Range Rover '97 4.0 SE aftermarket head unit

[hmarks]

I have a '97 Range Rover 4.0 SE and I am slowly upgrading my audio system. So far all I have done is put 1 Memphis 12" sub with an amp in. The other day I bought a Kenwood KDC-MP528 head unit from Best Buy. I went around back to have it installed for free at Best Buy only to find out that the parts and labor needed to install the aftermarket unit would cost upwards of $200. They said that each speaker had its' own amp and that to install the head unit they would have to bypass each of these amps. They said that this would degrade my sound quality, so I decided to wait and do more research. It has been about two weeks and I visited the car audio place where I bought and had my sub installed. There they said that they would only have to bypass one central amp and that the parts would cost about 45 dollars and the labor would cost around $75. They also said that installing the aftermarket head unit would drastically improve my sound system. My head unit has a Built-In MOSFET Amplifier RMS Power 4 x 22 Watts RMS. I know that having it installed will give me more equalizer options and control over my sub, but who was right about the sound quality, Best Buy or my car audio shop?

I was just wondering if having this installed would really improve my sound system or not, and if it would, to what extent?

 

[cbf]

hmarks, I'm doing an install tomorrow to my RR. Putting in an Alpine CDA-9857. I've heard the same issues regarding the internal amps and am hoping to bypass this with turning off the internal amplifier for the headunit. Alpine allows you to do this.

I'll install this and give you a heads up on how it went.

 

[cbf]

btw - The speakers in the RR's are top of the line and don't need to be replaced. Unless they are blown or you're looking for a performance system I wouldn't mess with ever changing them out.