My 2006 HSE has a pretty bitchin' stereo in terms of volume when I'm using the radio or the 6-CD changer. The system sounds great even when cranked up to near uncomfortable levels. But most of the sounds I listen to these days come from my iPhone via the Tunai Firefly Bluetooth adapter I have discretely plugged into the aux input on the rear of the center console. The set up works like a charm and I have no complaints about the ease of the connection or the quality of the sound. That said, setting my iPhone and the LR3 stereo to max volume levels produces decent loudness but not the heart pounding\truck shaking effect available from the stock equipment. It's not that I'm always at max volume (jeez, I'm in my 70s...) but there are times when blasting something with a strong beat and a lot of screaming is the only way to stay awake on a long road trip. I'm sure you understand...

My guess is that the limiting factor is the aux input. Before the Tunai Firefly setup, I ran a 3.5 mm cable from the phone to the same aux port and had exactly the same max volume limitations. There are no volume ceiling options set on my iPhone for safety or any other reason. And when I use that same iPhone as an input for my home stereo using a Bluetooth or an aux cable connection, the max volume levels are as loud as I get from other inputs such as a turntable or the TV audio output.

Soooo... is there something I can change in the aux input for the LR3 to boost the signal prior to it arriving at the vehicle's main amplifier? Any other approach? I'd rather not have some sort of awkward looking preamp sitting out in the open because the whole idea of the Tunai Firefly was to eliminate cords and bulky modules.

Ultimately this is a first-world problem. I can certainly live without ear splitting volumes. But if there's something simple and relatively inexpensive I could do, I'm game.

Cheers,

Nick in Palm Springs

 

replace the LR guts surrounding the inside of the rear AUX input with an eBay bluetooth board

https://landroverforums.com/forum/lr...m_content=post

direct wire new board to the remaining LR wires going to the head unit (L, R, and both grounds) as well as power to the unit from the nearby 12v

absolutely solves the low volume sound issue for streaming audio

 

Thanks! I saw that thread but simply assumed that it was for folks unhappy with the use of an external bluetooth adapter. I'm OK with mine other than the limitation with the volume via the aux port, but this approach looks like the line signal to the amp is stronger.

I'll do a little test run at seeing how difficult it is to expose the stock aux input and power port on the back of the console before I order anything.

Cheers,

Nick in Palm Springs

 

It's the LR circuitry that creates the volume issue

you remove the 2 little boards (connected by a white ribbon wire and a green electrical connector)
then you attach the board outputs to the wires that came into the LR plug

everything fits inside the black box w/ room to spare
super easy - good luck!

 

Odd. I taped into the AUX input right on the back of the head unit and have the same low volume issue. The only save what that my CarPlay unit can boost output distortion free, so that makes up for it. But originally I had hacked the AUX right up front because I wanted an AUX input on the dash, not in back. So my rear AUX port was cut off long ago but like I said, still had the volume issue.

 

Wonder if LR fixed this along the way, I dont have this problem on my 2007. With Tunai and a decent quality charging plug in the power supply, I get full volume streaming from my flip phone via BT.

 

I've heard the 07+ trucks have a much better aux audio quality. Also fwiw I run a Bluetooth fm transmitter adapter in the cig lighter and the audio quality is the same as the regular fm from the harmon Kardon system. Plus you can charge your phone off it, and I also have an 06

 

I did the same before replacing the og head unit, i didn't have the rear aux input so i wired one into the plug at the back of the head unit and used a cheap BT dongle but also had the same low volume issue.
Never got around to trying it but some say you need to plug something into the rear aux input or when wiring direct to the head unit you use both ground wires as there are 2 in the aux plug.