Hi guys...would like to share a little on the journey of ICE..in particular: Planning your ICE system, from budgeting point of view...

I'm not sure whether this topic has been discussed before, if it has, I'll just post this to the Thread instead of starting a new one...

I will not be telling you how much you should budget for x and y as I do not have the experience and knowledge to do so...this discussion, at most, only serve as a "food for thought", giving you some insight of what to expect when doing budgeting.

Let's face this fact, only a handful of people have unlimited financial capacity to do whatever they want! Thus, budgeting is very important to make sure you get the most out of your RM X investment. Be sensible as well on the allocation of budget in each and every aspect.

A very extreme example, say you are prepare to invest RM5000 for your ICE system. Well, spending RM3000 on interconnects(refers to the cables you use to connect between you equipments, eg: RCAs, speaker cables, optical cables, and I believe power cables are considered as interconnect as well..correct me if I'm wrong, and the list goes on if there's any) only will not make your RM5000 ICE system sound any better than a well allocated (budget wise) RM5000 system. Yes, undeniably, you may be using world class interconnects with gold-plated all over...but be sensible...this RM3000 interconnects investment will not give a significant advantage to make your RM5000 (in total) system sound good at all!!

Thus, a very very popular counter-question asked by our sifus here or any good audio installer is "What is your budget?" (Note: you cannot judge an audio installer whether he/she is good (eg:will not cut your throat) simply based on whether he asked that counter-question or not...let's just make an ASSUMPTION here in this discussion that ALL audio installers are good..)

Let's go into the general breakdown what an ICE system consist of: equipment(s) (Head Unit, amplifier, speakers, LCD, sound processor, equalizer, custome-made crossovers, etc etc etc..), interconnects, installation (drop-in installation utilising the OEM location, custom installation, fabrication, modifications needed for custom installation..etc etc etc..), pre-conditioning to improve the acoustic environment (sound proof, dampening, etc etc..), and the most obvious piece, Vehicle..

You do not need to have every single items to be called a system, nor having all of them to become the best system. As the saying goes.."the least is the greatest", same applies in audio! The more equipment you introduce into your system, the more the signal will be modified (very often, degraded) from the original source. Thus, only add in what is needed. Sifus here or audio installers would know from their extensive experience and knowledge.


Very often, new comers only budget for the equipments. Let say, RM 5000; RM1000 for the HU, RM2000 for the speakers, and RM2000 for the amplifiers, not realising other breakdowns of ICE system is equally as important and they do COST money! If the audio installer(s) does not charge you additional cost, then most probably the cost of installation and all other related stuff have been reflected in the price of equipments.

Please have a bit of common sense, nothing is free! All the above mentioned under the general breakdown of ICE system does cost money. Audio Installers are here to run a business and running a business means making a profit (well, reasonable profit of course, not exorbitant profit). You have to pay for people's time, experience, and hard work (labour).

After having an initial budget, try to allocate your budget. If you don't know how to allocate your budget, get advise from sifus here or audio installers that you are comfortable with and hopefully knows what you are expecting out of your investment. Ask questions such as whether harness is used for all the installation, how about your Steering Wheel controls, is there any harness to plug into the OEM wiring for you to use your Steering Wheel Control, how will they connect all your equipments, whether proper terminal are used or connected without terminal, any soldering done, ask about the pros and cons of using terminal and soldering, how about the installation of your speakers (in regards to installation: Best performance vs Best Budget vs Best aesthetic. Placement of the speakers is considered under installation), any custom-installation needed for your new tweeter/midbass in your vehicle, custom A-Pillar (fiberglass?) or just sitting on the dash, your midbass installation, any baffles needed, modifications to the door, your subwoofer enclosure, whether its ready-made or custom enclosure built according to your subwoofer's specifications, sealed or ported or bandpass, your amplifiers installation including location, how you want it to be installed, plainly installed on MDF or u want to have some acrylic and LEDs, how much trunk space will it take up, how important trunk space is for you, the interconnects used, any "upgrades" or better interconnects available that will justify the additional costs, what material is used for fabrication (carpet, vinyl, paint), and into your electrical system, additional grounding, any other modification that is needed, do you want your whole installation to have OEM look (stealth installation) vs bling bling installation, how about sound proof, how much is needed or not needed, and the list goes on and on...

How about tuning your system?? I believe basic tunings are complementary, but let's say, you want to achieve the best tuning out of your system..then be prepared to pay. Equipments such as RTA may be used to aid in tuning, and always remember, to perfectly tune a system (well, let's be sensible by saying to tune to almost perfection), time is required! Time = Money! Tuning may include any or all of the following: eq, time-alignment, staging and imaging (placement of your speakers will affect this, eg: location of the speakers - A pillar, Dash, Kick Panel, door, how high on the door, on-axis or off-axis, if off-axis, by how many degree..going into a bit of details here, experience installer will know how to do this..), up to the extreme, tuning your subwoofer response by changing different volume enclosures, the crossovers (active system), and the same shit, the list goes on and on. (having mentioned about tuning, please note that, "sound" is a very subjective, personal matter. The installer may tuned the system according to his liking, or try to tune to match what you like. There is no single perfect tuning that will suit everyone. Sometimes, the installer may tuned your system to be as neutral as possible, i.e., the system will reproduce as close to as the source being fed, and to me, that is a very good tuning. However, you may not like that, you may have your own preferences in "sound". You may prefer your system to have a little more bass perhaps...

Any of the above decision will somehow affect your initial budget. Revise your budget from there...Set your priority, what do you want out of your system? Probably for your budget, you may only achieve performance, not the aesthetic of the installation. Sacrifices and compromises has to be made so you get the most out of your budget and you know that is what you wanted.


Things can be done in stages...you don't have to do everything in 1 go...probably, dividing it into 2 or 3 stages...ask opinions from people how to go about it. Make it a journey of yours!

Always remember that to get the most out of your investment, be it entry level or high end audiophile, the equipment(s) itself will not provide you the best performance out of the box, very often the above mentioned will help to maximise the performance of your invested equipments. The improvement will be more significant the higher you climb the ladder of the equipments.

Repeating myself again, "sound" is very subjective and personal..if, from audition, your ears tell you that the lower range system sounds better to you than the higher end ones, trust your ears...Yes, more expensive gears will probably have better technical specifications and better build quality, but no point spending more by getting a system that you think "should" sound better because it is more expensive, but rather you not liking it, unless better technical specifications and the build quality is part of your consideration as well.


And, another point to note, from my journey of ICE, a well executed (installed) and properly matched mid range equipments system sounds far more better than an audiophile grade equipment poorly installed. [hinting again: DO NOT skimp on your installation!!]

A side note:
ICE shouldn't be a "tool" for you to show-off to your peers...it should be purely an investment for you and your passenger(s) to enjoy, not to show-off.

Know what you want to achieved, be sensible, know the limitations of yourself (financial wise), equipments (law of physics, eg: you can't expect a 4" driver to give you the low extension and dB of a 15" driver), and the environment (acoustic properties), which is your VEHICLE.

Start your ICE journey and enjoy your music!



All monetary value stated above is only for example and explanatory uses, it does not portray the actual market value, or the actual budget that you should follow.

This post has been edited by hyy87: Sep 13 2012, 06:37 PM

nice...good for someone new or planing for ICE.

for me, the key point here, 'do some reading first". know wat u want n how to get it. simply going to a shop n state ur budget is not advisable. u will end up buying something expensive but not so much output for the system.unless it is a trusted shop or the person know u have knowledge on ICE.

some people start step by step (for those who know wat he/she aim for) but this need to be carefully plan too. buying a high end component set means u need high end other stuff too. at least mid end amp, HU n cables. failure to make this decision might end up endless upgrading and cost more money in the future. a 1000rms sub needs a 1000rms amp. so if u are not prepared for that kind of amp, then buy wat suit ur budget n ur preference.

talking about installation, fabrication, u need knowledge on this too. not all fabricator know wat they doing. as long as it look nice then it is done. again, have some reading. do ur homework first.

post this in fb and i will give u a like

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