available with them were Hertz. Hertz uses paper cones and foam surrounds. I am not fond of either because I feel that the longevity in our conditions may not be up to the mark. Then the installer told me that the rear doors could take 6.5" speakers. So I decided on MTX RTC653 - Road Thunder series. These are three way co-axials rated for 60 watts rms each. Incidentally, the Roadthunder series is the MTX entry level. Thunder 6000 is the next higher range.

Regarding damping, the installer was of the opinion that Puntos are so solidly built that they do not need damping. However, I decided to do damping only for the front doors. They only stock Dynamat extreme - a very good product.

I had an apprehension about the 'quoted' speaker mounting depth limitation of 60 mm. This turned out to be a non-issue. These guys use spacer rings cut to order from 0.75" thick mdf sheets. This permits installation of speakers with higher mounting depth (Focal 165A1 requires 72 mm depth, MTX T6S652 requires 66 mm depth, and MTX RTC653 requires 60 mm depth). The only modification required was to trim off some plastic from the inside of the existing speaker grille.

The actual installation took a while - almost three hours. The installer Pramod was really top notch - very thorough and meticulous. He really knows his job, and I will strongly recommend him to any fellow Team Fiatian. He has been doing this since 1985!! He knew all about the warranty being void in case of any wires being cut, and did the installation accordingly.

The only minor hitch came up about the fitment of the tweeter in the existing grill. The tweeter was a bit bigger than the stock. So, some jugad had to be done using a hot glue gun and some damping material.

The stock speakers were 'made in Italy', rated for 20 watts, and looked pathetic. The tweeter had been wired directly without a cross-over network - no wonder they sounded like they did.

Once the installation was over, all associated electricals like central locking power windows etc were checked - all OK. Then Abhimanyu did the sound adjustment. He set the system to neutral settings.

Now for the litmus test. The speakers sounded really great. At the neutral setting, up to a volume level of 6 to 7, the highs and mids were brilliant. The bass was a bit laid back. As the volume was raised beyond 8, the bass opened up, and by about level 10, you had brilliant balanced sound. The sound quality was unaffected till the max level of 27 - power handling was not an issue with these speakers with just the HU driving them. I liked the really tight bass, and did not really feel the need for a sub (purely my opinion, Guys!).

I then tweaked the settings a bit to cater to my listening style. I just had to increase the bass setting from 0 to +1, and lowered treble from 0 to -1. Then the sound was perfect at the lower volumes. On the whole, well worth the effort. I will recommend MTX Thunder 6000 speakers - they are value for money.

Below are a few photos taken during the install.

[attachment=1:3lcjqdi5]front-resized.jpg[/attachment:3lcjqdi5]

[attachment=0:3lcjqdi5]rear-resized.jpg[/attachment:3lcjqdi5]

Johnny

@grandeur, yes yes.

@amogh, The whole package including damping and installation cost me Rs 12000/-. I think, money well spent.

Johnny

A minor note - I notice that your profile on the left side shows it as an emotion and not an emotion pack (if it is by error? :P )

@punter, Thanks for pointing it out.

I own an Emotion Pack, and I have updated my profile.

excellent description of the install there, Johnny. I have been driven sick by the stock speakers in my car :A. No wonder they sound crappy at high volumes (being rated at 20W). Would love to audition your setup sometime. I am based in Noida (working), lemme know if something can be worked out

Hi trance_nut,

I am staying in Greater NOIDA. You could contact me on my mobile: 9560770129, and we can work it out.

Johnny

Hi guys,

This is further to my first post in this thread.

Two days back I was playing a bass heavy track (Massive Attack - Better Things) on the CD player. At a volume level of about 14, I felt that the rear speakers were "rattling" - not good.

I spoke to the chap at "Gyro" - Mannan, and he asked me to take the car to his workshop. There it was diagnosed by the installer as insufficient damping for the door (I had not done damping for the rear doors). So the damping was done using dynamat, and then things were just fine.

'arishi' from TFI had earlier advised me to install damping on all doors. However, based on the initial recommendation from the installer, I had done damping only for the front doors. So, I'd like to reiterate 'arishi's' advice to all potential 'icers'. IN CASE YOU PLAN TO PLAY LOUD/BASS HEAVY MUSIC, INSTALL DAMPING ON ALL FOUR DOORS.

Johnny