A/V in a landcruiser

[RedOne]

All,

I am about to upgrade the OE sound in my Landcruiser 80. Anyone has any experience with an LC, as the OE speaker setup seems strange. What I can make out is this:
Front kick panel : One 4*6 and one 4" round speakers
Front doors: None
Rear doors: Two 4" round speakers
Behind 3rd row: single 4" round speaker(!)
All are cheapo paper cone full range speakers and overall sounds pretty Shi**y.

I want to have a basic system with decent sound but with a DVD/PS2 to keep the kids quiet on long drives. I plan to have a mp3/DVD head unit and a separate overhead screen. Maybe a sub. Can I put in a PS2 and use it as a DVD/VCD player as well? I'll need to upgrade the speakers to 5.25 or 6.5/6*9 coaxials or components but will fitting biggers speakers in OE location be possible? I will not have budget for making custom enclosures for speakers etc.

Thanks in advance.
Gears,
Red-One.

[jyobeb]

Your PS2 will play DVD's but will not play VCDs! Refer my post in http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-en...-budget-2.html (DVD HU + screen on a budget) for low budget options.

[navin]

Originally Posted by RedOne

All,

I am about to upgrade the OE sound in my Landcruiser 80. Anyone has any experience with an LC, as the OE speaker setup seems strange. ...Behind 3rd row: single 4" round speaker(!)

I want to have a basic system with decent sound but with a DVD/PS2 to keep the kids quiet on long drives..

this will require some custom fabrication. Landys are not really ICE friendly.

your best bet might be...
new door panels with space for 5" or 6" coax speakers (4 speakers - one is each door)
a small boxed sub to provide the bass behind the rear seats.
a 7" screen that flips dwon from the roof between the backs of the front seats (In a Landy the stuff behind you aint so important as you'd be using it more off road than on road).

I'd get a Ipod compatible HU and an Ipod adapter it will serve you well on the long drives.

I would even consider a isobarik sub to save box volume after all if you are in a Landy you are going to be carrying a lot of other stuff like tents, fuel, water, food, clothing, etc..

[speedzak]

NavinJi, I think most of the LCs in india does any 4X4 activity. So it can be counted as any other vehicle. Ain't it Redone?

I've seen an install in LC 80. It was fitted with Hertz DSK165 compos on all 4 doors using spacers. The setup sounded very clean with good lows even without a sub.
@Redone. What's the budget you're looking at?
Ps2 in car is great. Finding a suitable power adapter is not.

[navin]

Originally Posted by speedzak

NavinJi, I think most of the LCs in india does any 4X4 activity. So it can be counted as any other vehicle. Ain't it Redone?

I assume you mean that most LCs in India do not see any offroad activity. If that is true I think it is sacrilige. RedOne please tell us you intend to drive the LC to Iran via Pakistan and Afghanistan or something similarly adventurous.

[RedOne]

Originally Posted by navin

this will require some custom fabrication.

Dang, thats was something I was hoping against. Is 4" 2-way speakers going to be that bad?

Originally Posted by navin

new door panels with space for 5" or 6" coax speakers

If I am going for custom enclosures, isn't it better to go with front speakers in the kickpanel, for better imaging? I have seen a Safari with slim box speakers (Pioneer, I think) mounted on the roof behind the back seats. Is that a viable option?

Originally Posted by navin

I would even consider a isobarik sub to save box volume

I guess isobarik=more cost so I prefer a regular sub in a small box which is removable in case I need more storage.

Originally Posted by speedzak

NavinJi, I think most of the LCs in india does any 4X4 activity. So it can be counted as any other vehicle. Ain't it Redone?

mashe, but if I wanted a poseur SUV, I'd not have gotten a Landcruiser. There are enough options out there which are shinier, has better on road performance, better comfort, better mileage, more goodies and is cheaper to boot.

Originally Posted by navin

RedOne please tell us you intend to drive the LC to Iran via Pakistan and Afghanistan or something similarly adventurous.

Well not Iran but definitely to Himachal, Uttaranchal etc. In winter. I wanted the LC to reach places where my City will be hard pressed to go. The long road drives to reach these places is why I need a kid friendly ICE in the car.

Gears,
Red-One.

[navin]

Given the car's envrionment I think 5" in the front is about the best comrpomise. 6" will be too much custom work. 4" will have too little bass.

Isobarik does mean more cost (2 speakers and a bigger amp to drive the 2 speakers) but is to be used only when space is at a premium.

Do you have access to a good installer. If I were you I'd consider a door install as a kick panel in a LC might take a beating.

You might be able to use 5" speakers with just a spacer and some light modifications. Find a good installer. Someone who does SUVs.

[RedOne]

OK so that's that for the speakers. Thanks Navin. What would be a good mp3 HU to which I can easily connect the PS2 audio out? I don't need 5.1, just stereo is fine. I am fairly happy with my Pioneer in the City. Have auditioned Alpine, Blaupunkt, Sony etc but still prefer the Pioneer's sound.

Is Eclipse available in India? Had one in my 911 (horrible sound stage) in the US and that rocked!

Gears,
Red-One.

[speedzak]

Probably, any HU with aux/line in feature would be able to play Ps2 audio. I use my Ps2 with a Pioneer 7750 and DVH5850 HUs. The Ps2 experience in car is great.
You should get yourself a pioneer P80RS or go for an indash Dvd unit like 5650.

BTW, which car power adapter do you use for ps2?

[navin]

Originally Posted by RedOne

...Have auditioned Alpine, Blaupunkt, Sony etc but still prefer the Pioneer's sound....Is Eclipse available in India? Had one in my 911 (horrible sound stage) in the US and that rocked!.

If you like the Pio sound then get a Pio. Just make sure you get a Bill and Warranty.

Eclipse is suppsoed to be available in India but the distribution is scarce. I'd suspect getting it fixed would be cumbersome.

You had a 911 and now have a LC. Damn I am jealous. :-(

I did find that the 911, 928 , 944, 308 etc...dont have the best stock locations for speakers but then most owners dont really care. Cars like these alsong with yesteryear classics (I drove a Triumph Spitfire) were not made for ICE.

[Autophile]

Originally Posted by RedOne

Is Eclipse available in India? Had one in my 911 (horrible sound stage) in the US and that rocked!

Gears,
Red-One.

911 (997) has the one of the best speaker locations in its class....and it can surely have a class act system..

[sk456]

Originally Posted by Autophile

911 (997) has the one of the best speaker locations in its class....and it can surely have a class act system..

The spekaer locations are about the only thing i liked in the 911 ICE... ...very cool... wish i could get that on my XING ...

[RedOne]

Originally Posted by speedzak

I use my Ps2 with a Pioneer 7750 and DVH5850 HUs. The Ps2 experience in car is great.
You should get yourself a pioneer P80RS or go for an indash Dvd unit like 5650.

Why didn't you use the ps2 to play DVD's? I am hoping to do so to avoid having to buy a separate DVD player. Let me check out the 7750. P80RS sounds expensive.

Originally Posted by speedzak

BTW, which car power adapter do you use for ps2?

You're the experienced hand here speedzak and I am just contemplating; was hoping you'd point me to the right direction.

Gears,
Red-One.

[khanak]

Originally Posted by speedzak

BTW, which car power adapter do you use for ps2?

you might want to check out this site

[RedOne]

Originally Posted by navin

I did find that the 911, 928 , 944, 308 etc...dont have the best stock locations for speakers but then most owners dont really care. Cars like these alsong with yesteryear classics (I drove a Triumph Spitfire) were not made for ICE.

Very true. Most of the time, all the ICE required would be to roll down the windows and drive one gear lower than required.

Gears,
Red-One.