Land Rover and Range Rover Forum banner

After Market Stereo

16K views 28 replies 13 participants last post by  Adam From Blighty  
#1 ·
Since my car is my daily driver and i spend some quality time driving, I'm looking to upgrade the radio to maybe something that gets SIRIUS / XM if possible.

What kind of aftermarket radios are available that will fit into the dash?

Post some pictures if you have any & explain all the trim work you had to do to get the radio to install in the dash!

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
Does it have XM or anything? That or some kind of jack for hooking up an mp3 played (dreaded word: iPod LOL)
 
#7 ·
I just went with this one plays music through blue tooth, sd cards or the fm tuner. It has built in bluetooth for using your phone hands free through the stereo and a set of stereo rca inputs on the back for whatever you choose to add. No cd player or am band though. 59.99 shipped from crutchfield. I got the white one not the black one it saved me 60 bucks and I figured screw it the jag is white lol

Clarion FB275BT Digital media receiver (pearl) at Crutchfield.com
 
#8 ·
I've been thinking about swapping my radio out as well...I've already changed the speakers and that made a huge difference, but I want something that allows me to use my Ipod with the best possible sound as well as the occasional Cd...The cd changer in my disco is a terrible excuse for a cd player...but anyway. I've been looking at the Alpine CDA-9884

Alpine CDA-9884 CD receiver at Crutchfield.com

Or the Alpine CDA-9886 :

Alpine CDA-9886 CD receiver at Crutchfield.com

I've had good luck with Alpine head units in the past. Many Pioneers are also good. Seems as though many have gotten away from the motorized faceplates except in the Pop out navi units...I've also considered those. But I dont really want to go quite THAT expensive as far as audio is concerned on this truck. I'd rather spend the extra coin on offroading goodies and stuff along those lines.

As far as the installation goes. I believe it just pops right in and that is a small strip of plastic thats considered 'an installation kit' that fills in below the head unit. The cage that comes with the head unit should pop right into the existing opening with little or no modifications. Any standard sized radio will fit. Crutchfield's website has a long list of them that do fit. I've been debating this purchase for quite a while. I also plan on adding a sub into one of the rear storage boxes eventually. Nothing too expensive. I think about 90% of the head units you buy these days have xm/sirus boxes you can add, bluetooth, usb for thumbdrives, and some have usb for ipods, as well as proprietary adapters for ipods. I think the second Alpine I listed comes with the necessary ipod cable. Otherwise its another $20 or so....

Hope this all helps...
 
#9 ·
almost any single DIN radio will work.

Use the radio keys and slide out the factory radio. When you build the new harness remember to swtich the red and yellow wires (bat pos and ign). Slide in the new radio's sleeve hook up the harness and RF cable and slide the new radio in.

If you what to locate the iPod in the center console, like I did, or add satellite radio or anything other then just a radio, its going to require some surgery to look tasteful.

Trust me it took me three days and a tube of plastic weld to undo what the last owner of my baby did. Just take your time and it will come out nice.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the imput so far! My speaker system is fabulous, but it will be put to better use when/if I get a new radio.

DIN is a keyword!

Thanks!!!!!
 
#16 ·
I used the factory amp and the factory speakers. I had to ditch the CD changer, but that's what an ipod is for. I did have a hum in the radio when I had 4 volts coming out of the aftermarket radio but when I dropped it down to 2 it sounded fine.
 
#12 ·
The factory amps can be wired to work with just a touch of skill, or a decent installer.
 
#15 ·
I have the alpine cda-9883, which was replaced by the cda-9884. I have both xm and my ipod hooked up to it. PAC sells a interface for the steering wheel controls, the swi-alp iirc. I bouth the headunit from crutchfield, came with the harness and ipod cable. Got the xm unit from myradiostore.com, and the steering wheel adapter off ebay. Sounds good, and has everything i want. I just wish that alpine had a better bluetooth system. I haven't gotten the addon because I heard it has some issues with phones. I have both the xmdirect reciever and ipod in the glove box.
 
#20 ·
LOL yeah, but it's nice :D ...by the time you add up a bunch of cheezy parts you'd have to rig up separate it probably adds up bout the same as one nice clean system. You're probably right about the streaming head stuff, I saw a story the other day on computers that can literally read minds :eek: it's so freaky.
 
#21 ·
DVD Player - yikes! You can't even text or talk on the phone in Cali LOL

It IS a very nice unit though ;-)
 
#25 ·
you're correct...check crutchfield.com and they can give you a long list of speakers that fit these trucks....as far as the tweeters are concerned, i had to do a little custom work to get them to fit into the factory A pillar tweeter spots...the backdoors went very well, and I've not replaced the 4" or 3.5" midrange speakers in my front doors yet...I havent felt the need to lately. The tweeter/woofer combo seems to work well in mine. I also removed the rear subs from the door. JL Audio makes a 6.5" sub but I dont know if it'll work in the air confines of the supplied box. I plan on adding a 10" or 12" subwoofer in one of the rear storage boxes.
 
#27 ·
that shouldn't be hard to do. remove the two screws in the arm rest, the one screw in the door latch and the four screws in the door pocket. GENTLY use a panel puller along the lock side of the door, wiggle it between the panel and the paint (careful not to knick or scrape) and GENTLY pull towards you. she'll pop right off. work your way down the side, along the bottom and the rest should come lose. you'll have to pull the door lock out of the receiver at the top of the panel and don't go very far with the panel as the mid and lower speakers are still connected, just a firm grasp on each connecter should release them.

Be careful not to lose any of the fasteners or tear/rip the moisture barrier. reinstallation requires lining up a few of the fasteners at the top of the window sill and gently tapping it back into place with your fist...(for the lack of a better method!) and just bump your fist gently around the edges of the door. make sure you pull the lock popup through!!!

CA
 
#28 ·
what are you looking to get out of a new head unit? better sound or better devices?

If ipod is what youre looking for i think they make connectivity kits for discos.My friends dodge pickup has slide out change holders like ours

he hard wires the ipod kit behind the dash and then fed the cord through the back of the change drawer and thats where it sits/charges. closes for hiding when parked too, i like that


if u want to get serious about audio/video you may browse mp3car.com and search disco. someone did a nasty setup in there with a computer. i am in the planning stages of one myself. Im going to custom mount a space navigator mouse into one of the cupholders possibly. (similar to how bmw controls their "carputers")
 
#29 · (Edited)
I have updated my system with a Flip Screen DVD Player with MP3 and enough wires out the back to look like a snakes wedding...!, replaced all the speakers and found that the Amp did not work, got on to ebay, found a small din to plug adapter for less than 10 pounds and fitted it.....still the amp did not work, emailed the seller on ebay and he told me to take the blue continuous ariel wire from the back of the unit and fit it directly to the blue and yellow wire in the back of the original plug...... fantastic sound, just waiting for my 2 extra screens to arrive so I can fit them for the kids. Now looking for an after market plug to use the dash buttons.....!