Mitsubishi Delica Owners Club UK™

[CunningLinguist]

My recently purchased '94 L400 has a Sony CDX-S22 head unit and, I've just discovered, a CDX-656 10-disc changer; the head unit works okay and plays CDs, MP3 disks and radio, but the cd changer magazine doesn't come out when the Eject button is pressed, so I haven't been able to load a CD in to try it.  I've downloaded the installation and user manuals for both but can't find any indication of an emergency eject trick for stuck magazines;  does anyone on here have the same changer and know how to either eject the magazine or test for power at the unit?  I'm not sure if it is separately powered or takes power via the DIN lead - and I haven't yet got around to purchasing that No.1 Delica accessory, a multi-meter!

Secondly, I have ransacked my spares boxes and found that at some time in the past I've purchased a couple of head units from Virtual Reality Sound Labs (a VRCD400-SDU and a VRCD500-SDU) and then not used them.  They are more modern looking than the Sony unit and offer SD, USB and Aux inputs, as well as backlighting that would complement the Delica, but they are rated at considerably lower output than the Sony unit, so I'm in a quandary as to whether to swap the Sony kit out or not.

To complicate things further, I've also got a Boss BASS600 active subwoofer that I've never taken out of the box - I bought it for a sports car I had a few years ago and never got around to fitting it - and both head units have subwoofer connections.    Given that the weak spot of the Delica speakers seems to be the bass which, when turned up by anything more than 3dB seems to to cause an earthquake in the dash, I'd like to use the subwoofer if at all possible; it's nice and shallow, so could go in the space beneath the passenger seat that the CD changer currently occupies.  Given that an MP3 CD holds as many tracks as 10 traditional CDs, this might not be a great loss.

Opinions anyone  

[Google]

[Munfred]

Most cd drives amd cd changers have a pin hole emergency eject, which should work without power. Usually quite small, but there should be a manual way of exjecting the cartridge. There certainly is on my pioneer cd changer.

The standard speakers are probably not powerful enough for the sony head unit in the first place, so replacing it with a less powerful head unit, doesn't mean its going to be worse. Sometimes the less powerful ones can give you better sound quality with most standard speakers.

If the sub woofer came in a box, then it was probably designed to work at its optimum in the box., in general you have sealed and ported units, but most often the sub woofers are designed best with the air pressure from the box they came in.

[CunningLinguist]

Hi Munfred.  Good point re the lower power.  I like my music loud but not too discordant, so you may be right.  I misled you slightly re the subwoofer - when I said I hadn't taken it out of the box I actually meant the packaging it came in when I bought it; having now done so, I now have the following details:

low-profile amplified subwoofer
high-pass and low-pass crossovers
input sensitivity control - 0.2V to 6V
high-level (speaker level) and low-level (RCA type) inputs
variable bass boost control (0 to +18dB)
MOSFET power supply
variable phase shift (0 to 180 degrees)
max power 600w
RMS 200w
SNR >90dB

not bad for something only 3" deep eh?

[Bananaman]

Hmm ,  the virtual reality sound labs head units won't work at all, and they will sound awful,
You need to send them to me immediately for disposal   ................
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Four wheels move the body, Two wheels move the soul

[CunningLinguist]

Happy to do so, just as soon as your gold bullion arrives in a plain brown envelope  8-)

[Bananaman]

 
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Four wheels move the body, Two wheels move the soul

[CunningLinguist]

Now that I've removed the console, I can see that the leads which should connect the head unit to the cd changer, don't!  I'm going to swap the head unit anyway, as I've decided the Sony unit requires smaller fingers than mine to operate it whilst driving, so I'm wondering .... can I use the existing cables to connect the new head unit to the subwoofer and place that beneath the passenger seat too, to save having to remove carpeting and run new cables?  Obviously the RCA ones will be fine, but can I make use of the DIN cable (with suitable replacement plugs) to provide power to the subwoofer? I know some of you will insist I rewire the whole loom with 25mm armoured cable and paste eggboxes to all the windows for better fidelity, but really I just want a solution that works "well enough"    

Any suggestions?

[andyman]

Personally, as long as the wires to your sub-woofer are the sort of thickness you would have on '80's or '90's domestic sound systems (a little thicker than most car systems), you should get adequate power. Or are you the type of person who likes to deafen the whole street and cause seismic events? As the dash speakers in my L300 gave out the type of sound you would expect from a 90's delivery van, I fitted 2X125mm dia. speakers in shallow MDF cabinets to the cab roof lining, using wiring described, connected to the terminals on the original dash speakers. I pushed the cables in behind the pillar/doorframe trims and taped them to the roof lining where needed. I now have quad stereo in front and in back. The head unit is Sony with a hand-held remote controller. I can get exactly the sound I want from the driving seat or the middle back seat ( my favourite listening place)
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Andy C L300 Super Exceed - over 100 smiles per gallon!

[CunningLinguist]

Hi.  No, I don't get my stereo from Richter Sounds ;-)   I do like it loud, but I'm not anti-social.  I was thinking that since there are several wires in the Din lead, I might combine several to form suitable power leads and simply ziplock them into the appropriate wires of the ISO connector. Probably just being lazy and I should really run power lead from the battery instead.

[CunningLinguist]

Well, only a year later and I fitted the sub. Having done so, I'd thoroughly recommend the Boss Bass 600 both for sound and ease of fitment under the passenger seat.  Only trouble is that is shows even further how bad the front speakers are, so sometime in the next decade I'm going to fit the JBL CS762 speakers I bought when Noah was a lad. Then I'll need to get around to fitting the Nautilus horn so I can hear it above the stereo, and the 75W LEDs to the refurbished bullbar so I can see people jump out of the way when they hear the sub approaching.  If only life didn't get in the way.  As for the front speakers, I was going to follow the advice on the forum that many seem to have done - i.e. abandon the dash tweeters altogether and run fresh speaker cable to the doors. I won't be using cooker cable, as I need that for the cooker, but what gauge would people suggest such that the sound is beefy but I don't need Popeye to help me get the cable through the door seals?  Oh yes, and the MOT is due soon, so I must sort out a side-exit exhaust and cherry bomb combo to replace my rusty half-drainpipe - Singe is already suggesting how, but all advice appreciated re sizes etc if you've already tackled this.