Good morning. Hoping for some advice and feedback. Thread searches have been inconclusive and the dealer is pretty useless. I have a common problem. I own a 2012 XF (phenomenal car to drive) with one drawback...the base audio system with no subwoofer. Pretty crummy sound to say the least. Have found factory trunk-mounted subs on ebay and am curious if they would be plug and play...harness already in place etc. I'm not opposed to having an aftermarket sub installed but I guess I'm a bit nervous about screwing up the audio interface. I would also consider buying a new sub from the dealer but again they haven't been helpful in telling me what's possible. I have only 8,000 miles on the car and a long way to go warranty wise. Thanks for your help.

 

You may want to contact an audio shop. You can tap off your rear speakers, run them through a inline driver, and then run a wire to the battery with a inline fuse. Run a few google searches to get the general idea and then the hardest thing you'll have to do is get access to the rear speaker wires. Get a all in one powered sub to make things easier.

This thread might help: http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/...mote-wire.html

As far as using the stock wiring and getting the deck to recognize you have a sub, I'm not sure. You'd have to run a few searches on the forum.

 

Hi,

I also own a 2012 XF 5.0 NA with the base sound system which I found to be lacking in bass.

I had a high quality audio shop who does the work for all of the high end dealers in my area check things out and I went with his recommendation which worked out great.

He added one 10 inch JL Audio sub woofer along with a JL Audio amp and installed both in the trunk of car. The sub was a narrow mount and the box that he built does not take up much space at all. He also added a small remote dial on the steering column which allows me to adjust the sub woofer as needed.

This system fully integrated with all of my factory features such as bluetooth, parking sensors, navigation, etc.. and it made an INCREDIBLE difference in the overall sound quality. It was installed over a year ago and I have had no problems at all.

As I recall, the total cost including parts and labor was somewhere around $800 which I considered a great investment since it truly upgraded the sound system enormously.

It was my experience, after speaking with various car audio shops and Crutchfield, that JL Audio products would give me the best result and I am completely satisfied with my outcome. I talked with several high end shops and just about every one of them recommended JL Audio equipment. I have no connection to the company at all but they do seem to make very high quality products. Good luck with your decision.

Ed

 

Ed, thank you very much for your response. I'll definitely check it out. My jag dealer, who is otherwise very helpful and responsive, seems clueless on this.

 

Hope that my info was helpful and good luck with your choice.

I was also concerned about the integration of new sub woofer and other systems like nav, bluetooth, parking sensors, etc..

They assured me that everything would work the same way as before sub was installed which is exactly what the outcome was. Sound system volume shuts off when parking sensor audible warnings being given, bluetooth phone in use, navi instructions being given, etc...

The shop that I used is really very established and good. It is owned by two guys who do all of the work and they only do audio work. No detailing, tinting, etc. etc.. They have been around for many years and do the sub contracted work for the nearby Lexus, Mercedes, BMW and Audi dealerships.

Things should work out fine and I think that you will hear a remarkable improvement to the base sound system.

Ed

 

What you're looking for is not hard to do. Any stereo shop with just a bit more than basic knowledge can help you, although depending on your attention to detail and budget, it might be worth going to a more high end shop as Ed did. All the functions working are a product of the head unit and nothing changes on that.

If you want to get a quote or quotes from a shop, I can look to make sure the equipment is what you will need.

 

Wanted to update my original post. Had a subwoofer and amp installed today by a very professional and competent shop in Middletown, CT. Went with a 10" JL sub in a JL box mounted in the trunk against the back seat. Amp is a 500 watt JL mounted under the factory amp behind a trim panel in the trunk. They gave me a variable attenuation control mounted under the dash. A really clean install with virtually nothing visible...the black JL box in the trunk can barely be seen, As everyone said, the addition of the sub makes a huge difference to the standard audio system. Total cost about $700. the dealers constant "nothing can be done" chant got old. Thanks to all for their suggestions.

 

Jake,

Thanks for the update and I am glad that you are satisfied with the sub woofer upgrade.

Since you wrote this posting, I traded my 2012 XF in for a new 2015 3.0 SC Portfolio Edition which has the 17 speaker ( I think 600 watt) Meridian 7.1 Surround Sound system.

I love the new system which I think has at least one 10 inch sub included but I can honestly say that it does not really sound significantly better to me than my previous car with the added 10 inch JL sub and amp and base sound system.

Sounds like you found a good installer which is always important. Enjoy it!

Ed