I just bought a 2000 XK8 with the Alpine stereo package and have some concerns.
There are 2 sets of "tweeters" on the door and on the dash and then the 2 subs in the back seats.
The sound I'm getting is very "tinny" and I've played with all the audio controls and the only adjustments I can make are playing with the bass the give the sounds some pop.
I feel the car would benefit from some good replacement speakers in the back, but when I went on Crutchfield the notes:
"The factory subwoofer in this location receives only bass frequencies from its amplifier. If you replace it, the aftermarket speaker will only reproduce bass."

Is this true? I need some solid midrange while retaining speakers that have some kick, or bass.

Please anyone with experience let me know what to do!

 

This is true. The three speakers up front - dash, a-pillar (door) and lower door should give you a very good sound stage. If the bass is decent in the rear, why not just replace the fronts with a good component set...midbass in the doors, and new tweets in the dash (you can cut the supertweeters after that)

 

H2O I appreciate it. The issue is apparently that the lower doorspeakers are completely inoperable....aka there is no sound coming from them at all. I'm going to investigate this further, but it makes perfect sense that I'm getting no midrange whatsoever....many thanks.

 

Ahhh, that would explain the VERY noticeable 'tinny' sound. The speaker can be accessed without taking off the entire door panel, if you didn't know that already. Look for screws under the speaker cover, and that cover slides right out. Both being dead is a little worrysome...hope it isn't anything related to the amplifier.

 

I've had similar problem with my 97 XK8.
The door side speakers are almost busted.
can they be replaced with any speakers on market?(not original Jag ones).
also got tweeters off ebay, can they be attached to the dash and side mirror ?
there seems to be cable coming out of dash but no tweeter attached at the moment. (Do i need amp upgrade or I can just plug and play?)

thanks

 

the factory amp is quite weak, equivalent to a modern headunit, but it should do the job, as long as it's still giving out signal to all of the speakers.

You should be able to run any aftermarket component replacement speakers, and I would suggest getting something in the lower range of a good brand, rather than the top end of an average one. You shouldn't need to run 4 tweeters either, so I would look at disconnecting the dash top ones if you can.

Also, assuming the doors are built in a similar way to X308's, I would fully recommend getting your door panels sealed up, and get some pods made up for the mids. This way the speakers are mounted solidly to the door, rather than to the door card. Any decent audio installer should be able to do this for no more than a couple of hundred dollars, and it really will make all the difference!
Here's an example of what I did with my car... click the pic to link to the whole album

 

In the XK8 the door speakers are mounted to the doors very securely not the door cards.

What ohm should be purchased for direct replacement with the factory amp?

 

What! Man you xk guys get all the cool toys

 

those speakers are 4ohms.
also got the tweets for the dash. does anyone know if i can just hook it up and work?? :s