Recently we had a lovely client reach out about an audio upgrade for his 2020 Defender 110. His L663 Defender 110 was manufactured June 30th, 2020 which may have played a factor in vehicle build production variations. Since I was not familiar with the audio system in this particular year & model, I did some research and found that there were 3 different audio packages available:
- 6 Speaker Basic Audio System (build code 025KN)
- 15 Speaker 700 watt Meridian System (build code 025LM)
- 19 Speaker 1280 watt Meridian System (build code 025LN)
Before making any type of recommendation I first have to identify the existing audio package. I was perplexed because when I looked at the vehicle, I could only visibly identify 13 speakers. And yet, when I ran the VIN on OutVIN it appeared to have option code 025LN.
It obviously did not have the 19 speaker option, but I also had trouble finding all 15 speakers. I was even more confused after I found this promotional image from Land Rover which clearly denotes 15 speakers, yet only shows 14 on the image.
It’s hard to know what equipment you will need for a job if you don’t know exactly what set up you are working with.
Investigating the 15 speaker Meridian audio system
The next step is what we often do when dealing with a vehicle where we have limited information available. Since the wiring schematic for this car was not available in Mitchell ProDemand, I asked the client if he would mind coming in for an investigation/consultation appointment. This would give John a few hours to do some disassembly and during this time he would:
- Access the factory amp
- Identify, test and tone out each of the speakers
- Confirm the exact number of speakers and their placement
- Test and verify impedences
- Test and confirm how many channels are on the OEM amp
- Test frequency outputs on each channel
- Verify exactly how many channels we would need for an aftermarket DSP amp
This was about 4 hours of work in and of itself, but I do not like going into a project blind and telling a client, “Well, we might be able to do this or we might end up having to do that. It all depends on what we find.” I’m always relieved when a client is willing to give us the time to investigate prior to bringing the car in to execute the full project.
How many channels? What impedances?
What John found during his testing is there are technically 14 speakers in the exact locations marked on the graphic above. The subwoofer under the driver’s seat is a dual 2.2 ohm woofer so perhaps they are counting that as 2 speakers. Each of the main door 6.5″ speakers are 2.3 ohm. The front door midranges are 2.6 – 2.8 ohm and the rear satellite speakers in the ceiling are 4.6 – 4.8 ohm. We weren’t able to get an accurate impedance reading on the original tweeters and center channel at the amp harness, but we were able to tone them out and confirm they are on individual channels. There are no passive crossover networks in this set up.
If you want to do an audio upgrade, you will need a 12+ channel DSP amp and follow channel per channel amplification after the original amp. Unfortunately Mobridge does not have a pre-amp adapter available at this time (we checked).
In addition to identifying wiring, John also checked the output side to see if any of the channels provided a full range signal. They did not. He found that the subwoofer played from about 80 Hz and down. The 6.5″ door woofers played from about 20 Hz to 500 Hz (this is actually the signal he ended up using for the new subwoofer amp). The front midranges played from about 500 – 2,500 Hz. The rear surrounds played about 4k and up and the tweeters measured at about 2.5k and up.
Based on his in depth testing, he concluded we could most likely disconnect/eliminate the rear satellite speakers and perhaps the center channel. That would leave us with 12 channels.
What DSP amp is best for this Defender 110 Audio Upgrade?
Since we needed a minimum of 12 channels and possibly needed those to be 2 ohm stable, I recommended the Helix V Twelve DSP amp for the job. This compact 12-channel amp measures in at only 1.73″ tall, 8.66″ long and 8.66″ wide. It provides an impressive amount of clean power rated at 75 watts RMS per channel at 4 ohm or 120 watts RMS per channel at 2 ohm. With the heart of the system decided, I hashed out the rest of the build with the client.
Where will the equipment fit?
Thankfully this client wanted to eliminate his 3rd row seat. This gave us a decent amount of room to house the new equipment. The full scope of the work included:
- Helix V Twelve DSP
- UP1FX mono amp to power a new custom subwoofer enclosure
- Eliminate the 3rd row seat
- Create a new trunk floor covering to hide the new amps and new subwoofer enclosure
- Morel Ultimo PowerSlim 12″ subwoofer in a custom enclosure
- Sound dampen the doors and rear cargo space
- Upgrade the front 3-ways with Morel Hybrid 63
- Upgrade the rear 2-ways with Morel Hybrid 62
- Fabricate speaker mounting adapters as needed
- Fabricate a panel to trim out the client’s existing CB radio
- Fabricate a panel to house the Conductor control knob and the clients existing roof light switch
During the process of installation, John found that he was able to disconnect the rear satellite speakers as he assumed he could. And he was able to turn off the center channel by turning off the surround settings in the audio menu. He left this speaker in line for the SOS function. Additionally, he had to disconnect the tach wire going to the amp in order to disable the ANC function.
Plan of attack
John decided to start with the doors. He carefully applied Dynamat Xtreme to the outer panels and Dynaliner to the inner door panels. He was able to use modified pre-fab speaker mounting adapters for the 6.5’s.
The Helix CFMK165 JLR.1 were a match, but these are technically a direct fit for the Helix Compose series speakers. With a little modification, he was able to use these mounts with the Morel speakers. He did have to design a mounting adapter for the mid ranges. That will be covered in one of our YouTube videos coming soon.
In addition to Dynamat and Dynaliner, John also utilized Morel fast rings. This is a foam ring that goes around the outer frame of the speaker which ultimately helps to direct the soundwaves directly into the cabin. With fast rings, sound waves coming off the speaker are less likely travel adjacently inside the door frame.
Once John completed the speakers and sound dampening, he moved on to figuring out the layout and space limitations for the new amplifiers and custom subwoofer enclosure. With the rear seat removed, it was evident to me there wasn’t quite as much room there as I had originally perceived there to be.
I started to have my doubts. Was there really enough room for the Morel Ultimo PowerSlim 12″ subwoofer? Or would John have to raise up the rear floor? For reference, the Morel Ultimo PowerSlim 12″ requires .8 cubic ft sealed.
3rd Row Rear seat delete Defender 110
I’m not sure how he fit it all there so neatly, but he did it. The man is a magician. Some even call him a wizard! Here is the vehicle post installation with the original floor mat in place the same way it arrived to our shop. Without hearing this audio system, you would never know anything was added.
This is what it looks like with the mat removed. You can see the new 2 piece trunk floor cover he created. What you can’t see in this photo is the slim mesh grill directly above the woofer allowing for airflow and venting.
What lies below that beautiful new trunk floor covering? The Helix V Twelve DSP alongside the MATCH UP1FX on a custom fabricated amp rack. Next to both is the custom fabricated enclosure for the 600 watt Morel PowerSlim 12″ subwoofer.
Not only does this vehicle sound absolutely amazing, it looks completely original and unaltered. The rear cargo space is fully functional with no loss of space. The 3rd row seat was something the client didn’t want or use. Eliminating it created the perfect space for these high fidelity components.
The finishing touches – 3D printed trim
After watching hours and hours of YouTube, John convinced me that our shop needed to buy a Bambu labs 3D printer. Since my attempts to get a free one from the Bambu Labs marketing department were unsuccessful, I broke down and let him spend the dough. I know. He was right. I’m late to the game on this one.
John initially started out using the 3D printer to make speaker mounting adapters like the ones used for the Morel midranges. However, with this Defender 110 audio upgrade, he thoroughly impressed me. With zero background designing with CAD, he went to YouTube university and got busy measuring and designing. He was able to create 2 really nice trim pieces. Not bad for a newbie, right?
For me, this is the chef’s kiss of the installation. First he created a trim ring for the client’s existing CB radio. Then he created an insert to house the Conductor DSP control knob and a switch for the client’s aftermarket lights. His original design did not have any lettering in place, but I told him I thought it would look nice if we could get the Defender logo etched in there. Together we researched the font and adjusted the layout trying to achieve a balanced aesthetic. For anyone looking to do something similar, the name of the font we used is called Eurostyle Bold.
What do you think of the Meridian sound system in your Defender? Is it lacking? Could it be better? If you are interested in an audio upgrade for your Defender 110 reach out to our shop in Brookfield, CT. Call or text us today to learn more.