Defender audio - distorted!

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T

tomtomtom

Active Member
Posts
240
Location
Evesham, Worcestershire
Hi all,

I have recently had a look at the audio in my 110 SW. When I bought it, it had a head unit fitted, and 5 speakers (4 in roof lining, one under dash).

The sound it produced was very crackly and distorted in the speakers, so I decided I would get some new ones. I bought a set of land rover speakers, new take off ones from a new fender. Fitting these didnt make much difference to the sound quality, so it cant be the speakers at fault.

I then replaced the head unit (albeit a very cheap one). I have this same heas unit fitted to my series 2 and it works very well. The head unit in my defender still distorts the sound though. Same with the same head unit from the S2 in the 110.

Would I need an amp or something in order to have undistorted music in the 110? Any other reasons why it could be distorted? My wiring has been replaced to the speakers. Could it be a bad earth to the head unit?

Thanks for any ideas!
Tom
 
Just been thinking more about it and its other electrical items that need suppressing. Is it distorted with the engine off? Is it a petrol engine? It could be wiper moter motor or any other electrical device.
 
Poor earth is a very common problem & easy to check. Provide a good earth to chassis and check for improvement.

Other problems could be having 5 speakers wired into a 4 output unit (screwing with the resistance loadings)

And in all honesty, a bottom of the range unbranded unit isn't going to have the same protection/ insulation from electrical noise as that of a decent brand. You don't need to spend much.

In my experience a 'suppressor' won't fix any problems it'll just try (poorly) to mask the problem. Sort out the earth first then the speakers then perhaps a clean 12v supply which isn't closely linked to any motors etc which may be the source of electrical noise.
 
Thanks chaps!
The more I think about it, the more likely it seems that the cheaper head unit isnt necessarily a good idea!

Ill check the earth now and will report back!

Thanks
Tom
 
So the earth did make a slight improvement, as it turns out, the louder the volume, the more distortion is apparent.

Obviously, with the inside of a defender being a fairly high noise area, the volume needs to be quite high to power it!

At the moment, there are only 2 of the 6 speakers wired in, and these both have idstortion at higher volumes.
 
tomtomtom said:
Thanks chaps!
The more I think about it, the more likely it seems that the cheaper head unit isnt necessarily a good idea!

Ill check the earth now and will report back!

Thanks
Tom
Click to expand...
Kinda wot i woz thinkin,another £20 (£15 if you go to Halfords and get it your self) gets a Sony or Pioneer with usb and Aux. How old is your Defender?`
 
arc said:
Poor earth is a very common problem & easy to check. Provide a good earth to chassis and check for improvement.

Other problems could be having 5 speakers wired into a 4 output unit (screwing with the resistance loadings)

And in all honesty, a bottom of the range unbranded unit isn't going to have the same protection/ insulation from electrical noise as that of a decent brand. You don't need to spend much.

In my experience a 'suppressor' won't fix any problems it'll just try (poorly) to mask the problem. Sort out the earth first then the speakers then perhaps a clean 12v supply which isn't closely linked to any motors etc which may be the source of electrical noise.
Click to expand...
Well,,,,,,:rolleyes: that told me then!!!!!
 
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