Upgrade Sound System to Premium
#21
10-25-2016, 08:46 AM
Normally such an active sub (subwoofer with built-in amp) is plugged into a sub or line out on the head unit. If this is not available, they can take a high-level input from the rear speakers. Adding a sub to fill in the bottom end leaves the amp in the head unit to to just deal with the "directional" sound and may be good enough not to need the full fat version. To control it you have a couple of controls on the sub or on a remote control to set the level and the frequency where the bass kicks in. That's all there is to it.
I did this in one of my cars - good basic head unit driving the main speakers and a sub for the low notes. It won't win any competitions but it sounds right and I'm quite fussy about sound quality.
Might be better than ripping the car apart to only get a slightly better sound. A car sound shop should be able to wire one up pretty quickly to let you hear how it would be, especially as the location of the sub is not really that important.
I did this in one of my cars - good basic head unit driving the main speakers and a sub for the low notes. It won't win any competitions but it sounds right and I'm quite fussy about sound quality.
Might be better than ripping the car apart to only get a slightly better sound. A car sound shop should be able to wire one up pretty quickly to let you hear how it would be, especially as the location of the sub is not really that important.
Last edited by neilr; 10-25-2016 at 08:59 AM.
#23
10-30-2016, 01:35 AM
#24
10-30-2016, 01:46 AM
#26
12-13-2023, 07:17 PM
Total system upgrade using OEM wiring
OK...
First of all, the B&W speakers are different to the speakers in the Base system, you would have to decide if you wanted to put in the original B&W yellow-coned speakers in, leave the existing "Jaguar branded" ones in there or go for aftermarket ones. Checking the prices for the B&W ones as spares from Jag, they are not that much more than Focals would be anyhow. You also need to add the center fill speaker in the dash, there are two versions of that one, a B&W one or a "Jaguar Branded" one. I doubt you will find an aftermarket speaker that will fit perfectly in the existing mounting position.
You need to add the subwoofer which is mounted in the passenger side footwell, under the carpet. So you need to remove the center console, passenger seat, and door jamb trims, in order to remove the carpet "bucket" to access that location.
The subwoofer assembly is the exact same part for all X150 XK & XKR regardless of model year, so one out of a wrecked car would be easy enough to find on eBay. It'll probably come with the amp fitted to it as well so bonus points there. The amp is also the same for all X150 XK & XKR regardless of model year.
You need to change the head unit "IAM" (Integrated Audio Module) as it's different between Base and Premium systems. I mean the actual unit where the CD's are loaded in, in the middle of the dash. They pop up on ebay regularly, they're the same head unit as the XF's and Land Rover Freelander2 / LR2, up until the Meridian systems were introduced.
As for the wiring... what you can do to check is lift off the speaker grille from the center of the dash and see if there is a connector there on a loom for the center speaker, though it does appear that there is a different dashboard harness for Premium Sound, knowing Jaguar that means the center dash speaker wiring loom will be missing from the base cars. Not a big deal to add it if it's missing.
The rest of the wiring is a bit hard to explain.
The wiring loom for the Premium system, from the amp to the speakers, is in place already. The connector at the Premium amp which runs to the speakers is called CA116. For the Base system there is a loom which runs from the head unit (IAM) behind the center of the dash, to where the amplifier & subwoofer would normally be fitted. This additional loom runs from connector IP058 to connector CA116. So you unplug that loom at CA116 in the passenger footwell, and plug it into the amplifier. The connector IP058 behind the head unit is left unplugged, it's not connected to the Premium head unit.
The 2-wires for the center speaker are actually in two parts. 1st section is from the amplifier, connector CA116, to another connector IP052. This is probably already there. What's likely to be missing is the 2 wires from IP052 to the speaker in the dash. It's just 2-wires and a plug which goes into the speaker, can be easily made up.
You then need to connect the MOST fiber optic loop into the Amplifier, which means you may need an extension, probably a splitter as well. These can be found easy enough. Also the power connector to the amplifier, might already be there, if not it's not the end of the world to add a couple of heavy power cables to the amp.
Last thing is to edit the Car Configuration File to activate the Premium Surround options. This can only be done with the SDD diagnostic system that JLR dealers have. HOWEVER the function to edit these settings is locked out for them, so a dealer can't do this for you. They would have to request a special password from JLR Tech Support, which they won't get if they say that they need it to retrofit a Premium Surround System. However there are ways around this if you have an unlocked/offline SDD, like some of us do...
EDIT
I forgot one thing....
There is a cooling fan which needs to be mounted next to the amplifier, and a wiring loom which runs from the fan back to the rear junction box...
First of all, the B&W speakers are different to the speakers in the Base system, you would have to decide if you wanted to put in the original B&W yellow-coned speakers in, leave the existing "Jaguar branded" ones in there or go for aftermarket ones. Checking the prices for the B&W ones as spares from Jag, they are not that much more than Focals would be anyhow. You also need to add the center fill speaker in the dash, there are two versions of that one, a B&W one or a "Jaguar Branded" one. I doubt you will find an aftermarket speaker that will fit perfectly in the existing mounting position.
You need to add the subwoofer which is mounted in the passenger side footwell, under the carpet. So you need to remove the center console, passenger seat, and door jamb trims, in order to remove the carpet "bucket" to access that location.
The subwoofer assembly is the exact same part for all X150 XK & XKR regardless of model year, so one out of a wrecked car would be easy enough to find on eBay. It'll probably come with the amp fitted to it as well so bonus points there. The amp is also the same for all X150 XK & XKR regardless of model year.
You need to change the head unit "IAM" (Integrated Audio Module) as it's different between Base and Premium systems. I mean the actual unit where the CD's are loaded in, in the middle of the dash. They pop up on ebay regularly, they're the same head unit as the XF's and Land Rover Freelander2 / LR2, up until the Meridian systems were introduced.
As for the wiring... what you can do to check is lift off the speaker grille from the center of the dash and see if there is a connector there on a loom for the center speaker, though it does appear that there is a different dashboard harness for Premium Sound, knowing Jaguar that means the center dash speaker wiring loom will be missing from the base cars. Not a big deal to add it if it's missing.
The rest of the wiring is a bit hard to explain.
The wiring loom for the Premium system, from the amp to the speakers, is in place already. The connector at the Premium amp which runs to the speakers is called CA116. For the Base system there is a loom which runs from the head unit (IAM) behind the center of the dash, to where the amplifier & subwoofer would normally be fitted. This additional loom runs from connector IP058 to connector CA116. So you unplug that loom at CA116 in the passenger footwell, and plug it into the amplifier. The connector IP058 behind the head unit is left unplugged, it's not connected to the Premium head unit.
The 2-wires for the center speaker are actually in two parts. 1st section is from the amplifier, connector CA116, to another connector IP052. This is probably already there. What's likely to be missing is the 2 wires from IP052 to the speaker in the dash. It's just 2-wires and a plug which goes into the speaker, can be easily made up.
You then need to connect the MOST fiber optic loop into the Amplifier, which means you may need an extension, probably a splitter as well. These can be found easy enough. Also the power connector to the amplifier, might already be there, if not it's not the end of the world to add a couple of heavy power cables to the amp.
Last thing is to edit the Car Configuration File to activate the Premium Surround options. This can only be done with the SDD diagnostic system that JLR dealers have. HOWEVER the function to edit these settings is locked out for them, so a dealer can't do this for you. They would have to request a special password from JLR Tech Support, which they won't get if they say that they need it to retrofit a Premium Surround System. However there are ways around this if you have an unlocked/offline SDD, like some of us do...
EDIT
I forgot one thing....
There is a cooling fan which needs to be mounted next to the amplifier, and a wiring loom which runs from the fan back to the rear junction box...
Now to the point, I am looking to completely upgrade my system with a more powerful amp, focal speakers front and rear, and if possible upgrading the center console speaker. I would also like to upgrade the amp.
Is this possible? Will I need to replace all the wiring or can I use the OEM wiring, and what difficulties can I expect to run into. In a dream world I would like to simply replace all the speakers, amp, connect to the current wiring, plug and play.
What are your thoughts on this?
Kind regards,
Stephen
#27
12-13-2023, 09:34 PM
Senior Member
Firstly, what an amazing write up, truly impressed with your knowledge of the audio system.
Now to the point, I am looking to completely upgrade my system with a more powerful amp, focal speakers front and rear, and if possible upgrading the center console speaker. I would also like to upgrade the amp.
Is this possible? Will I need to replace all the wiring or can I use the OEM wiring, and what difficulties can I expect to run into. In a dream world I would like to simply replace all the speakers, amp, connect to the current wiring, plug and play.
What are your thoughts on this?
Kind regards,
Stephen
Now to the point, I am looking to completely upgrade my system with a more powerful amp, focal speakers front and rear, and if possible upgrading the center console speaker. I would also like to upgrade the amp.
Is this possible? Will I need to replace all the wiring or can I use the OEM wiring, and what difficulties can I expect to run into. In a dream world I would like to simply replace all the speakers, amp, connect to the current wiring, plug and play.
What are your thoughts on this?
Kind regards,
Stephen
Look for a thread inn the F Type section by @Dale Melton , he's done a full system in his FType. Not the same, but might give you some info to get started.
#28
12-14-2023, 04:32 PM
Senior Member
Hi Stephen,
I guess if your goal is to achieve better sound quality, then it depends of the amount of work/money you're willing to get...
In case you want to keep the original look, you then can change each and every component in the line and you can even update the original screen... It's going to be quite a fair amount of work and yet you'll have to accept some limits. @Cambo has created a wonderfull system to update your screen and he will surely answer all your questions if you contact him through his website.
If you are willing to upgrade the whole thing then you might consider the Tesla screen option instead of the original unit.
Just the thing by itself increase the overall sound quality to a quite incredible amount. Then you shift the speakers for focals and you have a really good system.
Shifting your speakers for Focal will be easy and you can even upgrade the front scene by spliting the signals.
Hope that have helped you.
I guess if your goal is to achieve better sound quality, then it depends of the amount of work/money you're willing to get...
In case you want to keep the original look, you then can change each and every component in the line and you can even update the original screen... It's going to be quite a fair amount of work and yet you'll have to accept some limits. @Cambo has created a wonderfull system to update your screen and he will surely answer all your questions if you contact him through his website.
If you are willing to upgrade the whole thing then you might consider the Tesla screen option instead of the original unit.
Just the thing by itself increase the overall sound quality to a quite incredible amount. Then you shift the speakers for focals and you have a really good system.
Shifting your speakers for Focal will be easy and you can even upgrade the front scene by spliting the signals.
Hope that have helped you.