Pretty much all the speakers in our X300 VDP are shot and need to be replaced, preferably with like sized speakers.

Any idea what the speaker size specs are, how many there are and, maybe, how to get at them?


Thanks in advance,
Rhett

 

There are 4 speakers, two in each doors and tweeters (most likely) at the edges of the black trim on the dash on either side and on the rear deck.
The speakers in the doors are 6.5" I believe.

I just redid everything with with entry level Alpine (including tweeters) recently and the difference is amazing.

 

Usually the cause of weak bass or otherwise poor sound quality is a deteriorated foam surround. All audio grade foam surrounds from this era only last about 15 years. Newer ones are treated to last a little longer but we won't know until we get there.

With the standard setup, like mine, there are only four speakers, one in each door. Each is a full range speaker. The premium system includes tweeters and a rear deck woofer.

I just replaced the driver's door speaker in my 96 VDP with an OEM driver from a donor car. The label on the back of the speaker say JAGUAR LNA4140BA. It is a 4 ohm speaker, made in Belgium - for or by Philips. [LOUDSPEAKER - Terrys Jaguar Parts - LNA4140BA lists 1 for $36.57. It is advertised as being a genuine Jaguar part. Don't know if its new manufacture (made who knows where) or old stock, made in Europe.]

I measured a diameter of 6 1/4 inches. It is a very snug fit into a pre-formed recess in the foam. Attached with three equally spaced screws. There is a metal bar, secured with two screws, at the edge of the recess. I removed the bar then maneuvered the speaker out using a preformed notch in the foam.

Look in the Sticky section for a couple of good write-ups on how to remove the door panels.

If I didn't have the donor car, I would probably buy refoam kits from PartsExpress and fix mine rather than try to fit a non-oem speaker.

 

The stock speakers are 20 year old technology and not worth the hassle. I trimmed the foam on my door panel inners a bit and installing new speakers was easy. Go to your local BestBuy/Frys/Etc. so there is a place to go if you need a warranty exchange. Good speakers are $40 a set.

 

The stock speakers may be over the hill but so am I and so is my taste in music. So is my car for that matter.

Speaking of cars; did you ever get your traction control issues resolved? I have trac fail light on. I've measured resistance on all the sensors, on the T/C motor and on the potentiometer and they are all within range. Any ideas?

 

Mainstream speaker technology really hasn't significantly changed in decades other than evolutionary (and debatably effective) changes in materials. Good old paper and cloth is still is a top performer even in high end drivers, esp in high efficiency applications.

Some of the best speakers ever made were designed in the mid 20th century and designed to require under 50W.

I think the stock "premium" XJ Jaguar kit is really quite good for what it is, even compared with contemporary systems.

I've got some very expensive and esoteric component speakers with dedicated amplifiers and crossovers in another car, and under reasonable listening levels I am challenged to hear the difference that the amount of $$ invested would have led one to believe it should deliver


That being said, NOS Jaguar(HK) speakers may or may not be a good solution if they've been sitting in a box for 15 years. The foam surround may be just about at the end of its life then. It just depends on how 'old' the speakers truly are. But if actually "new", they should be good speakers that will fit without modification, and electrically and mechanically (thiele small driver specs) fit your system.

If one is keeping the stock amplification and crossover system, driver size alone isn't the only consideration as efficiency, volumetric performance, impedence, etc are also important factors. And unfortunately, short of sending the OEM speaker off to a lab (or DIY equiv), I don't think the thiele specs are published. So it would be hard to get an exact match from an aftermarket speaker.

However, I have heard via posts here that a 6.5 speaker can be made to fit with some modification of the pocket/mount, and I suspect that a good high efficiency (90db +) full range speaker with about 40-50W peak power handling (25W RMS? who really knows) would be a close substitute.


If sticking with the stock amplification system, I would avoid "high power" speaker as their efficiency rating is probably much lower and they may be then underpowered and won't sound as loud or maybe not even very good (e.g. lower bass output).

Good luck!


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