FYI... an exhaust upgrade is cheaper than a stereo - problem solved.

 

true. The other thing to bear in mind is that no matter much you spend on a car stereo, it is likely to sound better from a personal player like an iPhone with decent earphones (or even standard earphones in most cases), not that I would drive around with earphones on or in. But it does make you think - spend $5K upgrading your stereo, or just use your iPhone?

 

If I may chime in here...

I have been thinking about a new (used) car for quite a while now. My 1989 BMW (325i Touring - purchased in 1992) is still a good car - but heck, this thing doesn't even has airbags! ;-)
Anyway - a Jag XK Coupe 2006-2009 is on top of my wish list and beside exterior and interior color a good sound system is on top of my wish list. To be honest I am not particularly pretentious - my Bimmer has better front speakers and piezos but no power amp/sub-woofer, besides I rarely listen to the radio and 90% of my stuff are 192K MP3s. But I definitely do expect a major upgrade from a appr. 30K car.

As far as I have read here the 'standard' Jaguar sound system is mainly considered as crap while the 'premium' system (Alpine?) is at least mediocre. The last thing I want is to install an aftermaket sound system. So I guess I should look for a car which at least has a 'premium' sound system, right?

Thanks.

 

Welcome to the forum!
The difficult part to an audio upgrade is that our head unit is integral to the car. It cannot be swapped out with an aftermarket unit.
So yes, the Premium Sound is what most would want as a bare minimum.

BOL
Vince

 

Unless you are super into car audio, the Alpine system rocks. I can't imagine wanting more. The XK has only so much insulation and on the doors not much. It's more precise than the Harmon in our Range Rover, but not as bassy in a good way.

My advice to you in your search is to only consider fully optioned XK's; much better investment and you'll have everything available.

 

Thanks, that is what I wanted to hear. Besides I would consider myself an 'older guy' (geez, did I just wrote that?) and those 'pumping basses' are even getting on my nerves when I sense 'em in other cars.
So, yes - I guess the Alpine system will be just fine for me.

Thanks for your advice. I guess this will going to be quite a quest since I don't like 'liquid silver' (very popular color over here) and I'm not very fond of 'ivory' interieur. Besides I have set myself a (tight) budget.
So, I guess it may take a while.

 

the "chase" or "hunt" is part of the fun. Enjoy it. then enjoy your ride more!!!

 

My B&W system has Dolby and DSP settings that I've never been able to get to work right, despite endless tinkering. The simple 3-channel setting with extra bass and a little extra sub, with the fade and balance positioned just slightly rear and toward the driver, works fine. While it's not audophile-worthy, it's pretty good quality. Piano is rendered pretty accurately. Some nuance is lost in guitar and voice. My biggest complaint is not quality, but volume. It only goes up to 7 or 8.

 

bump

 

No one has mentioned the fact that Jaguar had two systems available: the standard Alpine and the Premium (over 500 watts). My car has the premium system with sub woofer and it is superb - if the original questioner has the premium system, has he set it up properly? there are a variety of settings accessed by the touch screen which change the sound significantly. And I agree that in a car like this it is the engine and exhaust note that predominate!

 

Have the Bowers & Wilkins in my 2009 Jag XKR Portfolio Convert. Sounds fantastic even being inside a convertible. No complaints.

 

I have to wonder what audio source you guys are using. I just can't understand anyone tolerating the sound the AM/FM radio or Sirius radio puts out. Its muffly, lacks bass and clarity, etc. My wife's Sonata is about as good. It is because of this that I don't listen to the stereo much in the car. But that's ok--only irritating on road trips because I don't own enoufh CDs, which is the only audio source on my car that sounds good.

Maybe the Bowers and Wilkins in later models is that much better?

 

I have the HD Radio, and although I don't listen to music much on the radio, I think it sounds excellent! I have no complaints whatsoever about the car's sound system.

 

2010 XK with the B&W system. I think it sounds amazing.

 

As I've always understood it, you're hearing the limited frequency response that FM is capable of. Your ears hear ambient sounds between 20 Hz and 20000 Hz (depending on your age!), while--again not an expert here--FM is only capable of delivering tones between ~50-15000 Hz.

CDs will sound much better.

 

Have to agree with OP.

Massively dissapointed with the system, the BOSE energy efficient system in my Vauxhall Ampera is way supperior in every respect....detail, volume etc. Before that the Boston audio system in my 300c SRT would smash the Jag system in the volume department.....vibrating the mirror so hard everything behind was a blur!!! Mind u the XKR does this also.......with a squeeze of the loud pedal.

i once spent £2k on a custom Infinity system in a Jeep Commander and that.....well in a different league to any factory premium system i've ever heard......

 

I listen to mostly NEWS stations and I have yet to find a radio system that could make the news sound any better.

 

I have seen other threads about this. My 07 XKR also sounds like crap. Yes, I have the "low end" Alpine system. If you fiddle with the sound settings you can get it to sound OK. Gotta say it's kind of a pisser that my 01 Prius stock system sounds better than my Jag.

 

I think it is a matter of taste as well as how good your hearing is. The B&W in my 2012 XKR sound very good to me with the top up but with it down it gets a little distorted. I listen to mostly FM and AM and tune to the 3 channel settings. Not a lot of bass as it bothers my ears. Listen to a few different CD's but stick mostly with AM/FM. I notice that the sound quality in my Lexus seems to be better even though it has less wattage output but then again I am in a larger enclosed cabin which makes the difference. I must admit that in all of my previous sports or GT type cars the radio wasn't what I would call excellent but I didn't buy them to listen to the radio. I mentioned a few months back we took a 4+ hour drive to visit friends. 90% of the drive was on interstate highways so we had the top up and at 75 mph the radio was great IMO . So it's a matter of taste IMO. Oh with the old Ferrari I never had the radio on , LOL

 

A basic audio calibration CD and inexpensive sound pressure meter is what you need to set up any sound system optimally, and the improvement can be very significant. Here's a thread detailing doing that on a 2010 XKR...

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...results-64072/

Bruce