Currently, I've been using a Carplay portable screen that attaches on the dash or can sit on the edge of the head unit cd player and lets you use carplay. My 2010. 5.0 L does not have an Aux port, so Bluetooth has been the only quality way to connect. The FM transmitter included on the portable screen is mono, doesn't tune in well and sounds overdriven with static. Bluetooth would be fine except for the right channel which drops intermittently. Now, I got a line on a cable and I could order a new AUU/ACM but it sounds like the various retrofit options would work without having to replace the AUU/ACM, and I could put the money spent on that new AUU toward the retrofit.

It looks like from reading many, many pages of forum threads that there are two main solutions for retrofits. There is the carplay option that keeps the original head unit screen or going with a Tesla screen replacement.

I know if you go with the Tesla style units you need to get the highest specs to keep it from lagging and such. It also appears many folks that have tried it on the forum have had to replace various pieces that weren't working when they got the unit, and it appears somewhat dicey getting a helpful reseller/manufacturer from China. My 10.25" carplay and screen I bought for my XE works wonderfully, especially since the recent iphone update. Now Carplay comes up much sooner and is more stable.

I would really like the look of the tablet in-dash, but I don't relish replacing blue boxes or other problems with a reseller/manufacturer who can claim a language barrier if you ask for help.

Of the retrofit android boxes that would work with my XK, there are a few around $250 from Joyeauto, AutoABC and others. These appear to be from the same Chinese manufacturer and would require me to get hold of SDD to expose an Aux port that doesn't exist yet in my car. I also, know that Cambo has a great solution (though I don't know what it costs). I have dealt with him for years and he's helped me out, but his also needs an exposed Aux port, I think, and there's the distance since he is in Australia and I'm in US.

Finally, there's the most expensive of retrofit android carplay boxes and that is the Mr.12Volt. It seems to have a number of people in our forum who have used it successfully. I am not enamored of its price, coming in at right around $500. But, the Mr.12Volt uses the MOST system which should be superior or at least easier than finding my way around SDD to add a port. The price of the Mr.12Volt is what got me thinking about a Tesla screen, though, because once you get over $500 the price difference between Mr.12Volt and the Tesla style screens isn't that huge.

Which has the best sound, the tablet retrofits or Mr.12Volt? Ultimately, I want to correct the badly tuned DSP from Jaguar and would need a wide band equalizer with whatever solution I got to smooth the response out.

What is the best 2026 advice on upgrading our XK's sound system?

 

I bought a Mr12Volt several months ago but haven't installed it yet. I chose that because I think the Tesla thing is too intrusive and gaudy. The older versions also lacked some functions, and I seem to remember that they still can't get into the Jaguar Vehicle settings. Also, no way to clear a message off the dash. I've read in here that the sound from the Mr12Volt is far superior than stock with minimal intrusion visually. That's what I want.
If I get more pressing projects done sometime I'll hop on the install.

 

Thanks, CeeJay! Yeah, it's finally getting weather so that I can work on car projects again, now that the engine problems were sorted. I've heard conflicting things about which has the better sound quality, the Tesla Style screen or the Mr.12Volt. Do you know if the Tesla screens also hook up using the MOST network?

 

I've never seen a Tesla screen, no idea about them either since I disregarded them pretty much immediately. Sorry. I'm sure someone else will Enter The Chat.

 

I've had both style screens. I've been happiest with the M12V hands down. Leaves the original OEM screen, connects to MOST so the sound is integrated with OEM speakers. Has a good equalizer for high, med and low bandwidths which I need for my hearing loss. The Tesla screen sound is great but there's screen glare to deal with and climate controls are touchscreen. Eyes off the road too long for me, worse than dealing with a texter or drunk on the road. I listen to Alternative music, 60's 70's rock and some classical. I own all my own music and store it on my iPhone. Both Use MOST. the Tesla screen has a sound chip. Dealing with distributers of those is hell frankly. There is a mate in the UK who sells the M12V - Liam Biggs. He's here and on Facebook. My aunt has been solid. No complaints. It's also Chinese made but less complex. If you go that route, PM me. I can get you a discount (I think0

 

I put the tesla style one in my 08 XKR and its brilliant I did go with high spec cost about Ł1000, integrates perfectly with my steering wheel controls, heater etc and I did not have to cut, splice wires etc it was a plug and play swap, it has 64gb internal storage and I have plugged in a 2tb usb drive. My iphone connects and does screen mirroring navigation etc. The bonus is now I have a full 360 degree camera as well. You need to ask yourself if its just sound you want or more. I find the tesla screen make the car feel more modern and as I now have up to date navigation on a big screen it helps. You can then keep the old module safe in case you sell and a purist wants to revert it back.

I can say the sound via it is great the only thing with the screen is if you look at it wearing sun glasses it can be hard to see it. I have a video showing this but its 200mb and cannot upload here

 

Thanks for sharing! There are a couple of things that have appeared to be concerning, and I'm wondering if you encountered them. One is an inability to have the climate system display in Fahrenheit instead of Celcius, also difficulty clearing error messages that appear on the dash.

Also, I'm curious as to how the Tesla style unit hooks into the existing wiring. Is it using MOST or is there another way it hooks up? I appreciate your post!

 

HI,

It literally connects into the existing loom and the MOST fibre optics, they provided the 1 loop back connector you needed as well so was plug and play, the fiddly bits for me was routing the camera cables, as 2 go internally to the door pillars you are provided the drill/cutter head so you maker the correct size holes. On mine for the boot/trunk I drill a small hole big enough for the cable neat the boot/trunk release button, you can route the front camera on the UK passenger through the door hinge area side in side the wing and there is just enough room via a gap to go next to the radiator you then need a grab tool to fish it if you dont want to remove the front grill if you want pictures ask.

As for errors a i have nothing on my dash its seamless and yes this was from Aliexpress, the only thing I had was the little circuit board for the hazard light got damaged in shipping and they sent another, all air con works, heated steering, heat windows etc. There is ODB like diags screen, I have had this coming to a year now and its great, so have it always recording when driving so no need for a dash cam as its built in. I think you might be able to change between F and C for temperature on the climate controls but you can ask the seller before purchase

 

There’s a long thread that SeanW started that has every bit of information you could need, including an installation video. I had the Tesla style screen in my 2009 XK and liked it. I used a SIM card in it so it didn’t need to connect to my phone. It uses MOST and has a digital processor…sounds great. I got a screen protector that took away the glare and allowed me to see the screen while wearing polarized sunglasses. All OEM controls were present including the heated and cooled seats as well as heated steering wheel and steering wheel controls. It displays Fahrenheit or Centigrade.

 

I'm interested though if it includes VEHICLE settings, such as Folding Mirror setup, global open, security settings, parking settings, valet mode, language, measurement units, whatever else there is...... all the extra stuff that isn't a part of AA or CP.
The OEM screen has the triangle on the bottom right to allow for clearing any messages that appear on the center dash screen, can the Tesla clear those too? It couldn't as of a year ago, wondering if that has been included now.

 

Yes, all of those vehicle settings are there…as I recall, there was a vehicle settings section where the year and model are selected and it goes through those other items. The ability to clear the center dash messages isn’t there. While I had it installed…probably 1.5 years…I didn’t have anything pop up that I couldn’t clear. By then I had disabled TPMS. I always figured that if something popped up I could use the Torque Pro app that was installed to clear it. Full disclosure, about a year ago I was thinking about selling my car and getting a newer XKR so made it stock and removed the Tesla screen…sold it to a forum member…couldn’t find another car I liked better than mine and found a Mr12Volt on eBay pretty cheap and installed it…it works well but I think the Tesla style system sounded better, but my ears are pretty old…

 

Interesting. I too have no interest in navigating the large, light glaring screen. Besides, my fingers are always on the paddles. Happy driving!

 

It sounds like the Tesla screen retrofits have matured a lot over time. I'm going with the Mr.12Volt, but mostly because it's about half the price of the tablet size option. It sounds like either solution in 2026 could be a good one for XK owners!

 

The sunglass thing is the polarization...

get non polarized and your problem is solved,,,

 

Nice...\

But I am SURE glad I like mine AS IS...