Are these the exakt same Meridian Signature speakers as:
c2d30486 (tweeter)
c2d24862 (midrange)
c2d24863 (bass)

If you are forgoing having any kind of usable trunk and need all extra space, you could remove the lining structure (arrow on pic was to show where auto-start connector is located). Not sure if that would help/hurt the acoustics...

Hi guys. I don’t have an F Type but it’s on my shortlist. Since audio is important to me I’ve learned to check the forums for threads exactly like this one (thanks). Several times I’ve been too lax in evaluating a car’s audio critically, presuming that a high dollar car has a high quality sound system and if it seems lacking it can be made right with some adjustments.

Mistake #1 was a W221 S Class that, on paper, had a robust 7.1 Harman/Kardon Logic 7 that in reality was terrible. Shrieking bright mids, no low end punch, and nothing but a Bass and Treble adjustments. On a $100k flagship Benz.

I’m posting here because, based on the shortcomings of the system described by owners, and the photos of the speaker array, the F Type shares some components with the S Class, as well as with my current car, a 430i.

The good news is, those shared components, namely the 8” dual coil pancake subs in your doors (and the S Class doors, and under the seats in the BMW) are incredible performers when they’re let off the chain. By that I mean defeating the baked in EQ in the factory amp and feeding them a full signal.

Manufacturers sometimes neuter the bass drivers in the amp’s internal DSP to reduce rattles late in the build process and by extension reduce warranty claims. Mercedes certainly did in the S, and it sounds like Jaguar did as well.

The design itself for the F looks solid. The big 8” door woofers, the 6”(?) door midbass and tweeters for the main arrays, a small sub firing into each of the seat backs to add a physical “hit” augmenting the bass coming from the doors, and two rear “surrounds” to increase the sense of space by delay. Should sound great.

Owners seem universally puzzled by the anemic output from the two rear deck subs, which again is likely a late addition to the baked in DSP to prevent rattles. They do this by reducing level and finessing the crossovers until the speakers behave.

While a lot of blame tends to get focused on the most visible part of the signal chain, the speakers, in reality those speakers are slaves to a crappy DSP (digital signal processor) map loaded by the manufacturer into the amp. Bypass the factory scheme with an integration DSP amp and you’re 90% there without touching a speaker or cracking open a door panel (other than to install Hushmat or other damping material.. Start there, and if you can’t dial in everything you want, then replace speakers surgically, rather than shotgun style.

My experience, both in the S Class HK and in a C Class Burmester, is with the Audison Prima 8.9 DSP amp. (Links to detailed write-ups below). They run around $900. The Prima is meant for cars like yours with deeply integrated infotainment systems and controls, and a fiber optic connection from the head unit to the amp. It installs between the output (analog) side of the factory amp and the speakers. Its processor drops the signal to line level, strips out the factory EQ, and then lets you go nuts with EQ, time correction, level and crossover for each individual channel. Each channel is then amplified to speaker level. This is all done in real time, on the fly, by the processor. In the config I’d recommend the amp will put out an honest 35 watts x 8 channels into 4 ohm loads. It’s plenty in an S Class and more than enough in a small car like your F.

Being able to set your own levels and crossovers will allow you to wake up those rear subs, and especially the door pancake subs. They’ll perform like totally different speakers. (You’ll want to Hushmat both front door shells and the rear panel because they’ll rattle).

In the F, I’d suggest using the 8 powered channels as follows:

Three way active in the front doors (each 8” sub, 6” mid and tweeter on its own independent channel) and each rear surround on its own channel. That’s 4 channels per side (8 total).

In addition to the 8 powered channels the Prima has an unpowered 9th channel for a sub/amp combo. You could add a small amp and use it to drive both rear subs in mono. Since they’re basically functioning as transducers that shouldn’t be a problem. Or leave the rear surrounds on the factory amp and use two powered channels for the rear subs so they’re stereo.

I’ve orphaned rear surrounds (and a center dash speaker) in this manner on the S and the C. The Prima’s DSP can easily blend them in. (With the 4 Series, BMW didn’t play around. No Prima for that car, just two sets of Morel Hybrid two ways, and I’m not sure those even were necessary.)

One last thing, for convertibles. Audison sells a remote control add on that allows you to switch between maps, which is handy because the environment changes dramatically with the top gone, and ideally would have its own tuning.

Rather than blather on (more) I’ll link out to two write-ups on the S Class and C Class Audio upgrades using the Prima (and Focal and JL stuff).

http://www.w221audio.wordpress.com
http://www.w205audio.wordpress.com

I’d be happy to answer any questions here or on the blogs themselves. I don’t sell or install audio equipment and I have zero stake in any audio company, including those referenced in the write ups.