I recently purchased a 2014 F-Type convertible with Meridian Surround. Really, my only disappointment is the sound system. Excessive rattling and distortion with bass and volume. Almost sounds like speakers were blown. Shocked me, actually, as I did not expect this from Jaguar.

I have seen a number of people add felt tape and sound deadening material.. Indeed, I have read the Jaguar official fix (which seems to be sound deadening and felt tape for people who complain - though unclear if that was done under warranty).

My question is.. what's best material to use for the sound deadening? I have seen several products used; without much info on them. Any other tips?

 

You may be afflicted with a software bug. As I recall, the bass was being sent to the tweeters and causing a rattling sound. Someone here who had the update might have a reference to it. There's a way to check that demonstrated mine was OK. It involved a tone generator to play a specific frequency that made it apparent. I got the information here somewhere.

EDIT:

Frequencies that demonstrate the problem:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...2/#post1300220
Reference to TSB:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...2/#post1327547

 

Dynamat on the inside of the doors and door cards makes a big difference

 

1st, you need to determine what is rattling. It could be the software update as noted above. It could be a blown driver. It could be the door card rattling. (It is made up of a couple molded pieces that are kind of welded together.) JagBass went to the extreme of disassembling the door card and the speaker grill area and reassembling them with some better adhesive, fasteners and sound deadening material. Then there's the rear trim vs the subwoofers, which on paper should sound so much better but in execution is just awful.

When I was chasing a rattle in my XC90 I downloaded a bunch of tones from the Rockford Fosgate 3sixty3 set up disk (available on iTunes) and played the individual bands until I found one that really rattle the works good. Turned out to be the exterior door handle. I was never going to get the door handle to quit rattling so I isolated the noise from the interior with an MLV layer.

My choice on the F Type was to use some CLD tile from Second Skin Audio on the aluminum door panels and Soundskins on the backside of the door card. Then I got rid of the crappy subwoofers and built a nice solid ported enclosure out of 3/4" MDO, installed an SQL 12" driver and gave it a whole bunch of power.

There are a number of other solutions that others have done, just do a bit of searching.

 

I don't like all the printed advertisements from Dynamat, Kilmat stuff like that.
I am paying for the sound pads NOT for the printed advertising!
I really like Noico. It's on Amazon and EBay. I get the 80 ml stuff and the 36 ft2 kit. Says discontinued on Amazon but I find it on EBay.
Any 80ml thick Butyl will work fine.

I also really recommend to use the ridged rollers to push the sound mat into the nooks and crannies of the car. I did not think this was needed but it works much better to roll it in.
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All I’m saying is I installed Dynamat and it worked.

 

While this may not be what everyone wants in a "Jag",, There is a Homeless Depot self-stick material that damps sound exceedingly well. I use it inside the "tinny" panels of cars and trucks. It is every bit as good, and sticky as the expensive stuff. The good point, or down side (depending on your need) is that it is narrow, at 6" wide. This makes it very easy to work with.


https://www.homedepot.com/p/Peel-Sea...6335/202522795

 

I've used Dynamat and RAAMmat. I'd say they're comparable, although I'm not sure the latter is still available. Maybe? The Dynamat certainly included the name in the price, but works well.

Because of the way it works, if it's not touching the metal it's not doing much. It's designed to damp the vibrations in the surface to which it attaches, not act as a sound insulator.

 

depends on what you are trying to do
if it is for your audio (and vibrations in panels) then I recommend Dynamat. Guaranteed to work very well but not best band for buck and certainly plenty of cheaper alternatives. Wether the 20-25% premium you pay for it is worth it is up to you but at the end of the day it ends up being an extra $50

If your trying to suppress road noise etc then other stuff is better

 

Had not thought about the Home Depot roofing stuff?
Any complaints about the tar smell? I have heard others say certain brands of sound pads have a smell?
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You will smell it if you use the HomeDepot stuff, like you said even certain brands smell. I have used two different brands I can report about, Kilmat and Siless, the Kilmat is odorless but the Siless has an asphalt note that will hang around for some time after install. I think it took a couple weeks before I could enter the car and not get a whiff.

 

Thanks for reporting back. I have heard that the asphalt smell does dissipate after a bit so no long term issues.
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I have the Homeless Depot stuff in my black F150. No smell what so ever. And I'm in South Florida, where the sun is exceedingly bright and hot. So you'd think that would bring out the smell. But maybe it burns it off...

 

Not sure is you ever solved you sound damping problems but I highly recommend Resonix Sound Solutions products. Spend some time reading all of the info available on his site and you walk away feeling like you now know a thing or two about noise control.

https://resonixsoundsolutions.com/