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Has anyone upgraded their F-Type stereo with aftermarket components? I've done this in each of my cars no mater the difficulty presented. In the case of the F-Type, since the audio system is very much integrated with other systems, I do not plan on changing the head unit. However I will certainly figure best way to upgrade the sound quality by changing speakers and adding amplifiers. If anyone has experience with upgrading the stereo system in this vehicle, please discuss the speakers you chose and where did you find room for better subs?
Does anyone know where the audio system components are located in the vehicle (amplifier, XM tuner, bluetooth modules, etc.)?
Also does anyone know if there is access to full-range line level before the amplifier? If not, has anyone used a summing component such as JL Cleansweep to obtain signals from bass, mids, and highs outputs?
Finally, does anyone know if there is a way to disable the compression circuitry?
Does anyone have any photos of the door panels removed and the rear speaker grills removed? Curious how much space is behind these areas before we start taking stuff apart next week.
Thanks,
Craig
I just upgraded my stereo. I opened the windows to hear the exhaust even better...
Next we need to obtain full-range left and right signals from the stock head unit stereo system. So we opened more parts of the Jaguar to see whats inside. We discovered the head unit is completely integrated with other systems such as Nav voice and bluetooth phone sound before it is sent to an amplifier via fiberoptic cables. We cannot obtain our signal from the fiberoptic line without inventing a proprietary digital to analog product specific for Jaguar vehicles so we must obtain signal from the high-level output of the stock amplifier. Unfortunately it does not provide full range frequencies. It does however provide several different range of frequencies to each speaker - that is subs, mid-bass, mid-range, and tweeters. From combining these we can reconstruct the full range signal. This requires a summing processor. There are several on the market but I selected JBL MS-8 for this task primarily because it provides an excellent set of signal processing to tenth audio to the environment of the car's interior. My interior space changes when convertible top is open or closed. The JBL provides easy access to stored configurations so that I can tune sound quality differently from top opened and top closed. A single press of a button will bring the stored settings. The JBL tuning allows for time alignment with is important for proper sound stage and a ⅓-octave eq per output for tuning flat response.
Hey @0to60in4 not sure if you're still knocking around these parts but I'm doing a similar install in my Range Rover which [shall we say] suffers from the same fiberoptic system as our F Types. I first went the signal summing route but couldn't get a signal I was particularly happy with. I now have a mobridge [link: https://mobridge.us/product/da-g2-pro-most25/ ] en route in order to take the fiber optic signal from the head unit and give me proper full range line level signals.
When my Range Rover project is wrapped, I may be kicking off a similar project in the F Type and wanted to get your feedback. If you were doing this again in 2023, would you do the signal summing route again or would you use the mobridge to convert the direct optical signal?
Hey @0to60in4 not sure if you're still knocking around these parts but I'm doing a similar install in my Range Rover which [shall we say] suffers from the same fiberoptic system as our F Types. I first went the signal summing route but couldn't get a signal I was particularly happy with. I now have a mobridge [link: [url]https://mobridge.us/product/da-g2-pro-most25/ ] en route in order to take the fiber optic signal from the head unit and give me proper full range line level signals.
When my Range Rover project is wrapped, I may be kicking off a similar project in the F Type and wanted to get your feedback. If you were doing this again in 2023, would you do the signal summing route again or would you use the mobridge to convert the direct optical signal?
As long as it's a pre 2017 Ftype, mobridge is the answer, 2017 on is digital ethernet for which no OEM interface exists.
I was under the impression that the 2017s used the same as the 2016. When I picked up my Android Auto kit for me 2017, it was the same as a 2016.
According to Mobridge, JLR switched vehicle network from MOST fiber to Digital Ethernet in 2017. There is nobody that makes an OEM interface to allow you to delete the factory amp to obtain a flat unprocessed signal to feed an aftermarket DSP/Amplifier. This should have nothing to do with android auto interface for the cars., as they generally connect via the USB bus. It may be quite some time before any company makes one if every. According to audison, JLR has already ditched the current digital ethernet for yet another technology. Generally not worth it for companies to invest in the reverse engineering required to figure this out when they do these things.
What a wealth of info. I just got a 2016 F Type V6. It has the 770w system and it is thoroughly disappointing. Especially with the tweeter rattle.
The Dealer wants $250 for applying the technical service bulletin JTB00537V2 - Is it worth it? or should I just look into the OEM Kevlar speaker swaps instead? Or both?
I would investigate further before doing that. Is the tweeter blown? Is the signal being fed to the tweeter too low (which I believe is the purpose of the update)? Is something else in the door card rattling?
The disappointing sound system in the Type is not caused by the drivers. It’s the tune, the stupid rear mid/tweets and the horrible sub/enclosure system that was designed for the car.
According to Mobridge, JLR switched vehicle network from MOST fiber to Digital Ethernet in 2017. There is nobody that makes an OEM interface to allow you to delete the factory amp to obtain a flat unprocessed signal to feed an aftermarket DSP/Amplifier. This should have nothing to do with android auto interface for the cars., as they generally connect via the USB bus. It may be quite some time before any company makes one if every. According to audison, JLR has already ditched the current digital ethernet for yet another technology. Generally not worth it for companies to invest in the reverse engineering required to figure this out when they do these things.
This still seems wrong to me. Why would Jaguar change just that and not their head unit? 2018 in the US was when the first real change came. I wonder if they are going by European model years?
I would investigate further before doing that. Is the tweeter blown? Is the signal being fed to the tweeter too low (which I believe is the purpose of the update)? Is something else in the door card rattling?
The disappointing sound system in the Type is not caused by the drivers. It’s the tune, the stupid rear mid/tweets and the horrible sub/enclosure system that was designed for the car.
Took the first step in investigating it further using a tone generator. The tweeters are def seeing some of the lower frequencies, as low as 30hz. I'll take the door apart today and take a look at the tweeter itself but I bought some titanium dome ones to get rid of the rattle.
Well, I thought I would just add my subwoofer solution to this main thread so its easier for people to find the information.
I have a convertible and was really not happy with the lack of bass when the top was down. The factory subs as we know are a pretty terrible design which makes it about impossible to do anything worthwhile in the stock location. I thought about doing a trunk subwoofer, but I read a lot of threads about it mainly just causing extreme rattling and not really translating to good sound in the separated cabin. So I decided to see if there was a small powered sub that would fit behind or under our seats. After measuring I figured out quickly that under the seats will not work. There are several wires and things hanging down under there which don't allow for usable space. I then decided to focus on the area right below the factory subwoofer grills. What I noticed, is even with the seat all the way back, there are several inches of room between the back of the seat and the wall. I decided to try two of the smallest powered subwoofers I could find. The Infinity Basslink Mini. These are a 100w RMS subwoofer that is roughly 11x9x3 inches. The driver is a 6x8 rectangle which goes as low as 30Hz. I like to keep things symmetrical so I decided to put one on each side. My goal was to be able to mount the subwoofers but still be able to easily change everything back to stock without major alterations to the car. I first dismantled the back wall. This is pretty straight forward. I would recommend getting a few extra body clips because it is easy to break the orange version used on these panels. The part number for these are T2R2247. The white version C2D3422 will also work. I removed the rear subs and used a AA battery to check the polarity of the stock speaker wires so I knew which ones to tap into for the new subs. I used the Posi connect taps to connect a speaker wire into the factory harness and then ran that wire down to where the new subs were to be installed. I ran a single 8AWG power wire from the battery in the trunk to the drivers side subwoofer cavity. I then mounted a distribution block to run 2 10AWG power wires to each of the new subwoofers. I used a factory ground location near the seatbelts on both sides to ground the subwoofers. I then ran the network cable from the subwoofer location to where the rear wall cubby would be so I could mount the two bass gain control knobs in that cubby. This did require a small hole to be drilled into the cubby on the inside bottom. This can be easily filled in if needed with a couple of plastic body clips. Finally, I made a mounting bracket for each subwoofer that hangs from the metal lip which is right below the stock subwoofer cavity. I used two self tapping screws to hold this bracket to this lip. I liked this location for the bracket because it was a hidden and perfectly safe place to drill a couple of small holes. I made the brackets out of 1/4 ABS plastic. The part that attaches to the car is basically two 3" by 10" pieces which are attached in a "T" to allow for mounting the bottom bracket of the amp. I heated the first piece with a heat gun so I could make a 90 degree angle that would allow me to screw this to the cars lip right below the stock subwoofer location. I think applied heat again so I could bend the ABS to lay flat down the angle of carpet behind the seats. This is actually pretty easy to do as the plastic becomes quite malleable when heated then hardens back up after a few minutes. I attached the cross piece to that newly formed pice with 6 1/2 screws and then covered the portion the amp would rest on with dynamat so it wouldn't vibrate. I used two small bolts to anchor the bottom of the sub to the new bracket. I mounted the subs upside down so the wiring would be facing the floor making it more concealed and protected from dust and moisture. After testing everything I reassembled the back wall. Note you need to do this in a specific order. Take the grills out of the curved carpet pieces. attach the curved carpet pieces first, then put the plastic top panel that has the rollover bars back on and attach the big bolts to the rollover bars. Then put the grills on and the remaining door trim. I didn't remove the seats for this install, I had plenty of room. The last step is to bolt on the bottom of the new subs. I wanted to anchor the top of the subs too so I drilled two 1/8 holes and inserted plastic push clips I found at a local auto supply store. This worked perfectly. In the end the only thing that would be visible if you took all of this out is the two 1/8 holes which you would easily be able to fill with a couple of plastic body clips.
The verdict. Holy crap! These little subs sound amazing. No exaggeration, the bass is much like I have had with 10" drivers in other vehicles. With the top down the bass is strong and gives you a nice massage as you drive. I have the gain set on the amp at 50% and on the dials in the cubby at about 30%. I turned the bass down to 50% and the subwoofer down to about 40% on the headunit. This cleaned up the sound in the doors nicely and gives just the right amount of strong subwoofer output. So far, I am not noticing any rattles. I added a couple of felt pieces on the front of the subwoofers in case they contact the back of the seat. I can have the seat within about 1/2 inch of all the way back and still have the subs not touching the back. For $175 each this is a great way to add the much needed low end to the convertible and it's almost completely reversible. Here are some images of the install.
Wire taps. On the subwoofer plug the top middle is positive and bottom middle is negative.
Used these for grounding the amps
There are the push clips for attaching the top of the sub to the carpet panel
I still have to clean up the wiring below the subs
Seats are pretty much all the way back as long as you don't like to sit very upright.
thanks for the detailed write up, this seems to be a clean and easy set up combined with the premium speaker upgrade.
a few questions:
Would a single mini be sufficient for a coupe? I would think so since there is no top to be opened and I’m not a bass head, just want something clean and punchy to compliment the upgraded speakers.
If 1 is enough, how would the wiring go? And it’s location and direction of firing important? I’m thinking the space above the rear suspension for a stealth install.
also, is aw9318808AC same quality as the lr033292 tweeter? And is there Jaguar counterpart to the Land Rover ones?
How do you remove these? I have removed the 3 nuts and it’s not budging?
thanks for the detailed write up, this seems to be a clean and easy set up combined with the premium speaker upgrade.
a few questions:
Would a single mini be sufficient for a coupe? I would think so since there is no top to be opened and I’m not a bass head, just want something clean and punchy to compliment the upgraded speakers.
If 1 is enough, how would the wiring go? And it’s location and direction of firing important? I’m thinking the space above the rear suspension for a stealth install.
also, is aw9318808AC same quality as the lr033292 tweeter? And is there Jaguar counterpart to the Land Rover ones?
How do you remove these? I have removed the 3 nuts and it’s not budging?
Anyone please help?😁
Door speakers ordered arriving next week, I don't think I will have problem with those.
Bass link also arrived, went with a single refurbished basslink 2 sm from Amazon, slightly larger than a mini, fits perfectly behind the armrest or inside the tray in trunk(require some cutting of trims on top of bracket fabrication).
Also fits perfectly into the cavity on top of the rear driver side wheel well, directly opposite of where the factory amp mounts on a coupe, this is my preferred spot since no trims needs to be cut, but would the location and firing direction be a no no? Once mounted it will be surrounded by the thin rear quarter panel and firing to the side.
What a wealth of info. I just got a 2016 F Type V6. It has the 770w system and it is thoroughly disappointing. Especially with the tweeter rattle.
The Dealer wants $250 for applying the technical service bulletin JTB00537V2 - Is it worth it? or should I just look into the OEM Kevlar speaker swaps instead? Or both?
In my opinion, it was worth it. I am kind of OCD and it was driving me nuts once I noticed it. The problem isn't the speaker, it's the frequencies being sent to the speaker.
In my opinion, it was worth it. I am kind of OCD and it was driving me nuts once I noticed it. The problem isn't the speaker, it's the frequencies being sent to the speaker.
Just had a new amp installed after the TSB installation attempt bricked the amp. I assume it has the most uptodate amp software. The tweeter rattle seems to be improved but 30hz with tone generator still sends signal to the tweeters.