Alpine sound system vibration improvement
 

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum although I have made use of this endless fountain of knowledge a few times since I bought my 2001 XJR a year ago. I was lucky enough to find one with very little problems and so far it has behaved great - except for some problems with the fuel sensor and fuel nozzle that I'm not willing to look into right now because it would require my mechanic to take the gas tank out (it's the one that takes 4 hours to get out).

My actual question is in regards to the Alpine speaker system. It's really great quality and I love listening to music with lots of bass, but unfortunately something around the parcel shelf speaker has started to vibrate a lot recently. I fixed a similar issue with one of the door speakers a while ago, which was fairly easy. But since the parcel shelf apparently requires me to disassemble the whole car (jokes) I wanted to ask more experienced users what it might be and how I can improve it. I've read about some foam that I could replace, which doesn't sound expensive. But I'm wondering if that's the issue or if something is rattling that I need to fix or tape.

There's also an OEM speaker back there that's prone to fail & rattle, best to get underneath the shelf & see.

It doesn't sound like it's failing as the quality of the bass is quite significant. However, if it's the speaker itself that's rattling, that would be bad news of course... I think I know what I will do on the weekend.

The speaker surround/foam/paper tends to fail w/ time & heat, being it's low frequency sound it may not be apparent to you audio performance wise , but it can increase vibration in the speaker itself & resonating around it due to structural compromise.

Edit :
To be clear , sometimes when the speaker's foam or paper fails you still get decent lows/bass but it also will flutter/flap/rattle.

Mh okay I see. I better get that foam so I can at least replace it when I disassemble the whole thing.

Yeah there's speaker re-foam info. around this forum if you search, good luck !

You need to repair the dual voice coil subwoofer with a generic 6x9 repair kit.

I'm pretty sure the ALPINE subwoofer is NLA or REALLY expensive.

A repair kit is cheap compared to replacement speakers.

https://www.simplyspeakers.com/speak...e-it-kits.html

https://www.speakerworks.com/speaker...-kits-s/65.htm

I have used both with good results.

bob

I just ordered these two kits:

6" x 9" Angled Speaker Repair Kit For Replacing Foam Surrounds
6 1/2" Speaker Repair Kit For Replacing Foam Surrounds - Advent, Bang & Olufsen, Boston Acoustics, JBL, Heathkit, Polydax, Paradigm

The second one just to have that in case those need repair, too.

The door speakers will be something that if they're needing repair, might be worth replacing instead. Many aftermarket choices for those. However the 6x9 in the shelf, that's definitely one to try to repair. I did mine 3 years ago, and it's been solid and doing well ever since. I even managed to get the shelf out without having to remove the C-pillar trim but it does take some wiggling. I basically took everything out one night after work, did the repair on my desk inside. The next morning, I put the sub back in place, and then put the shelf and seat back together on my lunch break. Once you've disassembled the bits, putting them back in is easy. And as a side note, if you haven't discovered it yet - it'll be more apparent with a repaired speaker - is the sound stage modes in the stereo will have a big effect on your bass and response from the sub. I'm not referring to just Bass and Subwoofer level, but rather the Front / All / etc range in the options. I forget offhand without pressing the buttons, but leaving it on Front, definitely gives a much fuller sound and much improved bass response from the sub. I'm sure it's at the expense of some full sound out of the rear door speakers directly, but it sounds fine from the driver's seat :) I don't drive from the back!

That's great advice, thanks a lot! I'm not sure what the settings are in for the apparent location of the sound, so I will check that for sure. I'll keep you guys posted.

No problem. I thought I'd mention it, since after I replaced mine, I was all excited and got in and was underwhelmed at first, even cranking settings up. Once I found that though, it changed the dynamic completely.

I agree with the previous poster. If you have the budget (Well under 1K can get you a very nice full system upgrade if you DIY) I would say just replace the speakers and head unit. Regardless if they are Alpine, Harmon/Kardon or otherwise they are still 20 year old paper composite speakers with foam surrounds. Even modest aftermarket speakers are a big improvement in clarity.

There is a kit available for a single DIN head unit that doesn't look out of place and comes with XJ8 stereo wiring diagram and wire color decoder. The advantages of clear sound, USB ports and bluetooth can't be overstated. I tried tons of adapters for the stock unit and they were stopgaps not to mention the stock units low power output limiting sound clarity. Hooking up modern speakers to the factory unit is like putting a modern computer monitor on a Tandy 80. You won't get the benefits.

I've done a conversion of speakers, head unit, amp and subwoofer on three XJ8s with little issue and I am a weekend mechanic, real estate broker by trade. I am not an engineer or professional installer so anyone with a reasonable level of skill should be able to do it. If you want to install an amp/larger sub you will need to remove the rear seat to run RCA cables/amp lead wire to the trunk. Happy to provide any other info if you want to upgrade.

Thank you, that sounds quite interesting indeed, especially the $1k. I've actually been quite happy with the quality given that I discover something vibrating and shaking every few weeks. But maybe I'll come back to your offer!

Getting the back shelf out was quite difficult, I had to unscrew the entire seat belt unit to have any chance to lift the shelf over the sub woofer and then pull it out. Lifting it above the seat belt unit would have been impossible because the car gets narrower to the top. Either the shelf has lost its flexibility over the years or I made a mistake. But anyway, it's out now. And now I need shorter screw driver to get the sub woofer out. There is always something.

Anyway, I noticed that there was already a little less vibration once the shelf was out. The mesh protection seems to be stapled onto the shelf and I'm wondering if I should put some foamy tape around it or something, just in case.

I had my system upgraded w/ all new equipment professionally installed (Cabin Speakers : Rockford Fosgate P165 6.5" 2-ways, Head Unit : Kenwood DPX501BT ,Memphis Audio Amp & 12inch Subs) I already owned the subs, for $500. Threw in a SiriusXM tuner w/ install @ $100 , it's up to date w/ blue tooth capabilities & satellite streaming all for $600 I'm well pleased.

That is a great deal for that setup! I went with a Pioneer DEH-80 PRS, Focal 6 1/2" component speakers and a 12" Focal sub with a 1000W 5ch JVC amp powering all. I don't need enough bass to rattle the license tag loose but it still has more than enough. I went this rout when the CD player started skipping and the 12v cigarette lighter stopped working so no phone charging. I just ran the USB cable from the Pioneer into the armrest storage and viola. The difference in sound was astounding, especially when some of the speakers I replaced were swiss cheese.

mhhhh sounds all very tempting.

I found the old thread and will respond there.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-repair-57883/