Stereo upgrade

[Hendrous]

Just wondering if any of you blokes have removed the old radio cassette on a D1 and replaced it with a more modern unit with CD and ipod connections? The existing stereo on my Disco is pretty much ****ed. The volume control has a mind of its own and the cassette player's only function is to eject whatever you put in it!
Been looking at some Alpine stereos that seem to fit the budget, but I figure a lot of them won't fit the housing and maybe they have different wiring connectors.
If someone has been down this road and knows of a unit which is easy to install I'd be keen to hear about it.

Chrs

Mark

[ade]

any standard din sized unit fits straight in, I did it on mine with a sony unit, you can buy adapters for the stereo to the landrover wire harrness for ease of fitting

[pistolpete]

I have an alpine cd player in mine

with ipod, bluetooth, cd and the works...

like ade said you can buy an adaptor, or you can just use a multimeter to work out which wire is which...

I recommend a blue tooth if you use your mobile often.. worth the dollars..

[Judo]

Yep I changed mine. It was pretty easy. I only realised afterwards that you can buy adapters though, so i went through the tedious process of using a multi-meter and re-wiring to get mine working. :)

I'm pretty sure I have the wiring colour coding bookmarked at home if you want. Let me know... Although buying a $5 adapter would be my recommendation.

[Hendrous]

Thanks one and all,

Sounds straight forward enough with an adaptor. Would jaycar have them do you think?

Chrs
Mark

[Judo]

Not sure, but certainly worth trying. I usually find ebay is great for those kind of things. Depends if you can wait for postage (often from overseas for cheap electronics). Hong Kong seems to be common and I receive most stuff within 2 weeks.

[bigcarle]

yep jaycar should have the adapters..........my wiring was a mess as there wasn't a radio in there so i had to nut it out when i installed my Alpine radio/ CD with USB port and i dunno what else, no blue tooth. it was pretty straight forward

[loanrangie]

Not jaycar but autobarn and supercrap both sell Aerpro brand adapter looms, about $15 for an ISO (LR uses ISO standard loom ) to any stereo brand you can buy- its then a direct plug in job.

[crossedup]

That will help a lot thanks. Does anybody have any links to speaker upgrades or alternative locations?

[thingthing]

i managed to get some bigger speakers into the front doors, it was not easy though. the speakers i used were polk mm5251 component splits becuase they have rare earth magnets that are alot smaller than most speakers, yet i still had to use 20mm spacers and cut the door trim out, and even then they did not go in easy.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/383037_276533892401920_100001359351688_726163_9207 77489_n.jpg

the tweeters i put in the a pillar factory tweeter spots, and i put the crossovers on the kickpanels in the footwells, probably not the best spot but theyre still working 6 months on:)

i also got some 6x9s in the tailgate, which also involved alot of cutting, and was a mission to run wires to
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/398631_284868874901755_100001359351688_742610_2976 18418_n.jpg

also i replaced the speakers in the rear pillars they were much easier though cutting still required, and ended up ditching the flimsy (and in my case rusty:eek:) frames for the factory speakers, i have no pics of this though.

and for bass i have 2 12" alpine subs with 2 alpine v power amps in the boot, this took away alot of my load space but it was worth it, for me anyway :D

all the speakers are powered by a 6 channel amp that is under the bench seat, took me about a week to put together as i had to run wires from every speaker and the head unit to the amp, and i wanted it neat and hidden. i went a bit overboard i must say but it sounds awesome :D

[Judo]

I installed bigger front speakers the same way as thingthing - I took the front door inside cover off and took to it with a hacksaw as well as spacers and a slight cut in the rubber on the handle.

The back I just used massive spacers and set them out from the pillars a long way - 6x9's then fitted, although they don't sound as good as I hoped. I suspect because the pillars aren't very secure. They really need to be held firm against the body to resonate properly.

[luke68]

Why 6X9"??
I have had 6" splits in the front doors for the last 10yrs and kept the 4' rears as standard. I used 25mm MDF at the bottom of the doors to space out the big magnets away from the glass. My intention was to eventually make map pockets in the lower door to replace the ones that were taken out, but lazy me never go around to it.
I also have a 10" sub in a bass tube in the back that I can take out when I go camping otherwise it stays in place. Best of both worlds. Hopefully add photos when it stops raining long enough. Amp is under the drivers seat and CD stacker under the Pass seat. Alpine Head unit with Phoenix Gold amp.

Cheers
Luke

[Judo]

6x9's are bigger! I went for the bigger is better not taking other things into consideration approach. :D

I also have plans for a subbie I can disconnect when I need the space but haven't got around to that yet.

[crossedup]

Thanks mate, I'm sure it cranks now. I never thaught of the rear door,I will be useing that for sure. Nice option on the front as well I think I will search out this speaker option!
Thanks jason

[streaky]

With a bit of re-arranging you can still use all of the rear cargo space and have a decent stereo as well.
Here I used the left side storage bin to house 3 Rockford Fosgate Amps and the right side a 12" Sub in a carefully sized cabinet.
The 6" Rockford Dual Range speakers fit with a spacer and the same size speakers are fitted in the front doors as well with help of spacers.
The front pillars house Rockford Tweeters grafted into the stock LR housings and the cross-overs fit nicely in the front footwells.

Everything's run from my iPhone via an Alpine head set and I still have lots of space for camping gear and recovery gear.

[mogindo]

I have 5.25 inch JBLs in the front. It required enlarging the door (metal) pocket a little to fit the magnet, but not much. I took the door panel off and used a dremel. Easy job. The JBL are quite deep, and seemed that it would require a spacer, which I didn't want, so i modified the cover a little and drove securing screws through the cover (now you can see it) rather that using the JBL snap on spacer for the cover. I also had to cut larger opening in the door panel, which was an easy job with a sharp knife. It works Great!

In the back I have 6X9, but as mentioned here by someone it was quite a job. I had it done by my garage boys that spent half a day working and manufacturing custom new brackets.

BTW, I also used 22lb of RAAMmat BXT II from RAAMaudio - Automotive sound deadening products (http://www.raamaudio.com/), on front and rear doors, some on very front of the foot well, and rear wheel wells. My Disco is now quiet as luxury car, even my wife noticed. Awesome sound and you can have a normal conversation at 110km/hr on the highway.

53538

[Judo]

I have 5.25 inch JBLs in the front. It required enlarging the door (metal) pocket a little to fit the magnet, but not much. I took the door panel off and used a dremel. Easy job. The JBL are quite deep, and seemed that it would require a spacer, which I didn't want, so i modified the cover a little and drove securing screws through the cover (now you can see it) rather that using the JBL snap on spacer for the cover. I also had to cut larger opening in the door panel, which was an easy job with a sharp knife. It works Great!

In the back I have 6X9, but as mentioned here by someone it was quite a job. I had it done by my garage boys that spent half a day working and manufacturing custom new brackets.

BTW, I also used 22lb of RAAMmat BXT II from RAAMaudio - Automotive sound deadening products (http://www.raamaudio.com/), on front and rear doors, some on very front of the foot well, and rear wheel wells. My Disco is now quiet as luxury car, even my wife noticed. Awesome sound and you can have a normal conversation at 110km/hr on the highway.

53538
How does the sound deadening product go if it gets wet?

[mogindo]

Its a high density rubber (with an adhesive) not a foam, so it should be alright. The adhesive is so strong that seals it pretty good, I will see how it will do with time. I took of the weather barrier (plastic) entirely off from the doors and sealed it up completely with the mat.

[SLOWBOAT]

Has anyone thought of or had done, the existing speakers removed and rebuilt to new specifications so no hacking of panels or spacers is required.
I would like to keep my rig neat a tidy as is but sound a little better.
The local Alpine dealer is a motor trimmer by trade and reckons he has a head unit and speakers that will fit straight in. Approximate cost for everything would be $650 fitted.

[loanrangie]

Any single din head unit will slide right in and you could just use the same size replacement speakers if you dont want to hack anything.

[PeterM]

Years ago my younger brother and I put our heads together to come up with a cheap but effective stereo setup for the Disco. Mine is a 3dr so not everything that I was able to do is achievable but most of it is.

A bit of homework and not paying homage to particular brands can result in excellent savings and a better end result.

Head unit -
Pioneer single CD head unit with remote.

CD Changer -
Pioneer 6 disc changer that sits in the left hand rear map pocket. Perfect fit for the space.

Front speakers -
Stock 4" speakers were replaced with some 4" speakers from JayCar. (These are fantastic little speakers with a great range and sensitivity.) These speakers run straight off the head unit.
Door pockets were removed and a piece of unholstered MDF fitted with some Phillips 6" splits, powered off the amp were fitted. Again, good range and best quality in the range at the time.

Rear speakers -
Stock 4" ones left in there. Your rear speakers are only for rear-fill sound. If I wanted to, I'd swap them out with another set of the JayCar units. These too run off the head unit.

Sub -
Single 12" Orion sub in a box fitted in place of the left storage pocket in the cargo area. Box sits flush at the top so the blind can still be used. This runs off two channels (bridged) off the amp.

Amp -
Boss 75w x 4 RMS mounted to the sub box.

All up, a very neat job that didn't cost much and sounds great.

[mogindo]

If I had to do this again, I would go for quality 4" speakers (pair of my 5.25 my JBLs were $50) and instead of 6x9 rear pillars, I would go for 6" round. Still some hacking to do on the rear though. The problem is that even that the 6x9 have a lot of bass, its gets lost in the vast space and the distance the sound travels, to the driver (you), so not really worth the effort. I got rid of the rear door original sub, it was busted and just taking space.

I also have a Kenwood head unit and all speakers wired directly from that, bypassing all original Disco wiring and clutter. (Previous owner has done that).

I think what really made the most difference up front was the deadening of the front and rear doors, (I am a big fan of this now). I sticked few pieces inside the door on the inside of the outside door skin and then sealed the door completely with the deadening material. Sounds like a Merc inside now, very quiet and a luxury ride.

[LandyStu]

Focal make a 4" shallow mount speaker with seperate tweeter, 100VRS. Screws into the existing holes and the tweeter snaps into A-Pillar trim like its made for them, the only down side is the $$$

[Blknight.aus]

depending on year model..

keep pulling the harness out carefully and you will come up to an amaglamated blob, carefully cut this away and viola another set of connectors.

[bgfnbr]

One thing I have noticed is you all have electric windows :(
I could only fit 4" alpine s types in my doors, and had to use spacers, putting some sixes in the back soon an I have a 12" s type sub, alpine head unit with three pre outs, had a dash pod made so I can take the head unit out of that slot down the bottom, put one UHF in there and another in the pod, Christmas time shall be fun :P

[lenleggo]

Hi all, many thanks for all the useful tips

Putting LED cabin dome light globes into my 95 Discovery 1 300TDi, I noticed a little spark then realized the switch was still on and the door open.

I turned the switch off fitted the LED globe and it wouldn't work. Reversed the LED globe, still not working.

A quick check and stereo and cabin digital clock not working either.

Pulled all 18 fuses of the main fuse board. All good. Swapped them all out for new fuses. Still no stereo.

Checked all the sub fuse B fuses. All good, swapped them out anyway. Pulled all the sub 1 fuses. You guessed it , last fuse pulled out fuse 1 the anti theft device fuse. Clearly burnt through. Swapped it out. Stereo lights and clock all good.

Good thinking Land Rover. No one steals a car with a broken stereo or no clock!!!

[Luke56000]

Just wondering if any of you blokes have removed the old radio cassette on a D1 and replaced it with a more modern unit with CD and ipod connections? The existing stereo on my Disco is pretty much ****ed. The volume control has a mind of its own and the cassette player's only function is to eject whatever you put in it!
Been looking at some Alpine stereos that seem to fit the budget, but I figure a lot of them won't fit the housing and maybe they have different wiring connectors.
If someone has been down this road and knows of a unit which is easy to install I'd be keen to hear about it.

Chrs

Mark

I replaced mine with a sony xplod unit along with the two front speakers as well, its mostly just a switch over job, I did end up having to just cut through the black power cord going into the old unit though.
Old one seemed to be hard wired in with a rather thick power plug whereas the new one fit on an existing plug in the wiring loom and didn't need it.
I didn't buy a wiring loom adaptor and cut/respliced the wires on mine.
fairly easy job and only took 15 minutes once you figure out the first few its easy

[Fausto79]

Hey mate have a look through this, there's a few good options from people

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-1/181830-speakers-front.html

I think CD players are pretty much obsolete nowdays and unnecessarily heavy. the mp3 one i bought was fairly shallow and light as paper. the old unit that was in there had dvd n gps andng and was way too heavy for the plastic surround and it cracked everything to bits the first time i went offroad. not sure if it was already damaged before i bought the vehicle. I know the previous owner superglued a lot of stuff. is also was a spaghetti junction of really bad wiring and wiring loom conversions. i cut everything away right down to the original wiring and then bought an adapter from supercheap auto which plugged into the original wiring loom and fed the unit perfectly. it is so much neater behind the scenes now.

i bought that unit from jb hi fi. i can hands free my phone through it with blutooth. plug in my mp3 player etc. bought some bigger speakers for back and got that metal bracket cut so i could mount it. the fronts i just made some wood spacers so i could fit the speakers that came with the head unit. the original disco speakers are very shallow which is why i made the spacers.

it sounds pretty good. left factory tweeters, then the new 4 inch front and 6 inch back. you can buy these alpine subwoofers and amps all in one units. they are very compact so you dont compromise on room for gear.

if you are interested i can send you my dimensions for the metal brackets i made for the rear. I have a CAD drawing of it. it is very solid and looks pretty good in my opinion.

all the best.