 | Home > In Car Electronics > Disapointing Audio Upgrade :-( |
 
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| Scoobeenut Member Since: 04 Mar 2015 Location: West London Posts: 310   
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I think definitely upgrade the HU and also think about amping the speakers.
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17th Jun 2015 3:22pm |
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| Dave-H Member Since: 08 Feb 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 1507  
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4" speakers will never be great no matter what make. They are simply too small to produce a great sound range.
You should adapt the rears to a 6x9" setup at the least  Guns and Landrovers .... anything else is irrelevant. |
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17th Jun 2015 3:26pm |
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| Browjam Member Since: 03 Jun 2014 Location: South East Posts: 114 
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I made exactly the same upgrades and I was impressed initially on the sound improvement (over the factory spec). Fast forward a few months and the sound now feels lacklustre. If your 90 has the rubberised matting like mine, rather than carpet, then I suspect we will always find this a challenge.
Changing the head unit may improve the sound but probably not enough to justify the expense. Bigger speakers in the back will help too but at the end of the day we are driving a big tin can and nothing short of spending a fortune on sound insulation or lining the cargo/passenger area with old egg boxes will help. At the end of the day it is a Defender, perhaps we should concede defeat? If we really want to listen to dulcet tones when driving perhaps we should buy a Freelander (sorry Defender Sport)? However if you do come up with a solution I would love to hear it 
James |
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17th Jun 2015 3:46pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 19579
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"4" speakers will never be great no matter what make. They are simply too small to produce a great sound range. "
Very true, or keep them all and add extra again on too Amped such as a sub with good output and 6x9's. No point amping 10cm / 4" speakers. 13cm is possible all around but involves cutting the dash and really you'd need those amped as they require a higher,output than the HU produces. The HU it's self doesn't produce much power at all and is suited to 10cm size speakers. If you are using a LR stereo then you'd find if swapped it'd be improved straight away. I am really not an Alpine fan at all personally, I'd never have their gear as I don't like the quality in many aspects. And certainly not the price for what you get. |
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17th Jun 2015 3:51pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 19579
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Yes, more power and more sound insulation. Oh and more power.  
You'd be surprised what audio power and current the Defender can produce no problem unlike many cars using powerful amps unless they do "the big three upgrade" The stumbling blocks are A. Cost primarily and B. Finding the room and locations to fit of which most needs to be bespoke built to personal ideas / inclination. |
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17th Jun 2015 3:56pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744 
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Thanks for the replies guys. So where is the consensus for best placing of 6x9's?
I've got a full carpet set to fit in due course so now is the time to run cabling for additional speakers and/or an amp so I'm future proofed as far as possible. Last edited by Barney12 on 17th Jun 2015 6:24pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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17th Jun 2015 6:19pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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He Steve, any recomendation on a single din HU? |
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17th Jun 2015 6:21pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 19579
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What features are you looking for?
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17th Jun 2015 6:36pm |
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| redzob Member Since: 16 Jul 2014 Location: St. Peter Port Posts: 137 
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I went through the same pain as you (and same MY2014 XS). Mine now has carpet, focal speakers (4", not 6" + separate Focal tweeters in the front) and the Alpine 1200 Sub. I think the biggest improvement was actually upgrading the HU to the Alpine 178BT, mainly because it supports the Alpine TuneIt app on my phone. And it was an easy swap.
A mate of mine pretty much replaced everything in his with much larger speakers and separate amp/sub which filled the whole of his cubby. Sounds great but cost a fortune.... Defender Puma 2.2 XS 90 Vespa GTS 300 Way too many racing bikes. |
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17th Jun 2015 6:50pm |
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| CDN38 Member Since: 14 Nov 2014 Location: Courtenay, BC Posts: 729  
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As far as speakers go, a round speaker is more efficient than a 6x9. The oval size of the 6x9 makes it more versatile to fit into oblong spaces, but a good quality 6" round speaker would usually fit in the same space. Add a satellite tweeter and crossover and you will outperform the 6x9.
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17th Jun 2015 8:14pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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I make heavy use of my iPhone 6 for calls and music so good integration with that is probably the only key factor. I've read about CarPlay but never seen it in action. Sat nav would be nice but hardly essential in a Defender. Again Maps on the iPhone is sufficient. Oh and I only ever listed to Radio 2 in the car so DAB far from needed. Ta Barney |
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17th Jun 2015 8:22pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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Out of interest are the connections on all the Alpine heads the same. Thus a straight swap? |
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17th Jun 2015 8:24pm |
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| redzob Member Since: 16 Jul 2014 Location: St. Peter Port Posts: 137
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Yes, it was a straight swap. The biggest two faffs I had was the power/audio to the subwoofer and installing the crossover units for the tweeters. The HU was easy, although the USB/Aux comes out of the rear unlike the 133, so I ran an extension cable down to the small left shelf area under the steering wheel.
Interestingly (?) this USB connection is great for charging the phone compared to a USB 12v cig lighter socket. I tried a few of these and they all caused radio interference (inc. some quite expensive ones). I still use bluetooth to connect everything up as my phone now gives me seamless music, satnav (Co-Pilot Live) and handsfree phone. Defender Puma 2.2 XS 90 Vespa GTS 300 Way too many racing bikes. |
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17th Jun 2015 8:38pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 19579
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Have a look at this: http://www.incarmusic.co.uk/avh-x7700bt-pi...tereo.html Check compatibility with iPhone 6 though as they are relatively new. Kenwood single DIN flip outs are discontinued. 
Most are going 2 DIN of which the Defender isn't as standard so the 2 DIN dash is over £200 so you could spend £600+ just for quality kit these days or £1000 + for everything. What ever you get it'll be out of date in 6months these days, as far as I'm concerned so long as it works well and sound quality is good then it does it for me. All outputs etc required does make things easier and better to control at a later stage if you add upgrades to the system. |
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17th Jun 2015 9:50pm |
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