Sorry to make you repeat your lengthy message,(which I read)however my problem wasn't the amps,just a reset,which I assume is easier for the dealer than switching the amps. I have worked for HBO for 30yrs, and have heard the best there money can buy, and to a degree sound is subjective,everyone's ears are different,and what sounds good to you or me may not to someone else. The problem I was experiencing was more than,just an amp the system was out of whack,and I was sure it was a component failure also,but it was just a simple reset,but to me the Boston Acoustics sounds better to me.

 

I have had three Jags (two modern ones with Alpine premium stereo) and they have all had poor sound quality. I hope if I buy an X351 the sound quality won't be so poor. This is a great thread though--didn't realize there was a test you could do!

 

I have the Merdian in my XJL (I think that's what it's called). It sounds excellent, but always lacked bass. I put a 10" slim box sub in the trunk but the truck is so well insulated it may little difference. Threw in a second 10" sub perfect! I'm not trying to thump the neighborhood but you'd be surprised how hard it was to get some heavy hitting bass you can feel up to that front cabin. Even still with the windows up very little thumping heard from outside the vehicle. Perfect. Not looking to show off, looking to jam out on my commutes.

 

Sorry if this has been discussed: Most people are listening to music in digital format, which is typically a 'lossy' format, such as MP3 or AAC, etc.... If the bit rate of your music is low, such as 128, nothing short of exceptional headset resting on your ears is going to sound rich and complex. If you are an Apple user, you can pay $25 for "Match" which will allow you to replace your music collection with a clean & richer copy with higher bit rate, such as 256 or even 320. For best sound, if you can try with a real, original CD and that will disclose if its the stereo or the music.

 

I would consider myself an audiophile, I've been one for decades. I can only speak to my particular problem which is clearly a lack of bass response and output in anything but the front speakers. Other than the 'sloppy' front door low end response, the rest of the sound quality is pretty good. It's the best stock system I've heard in any car, and better than alot of aftermarket systems I've heard.

I'm not happy at all with the service department at the dealership I just bought my car from. There's another one about 15 minutes further down the highway that I'm considering going to. I'll give them one more shot to make this right ( and the 2 other issues that they said they fixed but clearly didn't).

 

I believe from 2013 is when they replaced with the Meridian systems. My meridian 380 W absolutely kills My E-class harmon-Kardon AMG 525 W system. For those of you that are not familiar with the brand, meridian is known for utilizing low-power efficiency via unique processing and providing extremely clear reproduction at all sound levels, and with relatively smaller speakers

 

There's no need to purchase a third party application to rip your own music at a higher bit rate. You can choose up to 320 through the iTunes preference panel. I know of lots of folk who choose quantity of music over quality and suffer poor listening experience in ignorance.
Does anyone know what the bit rate is when a CD I'd ripped directly to the B&W amp?

 

Lang: My understanding is the system creates a mirror image - a 'virtual CD'. However if that's inaccurate, I'd be curious to know the answer to that as well. I have the Meridian 825W version, and it sounds exceptional. If uploading a CD, it offers no option to choose bit rate or anything else for that matter.

 

Here's a link to a write up describing how the sound imaging for the B&W is different than most systems.

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/first-listen-2011-jaguar-xjl-the-bw-71-channel-system/

 

Pleas repost the link . It can not be opened

 

I found these:


First Listen: 2011 Jaguar XJL & The B&W 7.1-channel System | The Absolute Sound


Meridian Audio in the Jaguar XJ Sedan | The Absolute Sound

 

Langstraat is correct!

Thanks to his post I insisted my dealer replace my amp and they did and sure enough I now have amazing sound quality and my rear fader works.

The crazy thing is they replaced it with an amp from a 2015 model in the showroom. I thought the Meridian system was different but they said the amp is the same (unless they are feeding me BS and did a reset or software reboot?).

Anyways I am happy and hope that others will also realize that this is a hardware (bad amplifier) issue.

Good Luck with your dealer and thank-you to the few that figured this out.

I will make this simple.....if you have no sound when you fade to the rear.....your amplifier is bad/defective!

 

Rsd911,

I'm delighted you've managed to convince your dealership of the problem and even more so that they have replaced the faulty amp. I agree that the sound is truly amazing. It was one of the reasons I changed from XF to experience that which was once described as the best ICE systems available.
I tend to set mine up in the standard flat mode, I'm not impressed with the munbo jumbo of optional third party filters and sound shapers.
Crank it up above 30 to enjoy the B&W speakers deliver true fidelity as they were meant too.

 

So I have same issue as many of you.

Move fader to rear with bowers and wilkins (2011 supercharged) and it sounds like a tin can with no base or mids. Sound is fine but not out of this world and the few posters that had the same issue as me and then fixed it with a new amp have me intrigued.

Does anyone have part numbers for amps that did not work and amps that did work? I am going to order one off ebay to try (AW9319C194AR) and see if it changes anything.

 

deanolds,

Re.
Does anyone have part numbers for amps that did not work and amps that did work? I am going to order one off ebay to try (AW9319C194AR) and see if it changes anything.

Sorry I have no idea what the part number is for the original amp, neither do I know where it is stowed. I guess it's inside the boot side panels.
You could try contacting B&W customer services but from my experience when the problem first became apparent they could hardly have been described as helpful referring me back to Jaguar CS who hadn't got a clue.

 

I still haven't tracked down what the real problem is with mine, the update helped a lot, however I was on a Howard kick for about six months so I wasn't listening to much music, but recently I have been back on the music and it's weird the Stones sound like crap, but the Doors sound great,I think I am going to do what one of the others sais and replace the speakers (after having the amps checked out. There is one thing to keep in mind though,the stereo should sound great and doesn't but I absolutely love this car, still put's a smile on my face every time I get in. What is amazing though is that the premium sound system on my 300C was one of if not the best factory installed systems I've ever heard...go figure.

 

Grizzley1,

With reference to the difference in quality between Doors/Stones.
If the Door's tracks sounds great and the Stones tracks are crap then there can't be anything wrong with the speakers.
Check that format of the audio source is the same when making such comparisons. A low quality recording track will always found 'crap' to a discerning ear.

 

Wonder how they dropped a 15 amp into a 12 car, I thought the newer amp had different connections.

Andy

 

I will strongly suggest anyone with the same problem, try listening to Tower of powers song 'what is hip' or street life by the Crusaders, even if it is not your kind of music, they are great for hearing everything you're missing, listen on something that you like, and then on the car, the guy at the dealership was clueless, but he heard the difference.