My stereo doesn't sound very good, one tweeter isn't working, and the car is 18 years old, so all in all it's time for an upgrade. I like the look the of factory head-unit though, and I like the fact it's a cassette deck, kind of retro-cool! I also want to keep the factory look as much as possible.

I've read every thread on stereo's I could find on the X300 forum, but no one has mentioned doing what I propose: leave all the electronic components, but replace all the speakers.

Has anyone actually done this? Is it a reasonable plan, or is it silly to leave 18 year old electronics when I have a bunch of the interior apart to replace speakers? What do you gents think?

 

If your Alpine head unit is working fine and you don't need some of the modern features like bluetooth handsfree, HD/XM radio or iPod integration etc then I see nothing wrong with just changing the speakers. I agree modern head units look slightly out of place.

 

you could do this but... from my own experience, the speakers were fine, it was the stereo that was causing the crappy sound...

 

Hmmm, interesting. I've got the Harmon Kardon upper level system, so if I change all the speakers and still don't like the sound, changing the head unit would be pretty easy but what about the amp/CD changer in the trunk? It doesn't sound like that's an easy re-do, what with wires running the length of the car and non-stock connectors.

 

Hello,

To preface, I had non-amplified sound system before I did any modifications.

I did what you are proposing...at first. My speakers were definitely blown...and needed replacing. So since that was easy to do and most necessary at the time, I ordered 2 pairs of speakers from Crutchfield.
After install, I was impressed with the difference in sound quality, but it still wasn't really that great...tinny perhaps.

However, I did like the idea of keeping the stock look, and decided the quality was good enough. After a while though, the CD-changer started jamming, and all repairs proved temporary...then finally it just went kaput! So I disconnected cd-changer and tried to convert that cable for use as an aux input, but found out the stock radio is programmed to only accept Alpine type changers for use with that cable. That really pissed me off, so now that radio is collecting dust on a shelf having been replaced by an aftermarket unit. I decided to go with Power Acoustik PTID-8920B. Once installed, the sound was amazing; very full and clear...the tinny sound was gone.

I feel the factory radio does not live up to the Jaguar name it has printed on it; poor quality and did not stand the test of time. It did not maximize potential of any speaker put into system. Its aux input allowed only certain Alpine models to be connected to it, which comprised its adaptability to current technology. I think the stock system as a whole is of very poor quality when comparing it with any current after-market components.


I would vote to replace it, but no reason you can't do it in stages as I did. Taking interior of doors apart, and removing center ski slope console are two very different processes anyway! I would stat with speakers and go from there. Good luck!

As far as replacing tweeters, IDK... Haven't had to do that...yet, sorry.

 

Thanks gents for your personal experiences; that's the type of information I was looking for.

FireCrow: did you replace the head unit and leave the factory speakers, or did you replace everything?

Triz: which speakers did you order from Crutchfield? What size? I'm looking at their website now and they only spec 6.5" speakers, yet other posts on here state the factory speakers are 6". I haven't had time to take the door panel off yet so I don't know what I actually have, as someone may have already changed the factory speakers.

 

My man, I replaced only head unit with some cheapo off eBay for about 6 quid and it was a massive improvement. Of course, you can hear that speakers are not really young any more, but most of the time it is the problem with head unit rather than speakers themselves. And to replace speakers, you have to take door cards apart and that is rather time consuming because of the amount of screws in them. It's not difficult, just takes hell lot of time.

 

How much do you want to spend that is the first question to ask???
I kept my standard XK head unit. I tested it and it has a full range out put but lacking in grunt. So I put the ou put through an audio control converter the through a set of focal amps and mono block for the subs, then sound deadend the doors and panels them up graded all the speakers to Lanzar completion speakers. 6.5 contents in the front an6.5 full range in the back with a pair of 6.5 subs under the dash. Sounds awesome now ..
IanP

 

Jvitez, You have Premium In-Car Entertainment (ICE)! Still no match for today's low-end gear.

IF the head unit is working properly (including display, backlighting, and cd changer control), you would get a good improvement in sound from new speakers. The amplification is coming from the Harmon Kardon amp in back. It is quite a bit more powerful (and accurate) than the head unit alone, as found in the standard system which powers all of the speakers from the head unit.

One issue would be the subwoofer mounted on the rear deck. The speaker usually comes apart and causes rattling. Plus it was not of great quality to begin with. It is near impossible to find a replacement of that size. But, you could probably mount another standard boxed subwoofer somewhere in back, and connect it to the HK amp.

I understand that speakers of various sizes (5-1/4 to 6-1/2) can be fit to the doors, although sometimes a slight mod to the opening is needed. 6-1/2s usually have better range.

 

Jvitez, I used MTX TN653 on all 4 doors. They are 6.5'' with full-range.
Here is the link to them: MTX TN653 Terminator Series 6-1/2" 3-way car speakers at Crutchfield.com

Obviously, you can spend a lot more on speakers and go for top quality, but at $40 a pair these speakers produce awesome sound, I was quite impressed. They will come with appropriate wire harness too.

The speakers fit nicely in the space provided, however you will notice the screw mounts do not line up with new speakers as they did with factory speakers. You can still mount it very securely though. There are long screw mount slots besides the individual screw mounts that the factory speakers were screwed into. These worked nicely to hold speaker firmly in place.

Tip: you will notice leather strips on speaker mount after removing factory speaker. I had to fold these into place, under new speaker, which solved a vibration issue I was having with loud bass tones.

Tip #2 (haha) The process to take apart doors is essentially the same for front and rear...minor differences though. For the front door, there is a rubber fitting that must be removed to access a screw. It is located where the door meets the side of the dash (there is a vent there).

 

FireCrow: 6 quid? Ya done good! It's amazing how electronics have plummeted in price and risen in quality over the years. I remember the expense and hassle of fitting a high quality aftermarket stereo into my old Jeep YJ.

IanP: point well taken. How much do I want to spend? A lot less than you did I'm sure. But your system must sound amazing! Realistically I'd like to keep it to around $300-500 CDN. I am a 2 channel stereo enthusiast and have nice systems at home, so I like quality sound in a vehicle but don't need an exorbitantly expensive system.

SleekJag12: thanks very much for your information. I hadn't quite twigged to the fact the head unit is far less important with my ICE system (cool name, sorry pun just slipped out ). That's really helpful as it points me more in the direction of replacing all the speakers and continuing to use the head unit/HK amp/CD changer. If one of the these items fries at least I only have to change that one thing. And my subwoofer is buzzing at higher volumes too, so one more thing to add to the list. The passenger side tweeter isn't working, but it looks like a major fiddle to remove the A-pillar trim so I'll probably replace all the other speakers and leave the tweeters as is.

Triz: yikes, that's cheap! It's awesome that you could find excellent sound for such a great price. I'm surprised a 3 way speaker fit into the shallow doors. I'm not sure I need a 3-way door speaker with my separate tweeters, but since only one is working maybe a 3-way speaker is the answer to not needing to replace the failed tweeter.

Great information and options gents, many thanks. It's -5C now so I'm not really keen to get into a fiddly vehicle repair that's not immediately required, but at least I have enough information I can check out some car audio stores and have a bit of an idea what I'm looking for. Thanks again!

 

Door speakers ROT! Mine had; bought 97 XJ6 this year. Knew I had at least one blown door speaker. Turns out, they all had rotted between the magnet & the con. The factory Phillips are fine!

Don't have any info on the tweeters though. As for the door panels, some extra plastic pins & holders are well worth the few bucks they cost as almost impossible not to lose or destroy one or two!

 

yes those black plastic pins are a PAIN!!!

 

Hi guys
So good ideas, some of the links go to home speakers and not car speakers.
There is a difference is these home speakers have an 8 ohm impedance where as the car speakers have a 4 ohm impedance.
Sorry if you guys already know this but just don't want you to buy the wrong speaker type and they don't work properly.
IanP

 

So, I checked out a couple of local car audio places. The better of the two had a knowledgeable salesman who looked up my car in his system (only went back to 97 but that was OK) and said he had two 5.25" speakers that had the requisite shallow mounting depth:

C3-525 - Car Audio - Evolution® - C3 - Convertible Systems - JL Audio

Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

These are component speakers for the front, and he said I could go down to the non-component version of the same speaker for the rears, but he couldn't find anything for the factory subwoofer. These were more expensive than I thought at ~$200 for the Alpines and ~$300 CDN for the JL's, not including the rears. I think a more prudent plan would be to remove the speakers myself, and once I have them in hand I can look for appropriate replacements.

Anyway, it sounds like a worthwhile project to tackle, but only when the weather warms up (5 months from now) or I finish insulating my garage and get some heat inside (variable time plan......).

 

Beware! Someone put the wrong information and entered 5.25 into the speaker database. The X300 (95-97) takes a 6.5" speaker for the doors!