changing to an aftermarket stereo?

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gorgeeeno1

New Member
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19
Location
east midlands
hi i have just bought a after market stereo and have been told the speakers wont work as the range rover is fitted with an amp on each door?
also I've heard i can use my amp connections on my new stereo (iso connections) but cant seem to find any connections in the range rover
thanks
gorgeee
 
of course you can use an aftermarket stereo i`ve had mine in since i bought my rr although i didnt originally have the diversity head unit that has the extra outputs you can still use your aftermarket head unit.

try it it`ll only take you a couple of mins to fit it, it just plugs straight in to your existing harness and if you dont like it take it out, no harm done.
 
My P38 has a JVC after market headset and CD auto changer. It works fine using the standard speakers, through the amp. Best I've heard in sometime.
 
lol sorry im new and tried to search for this but you were right it works
the reason i was asking is because the git at the stereo shop told me id need to re-wire each speaker to put a after market stereo in
does the amp make much difference?as the stereo i got is pretty powerful (4x60watts)
 
All depends on the model you have. The HSE / DHSE has the Harmon Kardon system with the amps, subwoofer - other models don't so you can just plug whatever you like into them!

I have to say I haven't tried it but as I understand it, if you have the HK system, you can't just change the head unit. I await correction! :D

Matt
 
Hi all.
Can i just clear somethimg up please.
Are you saying that the Hk system has amp's in each door? My car has bass, middle and treble speakers in the front doors and bass and middle speakers in the rear doors. There are no amp's apart from the one in the stereo and all of the speakers are factory fit. The bass is absolutely phenomenol on top of which it has the universal radio fitment. I'm not sure quite how the Hk system works or why it need's amp's in each door.
I play in an Irish rock band, and am used to high quality and fail to understand how much louder/different the Hk system is, and who they are as i've never heard of them, as all the stuff we use is american, great price, fantastic quality. (If you want to check you ice quality use "The The's " Infected album, it's DDD and Just the best.) I'm not moaning, I'd just like to know the difference please.

Cheers, Nick.
 
I've lost my version of RAVE, but as I recall the HK [well known audio co.] system has amps in both doors and a sub in the boot. It's not all about making it louder, but better quality. If you can send an un-amplified signal to the amps and have the signal amplified just before it gets to the speakers the signal quality will degrade less than running an amplified signal right around the vehicle. (same sort of system that Bang & Olufsen use - amps integrated into the actual speakers rather than the player)

I have to say tho, that in the confines of a car - with a lot of other noises going on - that once you've got a half-decent system you're not going to notice a huge difference in quality by upgrading. Decent amps and speakers make more of a difference than the 'player', so the only reason I would upgrade the head unit was if your old one was dead, or you wanted different features.

Matt
 
Cheers Matt.
You've hit the nail on the head. Inside most car's when running the only thing that is degraded is the bass as the road noise generated by the car tends to swamp it out. The best way to enjoy music is through a system that is not running flat out, producing unforced music through overated speakers from an amp running at half (say) it's capacity. As i say, get The The's infected album, it may not be your cup of tea but i swear you'll never need another cd for checking your ice out again.

Cheers, Nick.
 
mmadock is right. I have a 1997 HSE with a HK stereo system. Didn't know about this and bought a spanky JVC head unit with a touch screen and took it to my local car audio fitter and he had a nightmare fitting it. It didn;t need an amp, but I did change the standard sub woofer for a new one as the supplied one is ****! I am now leaft with a funny buzz coming from the speakers beacuse each speaker has it's own amp and there is a mis match between the aftermarket head and the amps. The only way to cure this is to change the speakers and fit a new amp. Ouch!
I have got round it by turning the volume up!
 
Not sure if they all have, but my 97 P38 has. Look in the boot, left had side under a clip on panel above the CD changer. It is in a black plastic enclosure. I had mine taken out and a better one fitted with a custom made wooden enclosure and a new grey panel made with some mesh for the cone. Looks good and sounds great
 
please excuse my ignorence if ive missed it, but is it possible to change the head unit on the HK system without problems?
As ive just booked mine in to have a blaupunkt rome sat nav/headunit fitted, and im not sure they are aware of the seperate amps
Regards
Matt
 
In my experience, you cant change without problems. I even got hold of a techie at HK, and he said the only way to get round the problem is to change all the speakers! I am now left with a buzzing. It's not that bad and you can only hear it when the music is quiet, so I just turn up the volume. The audio guys that fitted my system even put in two sound supressors, it made it a bit better, but you can't get rid of it
 
There have been lengthy threads at the rangerovers.net P38 forum about this. From them I understand that the buzzing is due to a mismatch in impedance. There are ways to overcome this, including one that uses a simple, homemade solution:


Hello ainiguez

The output impedance of a typical car radio head unit is usually 4 to 16 ohms. I have carried out tests and come to a conclusion that a load connected to the radio can be reduced to 50 ohms without any problems. (the higher this value is, the lower the heat generated in any matching circuit)
This pi pad has an input load of 40 ohms, output load of 50 ohms and a voltage reduction of 18 to 20 dB. Without this reduction the volume control will be very sensitive giving you high distorted levels at the lower end of the control and unusable on higher settings.
The key to success is to match the ADS amplifiers fitted in the doors. They are approx 50 ohms.
Pre amp outputs are no good as they are 10000 to 20000 ohms - hence the hiss.
Look at the photo and you will see a standard ISO radio extension lead (very cheap). The 4 pairs of speaker (amp) wires are cut and the resistor network made up as shown. The reason for 3 resistors connected across each other (parallel connection) is to increase the power handling of the half watt resistors I happened to have.

3 of 120 ohm resistors connected across radio side (gives 40 ohms)

1 of 47 ohm resistor connected across door amplifier side

1 of 330 ohm resistor connected between "live or +ve " cut ends of wire

Join the -ve wires back together.

You need to do this for all 4 channels. Wrap each in insulation tape and then group together. There is no heat generated with these values.

I have not checked the levels for the sub woofers yet but I suspect high impedance for these. I will verify at weekend.

This circuit allows aftermarket head units to work correctly. You can then feed an ipod or whatever you want into the auxiliary input of the replacement head unit.

Total cost including the extension lead 3 uk pounds (but it took me a day to work out and fully test the resistor values needed!)

Regards
Ray Ambler

:
Click to expand...

(there is apicture attached to the email quoted above, but I don't know how to post pictures in this forum, sorry)
Do a search in that forum to find that thread. I believe it will answer a lot of the questions.
 
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