D1 Speaker upgrade with stock radio

[jymmiejamz]

MY girlfriend just bought a D1 from Will and it has a completely stock working radio. We don't want to get rid of the stock head unit as aftermarket ones just look ridiculous. The speakers are old and crackle a bit, so we'd like to replace them with something better. We're not looking for the best of the best, but just a good replacement that is ideally slightly better than stock. When the head unit fails we will have it rebuilt with an iPod input from http://www.gb4x4radios.com What is everyone using these days?

Here's a pic of the truck...

 

[riceybean]

Pioneer 4in, sound good, inexpensive and are available everywhere, try walsmart.

And a 100.00 buck CD player with aux hook up is cheaper than the gb radio upgrade, sound better too.

 

[Nomar]

I saw this truck last week---the British Racing Green looks great!

You could always check Crutchfield's website for speakers; GB radio upgrade seems to be hit and miss-maybe he's better now.

.

 

[hks3sgte]

Clean D1. I wouldn't even fuck with it.

 

[robertf]

JBL in the back, I think I've got pioneers up front. The front door speakers don't have near the room that the rear do for a larger magnet, or else I would have put JBL front and rear

both have the tweeter recessed enough to allow stock grill and surrounds

 

[lunchbox]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/321645049607?lpid=82&chn=ps

These are the best you'll find to fit that door. The tweeter can be removed and mounted in the a-pillar if you wish. (What I would suggest) Also comes with the passive crossover. These were made in Germany. Not all MB are.

 

[jymmiejamz]

And a 100.00 buck CD player with aux hook up is cheaper than the gb radio upgrade, sound better too.

I realise that, but they look so stupid. I know aftermarket radios are better in pretty much all aspects, but I just can't stand the flashing lights and colors.

Clean D1. I wouldn't even fuck with it.

It needs at least two speakers replaced. I'm going to check on the price of Genuine ones, but they probably are NLA or extremely expensive.

 

[MM3846]

I realise that, but they look so stupid. I know aftermarket radios are better in pretty much all aspects, but I just can't stand the flashing lights and colors.

It needs at least two speakers replaced. I'm going to check on the price of Genuine ones, but they probably are NLA or extremely expensive.

Neither can I. The Kenwood I have is fantastic (iOS, Android, USB, Bluetooth..) and its GREEN. I hate mixed lights. Do yourself a favor and just get an aftermarket one.

You have tweeters in the pillars, right? Find some working stock ones from eBay. You won't see the benefit of aftermarket ones with the stock head unit. I'm still running the stock speakers until they blow up (they're not that bad actually) but I'll be getting these when they start to go.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_575R14X2/Rockford-Fosgate-Prime-R14X2.html?tp=105

Price is right, and the grills are nice and simple. With the new subs I added in the factory location (and the new amp out of view), I'm very happy with the sound I'm getting for the limited budget I set myself.

 

[riceybean]

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pioneer-4-2-Way-Speakers-25W/17037939

good price

I had the older version of this.
http://www.kenwood.com/usa/car/excelon/kdc-x598/index.html

 

[1920SF]

Neither can I. The Kenwood I have is fantastic (iOS, Android, USB, Bluetooth..) and its GREEN. I hate mixed lights. Do yourself a favor and just get an aftermarket one.

Concur. I found an aftermarket that matched up green well & now have all the same features. Think mine was kenwood too. I didn't want flashing lights and such, thankfully a little tweaking through the menu gets it fairly sedate and light years better than the stock head unit. Sadly it's better than the head unit in my LR3.

 

[kennith]

I realise that, but they look so stupid. I know aftermarket radios are better in pretty much all aspects, but I just can't stand the flashing lights and colors.



It needs at least two speakers replaced. I'm going to check on the price of Genuine ones, but they probably are NLA or extremely expensive.

They aren't all bad.

Nakamichi receivers are gorgeous, and look right at home in any factory dash. You won't gain any connectivity options, but damn they look good.

I've got an Alpine CDA-9887 in the DII. In pictures it looks a bit garish, but I promise you that when you turn the lighting green it blends right in. Even red lighting looks good.

There's a Pioneer DEH-80PRS in my XJS. Now, that was a serious leap of aesthetic faith, but it works. It's clean in there, and adds a bit of modern sensibility without drawing attention to itself.

All of the above units have built in color changing features to match dashboard lighting. the second two let you go wild if you want. The Nakamichi is more limited in that respect. They don't provide any option that won't look factory and sedate.

Gone are the days of overt silliness in receivers. I miss those days, but I'm glad more simple options are available at lower price points now. Back then, you had to buy your way into a sedate look, and it wasn't cheap.

All that said, though; nothing beats a factory receiver for ease of use.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[paxton]

If you search for "digital media player bluetooth" you can find some that are less expensive because they don't include the (unused, probably) CD player. Handsfree is nice and audio streaming from your phone is convenient.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-BqEFo4DVsK5/learn/learningcenter/car/car_stereo/digital.html is a reasonable place to start.

Here's the list for my 97 Disco: http://www.crutchfield.com/g_300/All-Car-Stereos.html?tp=5684

Like everyone else, I highly recommend you get one you can change the colors on.

 

[kennith]

If you search for "digital media player bluetooth" you can find some that are less expensive because they don't include the (unused, probably) CD player. Handsfree is nice and audio streaming from your phone is convenient.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-BqEFo4DVsK5/learn/learningcenter/car/car_stereo/digital.html is a reasonable place to start.

Here's the list for my 97 Disco: http://www.crutchfield.com/g_300/All-Car-Stereos.html?tp=5684

Like everyone else, I highly recommend you get one you can change the colors on.

One of the reasons I picked up that PRS80 was the built-in SD card slot. With that kind of space, you can keep whatever files you want on tap, regardless of their quality. The slot is hidden behind the faceplate, but not hard to reach, and you still get all the other connectivity options.

Still, speakers alone will indeed make a big difference. One doesn't need an aftermarket receiver right away. If someone wants to upgrade their audio system (or simply replace broken parts) it's all too easy to start suggesting various upgrades that might turn them away from the fun of it all.

An upgraded factory receiver is pretty sweet, too. If he's made it this long without something fancier, he can probably live without it.

It took me a while to get around to admitting that what I needed in my DII wasn't what I wanted to install. I've just got to be able to EQ my way around as much Land Rover as possible, and overpower the rest of the noise.

The only hands free happening in there is with a noise canceling headset.

Honestly, though, if I bought another clean Rover just to drive around and enjoy, I'd try to keep it stock; inside and out.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[jymmiejamz]

I'll go have look a an audio shop and see what they have to offer, but I have a Kenwood unit in my Defender, and it just looks terrible. It makes the whole vehicle look cheap in my opinion. It works great, but the amount of light it puts out is ridiculous. I usually put a rag over it when I'm driving at night for a while. I can change the settings for it to be green, which is what I have it set on. I might put a DII head unit in it if it ever needs one, but at the moment, it is functioning fine and the only issues are a couple of blown speakers.

 

[jymmiejamz]

On a side note, who the fuck still uses CD's?

 

[kennith]

On a side note, who the fuck still uses CD's?

I do.

You have to look beyond Kenwood, man.

I know Jensen isn't exactly top quality in the SQ department, but it's hard to argue with the look of their Heavy Duty line. This would go very well in a Defender, and is designed for the job.

Here's a Nakamichi CD-400 looking good:

It probably won't fit your bill, because it's primarily designed to play CDs. They have other models, but this simply illustrates what's out there.

You can take Kenwood and Sony, and toss those ideas right in the trash. Kenwood has a couple of clean models, but I've used them, and they still feel cheap as hell. The interface sucks, as well.

I don't like the looks of Alpine's new models; and they haven't hit a new CDA line yet, but go back a couple of years and you'll find some nice looking receivers. Clarion had some good shit a while back that looked nice, as well. Pioneer products (the higher lines) look a lot better than you might think in sedate interiors.

Eclipse has fallen, unfortunately, and so has Denon. You can get their old stuff, but people value it and you'll be giving up things like Blutooth, which I don't find to be an inconvenience. Just plug your source unit into an auxiliary input and be done with it.

Browse the manufacturers websites, man. If you walk into a stereo shop and it's not a top shelf dealer, you'll just see a bunch of brash looking shit meant for donks and ratty pickups. That's not the entire market.

Go to the sites, find what you genuinely want to see, and look up their authorized dealer list to experience it in person.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[jymmiejamz]

My Defender came with an aftermarket stereo in it, I never would have put an aftermarket one in it. That Jensen Heavy Duty one actually looks like a stock radio. The Nakamichi looks like it belongs in a Honda. I actually have a Nakamichi stereo at home that I really like, although I wish it was Bang & Olufsen

 

[kennith]

My Defender came with an aftermarket stereo in it, I never would have put an aftermarket one in it. That Jensen Heavy Duty one actually looks like a stock radio. The Nakamichi looks like it belongs in a Honda. I actually have a Nakamichi stereo at home that I really like, although I wish it was Bang & Olufsen

Think of it as Japanese Bang and Olufsen.

You should really see that Nakamichi receiver in something like a Porsche or BMW. They really do blend right in. I don't think it's a good purchase these days, but they look cool, anyway.

Cheers,

Kennith

 

[robertf]

I think the removable face fascination killed aftermarket head units. That namichi still looks like something you'd pick up at a flea market.

 

[rover4x4]

middle of the road alpine or kenwood, aux jack and sirius is a must ive always had good luck with polk speakers