A cheapout approach to adding mp3 sounds to xk8 stereo.
 

In my previous life our shop repaired and modified euro cars, this included ripping dashes out and installing hidden radar detectors+jammers etc. Stereos were of course constantly changed out and some crazy systems installed. I came to the conclusion that if one has a noisy car (either by design or as a result of exhaust/lack of sound deadening/glass thickness/etc) the only time an owner could truly appreciate fine sound reproduction was at low speeds or in competitions.
So...I have a convertible which I drive rather quickly but I also have an oem cd changer that skips if the car sees a bump in the road, a radio I don't use very often and a cassette player that I don't want to start swapping out cassettes all of the time inorder to have music. The answer at present for me - a $15usd cassette mp3 player. The cassette case has a slot for a sd card, will hold up to 8gig. I loaded a few songs onto it for a test, the separation is pretty good, the sound quality is pretty good leaning towards better than good. It is far, far better than a rf adapter and since it is a convertible I doubt if I will go to the trouble of adding a wired input any time soon.
Just thought I'd mention this anyone interested.
Ordered on Friday, arrived Monday...regular (included) shipping.

Car Telecontrol Tape Cassette SD MMC MP3 Player Audio Adapter Kit+Remote Control | eBay

wj

Great minds think alike... I found this cassette adapter that automatically links by bluetooth to my phone, and it has a microphone that sticks out with a call/answer button. Now when I press the TAPE button on the console, I get complete phone functionality along with all the phone's audio--including google navigation.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

yep, sometimes a little less sophistication is more than enough
wj

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...f5db6d4e6d.jpg

ROGER B I have that Bluetooth adapter and I find it doesn't hold a 6 hour charge ( maybe 3 hours) and when inserted, it makes a rather annoying double "beep" sound. Once paired it works OK but having to reinsert it every time I restart the car and hearing the beep again, is rather bothersome.

Head unit
 

I switched out my head unit for a pioneer x7800bt. It's a flip out and it covers the climate controls along with the lights seat heater etc. It can be closed and operated once it's set. My brother was an audiophile and he decked out the car with some nice equipment.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...05073bbdd5.jpg

Head unit. It is impractical but has DVD USB bluetooth and brought new technology to the old ride.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...07cd0e6184.jpg

Going to build a better battery rack for it. He did all of this himself and he ran out of wire hence the one stretched across.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...026a6cfe0c.jpg

Orion hcca black coil subs wired to the amp at 1 ohm before rise. Box is temporary building a 4th order that has a plexi cover in the front engraved to say jaguar xk

I expect we have the same unit. I keep the switch turned OFF so it powers from the cassette deck, and it lasts through our longest multi-day trips. However, it doesn't seem to charge itself in that mode, so if it sits idle for a week--especially if it is cold--it has to be plugged-in for an hour or so before it will run with the switch off.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...8c9138e0ae.jpg

My deck allows it to remain inserted even when switching modes or when the car is turned off, so I never touch it. (I actually find the beeps reassuring, and it lets me know my phone is connected without having to take it out of my pocket.

I have a BT->FM unit in my other car, and it is a major annoyance to have to stop and change the FM station every 30 miles.

Why has noone made one of these that charge by the spool movement???? You would be able to leave it in there and never think about it again..

Ugh.

AWesome.... that just solved my entire dilemma about what do do with the audio equipment...! Now only if I could figure out if there is indeed a phone built-in, or if it just looks that way....

I bought one of these last year and posted my experiences in another thread. It is excellent in every way to achieve what I wanted at an exceptionally affordable price. I mainly use it to stream Pandora and have also used it to talk hands-free. It would be nice if there was some light to indicate when the battery is low (I never yet ran out of juice) and I always keep the switch to off since putting it in the CD player will automatically activate it. The best $20 I ever spent.

Doug

I just bought one from Newegg just because of this thread

+1

Really? you need to get your hearing checked out, so much speaker and too little cabin space dont really mix.

we have a hater. I like audio. I like my music to sound good and get loud it's a hobby. This was my brother's car who was into car audio and he died from a terrible motorcycle accident. It was his dream to make it into a show car. I still have great hearing just went 2 months ago and had it tested. My jaguar also charged at 14.7 volts now allowing all of my electronics to get full voltage. I don't deal with my voltage dropping when my electric fans come on. And under the hood everything he did looks factory.

The Bluetooth cassette adapter works fine overall, but the battery life isn't that great. But, after trying various cassette adapters, I've finally found a non-invasive way to bring the Jag into the modern era courtesy of the Amazon Echo Dot. Here's what you'll need:

1. USB adapter for cigarette lighter
2. Amazon Echo Dot
3. Audio cassette adapter (traditional wired type)

1st, you'll want to set up your Echo Dot using the smartphone app so it connects to the internet via your smartphone. You'll probably need to do that over your home internet connection for initial set-up, then you can change the settings so it connects to your smartphone's internet tethering/sharing. You'll also want to pair your smartphone to the Alexa via Bluetooth.

Once that's done, move the Echo to your car, and power it via the USB power adapter. Next, connect the Echo to the wired cassette adapter.

Now, when you start your car, it the Echo will automatically connect to the internet via your phone (provided you have tethering on) and will also pair with your phone via bluetooth. Now, the audio from your phone will be output via bluetooth to the Echo, and from the Echo to your stereo via the cassette adapter. And, as an added bonus, if you've tethered the Echo to your phone, you can use voice commands to play music, get weather and news, and even order from Amazon. If you're not tethered, you can still output to the stereo via the Echo's bluetooth.

Really works great.

A hater? sorry but you've posted this for all to see and expect everyone to like it? to be perfectly brutal about it, the car (a beautiful or was), has been mutilated. They should be treated like an old building, I'm not against modifications but they need to be done tastefully. There is plenty of space in the original speaker locations for bigger speakers if required, thats what I did along with a 1000w amp and from the outside it looks perfectly standard in all respects .I only ever need to turn the volume upto 18%, 20 at most and my head is banging. Sorry for being so honest :icon_duck:

and tell me exactly what is going to fit in the back seat? I sure as hell wouldn't fit back there! The trim is all in and you don't even see all the batteries and wiring it looks completely stock besides the radio swap. You're real nice this was my brother's car and it was his dream car and he wanted to take it to shows. If you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. People like you I will get next to stop lights and shake your windows just because of your attitude. All of the speakers have been replaced in this car and the stock Alpine amp ha my Rockford 800a4 blows it out of the water. Not to mention with all of my electrical upgrades I have improved fuel economy and also have amazing voltage because the voltage of these cars is so weak when the fan would cut on with the stock battery the voltage would drop. Not anymore! Sitting At 14.7 and my windows roll up instantly with the great voltage. If you ask me it was done properly and under the hood looks factory. Just because there's 2 subs in the back seat doesn't mean the car is ruined. Oh and btw I'm building a custom box and guess what it's going to be vaneered to match the dash and say jaguar xk8 engraved on it. Guess that makes it even junkier.

Sorry but if you want a car to customize to that extent, this is the wrong choice, its been ruined. Quite frankly, its ridiculous and if you did drive next to me and shake my windows all I would think would be 'what an ass ole':icon_speaker1:

so everything that has been installed that can be removed and I still have all the factory equipment has ruined the car. Get a life man. I'm courteous at stop lights and turn my music down but you're being down right ass holish saying I've ruined the car when I haven't done anything that can't be undone. The electrical system has been vastly improved. Allowing all of the electronics in this car to have some breathing room. Nothing has been ruined and the car could be restored to factory no problem. You're being super disrespectful. This was my brother's car who is now DEAD and it was his wish while he lie there dying from blood loss to fix the jaguar up and take it to shows. Ever heard of spring break nationals? There are people that break windshields at 160db am I trying to be like them no. I'm just carrying out my dying brother's wishes. Not to mention the factory head unit wouldn't even turn the volume up you turn it to the right and it would mix the volume up and down. I'm not paying 200 bucks for a factory unit when the car could be upgraded which is exactly what he did. I'm done with this thread. These cars have sub par electrical systems and the stock alt is not strong enough to power the electronics EFFECIENTLY IMO. I'll never have to worry about having low voltage anomalies EVER.

I agree with not wanting to mutilate these cars. But my bigger complaint is ending up on the street next to one of those guys who feel they have to shake the hell out of everyone else nearby with bass cranked with their car shaking. My wife and I just laugh when we hear one of those vehicles on the local boulevard.

Doug

but it's not mutilated I have all the stock equipment I could swap I back in at any time. I don't do that at stop lights I'm courteous and cut my music down. It's customization. I'll never worry about my voltage getting low ever with this car. I have a custom 200 amp alt which is far superior to the stock one and I also have an alt block with 4/0 welding cable to the fuse boxes so I've never seen my voltage drop. These cars are known for throwing all sorts of codes due to low voltage and sitting at 14.7 at idle vs 13.5 I'll take that as a win. My windows roll down way faster top drops a little quicker too. This was my brother's dying wish. I enjoy the car every day I drive it and keep it in tip top running condition. No engine lights and according to my readings on my obd scanner all of the sensors readings are within spec. Car runs and drives like a dream. About to go get it aligned since I have lifetime alignment at Firestone. Doing the rear shock mounts next and the octopus hoses that are below the coolant tank that run near the throttle body. I take very good care of the car.