Guys,

Sorry to ask such a silly question, but I have noticed some people are calling the rear speakers Subs and some are calling them speakers? Which is it? I have the Harmon Kardon stereo and my rears are completely blown. I was looking at a set of Kicker-Comps but didn't know if I was looking for speakers or subs?

I need 6.5 inch 4 ohm right? Thanks,

 

Depends if you have a convertible or coupe. In the coupe they are mid range, while in the conv. they're subs.

 

You meen low pass, theyre not subs but low frequency speakers. They wont kick like a subwoofer, nor do i believe are they set to a subwoofer frequency range. They are in an eclosure to give a better lower response and there are midrange speaker in the enclosure, theres just no wires to it

 

From Jaguar Xk8 introduction technical guide-

Premium system only

Coupe- 200mm 8in long throw sub woofer (Parcel shelf)

Convertible- Two 160mm 6.25 inch long throw sub woofers (rear quarter)
Two 65mm 2.5 inch mid range (rear quarter)

Long throw or "free air" sub woofers have no enclosure as such, but use the volume of the area they are installed in as the enclosure.

 

Thank you gentlemen. I will update my sig accordingly

 

they are mounted in an enclosed(ported) box. Not just the surrounding area. And i know what jaguar "likes" to call them. By todays standards. A 6 1/4 inch "subwoofer" is not really a sub and they have really crappy low freq, response and hit. I have seen customers install a single enclosed 10-12" real subwoofer in the back side trunk in a custom enclosure that really wakes up the system. No you dont have to crank it or make all the people around you feel it to apprieciate the newfound response and depth that the stock system just will not putout. Premium or not, that was 15 yrs ago. If he's at the repair point, i would personally have the speakers reconed(ice sent these out in xk's before) and then add to the system. That way you can still use the factory enclosures. Also if i remember theres and issue with size fitment as well. But its been awhile since ive repaired those systems.

 

How do you do a 1998 XK8 Convertable Rear speaker replacement. Does the entire panel in rear side have to come out? Or just the carpeted area on side come out?

 

Does anyone have the measurements of the factory speaker enclosures
in the rear of the XK8 convertible? These would be the subwoofer enclosures for 6 1/2 inch woofers that jag puts in the rear of the convertibles. I'm trying
to get the air-space of the enclosures without having to rip mine out to get it.
I know one of you XK8 enthusiast (nuts) like myself, has these written down somewhere.
If you have the port size it would be PLATINUM!!!

Any help would be awesome.

Thank you.
Justun Ross
rosselectronics@hotmail.com
1998 Jaguar XK8 Convertible, Sapphire Blue, ivory interior

 

Just did mine. Used a shallow depth 6 1/2 inch subwoofer ( down to 49 hz) I got from amazon for less than $100. They work just fine. Certainly not like you have a 12" JL but fine for me in a convertible. Look at Gus's website for removing the side panels. It's no big deal. You might want to look at doing the iPhone adapter for the CD changer at the same time since you will have the side panels off.
Dave

 

I'm looking to order new subwoofers/woofers to go in the enclosures. I know you can put a Kicker or JL Audio 6.5 in there and it sound pretty good. But I was going to use the internal air space of the enclosure with the tuned port the enclosure has to order the BEST driver for the enclosure. You know,
instead of throwing a name brand speaker in there and hoping for the best, I was wanting to do it right since the place I'm ordering from has literally thousands of 6.5 inch woofers/subwoofers to choose from and they all are designed for different types of enclosures; some sealed, some ported like the XK8's, some are designed for free-air, which is no enclosure at all.
It ALL comes down to the enclosure when you're dealing with speakers, especially subwoofers.
Can I get an Amen?
Why pay $100 or more for a JL Audio sub ( good speaker, worth the money ) when you can spend $20 or $35 dollars and get a speaker that better "fits" the enclosure so you get an even better. fuller sound.
I promise, Parts Express sell a woofer that will sound as good, actually better, than that Kicker or JL Audio speaker for a fraction of the cost. That being said, they also sell a 6.5 inch speaker that costs $300. They sell Dynavox, Morel, Focal......all of them I would say are better made than both the Kicker and the JL. But that doesn't mean they would sound better in the particular enclosure that's in the XK8. You know? Also, remember, loudspeaker design hasn't changed that much in the last 60 years or so. They have different materials being available now like metals and polymers, and even carbon fiber used in the cone area. And....different magnet types. But for the most part, same speaker that they made back in the 50's. The knowledge behind loudspeaker design is what has grown and made better speakers available. They have 2" woofers that will play down to 35hz, respectively. That's amazing. Then you have transducers!! Bass shakers for the layman. Then you get into a whole new world of subfrequency dynamics and linear sound wave dynamics which the math will tell you "aim this frequency ,that as humans we can't even hear, at a crowd of people and 96 out of 100 people will instantaneously get nauseous and start throwing up" They use it for riot control.
I'm not going to deluge in Dr. Royal Rife's audio spectrum drivers that, after he discovered every virus had a "dying frequency", used audio waves to destroy thousands of different man-killing viruses like HIV, smallpox, and Ebola. I want go there.......but it puts the whole " just throw a good name brand speaker in that hole and it will sound fine " in massive perspective. huh?
If anyone has the size of the enclosures or port size or even better the internal air space with port specs, please let me know. If not I'm going to tear into mine come Monday and measure everything and get it myself.
I will post the findings as well as which driver I chose and why and let y'all know how it goes.
All the mumbo jumbo being said about audio crap, after over 30 years in the audio video design and professional audio industry I've seen the "perfect" speaker in the "perfect" enclosure and in the "perfect" environment sound like "perfect" CRAP. Just as I've seen a piece of crap speaker in a impossible piece of crap "enclosure" ( if you want to call a shoe box taped to a milk jug and enclosure ) and it sound totally and completely AWESOME. We've all had buddies with that $20 Sparkamatic 5 inch subwoofer that sounded better than any recording studio, right? Usually if you do the math and do it by the numbers you can't lose. You can bet that before Harmon Kardon or whoever designed the speakers in our Jaguars they crunched some numbers and made plenty of measurements. Just remember, the inside of the car is also one of the measurements. It's the final of your Thiele parameters.
Sorry for the ramble.

Justun Ross
Founder/ Owner Ross Audio and Electronics/ AMP Audio.

 

I used Parts Express because they are one of MANY distributers I've used through the years, but there are so many. MCM Electronics is another one. There are lots and lots. Parts Express manufacturers speakers/drivers so they seem to list all the important information that you'll need in order to correctly choose a speaker. Some places just give you the size, wattage, and if you're lucky the frequency response. That's just enough information to get you in trouble and make you pull your hair out when you can't get it to sound right and don't know why.
They also sell crossovers and crossover components as well as other electronics we may be able to use as Jag owners, like, Bluetooth transmitters and receivers. Instead of trying to figure out how to "feed" your Ipod into your FM antenna or systems input, Install a Bluetooth receiver and wirelessly pipe music off your phone or Ipod or ANY audio source. Heck, build an Arduino unit that will pipe audio AND video to your stereo and GPS display. They have an excellent tech service and the possibilities are endless. They have home A/V too.

 

If you use the existing enclosure you will have to look out for the depth. it's only about 3 1/2" deep. The JL will never fit.

 

The depth is pretty shallow but you can add an inch or so with a spacer. But from most stand points if the driver is too deep it usually needs a larger enclosure anyway. This is some what non-relevant being that "depth" is usually consumed by the magnet which shouldn't have much to do with air space needed for the speaker parameters.

 

I just finished changing out both of my rear woofer speakers on my 97 XK8 convert. One was blown and had tears in the surround and sounded awful!

I investigated and tried to find some of the suggested "kickers and JL's" people mentioned in the forum but they were out of production. I came across some Pyramid PW677X 4ohm mid range woofers that were the right sized and depth, and for 29 bucks apiece(Sonics) I figured it would be worth a shot. I'd feel bad spending $100 a speaker and finding out they weren't what I needed, but $29 was worth the risk. I'm not a high power kicker guy on the radio, but I HATE the sound of a blown speaker.

I had the Harmon Kardon system, and when I took out the old speakers, I was amazed that they had #20 wires going to them. Now I'm no genius, but how much power can you put thru #20 wires..... I felt a lot better about my $29 speakers after that.

The disassembly of the rear side panels was exactly as covered in another forum, with the T-50 torks bit to remove the seatbelt holder and two screws and a stud to remove. The door rubber trim slips off pretty easily. When you pry the sill plate up from the door to get the panel out, pull the rest of the side panel towards the center of the car too. There are two uphulstry clips, an upper and lower that need to be popped loose pulling straight towards the center of the car. Lift the panel upwards and work it around the speaker enclosure box while pulling forward towards the front of the car. There is a guide pin that pulls forward on the rear of the side panel that will slip out as you work the panel forward. Removing and replacing the speakers are very straight forward. I installed (soldered)the marked wire in same position as the originals on the speaker hookup. The old speakers have a spacer ring glued to them. I removed them and reused them with the new speakers. I don't see any reason for the spacer other than to protect the speaker from somebody leaning against them in the back seat. There is a small keyed nub on the plastic spacer ring that I ground off to make the ring fit better on the new speaker.

Reassembly is the opposite of the disassembly process, with a little bit of working to get the side panels back into the rear locating hole for the rear side panel pin while working around the speaker box. After it is back in position snap the uphulstry clips upper and lower back into their slots. Put the belt holder back in with the T-50 bit (spacer small side out )and pry up the door jam to insert the bottom of the side panel under the jam. The screws and the stud go next. I used an Awl to line up the holes. I did the other side the same way.

The speakers sound very good.....not that a blown speaker is much to compare to, but I can turn up the volume and they are at least as respectable as the original ones were, and for a low wattage woofer they kick pretty decent. For around $75 bucks....The T-50 bit was $2.50 at Home Depot and the soldering iron and solder was $13 at Radio Shack.... I think I'll keep them! I'm not going to annoy the driver next door with my vibrating windows at the stop light, but they are very respectable speakers in the mid level range. The project took about 2 hours start to finish. I could probably do it in an hour if i did it again. Nice inexpensive fix to blown woofers.

 

I wish i could have offered a little help but it sounds link you finished the job.

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource