I've decided to post my speakers project because I've not seen this setup in the forum. Sorry if it's redundant. I found a sticker on the bottom of the console with a date of 27 MAR 97 so I'm assuming the car is at least that old.
After breaking down the interior I found that all of the speakers are the same and the foam surrounds have broken down.

 

The rear speakers are mounted on steel panels. They have 2 connectors on the harness but only one is used. The other is folded and taped to the harness. I don't know what it's for. The door speakers are installed in the same fashion as the others shown in other threads. It's my intent of swap the fronts, modify the rear mounting panels to hold 6X9's and add a JVC power amp to the rack in the trunk in the spot for the factory amp. I'll post as the project progresses.

Does anyone know what the coax wire is that's attached to the frame above the speaker? It looks like an antenna wire.

 

Thanks for posting this up, and do keep us updated as things progress. Lots of photos!


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Powdercoater,consider components instead of 6x9s. Easier to mod,more clearance too.

 

That looks like it would need some modification to the rear panel with that box in the picture

 

I have seen that wire as well. I think it could be the antenna for the key fob receiver.

 

The front door speakers are installed. I picked the Polk DXI 650 because they were on sale at Best Buy. They came with a plastic adapter ring that I used to fit the speaker. The 1st shot is the Jag speaker bracket with the untrimmed ring installed. I cut the tabs off with a bench grinder and reinstalled the ring.
I then removed the wiring socket from the speaker, attached wires to it and mounted it to the speaker bracket. This allowed me to plug the speaker back into the Jag harness. I mounted the speaker into the bracket, plugged the wires onto the terminals, plugged the harness in and screwed the assembly back into the car. Voila! On to the rears.

 

Consider components,indeed. Nice project, good photos.

 

Hi
If you experience worn loudspeaker foam surroundings you may replace the surroundings.
The procedure is described in this link: http://www.audionote.co.uk/downloads...am_replace.pdf
Surroundings can be purchased from Speaker Parts - Newfoam, Speaker Repair, Speaker Parts, Speaker Foam, Replacement Speakers in the US or from Audio Parts - Lautsprecherrepartur Sickenrepartur Recone kit refoming lautsprecherreparieren audio parts in Europe.
I have replaced surroundings on loudspeakers several times with a perfect result. The most important reason for keeping the original loudspeaker component is their characteristics. Most often they are carfully choosen for the complete system and difficult to replace without changing the overall sound.

 

I wonder, can the new speakers you're installing be used with the stock head unit? Are you using the stock head unit?

 

I fitted G Series Alpine component speakers in the doors and Alpine 6x9s in the back with the Alpine 300s head unit...... Worked a treat although a sub would give better depth of sound

 

Having workied in the automotive industry for over 25 years, and as Terje has stated, a great deal of engineering has gone into the OE system. Like it or not, it has been engineered with a careful balance of sound quality to please ALL markets while keeping within the target cost limits. I replaced the foam surrounds of the sub-woofers in my '97, as well as many other speaker applications. If you are at all good with your hands, especially small stuff, this is very easy. The results with my XK8 were awesome! It's a very inexpensive way to restore the original sound, which in my opinion is VERY good.

-John

 

This weekend I installed the rear speakers and gave a listen to the open system and then to the upholstered system. My camera ran out of juice before I finished but I got most of the shots to show the work. To prep the speaker panels I removed the finish and foam in our stripping oven, cut the openings for the 6X9's and refinished the panels, Getting rid of the foam made it easier to cut the panels. I glued new foam to the panels. Please excuse the crappy foam cutting but the only tool I had was a razor knife and the foam's hidden anyway. After attaching the speakers with stainless screws and lock nuts I soldered the speaker wire to the speaker and reinstalled the speakers. I then soldered and shrink tubed the source wires for the amp to the cars speaker out wires and fished them into the trunk along with the wires attached to the speakers. I followed the existing looms under the seat and sent them to the trunk through a hole that I drilled next to the existing wire pass through. I also removed the new door speakers and added a 230uf capacitor to the circuit as a high pass filter. This will block bass frequencies lower than about 150 hz. I used some speaker bedding goop from parts express as an adhesive to attach the foam liner on the doors as the tape holding the liner deteriorated and stopped working. It allows me to remove them if I need to later. I'll install the amp later and may write it up but that's a simpler project. I reinstalled the interior hooked up everything and took a long drive. I listened to a collection of music that I use when checking out speakers.

 

So here's my conclusions.

My goal - This project was to fix the barely working stereo without changing the original interior and to provide a quality listening experience. I've spent about $340 on the upgrade including the Polk DXI650 and DXI690 speakers, JVC KS-AX3202 amp and wires and such. I realize that this is more of a mid-fi , not a hi-fi system but I was determined not to go down the high end rabbit hole. I've used 6x9s before and believed they would bring the extended low end to the 4 speaker setup that I wanted without the necessity of a sub. I didn't choose the component option due to costs but also the extra effort in mounting the tweets on the door set, although they are likely a worthwhile step up from my choices. The reason I chose replacement rather than repairing the surrounds, a project I've done on several home speakers, is that the new speakers are a significant upgrade. While I appreciate the posts on the value of the factory system, I'm not sure that the assumption of superior sound due to careful engineering really is applicable here. 4 full range paper speakers with wizzer cones is not the same as the premium sound 6 speaker system, in which case I may have rebuilt the speakers. About the only thing Jag might have done on my car is voice the EQ on the head unit but I expect they left that up to Alpine.


My listening impressions – First I'd like to offer a quick explanation of my point of reference and maybe put some of you DIY types onto a truly wonderful project. In my small home studio I run all audio signals through a mixing board to a very nice Sharp power amp and into a pair of Paul Carmody's Sunflowers speakers (https://sites.google.com/site/undefi...diy-sunflowers). No EQ or processing. This is my music listening place. I use monitors only for mixing. I mention this because these speakers are a revelation and while they are a costly DIY project, at least $600 to build, they perform like speakers costing thousands. They have absolutely spoiled me and listening to a great recording puts you front row center with amazing imaging and a huge, deep soundstage. In opera, which I listen to mostly to show off the system, you can locate actors as they move around the stage. The mids provide stunning vocals and you can hear the performers breath or shuffle their feet. That said It's been my experience that attempting to replicate that in a car is expensive, impractical and unless the car is very quiet, unachievable.
Although I had some reservations along the way, primarily when listening without the upholstery installed, this project has met my expectations. It sounds like a car stereo but is very musical without any annoying and fatigue inducing anomalies that I have encountered occasionally with other systems. The door speakers have a good range and the tweets are crisp without sibilance and aren't brittle or harsh. They do a good job of placing the music in front of my ears. This is why I prefer full range speakers in the door. They provide decent mids but, unfortunately, without much air. Voices are easy to understand when listening to talk radio. The high pass caps were necessary however, because the bass got pretty flabby when they were pushed to higher volumes and they distorted in the midrange. As is, they play loud enough to hear well with the top down although they won't reach ear splitting levels. The 6X9's match well and voiced similarly to the 6”s. The 4 mid/tweets do a good job of bringing the highs up to ear level, albeit from behind. They provide the hoped for bass and do reach low enough to do some justice to Victor Wooten's 5 string. It's not subwoofer deep but I'm not looking for home theater subsonic lows. They play quite loud and allow the system to provide good sound with the top down. The system would benefit from dash tweets but there's no signal in the dash wiring so installing them will be troublesome. I find the factory Alpine head to be very capable and frankly it drove the rear speakers fine without the added amp. When listening to CD's no EQ is really necessary but what's provided is very usable and notching up the bass provides a good thump if that's what you like. By deleting the amp the system cost drops to a budget friendly $200.


Thanks go out again to members of this forum for all of the info on tearing apart and putting together these great cars.

 

I'm glad you are pleased with your results, and it met your expectations. I have to consciously remind myself not to push my audio preferences onto others, especially when other factors are more important such as the anticipated volume levels, types of music, budgetary range, and factory-appearance upon completion.

Well done, and thanks for sharing your project and taking the time to document it for others.