Wow, that worked! I get iPod and Radio at good volumes.

I am now of two feelings, gratitude (Chris) and embarrassment (me).

I have to admit, this is the first car stereo I've installed. Now for the next challenge...mounting it into the dash :|

Thanks Chris!

Brian

 

as I tell everyone in this situation don't feel embarrassed I have worked with plenty of "pros" who miss stuff like that (and done it myself once or twice), nothing worse then realizing after a long day of pulling your hair out (and the radio about 20 times) that it was something simple like you forgot to reconnect the battery cable or missed the amp turn on wire!!!
well off to bed for me. Enjoy your new radio, and if it does seem like it gets too loud at too low of a volume you will need to do one of the 3 things I mentioned before or you will destroy your factory amp(almost all amplified systems require low level inputs).

 

Hi Guys,

Digging up an old thread I know so I apologies.

I have been looking for 2 days now to try and find some information on this.

How has used the Pre Outs on the H/K system and managed to get the sound to work properly? I have a P38 from 1997 also with the H/K system and when I used the speaker out, I get the same problem as now, very loud at low levels also background hiss, when I used the pre outs I got a significant amount of engine wine as well as a very low volume. Eventually I added a home made attenuator using instructions from a chap in an other forum (Paul Adshead from rangerovers.net). This worked a treat.

In the case of the P38 the input level of the H/K is somewhere between speaker out and pre out hence the need for an attenuator. What I would like to know is, is this the same for the Disco? Mine is from 2000.

Rover Chris, I have digested your answers however for the sake of not wanting to pull the radio out more than I have to (a real pain to get it back in) which of your 3 suggestions should I try first? With my experience of the P38 I'm thinking that I need to make an attenuator again.

Oh almost forgot, in case it makes any difference I have an Alpine IVA-D106 head unit.

Cheers

 

I personally rewired my sound system (ran new wires from the back of my aftermarket alpine to the speaker wire outputs of the stock amp) I did this because, by wiring your nice expensive aftermarket radio to the factory amp, you are basically installing a fancy controller for your stereo. I prefer the sound quality of the Alpine amp inside my head unit to the factory Pioneer amp that was in my truck. Even though this was more work, it is what I and most professional installers would do to there own vehicles. The easier and most common route is to get the amp integration harness as long as your aftermarket H/U has the RCA outs to support it (yours does). this will still use the factory amp however with that H/U you will have more control of the sound. the downside to the amp integration harness is the factory amp is only designed to take a certain voltage level of the preamp signal and your alpine is most likely higher than this (it will make the audio louder) this can eventually cause damage to your amp. This may take a few months or it may take many years. Honestly any of the options are fine and most people will not even notice too much of a difference in the sound whatever way you go, it is just a matter of how much work and money you are willing to put into this.

 

Hi Rover Chris,

Thank you for your answer, when I had this issue in the Range Rover, I first used an attenuator which solved the problem. The issue is that the factory amp that drive the HK speakers doesn't take speaker out (it is too high) and it doesn't take pre out (it is too low). So I have just built myself an attenuator and I'm going to go and see if it does the trick in just a sec. I know from the RR which volume I should be able to turn it up to before I blow my ear drums out so will use this as my indicator.

The other problem with having an HK system is that the amp has cross overs build into it which means that you are at a risk of blowing the speakers (especially the tweeters) by running them direct. If memory serves the HK speakers are less than 45 watts RMS (I think they are about 30) so using the HU directly could result in damage to them.

I'll let you know how the attenuator goes and if it does the job I can always send you details of it should want a copy.

Cheers

 

how can i check to see if i have an amp? i have tweeters.

 

I am pretty sure you have an amp, it should be under your drivers seat

 

the alpine should not over power them as the built in amp does not really provide the advertised power (speakers are more commonly damaged by under powering them continuously than over powering them anyways), as for the crossover points you are correct, but it probably wouldn't be a problem. I am not sure what is involved in the attenuator you are explaining but most line level converters are adjustable to set them where you want them.

I hope you get it working where you want it and please let me know the details on the attenuator.

 

Well the attenuator didn't work, I still have a high pitched noise and hissing which would indicate too much power going into the amp. Next step is to get some RCA cables and hack them up to make an RCA to ISO connector as I can't get one locally.

Chris if you PM me your e-mail address I'll send you an excel file which is very useful for P38 owners.

I'll update you after trying the RCAs. At least on this head unit I have the ability to change the power output of the pre outs which will help.

Cheers,

 

For those that are interested, I have now tried with an RCA to ISO adaptor that I made and it worked. The volume levels are correct and there is no extra noise in the system.

As I was searching the tinterweb today I found that there are at least two different model numbers and the face plates look the same. The model that I have (in-case it makes a difference) is XQD101690LNF. I spoke to Alpine and they were as helpful as they could be. I gave them a different model number XQD101390LNF and the information that I have received back so far (they didn't call back this afternoon like they said, perhaps they will tomorrow) was that these OEM projects are usually done well before the release of the vehicule which means that the people that worked on the project are perhaps no longer at the company. This does mean that a quick answer is not possible however if you get a really good chap (they are all very helpful) then they might just go and see what they can dig up in the archives.

Hope this information helps someone else planning on changing their head unit as this was the only part that was unclear for me.

Cheers