 | Home > In Car Electronics > Review: Defender Audio Install |
 
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744   
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Hi All
I've been asked by a few people to document the long road I traveled to get to my desired audio install in my Defender 90 (MY15 Puma). I worry slightly about calling this anything close to a recommendation or advice as peoples pockets and ears vary greatly. All I can say is I'm pretty fussy having always enjoyed good quality Hi-Fi gear at home and some very nice cars over the years. I'd also consider myself a competent practical person. Some of this stuff involves stripping your beloved Defender down to its underpants  and playing with its bits! 
In the following posts (and it might take me a while) I'll try and cover what I did. Firstly lets start with a shopping list of items. The links I've provided are simply for reference, I have no idea if they are the cheapest or provide the best service, nor do I have any connection. I suggest if you want to buy you Google for the latest/best service/price. I've not covered the sound deadening aspect in this thread (yet) but I do consider that to be a VITAL part of the audio upgrade. There are already plenty of posts on that subject on this forum! Parts List DASH Twisted Centre Double Din Dash Kit http://www.twistedautomotive.com HEAD UNIT Alpine ILX-700 Apple Car Play Head Unit http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00R17Z3JI? AMPLIFIER Alpine PDR-V75 5-Channel Power Density Reference Amplifier http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...-32841.htm AMPLIFIER POWER WIRING Connects2 PRO Series 4 AWG http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/connects2-pro-series-4-awg FRONT TWEETERS Alpine SPS-110TW Tweeters http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...-27586.htm REAR SPEAKERS Alpine SPR-60 300W 17cm 2-way speakers http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...-27161.htm MID REAR SPEAKERS Alpine SPR-50 270W 13cm 2-way speakers http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...-27163.htm FRONT SPEAKERS Alpine SXE-1025S http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...wwodYewKOQ SUB WOOFER Alpine SWR-8D2 8" 1000W Car Audio Subwoofer http://caraudiosecurity.com/alpine-swr-8d2...1000-watts SUB WOOFER CONTROL Alpine RUX-KNOB - Bass Controller http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...GwodZ1oHEg Last edited by Barney12 on 2nd Dec 2015 3:14pm. Edited 2 times in total |
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2nd Dec 2015 12:20pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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OK on with the review. We'll start at the front and work back. Firstly the head unit.
I wanted a double dash unit and in the end plumped for the Alpine ILX-700 which is a dedicated Apple Car Play unit. Its sat inside a Twisted Dash which I believe is still the only double din dash kit with a dedicated switch panel without the 'round hole'. DASH Twisted Centre Double Din Dash Kit http://www.twistedautomotive.com Likes: the dash kit is very good quality and fits seamlessly. Dislike: Its price. At £600 it is very close to a rip off! I have a pretty good idea what it cost make and even know the company that paints them. But hey they have a good product and a strong brand thus I'm not knocking them. They are also likely recouping their development/tooling costs. The fear of screwing up cutting your dash to fit the switch panel! HEAD UNIT Alpine ILX-700 Apple Car Play Head Unit http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00R17Z3JI? Likes: Very nice quality and the Apple Car Play works great for me. But that's mainly because I'm a heavy user of my iPhone for music and have my entire CD library (over 800 physical CD's and growing) ripped to a digital file. Its really shallow in depth (due to the lack of CD drive) which makes fitting VERY simple. It looks pretty 
SIRI voice control works surprisingly well as long as you have 3G or above. Dislikes: The lack of a rotary control for volume annoys me. Touch screens could be argued as far from perfect for a bouncy Defender!  Click image to enlarge Last edited by Barney12 on 2nd Dec 2015 2:12pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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2nd Dec 2015 12:43pm |
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| Rosco Member Since: 03 Dec 2010 Location: Burntwood Posts: 1833 
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Following with interest
 2007 - Stornoway Grey 90 XS SW - Gone
2002 - Black Discovery II - Gone 2014 - Montalcino Red 110 XS SW |
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2nd Dec 2015 1:43pm |
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| Lordsmut Member Since: 28 Nov 2015 Location: Bucks Posts: 23  
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Looking good so far, I'll be interested in the sub and 17cm speaker positioning
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2nd Dec 2015 2:44pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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OK lets do the front speakers and tweeters next:
FRONT SPEAKERS Alpine SXE-1025S http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...wwodYewKOQ The front speakers are simply a 4" upgrade so its just a case of unscrewing the old and replacing with the new. No cutting no wiring, no hassle. These are a good upgrade from the standard and I'm surprised at how hard you can drive them before they start to distort. However, the front for me was lacking in "brightness" so I knew that the tweeters would have to come next: FRONT TWEETERS Alpine SPS-110TW Tweeters http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...-27586.htm Despite the standard factory tweeters being 1" and these being the same it was immediately clear that although they would fit the hole they wouldn't sit flush due to the moulding of the dash. Thus I took the decision to remove the factory units and re-use the grill/cover. You can carefully cut the rubberised glue from the factory tweeter units and prize the drivers out. You need to be careful though as it would be easy to damage the plastic. I then bonded the drive units from the new units in. This effectively meant that all the pods, grills and various mounting "stuff" with the Alpines were redundant. The Alpines come with an inline crossover which is prewired. they are tubular and thus easily fit into the dash space. The improvement in sound from this tiny upgrade was really quite significant. Original Factory tweeters removed and separated from the gril: Click image to enlarge New Alpine tweeter bonded in to existing grill: Click image to enlarge The end result is a front speaker arrangement which is indistinguishable from standard in terms of looks as both the 4" speakers and tweeters use the original grills. |
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2nd Dec 2015 2:55pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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OK now for the most fiddly job and the one that resulted in 4 different amplifiers until I was happy!
AMPLIFIER Alpine PDR-V75 5-Channel Power Density Reference Amplifier http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...-32841.htm So firstly this (rather expensive) Class D amp sits in the drivers seat box. Despite measuring the space and believing it would fit easily the reality is that the various cables and the position of the fuse box already there make this a right blooming fiddle! The 4AWG (which is like bloomin hose pipe!) power cable is run directly from the battery. The earth is attached to its own earthing point created on the side of the seat box. I routed the cable out of the passenger seat box, under the car (in plastic loom conduit) and back into the drivers seat box. The two phono cables and control cable from the HU are fed under the carpet and under the cubby box and down into the drivers seat box. I did all this with everything out, including the carpet so carefully routing the cables wasn't too bad a job. I wouldn't like to try it with everything in situ! Click image to enlarge Although in my tests the unit didn't get that hot I was still concerned about heat. In the end I decided the only option was to customize the seat box lid with two vents. One with a 12v silent fan connected to the "remote on" feed from the HU. It only comes on with the HU and it is completely silent. It pulls air in and over the amp which then expels via the back vent. It works brilliantly even if I do say so myself. The fan wiring has connectors to allow the seat lid to easily be removed completely. I have no idea if its overkill but I've certainly driven the amp hard over several hours and had no issues at all. Click image to enlarge |
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2nd Dec 2015 3:11pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20355
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Looks good, can't fault it.
I wouldn't worry about heat unless it's a long journey in very hot weather with music cranked up high for a long time. Most high quality Amp's are class D and very efficient producing much less heat. |
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2nd Dec 2015 4:12pm |
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| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7905 
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Thanks for the write up, reading with interest! Commenting for future reference, definitely something I want to do.
I thought the 'standard' double din fascias at £310.00 was a rip off but £600!! I'm sorry, as much as I love Twisted that's astonishing! 
You don't mention a rear view camera? |
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2nd Dec 2015 5:00pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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Thanks Steve, I knew I was probably being paranoid on the heat front
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2nd Dec 2015 5:00pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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Ok, then there is 'the knob' or more specifically the 'Rux-knob' (catchy name!, well done marketing team!). What does it do? Well simply it provides you bass control on the fly. I found that however well you tweaked crossover points levels etc there would be certain tracks that needed a boost and others that made your kidneys (and the car) rattle.
Originally I was going to mount this on the sub itself but realised that leaning back to the sub box (that's comming up next so stay tuned!!) would get annoying so I came up with the cunning plan of mounting it in the cup holder of the cubby. It's really effective, discreet and doesn't get in the way. http://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-...GwodZ1oHEg Oh and one last thing. This connects to the amp using a single cable. The one supplied is plenty long enough to get from the under seat to the cubby. Click image to enlarge I guess the only possible negative is that there is no label to tell you what 'the knob' does but a quick twiddle makes it pretty obvious!! I did convince the wife for a couple of days that it raised and lowered the car like the RR and Disco before it but she soon twigged I was lying when she still kept catching her chin on the cills  it's not my fault she's so blooooomin short!  Last edited by Barney12 on 2nd Dec 2015 5:14pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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2nd Dec 2015 5:10pm |
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| custom90 Member Since: 21 Jan 2010 Location: South West, England. Posts: 20355
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It helps though, I'd have done the same. Be careful of moisture in there though.
I speak from experience. |
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2nd Dec 2015 5:13pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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OK, let's move onto the sub.
One of the earlier iterations of my audio install involved the Alpine SWE-1200 which I recently sold on sales corner. Now to be honest this is a fine little unit which is a big upgrade for the standard HU and as it amplification is included in the package is good value too. However I wanted something a little better, OK alot better. My first note of caution is that I would imagine anything that provides a reasonable level of base is going to be aweful in a non sound deadened Defender. Mine is floor to ceiling coated in Dynamat (aside from the roof which uses a similar product) and on top of that 3mm of foam and 6mm on the roof. I can't say this with certainty as I did that work ahead of the audio install but knowing how the standard Defender resonates like a can I'd be fairly certain of disapointing results. What I also didn't want was something so huge it would get in the way. So after a lot of reading I went for the Alpine 8" driver. http://caraudiosecurity.com/alpine-swr-8d2...1000-watts One of the principle decisions was arround the manufacturers recommended enclose size (in my case an un-ported design). After a couple of sketches I came up with the box shown below. It's made from 19mm MDF and is designed to be the same width as the cubby and at a height that allows the cubby lid to fold back as normal. It's covered with a black sub fabric which I got off eBay for not a lot! Importantly it's designed to unplug and lift away if at any time I needed the space. It's base is designed to sit over the lip of the floor (behind the front seats). It's sheer weight also means it doesn't move. I don't much like the metal grill covering the front but it's esessential for protecting it from Jarvis Cocker and Jo Cocker my rather overly energetic cocker spaniels! My mk2 version (if I ever get time) is going to be more seamless with the cubby and trimmed in leather to match!
Click image to enlarge Note the silver screws have since been changed to black. Detail, detail, detail |
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2nd Dec 2015 5:30pm |
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| Barney12 Member Since: 09 Jun 2015 Location: South West Posts: 744
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Yep, it's silly expensive! Sorry forgot about the camera! Yes, wired direct to the HU. I decided against wiring to the reverse switch as o didn't want it comming on every time I selected reverse. Instead I can turn it on via the HU on the front screen which is another good feature of the Alpine HU. Also if you turn it on via the front menu button the audio remains playing whereas if you use the reverse switch it mutes the audio ! Quick dirty picture for you of the camera. It couldn't be more discreet. Almost invisible! Camera came from Amazon, I'll find the link and update this post in a bit. Click image to enlarge Did you spot it? It's just below the number plate light. Edit: here the link to the camera I used. It works brilliantly. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00UFKIUUC? |
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2nd Dec 2015 6:03pm |
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| Lordsmut Member Since: 28 Nov 2015 Location: Bucks Posts: 23
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How do you find the field of vision on the camera with it being offset?
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2nd Dec 2015 6:25pm |
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