Sub Woofer not functional??

[crash]

Subwoofer Design

You are not going to get great low frequency from a subwoofer in LR3. Replacing it is going to do little if any good. There are principles behind speaker design and little has to due with the size of the magnet either. There are calculations (as well as manufacturer specs.) that determine the volume (or box size) a given size speaker (cone) should reside in. This determines how much air the speaker can then disipate. You are also only going to get low frequency 20 to 100 cycles from a sub, this is not effecting your mid or high frequency.

There is a reason why in-ceiling or in-wall speakers sound different than free standing speakers in your home. There is no enclosure around the components of in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. Build a box around these speakers and there is a world of difference.

There are a number of different enclosures on the market and each deliver different solutions. You can have a vented or ported enclosure, which is the most common, the bandpass enclosure will produce high SPL readings which is good for rap and the most frequent you find in trunks, the wedge or truck box. If you want to check your system and calibrate cheaply, go to RadioShack and pick up an SPL meter for $20.00. There are a ton of articles and tech tips on the web for calibrating systems and speaker design enclosure.

 

[NHESS81]

Every model in the Land Rover Disco line has had crappy subs in the back...

 

[lacarruk1]

I replaced my rear sub with a Morel "Elate" 9"sub which fit in the space for the OEM sub in the tailgate and it sounds much better than the OEM model. I also have it powered with an auxiliary Alpine amplifier so it kicks. Pictures won't help you because my install is in the same location as the OEM, and covered by a protective plate under the carpet-so there's nothing to see unless I'd tear off the carpet. Sorry, bud-there are limits!

A few questions:

1. How much does a Morel "Elate" 9"sub cost?
2. Where do they sell? I am having difficulty finding an online dealer.
3. Which Alpine Amp did you install and is it completely compatible with all of the fiber optics?
4. Does the Subwoofer volume control on the stereo still control the sub after you did the install?
5. Lastly, did you have to make any special box or anything or you just pulled old sub out and put new one in it's place? When you say covered by protective plate, is this already in LR3 covering original, or does it come with Morel 9" sub?

 

[Roverine]

I'm out of town for a couple days, so I'll have to get you more specific info when I return and check my invoice. I got the Morel from a high end car stereo shop (Car Concepts in Salt Lake) and it was about $500- not cheap. The amp is a MRV-545. It was installed under the passenger seat, behind (and in addition to) the OEM amp. It sticks out a bit into the rear seat floor area under the rubber mat). I had to keep the original amp (since it's wired with all the fiber optic stuff and required for functionality of the head unit), and supplement it with the Alpine unit. The sub is still controlled by the head unit sub-woofer volume control, just like the original, but I have a separate volume control for the Alpine amp which they installed right next to the parking brake. When I get home, I'll get more info from the invoice and a picture or two. Lastly, I'd have to ask if they had to make any other modifications to get the new sub to fit, but I will call them if you are interested, but the plate had to be made up, as the original sub has a grille built onto it which came out with the old unit. I'll get back to you after Wednesday.

 

[schafari]

I'll bet they cut the +/- subwoofer speaker wire output near the H/K amp and fed those into your Alpine speaker level input. Then connected the Alpine speaker output back to the LR3 subwoofer wiring at the H/K amp. In other words the H/K subwoofer out to the Alpine speaker in.

When I installed a custom remote Bel Pro Plus 75 radar detector system, I had to take apart the tailgate and remove the stock subwoofer. It is an exo-skeleton sub. The voice coil, spider, surround and driver are all exposed. Turn a woofer inside out, flatten the cone somewhat, and you get the idea. It was a crazy looking thing. (So much so, I took pictures)

 

[man007b]

I'll bet they cut the +/- subwoofer speaker wire output near the H/K amp and fed those into your Alpine speaker level input. Then connected the Alpine speaker output back to the LR3 subwoofer wiring at the H/K amp. In other words the H/K subwoofer out to the Alpine speaker in.

When I installed a custom remote Bel Pro Plus 75 radar detector system, I had to take apart the tailgate and remove the stock subwoofer. It is an exo-skeleton sub. The voice coil, spider, surround and driver are all exposed. Turn a woofer inside out, flatten the cone somewhat, and you get the idea. It was a crazy looking thing. (So much so, I took pictures)

Can you please post the pictures?

 

[Roverine]

I checked my invoice for my stereo upgrade and it does not itemize the prices for separate components. They installed a Cleansweep unit, Alpine SPX-177R speakers in the front doors, SPR-17LS speakers in the rear doors and the amp was an Alpine MRV-F345. The Morel subwoofwer is model no. Elate SW9. I taped a piece of aluminum door threshold to the back of the amp so it slopes down to provide a surface for the floor mat to ride on. When the rubber mat is down, the Alpine amp is concealed under it, but the amp does, as I said, intrude a bit into the rear passenger floor space. I have not had any rear seat passengers complain about this-but it does limit how far forward they can place their feet. I rarely have rear seat passengers, so the sound-space compromise was worth it for me. My pics are linked below:


http://i2.tinypic.com/t4z7mt.jpg Amp behind OEM amp under seat

http://i2.tinypic.com/t4z9rm.jpg Another view

http://i2.tinypic.com/t4zaeq.jpg Trying to photo OEM amp

http://i2.tinypic.com/t4zc79.jpg Amp volume control on console

 

[grommet]

FYI: The Cleansweep takes amplified audio output and converts it to line level... so it can be plugged into another amplifier. It can also do some digital re-equalization, so it can undo any tweaking the head unit or factory amp does (as long as the curve doesn't change as the volume is altered). If you don't need re-equalization, a simple line converter will do.

 

[lacarruk1]

I checked my invoice for my stereo upgrade and it does not itemize the prices for separate components. They installed a Cleansweep unit, Alpine SPX-177R speakers in the front doors, SPR-17LS speakers in the rear doors and the amp was an Alpine MRV-F345. The Morel subwoofwer is model no. Elate SW9. I taped a piece of aluminum door threshold to the back of the amp so it slopes down to provide a surface for the floor mat to ride on. When the rubber mat is down, the Alpine amp is concealed under it, but the amp does, as I said, intrude a bit into the rear passenger floor space. I have not had any rear seat passengers complain about this-but it does limit how far forward they can place their feet. I rarely have rear seat passengers, so the sound-space compromise was worth it for me. My pics are linked below:


http://i2.tinypic.com/t4z7mt.jpg Amp behind OEM amp under seat

http://i2.tinypic.com/t4z9rm.jpg Another view

http://i2.tinypic.com/t4zaeq.jpg Trying to photo OEM amp

http://i2.tinypic.com/t4zc79.jpg Amp volume control on console

What was the total cost for everything?

 

[Matt_Grim2]

So if i were to replace the factory speakers & add a sub, would i have to keep the Factory Amp...