Radio, Stereos, Subs: Let's get this straight.
 

So on my original Disco I intended to upgraded the sound system but never got to it, and now I definitely would like to in this Disco as I plan to keep it longer. I remember from reading old threads, the best method of hooking up a new head unit was to simply cut the wires from the Amp, and either directly connect the input / output lines going to and from the amp, or cutting one and running it up.

However, I'm a bit confused as removing the amp in most cars, AFAIK, would result in lower powered speakers, but from what I understand the Amp in ours isn't too great and most modern day Head units put out enough power to make that insufficient correct?

If that's the case, upgrading my head unit would produce marginal, if not negligible changes in my sound quality correct? With this being considered then, I'd just like to know the cheapest way to add a bit of bass and clarity at a slightly higher range if simply adding a new Head unit/speakers won't work. Will an upgraded sub be needed if I'm not trying to destroy my neighborhood but just have a bit better punch to my bass lines, or will a new head unit and stereos suffice. Or are new stereos not needed with a good enough head unit if I'm not looking for a HUGE bass increase?

I just want to figure this out before I buy stuff on craigs list or something and buy too much unnecessary junk. As it is I'm considering just a new Kenwood/Pioneer Head unit with an AUX/USB output and if needed some new speakers. Gotta go check if this Disco even has a sub stock.

if you really want to do it right its gonna take a day at least. you will want at least a 50 or 55x4 capable head unit, enough speakers to replace them all and at least one sub, about a 350w amp and enough speaker wire to get the job done. start by taking out the old speakers, head unit and if you can fiund it remover the oem amp as well. the fun part will be routing all the wires properly so they are hidden. get rid of the old speaker harness and make your own. wire it all together and bump away. make sure to use sticky labels on the wires unless you plan to buy several colors of wire.

Let's just say I have new pioneer speakers all the way around, new head unit, and two 10" kicker solo barics (the old school round ones) powered by a 900w RMS kenwood at 2 ohms. Was it worth all the hassle? Pshhh please, HECKKKK YEAHHHH IT WAS! Is it going to take some time? Yep. Will we help you? Yep.

Now: go buy what you need and let's have some fun :)

Lol I'm considering taking the more complex route like you all recommend, but I think I'm going to opt for a cheaper route if possible. I don't listen to music that loudly; I'm more concerned with just having good mid range bass and clarity than having a system that bumps although I respect that :D

Shoot me a PM if you need, I run an audio business and have considered for a long time what I could do on a Disco. They are not the best audio platform to start with, but there are a few improvements you could do.

1) New head unit. I would just run new speaker wires and bypass the factory amp altogether.

2) Amplifier. Things get expensive here, but you can generally achieve better results with more power. You could do a 5-channel amp that would run four speakers and a sub, or bridge a 4-channel down to 3 to run a single pair of speakers and a sub. Or you could run all the speakers from the head unit and use a 2-channel or mono amp for the sub(s). When I install an amp in mine, I fully intend to hide it inside the rear bench seat. You should only try that if you are handy, but to me that seems like the best spot for it...

3) Subwoofer(s). Are you going to use up all your storage space? Do you ever wheel with this thing? Go camping? That's why I have not yet installed one. There are a few shallow models that are only 3" or less, with enough patience you could mount one in the rear door. Again, that's what I intend to do on mine, it simply seems like the solution that encroaches least on the utility of the truck.

There is a lot more you can do to the truck in terms of deadening panels to make everything sound better. There are also a lot of advantages to relocating the stock speakers, but that would take a fairly in-depth knowledge of acoustics to do correctly. An in-between solution is to get a head unit with a feature called "time alignment" which allows you to apply delay to certain speakers to simulate a centered stereo effect.

You can check out a few of my builds here: TJ Mobile Audio, Rexburg

Thanks for all this, I'll check those out as well. I'm hesitant to put in anything that'll take up trunk room as well as this is an SD and I swear this has slightly less space than my SE, and I do intend to continue taking some camping trips and probably some road trips in the future (1/4 country possibly a X country once or twice in the next few years). As I said I'm not a big audiophile so I don't need a ridiculous system, I really just want something like the stock Bass found in older Bose systems that started coming out a decade or so ago.

I figured by now there should be a decent speaker setup that could run off of a HU that didn't require an amp that could achieve similar results, but it sounds like I have to get an amp from what you all are saying. I don't know if I have a sub, but if I have to have an amp, I'm thinking of just getting a new HU, four new speakers and connecting the existing sub to the stock AMP and the speakers directly to the head unit. Would this cause any interference issues? And again, if there's a simpler solution that doesn't require an amp, this is one of those things where I'd prefer to save money and keep money for inevitable future leaks and issues.

Hyakku, you can drive all 4 speakers from an aftermarket head unit with built in amp. Just that today myself. The harness on the new HU will already have pigtails for 4 speaker outputs so its just a matter of sending signal from the new HU to the speakers directly and you do that by running wires from that pigtail to the speaker outputs coming from the stock amp, which cuts it out of the system. You can't run a sub off the stock amp though.

You don't need an amp, that wasn't what I was trying to say. I'd start with a HU and decent speakers, may need to make some spacers so they will fit in the door. If you aren't satisfied, get an amp.

The Rover I sold to brandon had a good system in it. Used a headunit that powered the 4 main speakers and I put a pair of little subs in the stock location in the rear door powered with an amp. These are the speakers I used, Goldwood GW-406D 6-1/2" Poly DVC Subwoofer Shielded 290-352 They are only 14 bucks each.

goto this post of mine from awhile ago, it will help.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...56/#post198098

As for the amp... Pick up a decent used one cheap. You can do the whole system under 200 bucks and it will sound great.

stock replacements...
 

g'morning... what speakers did you use to replace the stock 4 - 4" speakers?