No, it sucks. The dolby is inconsistent depending on source music, so I don't bother with it anymore. I agree it gets "thin" at lower volume levels, and max's out way too early (a "7" at best). Jazz comes through nicely at moderate volumes with the 3 channel set preferentially, but getting a blow-the-doors-off volume with Eminem is not to be had. Pure piano sounds OK, which probably goes along with whatever makes the Jazz work, but symphony/choral music is absolutely terrible.

I ought to be able to make the speakers clip, in my opinion. Nowhere close with this setup. It's probably the same mentality that makes a car company install an electronic speed limiter!

 

I fiddled with mine on the way in, now have bass slightly over half, treble on half, and subs slightly less than half. Sounds a bit better but fading front to back doesn't help. The difference with the missus car (Volvo v40T5 CC) is that the sound comes from all around you, you are in a cloud of crystal clear bigbeat goodness. In the Jag is doesn't seem to "fill" the car, it seems to be directed pretty much at chest level. That will be more to do with the shape of the car than the quality of the stereo, although subs are omnidirectional I think.

 

A sound stage goal is to have the image of the singers and instruments to appear to be coming from in front of the listener, with minimal sound reproduced in the rear simulating the reflected sound typical of many listening venues. To create a realistic reflected sound effect requires a slight time delay of the rear speaker sounds via the Dolby processing, as relected sound in a venue always reaches the ear slightly after the non-reflected sounds coming directly from the band.

The problem in a car is the larger speakers capable of low and mid-bass are larger and typically fit better in the rear areas of the car, and the rear speakers are needed to play fairly loudly to create a full and rich tone rather than a soft reflected sound, and this makes the sounds seem to eminate from inside your head as opposed to in front of you.

The linked thread explains why you need to crank up the subwoofers relative to bass/treble/highs when listening at lower levels compared to high volume listening, and this phenonomen is why some home stereos had a "loudness" button to boost the bass as required. We don't have that on the B&W system so you will need to adjust the subwoofers output from time to time.

You'll also never get a very deep bass from your car subwoofers as they would be more accurately described as woofers, with their output falling off quickly below 50 hz compared to home subwoofers reproducing sounds down to closer to 20 hz. A 20 hz bass note would require a car's interior to be about 28 feet long to be reproduced convincingly, so it's no wonder that the amount of deep bass often seems lacking!

Now go ahead and crank the subwoofer level when you feel the need. Just don't try it at maximum listening volumes as the drain on amplifier power is likely to cause distortion that can blow your smaller speakers.

Bruce

 

I too find that I can turn the volume up fully without it coming close to being very loud. I was wondering if it was the source or the radio itself. Are there others out there that have also tried to crank it up to the fullest and still not find it acceptable? In any of my other cars, the speakers with have been blown.


After some further adjusting, if I bring the sound to the front/driver I can adjust the volume to a louder level. I still don't find the sound all that satisfying. Hopefully there are some further adjustments I can make. I also found the PLII setting to be somewhat muffled and I prefer 3Channel. Yes, I find the HD radio sounds better than my CDs some of which I burned.

 

If I turned mine up full, I think my eardrums would be spot-welded inside my head (but I'll try it as an experiment later today). As you say, might be the source; mine is always my iPhone.

 

Bocatrip, I'll try that next but it's sounds like you're in the same boat as me. Inexplicable why I read some owners saying they'd blow their eardrums if they cranked it, while others (like us) can't get any decent sound or volume out of it.

Last night I did change over to 3channel which did help with the richness of the sound, but still poor volume and horrible FM reception. Keep in mind my truck gets perfect FM reception so it's not the area I'm in. The XRK won't even pick up one of the most powerful stations in Houston. Just scans right past it.
CD's sound like a stock toyota audio system. As you suggested I'll now try to bring the fade back to center plus maybe crank the sub.

Frustrating!

 

I have Bang and Olufsen in my DBS, and I actually liked the sound in my XKR with the Bowers and Wilkins better.

This may be affected by the size of the cabin in the DBS being smaller than the XKR.

 

I don't see how anybody can have their treble set to anything other than all the way down. The system is way to tinny. My XF sounds super voluminous compared to the XK.

 

It appears that Jaguar didn't want the radio to drown out the exhaust note . LOL

 

2008 xkr even my college age sons like the radio and the reception is fine.

 

OK, experiment conducted - with it cranked up to 11, it's not unbearable, but certainly louder than I like (and I like loud music). It did distort a bit, too, at maximum. So, not ear-threatening, but plenty loud enough for me.

 

Yeah, seems to have been optimised for classical. I'd prefer to have a system made by Marshall...

 

I find that's very source dependent, and the better the system the worse it will sound with anything but well recorded soundtracks or excellent reception, particularly in the highs where it can be really grating on the ears. Turning down the treble will avoid that problem in much the same way that trading your XK for a Prius will save you gas

 

That has to be the most feeble attempt to make everyone here less jealous!

 

I don't see how this plays into anything. I use the same recorded music on the same thumbdrive in several of my cars and the XK is tuned way to high. The very same system in my XF is tuned much lower and fuller. So much different that I cannot even get close to the fullness of the sound in the XK no matter how I tune it myself. The system in the XK is tuned like crap no matter the source.

 

I wonder if there is a defect with some of these units that would account for poor performance in some cars. You might want to try to have it checked out.

 

I think there is some type of defect. Had a 2010 xkr system was great. The 2012 xkr-s was not as good as the 10 xkr and now the gt system sounds great. Its not always about how loud (xk is not the loudest system by far) but how clear....and in the gt with volume cranked to max between rock and hip hop. No distortion at all..... Full bass etc. had the xfr with the 1200watt b&w and that system to me was a total disappointment. Not loud or clear. Plenty of distortion and low on bass. Now the so called same "1200 watt" b&w system in the xj.....you can feel the bass from car at least 1/8 to almost a 1/4 mile away. By far the best system in any jag i have had. Although it does distort at max volume. Just need to keep it a few clicks below max. Have a xf loaner with the base meridian and it sounds pretty descent for a base system.

 

Ha ha...well I was being truthful...

 

With my non-audiofile ears I almost have to say I hear almost no difference between turning treble all the way down or up. It all sounds to tinny.

 

Btw as alluded to above, for MP3s the easiest non-i-device solution is probably to put your MP3s on a USB thumb drive. By hitting "Folders" in the audio menu (with "Portable Audio" selected), you can navigate the USB drive's file structure just as you would on a computer, so organize the files / folders on the USB drive the way you'd like to access them in the car.

Also, something I didn't know at first about the USB input, if you want to play files in a folder at random, hit the Mix button. If you'd like to play randomly across the entire USB stick, press and hold the Mix button for a second or two... it'll make a beeping noise, and it'll shuffle play from the whole library.

IMO it sounds like you have a problem of some kind, btw. Audio stuff is so subjective, but if you're comparing it to a stock economy car stereo, something is very probably wrong. Good luck!