Hi Guys

I'm looking to upgrade my Pull Out Radio/Stereo Unit on my 89 V12 XJS as they are so incredibly cheap these days.

I've got the adaptor plug sorted out (Thanks Malc) and my Budget is £50 Max preferably less (although I know you only get what you pay for)

This is what I need.

4 X 50 Watt for the Speakers

Aux in for my Mobile Phone/Cell Phone. to use as an MP3 Player.

Charging Socket off the Unit to Charge my phone

Blue Tooth in case I don't want wires

USB in and/or SD Card in

Remote Control Pad (if possible)

Hands Free for the Phone (if possible)

Any ideas? Photos of your Set up appreciated.

 

OB,

I spent a bit more (£125) when I did mine back in 2014, But I was specifically looking for an Alpine model with the various functionality that I wanted. It's important to decide exactly what you want and then work out where you'll compromise. For example I decided that analogue FM radio would probably continue longer than we were led to believe, so decided that I wouldn't invest in a DAB radio which required a separate aerial.

It may be slightly different in your pre-facelift car but I took photos etc when I wrote up the upgrade on my car. It may be of some use. See here:

JEC BB Index

Good luck

Paul

 

Something to consider is a "mechless" system (since you didnt say you wanted to listen to CDs. These only have radio (can be HD Radio, or whatever the equivalent is in the UK) plus digital inputs (usb, aux in, Bluetooth)

I am partial to Pioneer because I know their UI, so I dont need to relearn it if I change the brand.

The main thing I would recommend you look for is multi color (infinitely variable) back illumination. That way you can fiddle with it to get a perfect match to your existing color scheme.

Alternatively, you could go completely over the top........ :-)

 

Wow!

That's a really nice piece of kit but I really want something a bit more cheap and cheerful.

I don't need a CD Player and it is really amazing, what you can pick up for around £30

 

Hi Paul

That unit looks amazing but I haven't got that much Cash to splash at the moment but I'll make a start by buying the Adaptor Plug and then when I've got a new unit, try and find another Adaptor to connect the whole thing up.

 

It was a while ago but I bought a JVC KDX50bt for another car & it was very good.
Linked to my phone via bluetooth for hands free calling/music streaming.
Had an external USB lead which you could direct to the armrest cubby etc.
You could choose infinite colours for the buttons/screen to exactly match the rest of the illumination in the car.

Sadly it looks like it's been discontinued but i'd check eBay, or get whatever the new replacement model is.

Not sure what i'm going to install in the XJS. I have a double din touchscreen Android unit in my current car & I don't think I can go back to a standard radio...

 

Hi Andrewq

Many Thanks For replying

Maybe I can find myself something like the JVC you mentioned.

 

There are so many choices. Pick one with to options you like. I was going to install a full system with subs but desided that I like listening to the engine. Nothing beats to sound of a hi performance engine

 

Hi BC

Yesterday I turned the Music off and listened to the Engine and while that was quite enjoyable, I don't think that I could live without Music on a permanent basis.

As for New Stereo units, there are so many to choose from that you are really spoilt for choice.

Most of them, even the Cheap ones seems to do everything that you could wish for.

 

I'm looking to upgrade my Pull Out Radio/Stereo Unit on my 89 V12 XJS as they are so incredibly cheap these days.

I've got the adaptor plug sorted out (Thanks Malc) and my Budget is £50 Max preferably less (although I know you only get what you pay for)

Not necessarily - knowledge and choosing the right components is the key to great sound. There are so many reasonably priced head units. Choose one with pre outs and then use a class AB power amp, Response is a cost effective brand with good sound.

My entire system cost under $400 and sounds better than my mates who spent nearly $3000. So you DO NOT need to spend a fortune. The standard Philips speakers in the XJS are not bad and an upgrade of the source and amplifier will help a lot. As will re-mounting the OEM speakers more rigidly in MDF surrounds.

4 X 50 Watt for the Speakers

Power is a totally useless rating, look for speakers with high sensitivity at least 90db+, this will give you volume with less power from the power amp.

Aux in for my Mobile Phone/Cell Phone. to use as an MP3 Player.

Look for bluetooth

Any ideas? Photos of your Set up appreciated.

I am a big fan of 8ohm home speakers in the car. These are far more cost effective than cheap car speakers, and also more efficient, ie more volume with less heat (power).

My setup is
Jensen Head unit (with bluetooth)
Response 25watt (8ohm) power amp
Response (8ohm) 8" woofers in the rear
Alpine (4ohm) 5" coax in the front (will be replaced soon with full range 6") no tweeter.

Placing the tweeter and woofer too far apart causes problems with the impulse response - this is where (at the X over frequency range) the timing of the sound from the tweeter and woofer do not reach your ears at the same time.

 

Hi Warrjon

As you may have gathered, my knowledge of all things Audio is Zero, so thanks for your help.

But To-day I picked up a Bargain (I think?)

A Brand New 10 inch (Polk Audio) Sub Woofer for £15 in a Charity Shop.

Max Watts: 540

Nominal: 270

28Hz - 200Hz

86 DB

4 Ohms

Model DB10 4DVC

Dual Coil

I'm not sure how I could use it or even how to use it but at that price I felt that I had to buy it.

Could I team that up with any Stereo without using a separate amp?

 

The one place where I would disagree with the above is in the convertible. Mounting a good quality satellite tweeter on the black triangle found on the lower front corner of each window on the door makes a huge difference.

The other issue with the convertible is the rear speaker placement. With them basically firing straight into the back of each seat, highs and vocals get 'lost' or worse delayed before reaching the listener creating a bit of mess.

To get the best sound stage within the limitations of an open top car, the higher mounted tweeters with a crossover to good midrange speakers in the doors, and then set-up the rear storage bin/cubby box speakers only as subwoofers.

 

The XJS is a tricky car in this respect because it will never allow you to install a double DIN radio without major alterations to the traditional dash. However, there is a couple of alternatives for a single DIN unit with a full 7" TFT display.

First, there's the flip screen unit that, on the XJS, it will hit the protruding dash above it, where the trip computer/clock reside, but which Sarc resolved by mounting it a little outwards from the panel as to avoid this problem (see pics on Sarc's post in this thread), which would otherwise cause the display to point downwards.

Second, there used to be so many single DIN head units with displays from 4"+ to 5.4" (at an average $130 to $250) but unfortunately they've just about all disappeared, with the exception of this Lanzar unit SD54MU (see below, yellow 'Vette) that has a 5.4" TFT display, plus all bells and wistles (there's a version with blue tooth), but at a much higher $385. Since my XJS' nice Kenwood head unit is getting old and dated by now, I'm considering a replacement with a TFT display and I'm considering this alternative. I could install this unit on my XJS with its downwards protruding display set at a permanent upwards angle (45 deg?), which will be necessary, regardless, due to the XJS lower radio location.

Just FYI, the 7" display in the picture is only a single DIN unit (on my XJR). Unfortunately with the XJS radio location at the bottom of the console it would be tough to fit, bummer.

Cheers,

 

Yes, dedicated tweeters (in this case, JBL) at the A-pillar triangles (see below) with an accurate aim at the driver's ears for the very directional higher frequencies, plus superior stereo separation, sure help. The signal to them is selected by the DSP crossover, as is the signal to the mid range, 6 1/2" Infinity Reference speakers down at the bottom.

I do get your point with the facing rear speakers, but I left the rear Infinity's alone, as I already have a 10" JL Audio, 300 wrms sub-woofer inside the rear seat back cushion (pic below).

Cheers,

 

I also came across this single DIN, in-dash 4.5" detachable LCD touchscreen DVD Receiver with the display fitted in such manner that it splits up and down whatever protrusion there is in height over its single DIN body, thus seriously allowing for installation on the XJS' inconvenient bottom location. It comes with Bluetooth and with both, SD card and USB slots, plus 3.5mm Aux input, etc. The screen is not as big as the Lanzar above (4.5" vs. 5.4") but at a fraction of the price ($104.58 at that Brazilian river place...) and with the XJS dash's relatively close distance from your face, a 4.5" display would seem adequate.

I just actually drew on a piece of paper a 9:6 aspect ratio rectangle that's 4.5" from each corner and I placed it at a distance similar as the XJS radio typically is from my face and I'd say I can easily live with that display. There may be a member here who wouldn't mind having this nice unit in his/her XJS, so I'm glad that I'm able to post this.

BTW and FYI, this is a Power Acoustic unit. Is it comparable to a $450 Sony or Pioneer? I wouldn't know, but the customer's feedback appear to show that the radio is fine for the price. The only thing that I would suspect in a case like this would be the quality of the display, itself, such as brightness in day light, etc. especially when installed on a convertible...
Maybe I'll be able to get some more feedback on the unit.
Cheers,

 

I started my working like as an electronics apprentice in the audio industry. I still design and build speakers and amplifiers in my spare time.

Putting the tweeters up high like this will add brightness to the frequency range in the crossover region, unless you add delay to the tweeter. So I we will have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

I needed the following in a head unit:
1. Single din
2. Satellite radio
3. Auxiliary Jack
4. HD Radio
5. Bluetooth 4.0 or better
6. Display that doesn't look like a 1983 Casio watch

There weren't a lot of options. I went with the Pioneer DEH-X9600BHS. The controls are a bit funky to get used to, and the display is difficult to see under sunlight, but I am very happy with it.

It has an internal memory where it will record songs on your all of your presets (one song only, maybe for satellite only) so when you switch presets you always hearing the beginning of a song! I didn't know about this feature until I had already bought the radio!

I think the only other option I considered was a Kenwood. I don't recall what the ultimate deal breaker was, perhaps the Bluetooth was an older version. I used to have a JVC that I really loved, but the Bluetooth v1.4 no longer automatically connected to my phone. It makes me delete the saved device, open a channel to find my phone, I need to set a passcode, then I need to type the passcode on my phone, and then hope that it pairs well. Sometimes the pairing doesn't work and I have to reset the phone. What a pain.

Look for a device with the latest Bluetooth software, which is 4.x right now.

 

Your knowledge is far superior than mine and I wouldn't differ from it, except in this one very special case. It is less an issue of agree/disagree than one of what is the least worse case.

When you are driving a convertible with the top down, the higher mounted and properly aimed tweeters make HUGE difference. Let's face it, a convertible isn't a great platform for a audio, and it's more about whether you can even hear the highs or not, rather than what is the ideal sound stage in perfect conditions.

 

From your photo I can see that on the later convertibles the rear speakers are mounted on the sides pointing toward each other. On the 89-91, they are mounted low on the face of the storage bin, and point directly at the back of the seats in front of them.

Because I drive with the seat all the way back, there is only about 2" of space from the speaker grill to the seat back.

 

Hi Reinaldo

Cheers for that, I'll go and take a look.