Have a question about installing the factory amp (H/C) in my 1998 XK coupe...it has the wiring for the tweeters and the sub-woofer...is there also wiring to install the premium sys amp?
Are there other cables I should be looking for to purchase to make the amp fit?

 

Someone will correct if I'm wrong but, if you have a standard head unit you will need to replace that also with the premium unit due to the extra connector.

 

Hey someone, please help...is the premium head unit needed to add a factory amp?

 

The headunit is the same and has a switch to switch from standard to premium mode. The premium system has a different wiring harness with an amp and additional speakers.

 

I have the wiring in my car for the dash tweeters and the rear sub-woofer (coupe) is there a work around to get the signal from my head unit to the tweeter and sub-woofer...I'm asking that because it sounds like you're saying the wiring is not there in the case of an original standard system. I really appreciate your help with this...somehow I'm going to find a way to get power to the tweeters and the sub-woofer (I've already installed them)

 

I'm in same situation with you guys,
I dont have sub but got tweeters. If you have installed tweeters and are connected, can you not use them straight away??(plug and play?)

if anyone can let us know how to get them working, I would appreciate it ALOT!

 

Compare what you have to figures 16.2 and 16.2 here: http://jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepa.../jagxk2000.pdf

 

Another option is to use the factory headunit in 'premium' mode, but connect it to an aftermarket 3 or 5 channel amp. The factory 'premium' amp isn't really that premium at all, and only puts out about 18wrms per channel.
A nice aftermarket amp with somewhere around 35-50wrms per channel could be a nice alternative, and give you a bit more power to get the most out of aftermarket speakers

 

The premium amp is not like a simple aftermarket unit. It is controlled by the headunit over the Alpine AI-Net data link, so an aftermarket amp is not a simple connect and play to the factory headunit.

You can, however, add an aftermarket amp with speaker level inputs and leave the headunit in 'standard' mode.

 

It's not hard to intersect AI-net stereo signals. You might find that the headunit won't respond without the amp there though, as there would be a 'handshake' between them. Or it could just be a pass-through for the stacker?

If it does use the handshake then at that point, you might as well just use that. It will still be an improvement