If you have followed this build you know that I have tried a few different stereo setups in this Defender. Once I settled on a head unit in the OEM stereo location I always had the plan to add an amp or two in the Mud Stuff locking storage cabinet under the cubby. The space is small and there are other wires in that cabinet (OEM stereo loom and some additional wires I installed for the seat heaters) so you have to pick small amps. I first started with the Kicker 4 way (50 watt each channel) D class amp the Key200.4. This not only has cleaner power than the head unit but it also has a DSP built in to optimize the sound. This is a very small amp so it is easy to fit. The next challenge was to find another amp for a future sub. That was a bit harder but once again I turned to Kicker as they have a single channel 500 watt D class amp the Key500.1 which is just a bit bigger than the 4 way. While they both fit it was tight once you added the positive and negative distribution blocks. I spent hours thinking about how to fit everything but then it came to me. Simply turn the amps on their side and mount them to the side walls of the locking storage cabinet. This left the center of the cabinet open for the distribution blocks and the other wire looms. To round out the install I ordered a Crutchfield dual amp wiring kit which came with great wires, the distribution blocks, the in-line fuse block, and fuses (yet I had to change one of the fuses to match my specific system).
I had hoped to make the wires a bit more organized so that is something I will try to sort out in the future. The main reason it looks like a rats nest is because you need all the wires running to the head unit to be long enough for the cubby to slide back….thus requiring many wires to be excessively long.
The 4 way amp not only makes the audio louder but also cleaner. Even without the DSP activated or tuned the audio is massively upgraded. With the DSP activated and tuned it improves the audio even further. I don’t have a sub yet as I need to design the sub box to mount to the rear swing out door behind the rear bench seat. Once that is in place I will update this writeup.
Update 1/16/24
I cleaned up the wiring, ran the subwoofer speaker wire (still no subwoofer yet), and installed the base control knob. Everything works great so far. The DSP really improves the sound and once I get the sub box built and installed I can drop in a 10” low profile sub. I am thinking of getting the AudioMobile EVO 10.
