Looking to pick up my defender on friday....I just noticed it only has the Meridian system and not the meridian surround....any opinion on either one?

Thanks

 

I have the standard 400w Meridian in mine, but I have experience with all Meridian systems in JLR products. I will tell you this - the 400w system sounds identical to the 700w system when the surround is turned off. When Meridian Trifield surround is on, you get a much wider and central soundstage and the midrange is much more prominent. All of the speakers are the same, but the 700w has a tweeter/midrange combo in the dashboard, and two midrange speakers in the rear headliner. The Defender's 6.5" paper cone door woofers are lower quality than other D7 platform JLR products. My old Discovery 5 had the 825w Meridian Surround system, and that had 8" fabric/composite door woofers, plus two additional surround settings: Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Neo:6. I always kept mine in Meridian Trifield, though. I want to mention that the standard Meridian system has a center midrange speaker in the dashboard, but it isn't used for the sound system. It is a separate speaker that is used only for the SOS function and roadside assistance. Unfortunately, there is no way that speaker can be activated or wired into the rest of the stereo. Trust me, I tried to find a way. And that's a shame, because starting in 2021, every other JLR product with the standard 400w Meridian system has a functional center speaker (without the tweeter), but doesn't have the Trifield surround software. Base Meridian in the Defender and F-Type are still the 11 speaker system.

 

I've seen lots of reference to the 400w vs 700w system. Mine has 825w Meridian Suuround. I don't think it sounds too great.

 

I'm embarrassed to admit that I had a '22 110 with the upgraded Meridian for 2.5 years and - at least to my knowledge - never activated "Trifield." I now have a base Meridian in my 90S. Audio is pretty good/not great. Wish I could have them side-by-side to compare.

 

That's a typo; you have the 700w. Defender never had the 825w, which was last sold in the 2022 RR and RRS. They made the amplifier less powerful for when they went to the new electrical architecture for the Pivi systems. The new RR and RRS have a 19 or 23 speaker system (depending if the tailgate event suite is specced), with the extra wattage made for the headliner speakers. Adding dynamat or any kind of sound deadening in the doors improves sound quality significantly. Also, I don’t think it sounds good with the baseline EQ. Moving treble almost all the way up and bass and subwoofer at 2/3 of the way sounds best to me.

 

On the sound settings menu, you had bass, treble and subwoofer as well as stereo and surround sound. Trifield is the surround setting.

 

We have them side-by-side...our 2023 came with the 400 watt despite ordering the 700 watt. (One of many chip shortage features missing) I think the 700 sounds far better than the 400, but neither is great. I'm with CincyRovers and want the 825 watt LR4 system back.

I ordered the 700 on the 2025 that is supposed to arrive in November. If it shows up with the 400, I'll spend the $10K I was quoted to replace the entire system with something better. I'm guessing the OEM paper cone speakers cost $30 each and being a 2 ohm system it's nearly impossible to just replace the speakers.

 

Right now I'm in a '24 Disco Sport loaner vehicle and it has the 400w system with the center speaker. It has noticeably better midrange than my Defender, but the bass is muddy and distorted and the car rattles like a tin can. I think this one has a blown speaker. I know the Halewood-assembled cars have always had build quality issues compared to the Solihull and now Nitra-built cars, but this Disco Sport is exceptionally bad. I requested to get a Velar, but they gave it to someone already.

 

LOL...the dreaded Disco Sport loaner. No idea why JLR even makes that vehicle. Velar is underrated. I had a P400 Velar loaner and in Dynamic mode it drove far better than any A6 or 5-series loaner car I have driven before. Handling, steering and acceleration were exceptional. Seem to recall the Velar sound system was better than the Defender too.

 

I won't lie - I actually have a soft spot for the Disco Sport. I wouldn't buy one, but out of the transverse-engine JLR products, the DS is by far the best IMO. Cheaper than the Evoque and has more usable space. Plus, I think it a great looking car and it is incredibly good off-road for what it is. If I was in the market for a compact SUV, I wouldn't get one, though. I wouldn't trade my Macan S for anything it competes with other than maybe an F-Pace SVR or Alfa Stelvio Quadrifoglio. I haven't driven a Velar since they dropped the supercharged V6. I'm pretty sure all of my dealer's loaner Velars are the P400, so fingers crossed next time I go in for an oil change I'll be able to get one.