Audio Setup Advice For Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

Aroongupta · Jan 17, 2015

Gentlemen,

I live in Noida and have just bought a new Pajero Sport. If you live this side of the world and happen to see the most strange looking Yellow/White dual tone vehicle, it would probably be mine :-)

Now to the point - This comes with an Integrated Kenwood touchscreen DIN - Model No. DDX4031BT. Also fitted are set of 4 speakers in the front and rear door and 2 integrated tweeters on the dash.

Well, they sound 'good', but if its possible, without changing the head unit, I would want to have 'Great' sound.

Budget : Ideally 50 K. Can be extended to 1-1.5 Lakhs if its really worth it.
Type of Music - Mostly Bollywood and mid volume levels - occasional loud parties in the car itself (but important).

Can the experts suggest what can i do. Where to go? What to install. Who to seek help from? My knowledge about music systems is seriously limited.

Looking for expert and serious help please.

Thanks.

bhvm · Jan 17, 2015

Re: Audio for Pajero Sport pls...

First you need to confirm that HU has rca outs. then you'll be easily able to install amps to power more speakers and woofers.

Lameassonwheels · Jan 19, 2015

Re: Audio for Pajero Sport pls...

Aroongupta said:

Hi, the above Kenwood HU have 3 RCA outs (front, rear, sub), so no need to think about changing it. For an SQ setup audition Infinity 5 channel amplifier, Infinity KAPPA 6.5" component speakers in front and rear and Kicker 12" subwoofer, which will cost around 50-60K.

P.S: As you are ready to shell out 1-1.5K there are better premium brands and products in the market (Products from brands like Steg, Audison, Dynaudio, Boston acoustics, Focal etc, I never had a close encounter with these so can't comment). Lets wait for the ICE experts to comment.

rajanysvv · Jan 23, 2015

Aroongupta said:

Hi,
The quality of output will depend on the output of your head unit/reciever, ie in this case your factory fitted Kenwood DDX4031BT. Even if you are willing to spend a higher budget it will not help unless you know the output of your head unit. So would advice you to first get your unit checked for how many RCA outputs are there behind your unit. Also to suggest you a set up we need to know what slots or sizes are your current speakers.
2. Best place to get an ICE upgrade would be Driven, F-7, East of Kailash, Near Kailash Colony Metro, Delhi-48. He has a sound knowledge and pays a good attention while fitting. I have recently done an ICE upgrade on my Scorpio S10 costing Rs 70,000.
3. If in case your head unit has 3 RCA outputs then you would be happy that you can get the best output of sound quality. As you can fit a 5 channel amp to power your front&tweeters with 2 channels and another 2 channels for your rear speakers and last channel from amp will power your subwoofer. Or you can look for a 4 channel amp to power all speakers and another mono d class amp to power your subwoofer.
4. Brands for your budget:-
# 30k for all Rockford Fosgate prime series setup. (low budget for mid range sound performance.)
# 40k for all mix of rockford amp & sub and morel or kicker speakers. (u get a higher sound performance.)
# 60-70k for rockford punch or power series. (high rocking sound to show off)
# 65-80k for all rainbow setup. (decent mid level but good sound quality)
# 1 lakh+ for audison. (decent mid level for very good high sound quality)

The first 3 options are for loud sound while latter ones are europeon brands for sound quality. So its best you decide wether you are loooking for loudness or quality of sound. Then visit a shop who does work on similar cars as a bad technician can upset your warranty and discuss your options based on your requirements.

Aroongupta · Jan 23, 2015

Thanks for the inputs people.

I have got the following advice on a sister forum. I will appreciate any views on this please.

1. Rip that HU off, I am 100% sure its not linked to any of the cars feature, and that it sounds pathetic. You need a Pioneer 8690 touch screen HU, for roughly 30 thousand rupees.

2. Front speakers: My choice would be the Focal Flax series, the PS 165 F or the PS 165 FX. Another tried and much liked option would be the Rainbow DL series component set. Options from brands like Hertz, Rockford Fosgate, Ground Zero, Helix, Morel are also available. 25 thousand rupees.

3. Rear speakers: A good set of Co-Axial speakers, preferably from the same line-up as the front components. 10-12 thousand rupees.

4. My favourite part of the set up, Amplifiers. A four channel amplifier, to power the two set of speakers, front components and r two set of speakers, front components and rear co-axials, my choice would the the Rainbow iPaul 400.3, this is one no nonsense amplifier. Will pair very well with both the above speaker brands. Has enough power and SQ properties to drive most speakers you throw at it. 30 thousand rupees. If you go higher up in the budget, Mosconi is an amplifier brand which is hard to beat, Helix is equally good!

5. Mono block amplifier, to drive the sub woofer, currently I would look at the Digital Designs AM1 for around 20 thousand rupees.

6. Now the sub, the Rainbow DL-S12, for around 12k is a good option, otherwise Ground Zero, Rockford Fosgate, Hertz, Gladen are all nice brands. Because the PS is big car you can go in for a dual sub set up, but just one sub is enough for an SQ seeking set-up! I have heard good things about the Digital Designs LE M12 D2 Sub with enclosure.

7. Roughly 15-20 thousand for good wiring and RCA cables to match the equipment, AIV cables are a rage these days but I would suggest you get the power cables from Rockford Fosgate or Kicker. RCAs from AIV are good, Silverado series RCAs should suffice.

8. Damping is must on all Japanese cars and I am very sure the Pajero will need it too, though truely I have never seen a Pajero Sport with its door pads off. Two boxes of Dampmat(yes thats a brand of damping sheets) should be enough. 18 thousand rupees.

Because the Mono and the Sub doesn't have anything to mess with the sound signature, you can go in for a combination that gets the job done most efficiently in your budget.
However, you will have to be careful while selecting the speakers and the four channel amp, go for a combination that pleases your ears the most, even if demands ruining your budget.

rajanysvv · Jan 23, 2015

Aroongupta said:

Thanks for the inputs people.

I have got the following advice on a sister forum. I will appreciate any views on this please.

1. Rip that HU off, I am 100% sure its not linked to any of the cars feature, and that it sounds pathetic. You need a Pioneer 8690 touch screen HU, for roughly 30 thousand rupees.

2. Front speakers: My choice would be the Focal Flax series, the PS 165 F or the PS 165 FX. Another tried and much liked option would be the Rainbow DL series component set. Options from brands like Hertz, Rockford Fosgate, Ground Zero, Helix, Morel are also available. 25 thousand rupees.

3. Rear speakers: A good set of Co-Axial speakers, preferably from the same line-up as the front components. 10-12 thousand rupees.

4. My favourite part of the set up, Amplifiers. A four channel amplifier, to power the two set of speakers, front components and r two set of speakers, front components and rear co-axials, my choice would the the Rainbow iPaul 400.3, this is one no nonsense amplifier. Will pair very well with both the above speaker brands. Has enough power and SQ properties to drive most speakers you throw at it. 30 thousand rupees. If you go higher up in the budget, Mosconi is an amplifier brand which is hard to beat, Helix is equally good!

5. Mono block amplifier, to drive the sub woofer, currently I would look at the Digital Designs AM1 for around 20 thousand rupees.

6. Now the sub, the Rainbow DL-S12, for around 12k is a good option, otherwise Ground Zero, Rockford Fosgate, Hertz, Gladen are all nice brands. Because the PS is big car you can go in for a dual sub set up, but just one sub is enough for an SQ seeking set-up! I have heard good things about the Digital Designs LE M12 D2 Sub with enclosure.

7. Roughly 15-20 thousand for good wiring and RCA cables to match the equipment, AIV cables are a rage these days but I would suggest you get the power cables from Rockford Fosgate or Kicker. RCAs from AIV are good, Silverado series RCAs should suffice.

8. Damping is must on all Japanese cars and I am very sure the Pajero will need it too, though truely I have never seen a Pajero Sport with its door pads off. Two boxes of Dampmat(yes thats a brand of damping sheets) should be enough. 18 thousand rupees.

Because the Mono and the Sub doesn't have anything to mess with the sound signature, you can go in for a combination that gets the job done most efficiently in your budget.
However, you will have to be careful while selecting the speakers and the four channel amp, go for a combination that pleases your ears the most, even if demands ruining your budget.

Hi,
Suggest you the following steps:-
First analyse your head unit and it's link up to the ecu or steering controls, wether it's worth replacing or will replacement head unit deliver the functions or features presently in your car. If ur head unit has 3 rca outputs there is no point in unnecessary replacement.

Then decide what sort of system you want upon upgrade.

Try to keep it simple.

More budget necessarily mean more quality, rather focus on right product for your requirements and right technician to fit it.

Audition all the options and then settle on what best suits your requirements

Ps:- I had got an ice upgrade recently on my scorpio, details of which are posted on this very website in the ice section, you can go through it for a rough idea.

Aroongupta · Feb 5, 2015

So finally I got the system installed. Following came together to make it -

Rockford Prime R-2 Woofers - 2 Nos. - 19500/-
Rainbow iPaul 4.300 - 1 No. - 24800/-
Digital Design AM 1 - 1 No. 15200/-
Rainbow Soundline Comps - Front as well as Rear - 38400/-
supported by

Damping - 9000/-
AIV 4 Guage Kit - 7000/-
AIV Speaker Wire - 16 mtrs - 3200/-
Woofer Wire - 4 mtrs - 1600/-
RIA Cables - 2000/-
Rings - 4 - 1300/-

Total - 122000/-

We decided to live with the HU as it provided 3 outs. The woofers were a sort of compromise because the space behind the 3rd row seat would not allow anything else but these set of shallow speakers.

I got the system done at Driven. Took the team a dedicated 9 hours. As far as the prices go, I guess some negotiations could have been done but I did not try anything. They threw a 20% discount on the price tags and I said okay.

I must mention - It was an absolute pleasure working with team Driven. The job they did was commendable. I guess some 3 hours were dedicated only for the damping. The amount of cabling the system required called for almost all things in the car to be ripped apart and I had my heart in mouth at all times. But the way these guys were taking care, it just felt awesome. You don't need to tell them to take care at any point in time. Every panel, every screw that was removed were handled with atmost care possible and kept away from dust and accidental damage/misplacement. While I started the day with Rana, Subhaan dropped in after a couple of hours and the way he took pain to stick every peace of damping, it was just awesome! Gunveer spent a lot of time with us and then finally worked on the tuning.

End of the day, the music was a remarkable improvement over what the stock system provided. I was quite content though I guess Gunveer, Subhaan and team were not very happy. Gunveer did not get a lot of time to play with the system. They have called me again after couple of weeks to retune the system.

Anyhow, given the constraints of a large cabin space, stock HU, shallow woofer set, I think what we got was very decent. Rest we will see during the
re-tuning. I guess while the rainbow comp set is throwing out some excellent mid range, I would prefer brighter highs and more thumpy lows.

That, mind you, does not take away anything from the total arrangement and the excellent effort of Driven. I am very Happy!

And thank you very much guys for your guidance. Without it, this was just not possible!!!

rajanysvv · Feb 5, 2015

Aroongupta said:

So finally I got the system installed. Following came together to make it -

Rockford Prime R-2 Woofers - 2 Nos. - 19500/-
Rainbow iPaul 4.300 - 1 No. - 24800/-
Digital Design AM 1 - 1 No. 15200/-
Rainbow Soundline Comps - Front as well as Rear - 38400/-
supported by

Damping - 9000/-
AIV 4 Guage Kit - 7000/-
AIV Speaker Wire - 16 mtrs - 3200/-
Woofer Wire - 4 mtrs - 1600/-
RIA Cables - 2000/-
Rings - 4 - 1300/-

Total - 122000/-

We decided to live with the HU as it provided 3 outs. The woofers were a sort of compromise because the space behind the 3rd row seat would not allow anything else but these set of shallow speakers.

I got the system done at Driven. Took the team a dedicated 9 hours. As far as the prices go, I guess some negotiations could have been done but I did not try anything. They threw a 20% discount on the price tags and I said okay.

I must mention - It was an absolute pleasure working with team Driven. The job they did was commendable. I guess some 3 hours were dedicated only for the damping. The amount of cabling the system required called for almost all things in the car to be ripped apart and I had my heart in mouth at all times. But the way these guys were taking care, it just felt awesome. You don't need to tell them to take care at any point in time. Every panel, every screw that was removed were handled with atmost care possible and kept away from dust and accidental damage/misplacement. While I started the day with Rana, Subhaan dropped in after a couple of hours and the way he took pain to stick every peace of damping, it was just awesome! Gunveer spent a lot of time with us and then finally worked on the tuning.

End of the day, the music was a remarkable improvement over what the stock system provided. I was quite content though I guess Gunveer, Subhaan and team were not very happy. Gunveer did not get a lot of time to play with the system. They have called me again after couple of weeks to retune the system.

Anyhow, given the constraints of a large cabin space, stock HU, shallow woofer set, I think what we got was very decent. Rest we will see during the
re-tuning. I guess while the rainbow comp set is throwing out some excellent mid range, I would prefer brighter highs and more thumpy lows.

That, mind you, does not take away anything from the total arrangement and the excellent effort of Driven. I am very Happy!

And thank you very much guys for your guidance. Without it, this was just not possible!!!

congrats on your ice upgrade. be careful to run in your speakers at a low or max to mid level sound only for first 20-30 hours.

kabirrai · Feb 9, 2015

Hi,
I also recently purchased a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport. I wanted to ask Arun if he would recommend Driven Car Accessories to me for an audio install. Also, how is your system doing? Have you run into any problems?

Also, would you recommend Rainbow Speakers?

rajanysvv · Feb 9, 2015

kabirrai said:

Congrats on your pajero. Your car has a stock kenwood that has 3 preouts 4volts which is an advantage wherein you can retain your head unit and have multiple choice of set ups for your ICE upgrade. Audition is of superior quality to rainbow in case you prefer sql. If in case you prefer SPL or loudness than its Rockford.

Audio Setup Advice For Mitsubishi Pajero Sport

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