You can. Like I said previously, not sure that will be any better though as I don't know what the head unit is doing with that signal. It may have a crossover that never gives the door speakers anything under 80hz. Just don't know. The other thing that is better when using the sub output is that you have a separate control for the level that is right in front of you while you are driving. I use mine quite often and it's not something I'd want to do without.

 

Here you go.

 

Hmm wonder how I can find that info out... If door speaker has full power or not....

 

Hi JagVonder,

Simple way to test would be to download a set of test tone MP3 or WAV files and play them via CD in your car. First disconnect your factory subwoofer (if you have one) and then listen to your door speakers at somewhere around 30-40 Hz. My guess is that the front door woofers are playing a full range signal. When i was in the middle of my subwoofer swap/install, I went one day without a sub in the car. The B&W front door woofers easily reached down to the 30-40 Hz range, leading me to believe that there is no "high-pass" filter on the front door woofers. There was zero bass roll-off other than the natural decrease in low bass due to the woofer's physical limitations.

Again, best bet is to tap the subwoofer speaker line for reasons Kyanite stated above.

Hope that helps!

 

DOing this install you gave up having a spare tire in the car ? The lc2i does the same job with less channels right?

 

Yes. No spare tire. 95% of the time I'm close to civilization and an easy AAA call away from a tow. When I know I'm going farther out, I can throw in the spare. Also have a can of fix a flat and a compressor for small issues. I've had two full flats that couldn't be fixed with fix a flat in over 28 years of driving. I've lived with a sub box taking up valuable trunk space every day for at least decade of my life. I'll take the trade off. Plus I'm in a climate where I'm not going to die within hours without a spare available. So non-issue for me.

From everything I've read, the LC2 does what my LC7 does with only two channels, which is all you need.

 

I have a 2012 Jaguar XF supercharged and using the lc2, it's not the base sound system (no subs) but its not the bower wilkens either. Mine does have the sub though.

I tapped into my rear mids at the amp.

the left rear door should be
pin 6 for + white and green wire / pin 14 for - brown and yellow wire

My issue was a sound delay, It was very noticeable. once the bass hits from the mids, I would hear it later in the subs. Ever since I tapped into the mids, all is good. The bass "quited" is from the stock system. Sounds like you need to adjust the accu bass settings. I set my accu bass to always on. Read up on it on audiocontrols website to adjsut the accu bass.

 

Do you have a surround setting with that system? If so, what is it set at?

 

Only thing is I don't have the lc2. I have a different one without that feature. Tho in my past cars that had factory subs and amps it was never an issue. Hmmm.

 

No surround settings.

 

There goes that theory!

 

What's happening is that the stock system is rolling off the bass as the volume goes up. Think of it as a way for the manufacturer to protect the speakers at higher volume. There are two ways to compensate for this.

1. Tap the INPUT lines going to the amplifier, assuming that they are still analog in nature. If I recall, only the Meridian system uses fiber optic/digital input lines to the amplifier. All other systems are analog in, meaning you can tap a Front Left/Right + and most likely a common ground. From those wires you can make your own RCA cable. I can explain in greater detail if needed.

2. Use the Audiocontrol LC2i and as Kyanite says, set the Accubass level such that it properly reprocesses and restores the bass as volume increases. I use Audiocontrol's products often and their bass restoration is pretty darn good.

 

So you would reccommend to tap into the front speakers as opposed to the rear speakers? I have a 2011 xf premier.. No B/W system tho I do have the stock subwoofer. He tapped into the wires exiting the amp and going to the sub i believe... How would he find the wires going to the amp? This is not the meridian unit either. Or just go into the door jam and find the speaker and tap in there? the front or rear? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for the help!

I do not have an lc2 either fyi.. just a differnt brand of one without accubass etc.. but has never been a problem in other cars with factory amps..

 

JagVonder,

I can't talk specifically to the processing algorithm in the 2011 XF, but at this point I would urge you to ditch the standard line out converter you have and get an LC2i. It provides a very good solid remote turn on signal as well as clean output up to 14V. The AccuBass circuitry is also extremely flexible.

I would also suggest tapping the 4 subwoofer wires (they are dual voice coil - essentially 2 + and 2 -) as it's your best bet.
Subwoofer (+/-)
(1) purple/grn - green/wht (+ , -)
(2) wht/brn - pur/org (+ , -)

No luck on the input side of the radio. My Directed database shows me that everything going into the amplifier is carried through the MOST fiber optic bus. Makes sense.


Radio Ground yellow/red + radio, lt. gray 14 pin plug, pin 1 Radio Ignition black - radio, lt. gray 14 pin plug, pin 8 Radio Illumination (MS CAN)

Factory Amp Turn-on (MS CAN)

Power Antenna (MOST bus)

Left Front Speaker (+/-) yellow/green + radio, lt. gray 14 pin plug, pin 2 Right Front Speaker (+/-) white - white/brown +,- radio, gray 12 pin plug, pins 6 and 12 Left Rear Speaker (+/-) white/purple - white/orange +,- radio, gray 12 pin plug, pins 1 and 7 Right Rear Speaker (+/-) white/green - brown/yellow +,- radio, gray 12 pin plug, pins 3 and 9 Center Channel (+/-) brown/white - brown/blue +,- radio, gray 12 pin plug, pins 4 and 10 Subwoofer (+/-) purple/grn - green/wht (1); wht/brn - pur/org (2) +,- amplifier, lt. gray 10 pin plug, pins 8 and 3

 

Did you guys cut the wire to tap into on the sub woofer wires?

 

I did. Used bullet connectors so it would be easier to put the stock box back in later.

 

I created a custom harness for mine. 4 female pins in a modified Molex connector.

 

In my 2012 XFR I have the B&W sound system with the 8" sub, but it wasn't sufficient, so like many I went for an aftermarket solution, and I used this to tap into the factory sub wiring:
Pac-Audio.com Product Details | iPod Integration for your car and More by Pac-Audio - Connecting you to the future
Converts the high speaker signal to RCA outputs, plus provides remote trigger all in one... and the sound is awesome...

Although I had other car audio equipment, I went for this amp:
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.
small footprint and huge output

And to go along with it I went with this sub:
Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

I installed all the components myself, and it was by far the easiest install I have done, as their is no routing wiring from the head unit, or under the hood (battery)... Everything is right their in the trunk... I installed the sub in a standard sealed box, that you would pickup at any car audio store, and it did the job initially but being a sealed box, it didn't quite give me the sound I wanted, and it was already taking up a lot of room in my trunk, and I figured if I was going to give up valuable real estate in my trunk it might as well be worthwhile, so I built a custom box that took up the entire width of the trunk and barely protruded past the hump (brace) in the trunk... This sounded awesome but after 6 months I couldn't live with not having a trunk...

So I went another route, I remember when I was young, I had used a Bass Tube, and it did great in the hatch back that I had at the time, and took up very little room. I wanted to make use of the sub and amp and simply find an enclosure that mimicked how efficient the bass tube setup was, but provided better sound...

After some searching... I found:
NEW Nippon TUB10 10" CAR Audio 5 8" Ported Vent Subwoofer SUB Tube BOX Enclosure | eBay

I do not have any pics of the install, but I can snap a shot of my trunk to show how much space this is occupying... and the best part is I can still access my spare, and if for any reason I need it out of the car I can have it out in a matter of 30 seconds... the two (2) RCAs are pulled and there is a quick disconnect for the power (+, -, and remote)...

I will update with pics later today...

 

For all inquiring minds:

I originally tapped into my factory sub wires to install aftermarket amp. It sounded awful as the factory radio kept toning the bass down automatically as the volume went up.

Tonight, we undid wire taps from sub wires and tapped into rear right and left speaker wires. (Located coming out of factory amplifier located in trunk , drivers side , behind carpeted molding)

This worked! Perfectly! Take it from my trial and errors. Do NOT tap into factory sub wires. It will sound awful and your after market subs will be auto toned down as you turn up volume as to not blow the factory sub.

 

JagVonder, while using the less expensive line converter "works", you actually lose a very important function by not having the Sub control. When you have songs with less or more lower bass, you will have to use the Bass level to compensate. Which will put more strain on your factory mids if your woofer is at too low a setting for the song and you want more output. This increases the risk of having to buy new factory mids and installing them.

So to save the $60-80 in difference between an LC2 and the cheaper line converter you lose:
1. The ability to have a dedicated subwoofer channel for in dash adjustments for any music you may listen to.
2. The benefit of having a higher voltage and cleaner signal from the LC2 to the amp. This lets you keep your amp gain lower for better sound at the same volume level.
3. The ability to "restore" the bass from the factory system and adjust to the level you see fit.
4. Some line converters don't have remote turn on which makes installation much harder.

If it was more of an investment I wouldn't be so outspoken, but it's worth it. Trust me, I've done it the other way and will never go back.