Had a Meridian equipped XJ loaner last night. Huge difference. I mean night and day between my car and the XJ. I realize there are more door speakers but my main complaint is with the bass not the loudness and the bass in the XJ murdered my F type.

It's so bad I wanna have a real sub installed and isolate the subs that are there.

 

Has anyone else gotten the bass rattle diagnosed and fixed?

I'm experiencing the same problem....

 

I have the base Meridian, and frankly I think Jag screwed up in manufacturing, or somewhere along the line. With the bass turned way down it's OK, but it's a disaster with the default settings.

 

Nope.

Sound is one of those things that is hard to quantify. What sounds good to one sounds bad to another.

The only way to get a consistent reading is by using a CD designed for sound tests and get an SPL meter and test that way.

There was an F in my building for two days, I wrote him a note on the 3rd day to see if he would allow me to use his car... he hasn't been back.

I'm in Florida. If anyone else is and wants to meet up, I am all for it.

 

Totally agree on the subjectivity, except in this case the problem with my system isn't distortion or reproduction. It's something rattling around when the bass is turned up. Previous posters suggested that (a) Jaguar is aware of the problem; and (b) it might be loose wiring somewhere.

Was wondering if anyone had a specific diagnosis or a TSB number.

 

I specced the basic system on the basis that:
a. A car is a 'less than ideal' environment in which to install and listen to hifi systems;
b. All F-types come with a built in Sound System which is music to my ears at least;
c. How good does the sound system have to be to listen to news headlines and traffic reports?

That said, your descriptions sound like a poorly designed installation (in the areas of signal feed and speaker mounting) as much as anything else.

However, if you're going to throw money at hifi, it shouldn't be installed in a space that's the equivalent of the laundry room with the machine on its spin cycle and the speakers sat on top.

 

Mine produced terrible distortion at moderate volumes, not loud. But with the top up, it's acceptable for music now that the bass is turned down. With the top down, it's turned off at highway speeds and usually news at lower speeds.

 

My R coupe has the upgraded radio and its fairly good overall. When I first got it the sound seemed to all come out of the front center speaker and that was it.
I played around with the settings and found the FM radio best on 'Meridian' and C.D.'s best on dts... thats the extent of the music I listen to at this point in the car.
Also moved the fade to the back more.. but generally the FM sound is only fair, but the CD is really good.
My other vehicles seem to produce a better stereo effect than this car.
No rattle though.. even at high volume.
Next time I'm around the dealer I will be stopping in to see the head service guy who is really into the high performance cars and stereos as well.. he did a good job improving my XKR as he is able to get into the set up deeper than what I can with the user system controls. It will likely not be until September, but if I find out anything useful I'll pass it on.

He is still supposed to get back to me on the rear spoiler and how to change the speed it deploys, upwards.
Lawrence

 

I have the standard US system and while I've been reasonably happy with it and able to get it to sound OK I've still got an unresolved concern about the two speakers behind the seats. When you fade the sound to the rear, you get hardly any sound, you have two big speakers producing next to no volume. I reported it to my dealer and they said they tried another car in their inventory and it was the same and must therefore be normal. I'm not at all comfortable that this is right.

Could someone with either/or the standard or upgraded system try this on theirs and report back with what you find?

 

Lawrence, let us know what you find out on the spoiler programming, would love to change it up too.

swajames -- i also have the base system (i listen to podcasts and google nav, pretty much) and will try the rear fade later on today and let you know.

 

I tried this over the weekend , when I fade all the way to the rear its barely noticeable and very muddy. I have the upgraded system, so far my driving has been limited to 90% top down and I need to play it loud to overcome the exhaust which is what I expect. it just seems to be missing detail , in my other cars I have kept the factory head unit dynamatted the doors and floor, and always replaced the speakers with Focal component speakers , JL subs and also arc audio subs{ they make some amazing slim line 8 inch subs pretty reasonable pricing} and use arc or zapco amps. Arc makes some amazing mini amps that fit in small places

 

Will do on the spoiler.

Regarding the sound system.. I just went out to try it again and used the FM radio for the 'ear test' as it seems to me FM, especially at a lower volume generates the poorest sound.
I have the upgraded radio so I'm not sure if all the settings are the same on both radios. Anyway, this was a telling experiment as I thought I had the sound all sorted out.. see my previous post.

What I did was to go to a classic rock station and I faded to the rear even further... as I said in my previous post, I used the 'Meridian' setting with FM and when I faded it well back, the rear speakers truly were anemic.
I then switched to 'Dolby' and the rears came alive.. I had to move it back towards the front to sound right. I next tried the 'dts' setting and it was a bit less than the Dolby towards the rear and a somewhat different sound but still good.
Next I went to a classical station and pretty much got the same results.
So, I'm not sure what I thought I heard when I first set the radio up, as I was sure I had it right with the Meridian for FM and dts for C.D's but the above is what I'm going to use from now on. Perhaps some other stations will be different.
I didn't have time to play with the C.D. and the settings, but I assume the dts is going to still be the best.
On this basis, I don't know what the Meridian setting will be good for.
The new settings as explained above really did bring it more alive, even with the volume not cranked right up and it really sounded very good, at least for a quick experiment. I'm not a total audiophile, however I do have a couple of really good (stereo/movie surround) systems at home and the car sounded pretty darn good considering.
Hope this helps.
Lawrence

 

Thanks Mulmur. The standard system does't have the DTS/Dolby/Meridian settings. The system does produce sound through the rear speakers when you use the fader to direct the sound to the back, but it is low volume and muffled.

 

OK, maybe it just uses the 'Meridian' setup which on mine keeps the rear speakers very low.
I found out more on the rear spoiler, so I'll do a separate post.
Lawrence.

 

Hi All,

I have just came across this thread.

If anyone is having any issues/has any questions then please just send me a PM and I will look into it.

Many Thanks

Mike

 

Hello Mike,

I've been exchanging conversations with Pete@Jaguar on another board for the past several months on this subject with no success. Despite having worked with Jaguar Customer Services in the UK very closely (speaking after each of my 4 visits and the car being in the shop 3.5 weeks for those particular inspections) I made only minor progress. Indeed I spent nearly 7 hours on the phone with Customer Services.

The problem is nobody wants dealers taking their door apart 4 times and stick foam, tape and washers to find a cheap solution when what is actually required is a more detailed engineering fix.

This problem is mentioned across several boards in the US and UK. And due to the Customer Services Police shielding engineering from real customer input, I've heard from more recent owners - including the coupe - that they still have the same issue.

Recently I asked for Jaguar UK to get directly involved, but they insisted I allow the dealer a 5th opportunity to take the car apart again because the dealer had only ever filed one technical report. I responded that this was not my problem and then went on to highlight that Jaguar should pull out the stops - do me a favour - since I'd also had multiple other failures including the engine coil pack and a replacement cruise control that took the factory 1.5 months to deliver. Even then the message was "need help - follow our rules."

In the end I gave up. Life is too short. Jaguar looses a customer in the future.

My car is in my local dealer on the 12th August. If you know a way of getting head office to take it seriously then I'd really appreciate your help. I've simply asked that Jaguar takes direct and personal attention of my vehicle on this occasion with a proper fix. The answer I got was No.

Thanks if you can help.

 

Hello,

I am sorry to hear of your issues.

Pete will be responding in more detail.

Many Thanks

Mike

 

I cover Tech for FOX, CNBC and a rather large number of publications I was thinking of pitching a piece contrasting Tesla and their S and Tata and the F-Type in terms of problems and service experience. I did a comparison piece awhile back that generated impressive on-line traffic and Musk is in the news again this week both with comments on AI and problems with the Tesla S. Contrasting the two firms, I think the Tesla has had more issues since 2013 but they handled them better (they have actually cycled out most of the car in some cases to keep customer satisfaction up).


Here is the earlier piece: Tesla S vs. Jaguar F Type: Practicality goes out the window | Digital Trends


I pushed it to the forum some time ago: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/o...s-tesla-99150/


I did a variant to a much larger segment here: The Jaguar F-Type vs. Tesla S: Amazingly Alike | Tech Buzz | TechNewsWorld


I was on FOX yesterday covering the Musk information (here is background): Elon Musk Defends Tesla After Getting A Terrible Review


My overall take is that Tesla is currently setting the bar with regard to customer care which is why their loyalty scores are so high despite their impressive number of problems. Tata, with Jaguar, has been much more like a car company with GM being the bad poster child at the moment. Ignoring problems like the lack of a locking gas cap, some apparently endemic issues like the center air vent problems, and disappointing stereo in the hope they won't reach critical mass. With social networks this latter path, as GM is demonstrating, is increasingly very risky.


Oh, and in case you are interested, here is the AI piece. Nothing to do with cars (yet, though once we get to self driving tech that'll change): Elon Musk calls Artificial Intelligence 'potentially more dangerous than nukes' | VentureBeat | OffBeat | by Tom Cheredar


Anyway if I post something on this or get traction on air I'll post an update.

 

Rob,

I could not agree with you more that Jaguar has a customer service problem in the US.

The customer service team is close to worthless.

My one real interaction with them was on the fuel filler issue. Having opened a case with the Jaguar customer service team, and waited what I considered to be an unreasonably long time for them to acknowledge it, I had perhaps the most frustrating customer service call I've ever had with their rep.

In short, she largely refused to acknowledge the issue, refused my request to talk to someone more senior within the organization, and from that point on kept repeating the phrase "If you are unhappy, you can take this up with the Better Business Bureau" ad nauseum.

It was without question the least premium customer service interaction I've ever had with a supposedly premium brand.

I wasn't overly bothered by the fuel filler issue, although I do consider it to be an inexplicable omission on US-spec cars. I was extremely bothered, however, by the astonishingly poor customer service.

I was basically and rudely told to go pound sand.

I am very happy with my F Type, but this interaction will weigh heavily next time I am dropping more than 100,000 on a car..... Jaguar sales are in freefall in the US at this point, and this brand simply has to do better to deliver a genuinely premium customer experience.

 

I think it's unanimous that the speaker upgrade stinks. As I suggested, I think it would be nice to compare a few cars in a very controlled setting using a CD specific to this type of test.... Use an SPL meter to get a real reading of clarity.

If I knew I was keeping this car, again, I would tear the whole interior out and put sound deadening material. I would also Remove the rear sub and install new ones along with new amps. My wife's BEETLE with the Fender system hits harder.