I have a 2005 S-Type 3.0 with the standard cd. It is my understanding that this is referred to as a 140 watt system. Does this vehicle have any sort of amplifier in it or does this all come from the head unit? If it does have an amp- where the devil is it? I subscribe to AllData and all it can tell me is the possible location of 8 amps, but none of those make sense except for the side pocket in the trunk and I have nothing in mine. So what is the location and /or configuration. Also who makes the head unit in the standard setup?

Thanks

Tom in Dallas

 

The amp is in the head unit.

Not sure who makes the head unit - either alpine or denso.

 

I'm not sure either, but I hate the audio system in my car. It sucks. Normally, I'm not discriminating when it comes to sound systems since I listen to AM radio most of the time, but when I occasionally switch to FM, my 2003 Jaguar S-type sounds like crap. The bass is lousy and the high frequency audio sounds muffled. Where is the weakest link in the standard sound sytem? Is it the receiver? The Amp? or the Speakers?

I want to eventually add a satellite radio system to the vehicle and am looking for the most practical way of getting good sound.

Any ideas?

 

Or is the ariel contained in the rear windscreen? The S Type is my second car (the other being a Volvo S80) with such an ariel and neither has been that great in getting reception, particularly with weak signals. If anything the S Type is worse than the Volvo. I think that that may be the problem.

 

Thanks, but the reception is okay. I am referring to the lousy overall quality of sound coming from the sound system.

 

It was just a thought since you mentioned listening to the radio. Since you started this thread I have listened more to mine and you are right, it is not very good at all with either radio or CD. But I would rather spend my money on my home hifi setup and something to be able to listen to my ipod in the car!

 

You could try one of those Griffin Ipod FM transmitters for the IPOD. I'm not particularly a fan, though as you have to continuously tune the radio and IPOD to find unused stations along the FM band.

Jaguar was surprisingly behind the curve audio wise. The original sound system in my 2001 Saturn sounds better and doesn't have 22 buttons on it that do absolutely nothing. I can't wait to change the radio and the speakers.

 

The Jag sat radio transmits via FM to the normal radio. You tune to a speciffic frequency on the regular radio to "switch" to sat.

To isolate bad sound issues, try listening to a CD or Tape - wharever you have equipped. If this sounds good your problem is in the radio part, may be sat radio woill do some improvement.

If you CD/Tape sounds equaly bad, then it's the amp/speakers. There is not much you can do about the amp, except upgrading to premium sound system, but that is quite an endeavor.

You can try upgrading the speakers - this usually has the most dramatic effect on the sound, as speakers are the source of the most distortion.

 

I keep hearing people say how bad the radio system in their cars are. The sound systems in both of my cars sound great to me. But, I don't listen to "thumpty-hump" music, at building window rattling sound levels either!!

 

Hopefully it is the speakers. Speakers are the cheapest fix. Although they don't solve the lousy ergonomics issues of the radio itself or the possibly lousy amplifier, it is a start.

 

I had looked at the Griffin. Where I live there are only 10 or so FM stations that I get reception for, on my commute, which is when I listen to music the most. So hopefully I find space.

 

I agree, my X type has the premier Alpine system in it with the factory Sub. Although the sub is fairly small by todays standards the amount of bass it pushes is enough. My AM reception goes in and out though but it isn't that big a deal since I rarely listen to AM. I am tossing around the idea of adding the ACM to mine, mostly to add a satelite radio, right now it's running through FM but when I travel you are limited to areas that recieve an FM signal. No signal no radio. Adding the ACM as I have read will effectively add an AUX port through what would be the CD changer. So it's a toss up for about 300-400.00 I can add a headunit with AUX and probably a NAV system but although I've seen some of the installs that look great it isn't as clean as a factory unit. Or keep the factory look and feel and add the ACM for about the same amount.