Hi all, more of a regular on the Range Rover side but hoping for some help with my wifes Freelander HSE on 04 plate.

Basically the sound is crap from the stereo - very tinny and one speaker has no output at all.

Tried another, aftermarket, head unit which gave no discernable difference. That makes me think the amplifier is kaput. And that's what I need some help with.....

- Are the amps interchangable, eg XKQ100301 can be replaced with XKQ100300?
- Are any other amps in other Land Rovers/Range Rovers interchangable?
- Anyone found another car amp that fits, eg a BMW amp (I can't believe this was a bespoke unit for just the Freelander)?
- And failing all that anybody refurbish the amps?

Finally is there an off the shelf connector that can be plugged into the amp connector to, in effect, bypass it?

Many thanks for any experiences or advice.

hi I had the same problem when I brought my td4 auto hse 2006 model what it is is the wireing in your doors LR told me this and it is all because they had the wiring made in china and it is crap they changed the wiring in the doors under warrenty and all is well try cleening the contacts on the speakers and also the end of the wires it may make a difference hope this helps

i have just developed this same issue, i will have a look. Is there any way of actually confirming the amp is powered up?

in the same boat

The most likely cause is the speakers. Most factory fitted speakers aren't great and it sounds like you have one or more faulty ones - no amount of new amps or head units will improve this. Suggest you replace the speakers with aftermarket (Kenwood, Pioneer etc) component replacements and see what that does for you. Maybe do the fronts first and the rears if the improvement was worthwhile. I've had a few cars with very tinny speakers and I think it was the previous owner having constant loud heavy beat music which burnt out the bass drivers (the tweeters usually survive). If you want to check if the speaker that is not working is actually the speaker itself - swap it for the other side.