Here are pictures and
info about the visible upgrades to my stereo.
Wiring Diagram is at the bottom.
Most information is for LSE model, but there are wire colors at the bottom for other models.
I installed a pair of subwoofers in my Disco. I have a 1998 Land Rover Discovery LSE. I wanted to keep the factory CD changer and I have been pretty happy with the sound quality of the factory radio, but it did need some more bass. I would love to hear any suggestions on how to get the diversity antennas to pull radio stations in better. I get some static in all but the most powerful stations since I live away from a big city. The factory woofers were ok, but at medium volume they begin to just vibrate the door real bad and they just don’t hit the low frequencies that larger woofer can hit.
I am an audiophile guy and I put systems in friend’s cars so I have heard quite a bit of equipment from the cheapest stuff to some really awesome stuff. My biggest concerns were to make sure that I could integrate with the factory system easily, get more than enough bass, not take up much space, and not spend too much $$. I ended up getting a pair of Infinity Basslinks. They each have a 200 watt RMS Class D amplifier, a 10” sub, and a 10” passive radiator, gain control, remote gain control, adjustable bass boost, and adjustable crossover all in a tiny box. These also have strong construction and come with a durable tight mesh grille. This is important considering the odd things that get dumped in the back of a Land Rover.
I pulled those almost entirely useless and flimsy plastic cargo pockets off the sides in the back and mounted the subs there. That way I could tap into the signal that goes to the factory subs. There is plenty of solid material beneath the plastic to mount the subs to tightly so they won’t move or rattle. Mount them with some space between them and the floor so you can get to the controls and keep them from getting wet if you happen to put snow covered towing gear in the back. Since the signal wire is coming from under the passenger side rear access panel in the back you don’t have to worry about running power and signal wires together down the car and getting interference. The power wire goes under the rug from drivers to passenger side and then down the passenger side of the car, through the firewall to the battery. The ground is hooked to a stock ground bolt behind the access panel on the passenger's side for the passenger sub and driver's side for the driver sub. Signal comes from the stock subwoofer wires in the access panel on the passenger side. The wiring diagrams are below, you can use the diagram to help hook up any type of amplifier not just Basslinks. You will have 8 stock wires going to the subs of an LSE since the LSE system uses dual voice coil subwoofers. You only have to splice into 4 of the stock wires and then connect a sub wire from each sub. This makes a total of 3 wires in each splice. The wires were spliced into and not cut so the stock wire passes through so the stock subs still work. You can't really hear them with the new subs, but it makes more sense to keep them working for a variety of reasons I think. If I want to sell the vehicle I don't have to re-wire anything if I pull my new subs, and if I want to add mid-bass woofers in the rear door the wiring is still good. You only need to hook up either the front or rear connections on the Basslinks either will work, but don't do both. Hooking up all 8 will not provide you with as good bass.
One of my concerns was mounting the subs with the amp heat sinks facing down, something I usually don't do since it really hurts the effectiveness of the heat sink. After testing the subs though I found that they have never gotten warm even on hot days and since they aren’t in a car trunk they don’t get that hot in the summer. So I mounted them upside down because they fit better. If you live in a warm climate and have a dark interior it might be better to spin them so the heat sinks are not underneath. The subs take up a very, very small amount of space in the cargo area, space that would be occupied by the cargo pockets. I use the cargo cover over the top of them to keep them hidden from view, but they aren’t very conspicuous with it open.
I also mounted the wired remote controls in the center console. The wires for them run out the back and under the rug. The remotes are a super addition as I can constantly tweak the system. The remotes allow you to turn the bass setting on your head unit way down to preserve the life of your other speakers while still getting solid bass from the subs. All the wires are 100% hidden.
I have one sub set up with a higher crossover frequency and no bass boost. The other I have set with the lowest crossover frequency and about half bass boost. That way if I am listening to music that requires lots of solid bass, like rap, I turn the bass boosted sub up louder or if I am listening to classical music or jazz I turn the one up with the higher cross over frequency and no boost.
I am very pleased with this setup. As they say, there is no replacement for displacement and these won’t kick like a monster box with dual 15”s, but for the amount of space they take up the sound is huge. These are capable of giving you that nice kick in the back feeling that a big sub can.
Feel free to e-mail
me with any questions or for more pictures. efe4@cornell.NOSPAM.edu
Remove the NOSPAM to e-mail.
If you have a suggestion or think that I have made an error in my wiring please let me know.
The left side shows
the colors of the wires that come with a Basslink. The right side shows the
colors of the stock subwoofer wires.
The diagram shows which colors to splice to if you are adding a Basslink or
other amplifier. Keep in mind that this diagram is for the sub wires only and
has nothing to do with the stock Land Rover amps or the front speakers.
In the diagram the Basslink "Front Right" conenction is hooked to
the stock left sub wire coil 1.
"Front Left" conenction is hooked to the stock left sub wire coil
2.
"Rear Right" conenction is hooked to the stock right sub wire coil
1.
"Rear Left" conenction is hooked to the stock right sub wire coil
2.
Only the rear connection was used in my application, but all the colors are
here for you.
Rear speaker wire colors.
Not used in hooking up the subs, but here they are in case you want them.
Left is negative, right positive.
NON LSE model sub wire colors:
If you do not have an
LSE model and you want to tap into the stock D1 subwoofers here is info your
you.
D1s that do not have dual voice coil subwoofers will have a red and black wire
leading into the subwoofer amplifier which can be tapped.
Better yet though tap after the amplifier. Each sub is connected with a Black
negative wire and a Black/White positive wire.
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E.E.I.
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