[nazdackster]

Now that I'm moving past high priority mechanical issues on my new rig, I would like to do something with the stereo. My stereo was replaced by one of the previous owners. Then I got the head unit with the vehicle, but not connected. Previous owner took whatever stereo was installed and whoever did this was a complete idiot. Sub is gone. Sub knob is gone. CD Changer is gone. They cut the harnesses out of the vehicle, leaving 1.5" exposed holes in the bottom of the vehicle, including one under the passenger seat. Nothing important under there, right?... Nah...

Anyway, all that's been made somewhat stable again, covered up, water ingress prevented, etc. Fortunately, that looks like the extent of the carelessness. The vehicle now has (2) 5-1/4" Scosche speakers in the doors in the original locations (might be 4" I don't know), and (2) 6x9 Scosche speakers in the back where the originals were, all disconnected one way or the other. I have no idea if these are junk or not, I won't know until I hook them up.

I have never heard the A/D/S system but it was a great name in the 80's. I have 2 or 3 choices.

1) Buy CD changer / Sub/Amp, and harness (or make a new one) and try to figure out how to make it stock again (maybe keeping speakers if they are any good) Disadvantage is no modern conveniences but stock and if it sounds great, that is probably OK and maybe preferred
2) Buy new head unit and live with 4 speakers (probably try to make the ADC tweeters work too) Now get bluetooth, USB, and / or SD card.
3) Same as (2) but add another amp and sub (discreetly hidden where original was)

* I don't care about CD's anymore, so changer is not needed (I need USB and / or bluetooth / android solution)
* I don't know whether antenna amps are still there or not. There is an antenna input in the radio bay (stripped)
* I've only looked at this part of the car for less than 1/2 hour so far... I don't even know whether the head unit works.

I guess the bottom line question is:
Was the A/D/S system so great that it must be resurrected (and also to keep the car stock), or was it just pretty decent for its day?
Does anyone know a good brand of head unit that puts out REAL power? Lots of guts, not just phony specs? I would prefer to not add a separate amp if I don't have to.

If you have a great system in yours, please tell me what you did.

THANKS!

 

[tapatio]

I have the stock head unit, CD changer, sub-woofer, and speakers. I can't wait to replace it all with something modern. The speakers are pretty much shot, the sub works but is not very powerful by any means. I'm not sure what head unit you should get, but don't install the old stuff. I look forward to hearing what others recommend as an upgrade. BTW, the antenna for the radio is located at the rear end of the roof in the center. My antenna is about 3 inches tall and has a little wire "sphere" on the end of it. The antenna wire is routed on the passenger side above the headliner.

 

[mottati]

My car has an aftermarket kenwood unit and aftermarket speakers. It sounds decent, needs bass as currently only running 4 - 4" speakers and no sub. I'd agree going with a modern system.

 

[JordiLR]

When I bought mine it has a mid 80's-90's Keenwood with CD changer and amplifier with the original speackers. There was no sound at all on the rear speackers and the ones in the front doors were noisy. I'm still using the old stereo and changer in order to keep the original look, but just done a new wiring loom for the speakers, buy a new decent ones and remove the amplifier and the sound it's quite good now.

 

[rogan]

A/D/S was good in the old days but I wouldn't trust it now. Sort of like buying an old sports car, would feel nostalgic to drive but would be outperformed by the average present day shopping trolley.

Most headunits have about 18w rms x 4; forget all this mosfet 50w x 4 rubbish, it's marketing bs. 18wrms will provide enough sound for most, especially if teamed with an amp and sub. Avoid overmarketed brands where possible: the likes of JL and Kicker trade on their brand name and you can do alot better for the $$ elsewhere. I haven't played with android so can't give any recommendations there.

I'd suggest some 6.5 components in the front wired directly off the headunit. 4" or whatever the factory size is in the rear again off the headunit. Go cheap on the rear speakers - they are there for presence, nothing more. Then a 200-300rms amp driving a 10" sub in a sealed enclosure and you're good to go.

If you're near Lake in the Hills, give Tom Meyers a ring at 12velectronics.com. He's a straight shooter and he's earnt my trust.

 

[Nathan G.]

Something to consider: the radio is part of the lock and alarm system so it is best to leave the factory unit intact.

 

[95classiclwb]

Something to consider: the radio is part of the lock and alarm system so it is best to leave the factory unit intact.

huh!!?, not on land rovers... back to the op...the factory systems were good for their time (ADS, H/K, Clarion, Pioneer and Alpine have been used in land rovers based on trim.
As Rogan suggested you may be better off by upgrading the whole set up.

 

[95classiclwb]

huh!!?, not on "CLASSIC" rovers... back to the op...the factory systems were good for their time (ADS, H/K, Clarion, Pioneer and Alpine have been used in land rovers based on trim.
As Rogan suggested you may be better off by upgrading the whole set up.

I fixed it L322 and up have a fiber optic network named MOST...indeed it is part of the security and can bus gateway thru the factory radio. I had forgotten about it. BTW it can be a PITA.

 

[UofRSpider]

I have an '93 LWB with a complete aftermarket setup I installed.
Components:

• Kenwood AM/FM/CD/XM head unit with USB, AUX, and Bluetooth inputs

• 900w Kenwood 4 channel amp
• Front speakers - Rockford Fosgate 5 1/4" mid-woofers (mounted in lower door), with separate component tweeters (mounted in place of ADS tweeters
• Rear Speakers - Memphis 6x9's mounted in a custom (small) box in rear of Rover
• All speaker wiring upgraded to much larger Monster speaker wire
• Monster RCA cables

It's essentially a very basic stereo install. Everything fit well including the Kenwood head unit.

 

[ehojefua]

@UofRSpider:
Can you post pictures of your setup

 

[Nathan G.]

I have a sweet Kenwood head unit in mine with upgraded Focal speakers from France. They sound spectacular. I still use the A/D/S tweeters up front. The head unit wouldn't come out of protect mode due to the factory sub wiring sharing the negative side of the four main speakers but I was able to bypass it at the sub amp. I'm mostly listening to Jazz and occasionally fingerstyle and the only further upgrades that I feel would further benefit the acoustics are dynamat and perhaps new door seals. I did notice a difference when I cleaned the seals and wiped them down with silicone. If you have the factory unit from the 93 and don't want it anymore please pm me.

 

[vsmiley3]

1993RRC, I started with the idea that I'd have the old ADS system repaired to keep things authentic. Gave up on that quickly. Just can't touch what you can buy aftermarket. For those wanting to preserve that sub box, I found that an Infinity REF-FLEX8S 8" 2-ohm Component Subwoofer fits perfectly at the required angle... with just a little trimming of the plastic bezel on the mount plate and the speaker itself. Aftermarket head unit (shallow with no CD player) fit well in the same spot as well. Mounted a couple of small amps (one sub amp in the slide-out tray, one for 4 speakers mounted where the old amp was, [Alpine KTA-30FW 75W x 4 + P300X1]) and replaced 2 door and 2 roof speakers. Biggest issue for me was saving the sub box and that woofer above did the trick.

 

[Mikieman]

I’m my 92 ... there was no radio and still no radio stereo.... I am of the mind
The motor is the music...

 

[OC95RRCLWB]

I've had a couple Classics with the A/D/S setup and was perfectly happy with the performance. Yes, it's dated but far superior to what was available in competitor vehicles. I am currently restoring the A/D/S system in my 94 LWB. I intend to have the head unit rebuilt and an AUX input installed utilizing the CD input circuit. I have NOS speakers for the entire truck and will figure out what sub to install in place of the original unit. It will be more than adequate for my needs.