Aftermarket Radio/Stereo for '95 Disco

[mnwolftrack]

Hello,

I've got a bone stock '95 Disco that didn't come with the factory CD changer. It only has the factory tape player, and I'd either like to add an aftermarket CD-changer under a seat that inputs through the FM radio, or just replace the tape player with an in-dash CD player. I haven't found a lot of info through searches online, but I've found some confusion as to whether these year disco's are easy to swap in dash stereos.

Is there any reason why an aftermarket "universal fit" CD changer wouldn't hookup to the radio via FM radio? And, is the factory tape player location a regular sized DIN and is there any reason to believe an aftermarket in-dash CD player wouldn't work?

Thanks,

mnwolftrack

 

[rashenup]

I would say go ahead and get a new head unit. I have '95 as well, and found the stock radio to be just OK. As far as the sizing goes, yes it's a standard size, and really easy to work on. A few years ago i replaced my stock radio, no problems for me with the install. There is one hitch that i know of, which is that the stock radio uses an external amplifier (it's under the passenger seat), and there's something you need to do in order to get an aftermarket head unit to work with it. I changed out all of my speakers at the same time and ran new cables to them all, so I don't remember exactly what the deal there was. IIRC it would have just been a matter of adding another piece in there.

I don't know if you've been to www.crutchfield.com or not but it's a great place to start looking if nothing else. From there you can tell it what vehicle you have and it'll get the stuff that will fit. They're not the cheapest place to order parts from, but their customer service will make up for it. If you call them up I'm sure that they could let you know exactly what you would need for what you want to do.

 

[Rocky]

Personal preferences for me would be a unit that is xm radio and include a dock for an ipod.
Ipods are going to kick CD changers out of the market very quickly.

 

[asurover]

i put a jvc head unit in my 95 and it was a breeze, sounds much better than the factory radio, go for it, you just take out the old and the new one just slides right in

 

[Longshot421]

I also have just bought a 1995 Disco. It has a Sony cassette deck installed by the previous owner (which I'm removing (the deck, not the owner) but that doesn't matter right now). The reason (I believe) that it is listed as a 1 1/2 DIN slot is that there is a half height panel with the LED for the anti-theft in the middle of it. The actual deck is just a regular 1 DIN opening. You'll have to make your own wiring harness and if you want to use the factory amp, there is some work there, but if you've done any stereo work before, it's nothing too tricky.

 

[beowulf]

The iPod hookups are nice, but Alpine has a nice series I'm looking at. The CD handles -R/RW with cd audio or mp3 format (so do many other brands), is XM ready and also handles memory cards.

I plan to put one of those and some new speakers in my 96 when I have a few extra Disco Spending Units. Right now I use a portable MP3 player with a tape adapter (fair quality), but it would be nice to be able to use the same card format I use in my laptop and PDA so I can keep all my music libraries sync'd. Just another option.

 

[Longshot421]

Almost forgot...

I forgot to mention, you MAY not want to reuse the factory speaker wire. I believe that all the speakers in the Disco share a negative ground, and most aftermarket decks don't support that (i.e. you need an individual +'ve and -'ve connection for each speaker.) Just a heads up (no pun intended).

 

[SandMan]

FWIW - I have a JVC head unit with a 10 disc changer under the seat in my 1995 Disco. It all went in with no modifications other than free wiring the stock LR amp (plug is specific to the LR deck). Its not too hard to wire up. It sounds good and masks all those Land Rover sounds we don't want to hear.

SandMan

 

[syoung]

FWIW- Crutchfield just got in a limited number of the Harmon Kardon Traffic Pro NAV units. These are the same ones that Land Rover used in the Freelander and DII's recently if you ordered factory NAV. They are on clearance for $399! They work VERY well, but don't have maps, which are distracting anyway.
They are also known as Becker NAV in Porsche and Audi. Same unit.