The ICE Manual: Bk. H836
RRP £19.99
Hardcover, 160 pages
Buy NEW for £9.99
Reviews
(Rated 2 out of 5)
If you're a regular reader of the Max Power magazine and just enjoy drooling over the pimped out cars and sexy ladies then this book might be worthwhile purchase.
If however, you're a car audio novice seriously looking to build your own system then this is not the book for you. It contains a lot of pretty pictures of flashy installs and a lot of fairly vague, scattered information. Which fills your head with a lot of big ideas but doesn't really get you much closer to making those dreams a reality. Haynes are renowned for their comprehensive car manuals, that many people cherish. But for this book to have the Haynes name printed on the cover is a bit of a joke in my view.
Basically, know what this book is and what it isn't and if you do buy it, make sure it's for the right reasons.
(Rated 4 out of 5)
I bought this as I was about to upgrade my present system and needed a few pointers although I'm not into pro systems or anything too complicated. KISS as the man says.
Yes, there's pictures a plenty to keep the dreamers and gold sovereign brigade happy....but where were the circuit diagrams? You know those little drawings that stop you melting your car if you use the wrong grade wire or fuses. Before attempting anything electrical on your car you should plan it on paper first; simple physics.
A little more technical information (it is published by Haynes after all!) and this really would be a 5 star review, but even the simple questions like when to use a fused distribution block over a non-fuse version were not adequately covered, or even a few calculations to show that you really don't need that 1000w sub amp if your 50w head unit is driving your front speakers.
Great pictures though, and lots of them too.
(Rated 5 out of 5)
This book is very useful, and a must-have for anybody interested in having any kind of sound system in their car. It starts with chapters of information, covering head units, signal processing, and speakers. It has very well illustrated guides of a large number of procedures, from fitting a head unit to making custom fibreglass sub enclosures.
I thought I was pretty well educated in ICE, but this book has taught me a few things, and will serve anyone as an excellent reference.
(Rated 5 out of 5)
I have both this new copy (done by Hayes with assistance from Max Power) and Hayes' previous version of the ICE Manual. I have always found the original very vague and not at all useful and I was worried the Hayes/Max Power version would be the same.
Not so! The new edition covers so much more and even assists a lot more with installation from the simple (installing a head unit) to the esoteric (making GRP "pods" to hold speakers in places your car doesn't normally have them). If you are looking at anything other than a competition level install (in which case you probably don't need a "guide") then this is a bible.
Ok when you read through some of the stuff you can get a bit carried away ... bear in mind some of the equipment they mention can run into four figure sums.
If you are into car audio at whatever level this is *the* book for you.