Hey to all,

Just purchased an '06 xj8l - long story short;car was listed as having both Nav & Alpine, it only had Nav. Seller did lower the price a little(not much)for not having the advertised Alpine system - now I would like to upgrade the soundystemw/o spending a fortune - I do not want to start messing around with the head unit - I would like to leave the head-unit as is andupgrade the speakers andamp - Anyideas of the best way to proceed forabout $500-$700- thanks ! [align=right][/align]






Post #: 1

 

For that kind of price range and doing it your self - you should be able to have a pretty nice sounding setup. I am not sure what size speakers you have in the xj8 but crutchfield.com should be able to help you. Do you have satellite tweeters on the door or dash? You might want to look into a component setup. I like Polk, Alpine, MB Quart to name a few. If you want to add a sub you may be able to modify your existing - if you have one - just upgrade the speakers. But I would add an amp and a seperate sub in the trunk (if trunk space is not important). How loud do you like your music? That would answer how many watts. MTX, Kicker, JL Audio make some great amps. Do you know how to wire this stuff up? Let me know I would be glad to help out!

 

Christo,

Can you tell me more on this? I have an 2005 xj8l, I would like to put in an amp, and some new speakers. Are the existing tweeters in the doors good enough so that i can just replace the woofers in the doors? I do not need heart pounding bass, but would like a little thump once in a while. What experiences with subs do you have? I saw your pics, I don't want what you have as that would be over kill for me.

 

This is what I would do for now. Take a look at the amps below for some examples. I would proabably take some that is over 75 x 4 and notice these amps can add on a sub if you choose later on. That is what channel 5 is for.

5 channel amps http://www.crutchfield.com/g_120/Amp...cFF5%40Channel

Here are some examples of the finer component speakers. Looks like your jag can fit in 5 1/4 or 6 3/4 speakers, (I would go with the larger but they may need some modifications), I don't think you would be dissapointed.

components http://www.crutchfield.com/g_410/Com...ms.html?tp=106

I dont think you should keep your existing tweeters, I am sure they are good but may not handle the power from an external amp. You could leave them running off the stock radio but I know in my Jag this was not possible. Only 1 feed to the woofer and tweeter so it was either off the radio or external amp.I am not sure about your XJ8.

Then you would need a wiring kit and a low level converter...

 

Hey Christo,

Thanks for your help - My last post didn't tell the whole story - this new info may/may not change what you told me to do. When I found out the Jag I was going to buy did not have the Alpine system the seller noticed my dissappointment - Trying to not lose the sale(although he wouldn't have), he made me an offer. He also has an '04 xj8 for sale w/Alpine - he offered to "swap" out the Alpine system from the '04 and install into my '06 - long story short; it could not be done, it would have involved major re-wiring(according to the sound guy attempting the swap). In any event, what he did do, was "swap" outthestock speakers &tweeters for the Alpine speakers & tweeters. I did not mention this in my first post - does this change any of your suggerstions??Are the Alpine speakers good enough to leave in and just install an amp?? of should I get change out thespeakers/tweeters as well??

Thanks,
George

 

I have the alpine speakers and tweeters in my car. I tried to run them on my jl audio amp with 75 watts to them. I had to lower the amp to such a low level that would have been pointless to even use the amp. I would get the components and a good 4 or 5 channel amp and go from there. If you were going to get serious about some bass then I would get a dedicated amp for that.

 

maybe I did not word it properly or you just didn't understand my question and that's why you said my question made no sense to you. I certainly realize you can't hear my system - my question aboutwhether or not to leave the Alpine speakers/tweeters in or replace them, was not about how they sound, but if they could handle more power if I was to replace the amp.

 

Wow, I thought the Alpine was the only sound option available in the Jag... Very interesting.

 

Hey,

Nope - Alpine is standard on the VDP(your car); maybe that's why you thought it was the only system
offered. Not so on XJ8 and XJ8L models, they have a standard 140w 8 speaker fairly shitty
system vs. the 320w 12 speaker Alpine.Apline is an upgrade option on these models.
I believe Alpine is now standard on the '08, but not in '06, which is my year.

 

So what do you plan to do about your system upgrade newbiexj8?

 

Yes - you can use the low level to rca adapter works like a charm. If you have an XJ8 I am not sure what you have in your trunk but in my X I just ran it from the radio after I spent some time looking for a suitable remote (on/off) wire.

 

All X-type, all '03 and newer S-type, all '04 and newer XJ use Alpine head units and amplifiers. As for the speakers there are at least 3 combinations in the XJ. Does the '06 XJ have the dash mounted midrange drivers? It would probably be best to provide the last 6 digits of the VIN number of the car in question to determine exactly which system was installed in the car from the factory. If the speakers from the '04 that were supposedly swapped into the '06 were the highest level available at that time it would have had the dash midranges and rear parcel shelf mounted subwoofer and if they weren't installed along with the required amp it probably sounds worse than if it had been left alone. Just my opinion of course.

 

Ah the ole getting thru the firewall issue. This is where the installation is usually worth the money you pay them for. It is a pain in the neck but I usually pop off an existing rubber grommet, make a hole in it, fish the wire thru and put it back on. Or you can make yourself a new hole (be carefull not to drill thru anything vital) and go from there.

 

Im thinking about a new head unit as I don't have nav/bt/ipod in the factory unit.
Found a console filler plate from Metra that fits s type and x type.
the only difference is it is not a gloss black finish. Easy enough to paint I reckon.
That was my only holdup with an aftermarket unit was having it look like a hatchet job installation.
Metra p/n 99-9500

 

Yeah me too, but look for some posts from Dennis Black, he has a real nice piece for a double din radio - looks sharp. I personally would like to fill in the entire gap, I don't want any plastic pieces of compartments added there. However it would make a great place to keep the iPod while driving.