[Tekbench]

Regarding my 2000 Disco's Harmon Kardon system:
I'm gutting the head unit, amp and CD changer in favor of a Pioneer AVIC 910BT nav/bells/whistles unit and a new Amplifier.
If I read my Rave wiring diagrams correctly, I see that the Harmon Kardon Amp is really an 8 channel amp (below is the left side - double it for the right):
1 - Left-Front Door-midrange-A-pillar-tweeter assembly (speakers are in series)
2 - Left-Front Door-lowrange woofer at bottom of door
3 - Left-Rear Door-lowrange-midrange speaker assembly (speakers are in series).
4 - one of the 6.5" Rear tailgate Subwoofers.

My question is this - I'd like to not buy 8 channels of amp. Has anyone had issue just connecting the "left front output" from an aftermarket amp to all THREE speakers on the corresponding side? Wire numbers 1 and 2 together in the above example. I believe there is a small inline resistor between the A pillar tweeter and the midrange acting as a crossover, so I dont see much of a problem unless the speakers are some weird ohmage. They're 'rated' at 15 watts, so an aftermarket amp should drive them to their death.
Other option would be to feed the sub channel to both back door woofers AND both front door woofers. Comments? Concerns?
This install will be complete with custom cut dash insert, etc. The only thing I'm interested in reusing are the speakers and their respective harnesses. The sound really nice. I'll replace them when it comes to that, but for now I want to reuse the speakers and harnesses that came out of the old factory amp.
Am I just overcomplicating this?
Thanks!
tekbench.

 

[k-rover1]

Lots of ways to set up amps, but the biggest problem i see is not replacing your stock speakers. The old speakers will certainly blow from the power of ANY amp or modern head unit for that matter.
I used to work for an car audio shop. saw it all the time.
Modern Aftermarket amps and headunits have more RMS power than most older speakers can handle at max watts.
You do your setup with a 5 channel amp, but again thats not the most ideal way to do it.
It really comes down to how much money do you want to spend??

 

[dh42891]

x2 on new speakers.

 

[Tekbench]

Got it. That sounds like good advice on the speakers.
Budget is a 'relative' non-issue. My day job is working on a system that interfaces directly to Pioneer's NAV component (Garmin-esque), so the deck is free, the sleeve/custom dash is free (or beers for my finish carpenter neighbor at the most) and I have no problem wiring audio compontents. In fact, I do that pretty much on a daily basis. Cables and cords are all laying about. Good ones too - Canare, Belden and some Mogami stuff.
The least I could do I spend a few bucks making this whole thing work well.
I am not a 'competition' guy. I'd like it to sound as good as the Harmon Kardon system sounded when I bought it 5 years ago. I don't need 1000 watts and a huge sub. The existing speaker layout and sizing is fine. That being said, in your professional car stereo opinion, what is a good way to go from here (in addition to shotgunning all the speakers)? My thought is a 4 channel amp in addition to the Pioneer. Power the front door tweeters and midranges with the Pioneer's internal amp along with the rear door woofer/tweeter bi-amp setup, and use the new 'under seat' 4 channel amp to drive the front door woofers and the tailgate woofer assembly (bridged OR just drive each speaker discretely). The Pioneer does 14 Watts RMS per channel from it's head unit amp. Should be plenty of power for listening, correct? I don't need the alarm-triggering license plate rattling thing. Literally, the Harmon Kardon was plenty loud. I appreciate your advice, and taking the time to respond. I know it's been said a thousand times on this site, but, I plan on posting pictures of the Double Din dash hack, and possibly getting my neighbor to build a handful of the sleeves out of burled walnut and offer them in the classifieds. It's turning out to be a really nice Double Din conversion situation. You lose the crappy drink holder below the heater controls, but gain a proper industry standard Double Din slot and make your plastic facia look a little more classy. Also room to install a 1/8" mini jack AND a USB port in the driver/front facing wood if necessary.

 

[natem50]

Would love to see pics after it's installed.

 

[k-rover1]

Ok, here is how i would do it if it were me. first if you buy 2 way speakers for the rear, and 2 or 3 way speakers for the front. you still end up with just 4 channels. The speakers use a passive crossover to seperate the freq.
you can run all the speakers off the deck.
When it comes to the sub, the factory "sub" is not really a subwoofer at all. So if you plan on using it at all, dont put a whole lot of power to it!
Im not into into the whole lound shaking rattling systems, honestly I would start with a four or 5 channel amp. get the speakers I mentioned earlier. and the head unit. that should get you some pretty could sound. and having the 5 channel amp with give you the option of adding a sub later.

 

[Tekbench]

Wrapping up

It took a long time, a few job changes and finally hiring my car stereo install buddy to make this happen.
Short answer -
We gutted all the speakers except the subs. A new sub is step 2 after we pull one jump seat (it's an SE7 truck)
Installed a Phoenix Gold 5 channel amp.
Alpine speakers in the back doors with matching tweeters.
Phoenix Gold something or another speakers in the front doors, mid range grilles and pillar spots.
Custom backup camera mounted under rear bumper in trailer hitch area.
Bypassed reverse switch and put camera on physical dash switch.
Bass tuning knob mounted in switch blank below cruise control. I don't know what this is, but all the kids have them now adays apparently. "California Love" sounds pretty damn good with it in the full clockwise position.
integrated existing steering controls.
Added the Pioneer voice activation kit and phone mic deal.
Cherry dash insert came out nice, but I kind of regret NOT doing it in matching walnut. I do like the color though, and it makes quite a pop out of the dash. Feels very LR3-ish.
We pushed it 'out' a bit to accomodate cables AND make it easier to see. With it completely flush, it was a PITA to see the screen.
Very happy with the result. sounds fantastic, and the dash hack wasn't nearly as invasive as we thought it would be.
I think i've still got the drawing of the Double Din woodwork, but I have no idea where it is.
Notes:
You lose the drink holders below.
You have almost no room for error cutting the hole in the dash left to right.
you'll have way more wire than you know what to do with in the dash.
The carpets are molded, and need to be channeled out to fit wires so you don't have a lumpy floor.
the NAV antenna won't work stuck on top of the head unit, hidden in the dash. Some newer cars employ this trick. It won't work through the dash and then through your heated windshield. Trust me on this one. it 'should' work, but it doesn't.
A nice thin amp (like the phonenix gold) fits under the passengers seat once you remove the Harmon Kardon stuff. You have very little room for amps over there. Measure twice and cut once.
The 'cut the dash, install a wood trim' method seems to be faster than the 'cut the dash, bondo a new hole' method. If you're good with bondo, this might not be the case.
Hope this inspires a few people to custom up a dash or two.
Enjoy!

 

[jsoult]

Did you re-wire all the speakers you replaced or leave the existing wiring?
Looks great by the way

 

[Tekbench]

Left all the factory wiring in the doors. Including to the rear subs. Also left the factory harness from the dash to the passenger front seat.
Kelly

 

[assafde]

Assuming I plan to stay with the current AMP and speakers, can I just replace the head unit with e.g. AVH-X7700BT ?
What kind of adapter is required having the steering wheel control active?

 

[15mpg]

If your unit has RCA preamp outputs there is a wiring harness adapter that will make a simple and clean connection. Both front and rear RCA outputs are necessary for this to be possible.
Crutchfield supplied one with my receiver - Though I needed specify the harness that utilized the RCA component output. These are available on line.

If your head unit has the ability to be operated by the steering wheel controls look into the Metra Axxess adapter or something similar. I found the best value for mine on ebay, but that was 2 years or so ago.
I used one successfully, though it has some programming steps to follow.
What is nice is that once set up it retains the settings even when the battery is disconnected from the Discovery.
Can's say the same for the head unit settings....

Final note: The conversion plays very well through the HK amp and original speakers.
Sound and features surpassing the original navigation head unit.

All this information may be a bit dated since I did mine.
But not as old as this original thread !

 

[67landy]

Upgrade stereo system

Hello everyone. first of all, awesome setup on the dashboard. I also have an 04 Disco, I always wanted to upgrade my stereo system with a 7" screen with back up camera set, better Amp and speakers. How can I have a system setup in my Disco like yours? can you direct me please?