Hi,
I'm upgrading the basic 4 speaker Jag sound system in my X type to a Premium Sound System (6 door speakers and pair of subs).
I have sourced the amp, front tweeters (Jag premium ones),door cards (to remove and refit the extra grills for the tweeters and main grills for the chrome ring) and also amodified lead so everything is plug and play but am stuck deciding on speakers.
I have decided to go aftermarket for the 4 main door speakers and the 6.5" subs as tracking down Jag premium speakers is a nightmare.
What speakers (make/model) have other owners fitted when upgrading their cars, how good/bad do they sound and also did you need to make any modifications to the doors to fit them?
Also what is the power output of the Jaguar Amplifier as I want to get speakers that are up to the job of the amps power?
Thanks

 

I'll give you my input on aftermarket speakers, thought can't comment on any mods you may have to make.

Polk Audio MMC series

I have had these 6.5's components nstalled inthe front of my old Jeep Gr. Cherokee, with the 6.5 2-ways in the rear, and they were the best sounding system I have ever had. One 10-inch JL Audio sub and the thing was incredible! I compared them to Boston Acoustics, Kenwood, and all the other components, and these sounded the truest in the midrange where I thought it best to be accurate.

Onto my XK8, and I put the 6.5 MMC components again in the front, only the two - 6.5 JL Audio subs in the rear, and it sounds good, but not as good as the Jeep. Somehow only running the two sets in the front didn't create the best sound 'stage', but still much better than the original Alpine (Jag OE) speakers that were in it.

 

If I were you, i'd also install a second amp/10" sub in the trunk, two 6.5" can be pushed rather easily.

 

No, its going to have to be two 6.5" subs as the holes are already in the parcel shelf and I dont want to loose boot space as I need all the space I can get forfamily holidaywith car to France.
Specifically looking just for X Type upgrades with speaker model numbers so I will know if they will fit and handle the power of the Jag amp.
Other cars will have different acoustics/depths for fitting speakers etc.

 

I have put numerous sets of MB Quart speakers into X's. Fit right into factory holes. Just need to cut connectors and solder onto new speakers.
Sounded phenomenal.

 

Yeah buck I was going to recommend some mb quart components...too bad you live so far away because I could have gotten you a few different sets...i get the esa213 for 35 bucks...they are 5.25 though but shoot for the price...I'm not sure where you would turn for car audio over your way though...the mb quart stuff is made in Germany.

Hey FJT what sets did you fit in the x's? Where'd you mount the tweeters? If i end up doing anything mine are going in the corner of the front doors...

 

Buck,

How's the rest of the upgrade going? Did you get that wiring harness fitted and functioning? I was wondering if the kit worked.

For door speakers, I ended up w / Infinity Kappa 3-ways in the front and Polk MMC 2-ways in the back. They both fit out of the box. The Polks came w / a mounting spacer that brings the speaker out closer to the door panel, but you will need to drill 4 mounting holes. The Infinitys came with a mounting ring that used the same holes as the old X-type speakers…no drilling but you will want to make up ~ ¾� spacer ring. Either of these speakers will handle what the Jag system will give them and sound great.

You can fit a single 10� in the rear deck if you are worried about trunk space. I have a template if you need it. It used the mounting on the rear deck and required minimal cutting. Good luck finding a decent 6.5� sub. JL makes one, but you will likely need to add another alternator to feed them enough power. There is a 6.5� Tang Band sub on Parts Express I was looking at but have no experience with.

BTW…My copy of Jaguar World with the X-type maintenance made its way across the pond this week. Thanks for the tip!

 

I understand now. Good luck, the 6.5-inch subs from JL Audio (clicky) replaced my original 6.5's. They're the best dedicated subwoofer in that 6.5-inch size I found...and I looked around, unless you go high-end competition. I always have liked JL Audio though, on amps and speakers.

No experience with MB Quart, never heard them before, but others have lots of praise.

I have a friend in the car audio sales/install biz, and he went with Rockford Fosgate (mainly because of the deal that RF gave him as their primary lineup) but as a consumer, he really wanted the Crossfire X6 or new HC series components for his 350z convert. This guy is a nut about his car audio. Crossfire brands are actually very competitively priced.

Just some more ideas to toss around when looking/listening to new speakers. good luck and don't forget to post up your final decisions.

 

Oh my, check out the new 6.5" from JL... if these are in your 'parcel shelf" (rear deck?) then I would seriously consider these.

 

Hey buck my brother has a jl 8w0 and has it powered by 50 watts from his factory amp. It handles 75 rms just like that 6w0 does. We're building a new box for his 8 sooner or later but we've been busy and we'll also be adding a different amp. Although it puts out decent bass he'll be upgrading sometime and we'll be putting some kicker L7 8" subs behind his rear seat. I can't remember how much power the stock amp puts out from the jag though...

Oh yeah and the rvf216 (6.5 components) only take 50 watts rms so I'd imagine that the stock amp has to put out at least half of that...and the rvf213 (5.25 components) only take 35 rms.

 

Thanks for the info guys.

 

Went to a car audio specialist this morning and asked about MB Quart.Thet advised against as there are no UK dealers so if anything goes wrong its not a case of being able to sort quickly.
The guy who runs it used to have an XJR so he says he knows about Jag sound system.
This is what they are offering:-
Taking the donor door cards (premium grills) and removing the tweeter and main speaker grills from them.Fitting these into my current door cards.
The front tweeters from the donor door card will become the rear handle/tweeter in the rear doors.
They are going to make a front tweeter grill in the door mirror triangular interior trim, which means I will have tweeters front and rear instead of just front.
In the front and rear doors they are fitting Focal 6.5"component speakers/crossovers.
In the boot RH rear they are fitting a custom made enclosure with a DLS subwoofer so I loose virtually no boot space.
The sub and RH side trim is going to be retrimmed with material to match the rest of the boot so it looks factory fitted.
They are fitting the Jag amp I got from ebay and the harness X-Dave is making.
Its a 2 day job altogether from driving in to driving out.
Total cost though is up to £855 inc VAT which is probably around $1700.
Any thoughts?

 

Well, whenever you start going into custom fabrication of enclosures and interior trim mods, the price is going to go up exponentially. Focal (though I have never purchased primarily due to cost), is very highly regarded, and I think that you will be very satisfied. Envious of that little combination I am! What size of sub are you getting in the boot?

In the vert, as you know, there are only components up front, and 6.5 inch subs in the rear to side of each jump seat. Sounds like something is missing behind me...so next week, my car audio guy is going to do a little custom fab around the sub grillwork, opening the panel up more to add an area large enough for 5.25 inch matching coaxials to the components in the front. I can only imagine how much that is going to run me....surely not as much as your little project.

 

Its a 10" DLS sub.
It will fit where the 'strap' is in the boot on the RH side to minimise the space it will take up as I need it allfor when the 4 of us go drive to France in June (baby buggy,suitcases,etc).



The cost broken down a bit more:-
£100 Focal 6.5" component front speakers with crossover
£100 Focal 6.5" component rear speakers with crossover
£170-£200 DLS 10" sub
£140 to manufacture front door pods for Focal tweeters (colour match triangular trim inside door mirror)
£20 vinyl
£15 fibre glass and filler
£180 to fit custom harness,ampand front and rear speakers
£100 for custom fibre glass sub enclosure built into rear quarter and trimmed accordingly

 

All i have to say is ouch...good luck though! Me personally I'd never spend that much unless it included a double din avic d3 with navigation included into the price!

Hey buck why are you worried about a warranty on the mb quarts when your spending 198 bucks american! Shoot I could get you the lower end of their stuff for around 110 bucks plus shipping! If you worried about a warranty buy 2 pairs and your still almost less than one set of focals!

Either way though that should be a nice improvement over stock!

 

I LOVEEEEE my bose premium sound in my maxima!!!!!!!

 

Yes, its a lot of money.
After speaking to one or two people online they say its not worth having tweeters in therear doors as the difference listening from the front is difficult to hear.
Might save around £200 if I leave the rear seperate tweeters out as then I wouldnt have to get a triangular grill custom made and instead have full range?? in the reardoor speakers.
Also Aquill, thereare import fees,etc and 17.5% VAT to pay on speakers if they come to the UK from overseas.
£855 for the9 speaker set up or £650 odd for the 7 speaker set up???

 

If you want 6.5" subs then I'd go with JL's. But a single 10W7 in a sealed box in your trunk would be really nice...

For speakers, I love MB Quart, Focal, and Boston Pro's. Why don't you just get a component system? and you can mount the tweeters where the premium tweeters are mounted. This will sound A LOT better.

 

You can also get away with running only front components and a good sub powered by good amps. I have done this before and the imaging and phasing is a lot better once you get used to the sound. I wouldn't put components in the back.

And make sure you do something with your headunit. If you want to keep the stock look, Many companies now sell boxes that you can attatch to your headunit that strip all the factory compression and sound settings so you get a clean feed. Upgrading your speakers while keeping the same crappy headunit will only help to a certain extent.

 

The 6.5" subs are pretty much a no go.Its a 10" DLS in the boot with a custom FG enclosure.
Im thinking of not putting components in the back...to save £200 odd.I am keeping the std head unit which will configure itself to the new system and give extra functions like subwoofer control and DSP as in the premium systems.