Disco 2 Need a new Radio

My D2 2003 Alpine Radio/Cd/Cassette (xqd000110puy) has packed up altogether having previously suffered from mysterious turning on by itself at the same time not being able to change channels /volume or anything else .I took it out and opened it expecting to see some water damage as the problems coincided with heavy rain and leaking roof, and put it back and it won't work at all now...fuses etc.ok.

So now am on the lookout for a good used one as an original costs over £1,000 . I have seen plenty of cheap used versions being offered from the U.S.. albeit a different product code...(xqd000340puy or xqd000110lnf).

So has anybody any idea whats compatible...I believe the American version doesn't have LW radio which I can live without but wonder if the wiring/plugging would be compatible and from what I can make out in the adds.there seems to be a version for year 98-01 and another 02-04 ...So any ideas anybody or indeed if any member had the 110puy for sale let me know please...

There are other differences with US radios, MW tunes in 10kHz steps and FM is spaced every 200kHz although the radio could be factory programmed to tune in 1 and 100kHz steps to cover both standards. The other difference is something called de-emphasis which will effect the quality of the audio you hear on FM making a US radio sound bright and lacking of bass.

Any reason why you want a like-for-like replacement rather than fitting a good 3rd party one?

Plenty of both on the bay, for instance:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVE...178848?hash=item5b1f00ef20:g:Cl8AAOSw6dNWTIsG
Search for "Land Rover Discovery radio"

AceB said:

There are other differences with US radios, MW tunes in 10kHz steps and FM is spaced every 200kHz although the radio could be factory programmed to tune in 1 and 100kHz steps to cover both standards. The other difference is something called de-emphasis which will effect the quality of the audio you hear on FM making a US radio sound bright and lacking of bass.

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Thanks AceB ,so I guess a U.S. version may work and there seems to be an endless supply of them..I guess you could increase the bass level to counter the de-emphasis effect..However I'll still look to get a U.K version

davidsmith1307 said:

Any reason why you want a like-for-like replacement rather than fitting a good 3rd party one?

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I would consider another unit...butwhat about the connections to speakers ,amp.etc...

There are many threads on here, and on the Discovery 2 Boys Club site, about fitting a new head unit. Adapters are available for sensible money to allow you to use the steering wheel buttons etc.

brian47 said:

Plenty of both on the bay, for instance:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVE...178848?hash=item5b1f00ef20:g:Cl8AAOSw6dNWTIsG
Search for "Land Rover Discovery radio"

Click to expand...

Cheers Brian...but that product is a different number than mine which is xqd000110puy which is €1069 brand new on LRDIRECT,and the abovementioned xqd000110lnf is €1203 , A DIFFERENCE IN PRICE ,SO I GUESS A DIFFERENCE IN FUNCTIONALITY OR FITTING/CONNECTIONS ETC..I think the latter maybe for a 98-01 year model and the puy is for 02-04...which is facelift model also, so maybe some change in the radio too....just a hunch

You probably could EQ it out but just be aware that if the tuner isn't adjustable any FM station on an even offset like 87.8, 102.2 and 103.2 won't be received without distortion, ditto MW. I'd continue looking for a European version or go aftermarket and wiring adapters are available to make it plug and play. The only thing you will lose is the remote control in the 6/7th seat position if you have it. If you do decide to go for a different head unit it will probably be single DIN height so you'll want FHY100290PUY trim piece to fill the gap left behind.

AceB said:

You probably could EQ it out but just be aware that if the tuner isn't adjustable any FM station on an even offset like 87.8, 102.2 and 103.2 won't be received without distortion, ditto MW. I'd continue looking for a European version or go aftermarket and wiring adapters are available to make it plug and play. The only thing you will lose is the remote control in the 6/7th seat position if you have it. If you do decide to go for a different head unit it will probably be single DIN height so you'll want FHY100290PUY trim piece to fill the gap left behind.

Click to expand...

Thanks again aceb.and you just prompted me to try the Auxillary inputs in the 3rd row back seat positions as well as the wired cassette gizmo I used to play an mp3 player through and neither of these are working either...I also mailed some of the big breakers here for an Alpine replacement,with no joy so far...However just another question ,,if I do go for an OEM I suppose it would be best to go for the the likes of Sony,Pioneer etc in order to be sure an adaptor kit is available .What do you think..

Hopefully all aftermarket stereos will have standard outputs known as ISO, the adapter has to be matched to the model of car so you're looking for is ISO to Discovery 2, something like this. http://xtrons.co.uk/ice-acs-12-003-...bmw-land-rover-rover-and-mini-car-stereo.html

I've got a JVC in mine but originally it had the amplified Alpine system with the amp under the passenger seat. This seems to take a lowish variable input from the head unit because when I originally fitted the JVC I used low level outputs but it was too quiet. The regular speaker outputs are bit high level for the amp to be honest but I've got used to it after 12 years and there's been no problem with mismatches of the levels or any obvious noise issues.

The only thing you might want to check is if the new unit will support the steering wheel controls if you use them, many do I believe but it's not something I've had experience with. My JVC doesn't have hardwired steering wheel control but infra red instead so I had to use a kit to convert from the wheel control to IR.

Thanks again,thats great ,I get the picture a bit more now .But if I went for something like this Blaupunkt on ebay to tie me over til I either got mine repaired or replaced..as i believe it could take some time...and as this looks to be similiar plugwise to my own...obviously won't have steering wheel controls,nor stack cd...but would do me..(I have to get 2 new tyres and ball joints so they are a high priority right now..and also expensive before I put it through next test)...WHAT DO YOU THINK,SHOULD IT BE JUST PLUG AND PLAY.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Blaupunkt-Ro...-Aux-In-Code-/361477638596?fromMakeTrack=true

Yes, that should work. It's got ISO standard connectors on the back and from what I can tell it's actually a Blaupunkt Alicante CD32 so manuals are available here http://www.blaupunkt.com/us/nc/supp.../?uid=4837&tx_ddfservicedoku_pi1[view]=single That shows there is a CD changer available for it but there's also an optional cable and menu command for an auxillary input. You could probably just make a cable from pins 18, 19, 20 on connector C3 to a 3.5MM stereo socket and use your phone or ipod etc. Just need to switch to it in the menu according to the manual.

Thanks again,great info.,might go for that,the cd changer is not really a high priority,don't mind the single cd option ,but is it possible for an OEM head unit to control the Alpine LR CD changer ??. Tomorrow I'll probably make a trip to local Halfords..looking online they have a few options forunder €100 and also have the adaptor cables and din plates .You probably know they also have an adaptor check service online to see if your car is compatible with their products..

Did you get my PM? I doubt there will be many OEMs that will support the original changer especially now with the original system being so old. For €100 there is probably an OEM that has built in CD player that supports MP3 files (like my JVC) and you get all capacity of the 6 audio CDs onto one disc if you convert the tracks to MP3.

@Discomite

If you do decide to go down the road of a 3rd party aftermarket unit, then why bother with the CD autochanger at all?

A new unit would no doubt have a connection method for external devices such as an mp3 player. That way, instead of 6 CDs with about 120 tracks or 1 mp3 CD with about 100 tracks you could get all of your music library on a single mp3 player, or even your mobile phone.

Connection methods might be a 3.5mm jack plug, bluetooth or whatever.

Your only problems then would be the remote volume controls on the steering wheel and integrating the power amplifier under the passenger's seat. Take a look at this little device:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111393023065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

AceB said:

Did you get my PM? I doubt there will be many OEMs that will support the original changer especially now with the original system being so old. For €100 there is probably an OEM that has built in CD player that supports MP3 files (like my JVC) and you get all capacity of the 6 audio CDs onto one disc if you convert the tracks to MP3.

Click to expand...

I did respond,thanks,just to say I couldn't see ad....I have a lot of cd's..makes sense to condense them allright

brian47 said:

@Discomite

If you do decide to go down the road of a 3rd party aftermarket unit, then why bother with the CD autochanger at all?

A new unit would no doubt have a connection method for external devices such as an mp3 player. That way, instead of 6 CDs with about 120 tracks or 1 mp3 CD with about 100 tracks you could get all of your music library on a single mp3 player, or even your mobile phone.

Connection methods might be a 3.5mm jack plug, bluetooth or whatever.

Your only problems then would be the remote volume controls on the steering wheel and integrating the power amplifier under the passenger's seat. Take a look at this little device:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111393023065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Click to expand...

That certainly makes a lot of sense allright ,thanks for that. And great little gizmo above to balance the sound at a fantastic price too.Would I be right in assuming if I got an OEM unit with a USB port I could play music from a flash memory stick or an external hard drive with all my music loaded onto either .Or could I put a large sdhc card inmy phone and even Bluetooth the music.

Yeah, probably.
The last radio I had before the Disco was by Akai, that had a SD card socket on the front panel.
The only downside I can see with a USB stick is having the thing sticking out from the radio. You can get some pretty small (physically) sticks with a huge memory these days. As for a hard drive, that would all depend on how much current the USB port could supply. You could use Bluetooth, particularly if there's a Bluetooth capability on the radio. I just plug my phone into the system, but I have done a bit of work so it's not quite that simple.
I've got over 1000 tracks on the phone, and on random shuffle I don't get bored with the sounds.

The head unit in my D2 packed up and as the CD changer had been useless for some time I bought an Alpine head unit from Halfords for round about £100. There was an adaptor available so that the steering wheel controls worked but I didn't bother. the swap took minutes and it also has a very good handsfree phone kit built in. To be honest the sound is actually better than with the original set up as well. Unless its a classic car I don't see the value in paying over the odds for outdated equipment that's not as good as the replacement kit you can buy.