When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Planning to replace all speakers on my 1997 XK8 convertible with HK premium sound and a CD changer. Many recommendations on the forum but I haven't found any recent posts, most of the recommended model numbers are no longer made. Ideally looking for the speakers that would be a direct replacement with minimum modifications to the mounting, etc. Would appreciate any recommendations to narrow down my search.
It's been a while since I did my speaker upgrade, but I used Alpine speakers all around.
Front uses SPG-17CS and rear uses SPG-17C2
The original mounts for the front needed a slight trim and new holes drilled, but nothing too bad.
Rears didnt need any modification from what I can recall.
I did fit the tweeters that came with the speakers. My car only had the standard sound system. I had to cut the tweeter posts on the door card housing and used plumber straps to keep the new ones in place.
Honestly, this could just be me, but I dont notice them all that much, so might be worth only changing them if you feel the original HK ones are lacking. Saves a job.
On my base 2000 convertible I replaced all my speakers with Rockford Fosgate and had no installation issues. On my car there was no subwoofer issues as I had the base system and no amp or subwoofers to deal with. Speakers work well with standard head unit.
FWIW I replaced the useless (imo) super tweeters in the sail with an upper midrange/ tweeter pod from a pair of infinity 3 way 6x9 i had on the shelf.
Wow, incredible improvement in imaging and realism. You see, the signal going to the stock super tweeter is the exact same signal thats going to the dash mounted speakers. If you were to look behind the sail, you'd see an in line capacitor that acts as a high pass filter. As I recall, it crosses in the 6 to 7khz range.
The pod i mentioned has its own internal crossover to protect it. IMO its worth a quick test. Easy enough to hook a decent tweeter, or what I used, in temporarily to test. Just remember to connect it to the side of that capacitor from the amp.
Does my mod look stock? No not to anyone who knows the X100s. But I did get hold of the proper trim color paint, blends in well enough that I never bothered to build a housing to make it look more stock.
You know, before I came up with this idea, I first looked at purchasing the newer sail speakers Jaguar put in current models, thinking focus on good sound is different than 25 yrs ago. But it would have been a roll of the dice buying used XK speakers off the internet. I knew what the Infinity speakers sounded like and once I heard them there was no need to look further.
Just in case you are interested, I did hook up a few of the tweeters from my older car's previous installations. Each had a separate dedicated crossover. Tweeters I tried: Nakamichi; Canton; Yamaha. Each was better than the stock S. Tweeter but no "Wow!". The wider frequency range from the infinity speaker pod really made a difference
FWIW I replaced the useless (imo) super tweeters in the sail with an upper midrange/ tweeter pod from a pair of infinity 3 way 6x9 i had on the shelf.
Wow, incredible improvement in imaging and realism. You see, the signal going to the stock super tweeter is the exact same signal thats going to the dash mounted speakers. If you were to look behind the sail, you'd see an in line capacitor that acts as a high pass filter. As I recall, it crosses in the 6 to 7khz range.
The pod i mentioned has its own internal crossover to protect it. IMO its worth a quick test. Easy enough to hook a decent tweeter, or what I used, in temporarily to test. Just remember to connect it to the side of that capacitor from the amp.
Does my mod look stock? No not to anyone who knows the X100s. But I did get hold of the proper trim color paint, blends in well enough that I never bothered to build a housing to make it look more stock.
You know, before I came up with this idea, I first looked at purchasing the newer sail speakers Jaguar put in current models, thinking focus on good sound is different than 25 yrs ago. But it would have been a roll of the dice buying used XK speakers off the internet. I knew what the Infinity speakers sounded like and once I heard them there was no need to look further.
Just in case you are interested, I did hook up a few of the tweeters from my older car's previous installations. Each had a separate dedicated crossover. Tweeters I tried: Nakamichi; Canton; Yamaha. Each was better than the stock S. Tweeter but no "Wow!". The wider frequency range from the infinity speaker pod really made a difference
John
This makes a lot of sense from the performance standpoint, will look into it. Thank you.
First, I have a car with the alpine setup, I dont know what impedence the HK system is but I assume its also 2 ohms. I went down this road recently.
Next, how much money do you want to spend? There arent a lot of 3-way component 2ohm setups out there to buy. And the ones I have seen were from focal audio are close to $1000
Replacing speakers and mixing 2 ohm and 4 ohm speakers isnt going to work nicely at all on a stock amp/head unit. I tried it, it didn't produce results better than the original system. If you are keeping the stock 2ohm amp/head unit, you need to find 2 ohm replacements.
When filtering to 2ohms on crutchfield, you will notice your choice reduces DRASTICALLY. https://www.crutchfield.com/g_400/Al...dance_(Ohms)|2
When researching, I noticed on crutchfield that Powerbass do a bunch of 2ohm replacement speakers now for a good price, in 2-way configuration. They also have some 2ohm 6x9s you could use in the rear with a little cutting. Ive been impressed by their 4 ohm stuff before. You might want to consider those. I havent tried them. Just put the tweeters in the dashtop speaker mounts, and then disconnect the tweeters in the corners of the doors and go down to 2-way. https://www.crutchfield.com/p_151OE6...6C.html?tp=105
Its also possible to fit 6x9s in teh rear enclosures and the convertibles have all the wiring that the coupes do for full-range rear speakers, so you can switch to using full-range 6x9s in the rear if you like.
OR, replace the whole system with something 4 ohm. Amp, head unit, all drivers. Big pain in the bum, but then you widen up your choice of speakers massively and can upgrade the amp as well which is crucial to get good performance out of new speakers. I went with 6.75 inch kicker subs in the rear, some 2-way kickers in the front, I put the tweeters in the dash and disconnected the OEM tweeters in the corners of the doors. My amp could be better, but I got it for free and its good enough for now. @MonkeyBrain did a GREAT write up in a thread recently on replacing the head unit with an Android one, or pick something more standard in a single din configuration. Alpine do a good big-screen replacement that works in the jag, if you have $$$$ to spend. This all comes down to how much hassle you are willing to go to and how much you want to spend. I am assuming you are doing this yourself seeing as you are asking, and didnt just go to a shop and have them install a new system.
My current system
Joying 9 inch, mounted a la Monkeybrain (https://www.joyingauto.com/joying-ne...ra-screen.html) I chose this one because it has a knob. I like a knob.
Blaupunkt amp1504 (it was free, dont judge me)
Kicker Comp RT 6.75 inch 2ohm dual voice coil sub (2ohms in series= 4ohms)
For an alternative head unit suggestion, look at some of the blaupunkt retro-style 1-din head units. They do one that looks VERY similar to the OEM premium audio head unit right down to the cell phone dial pad - https://www.ebay.com/itm/334600999832 ), backlight colours are customizable and will let you upgrade everything to 4 ohm and external amp without cutting the dash up or having to manufacture custom screen mounts. if you have a 3-gauge car without satnav, this is a great option. This is what I would have chosen if I had a 3-gauge car with no satnav. I still might, if I find a 3 gauge dash trim and do the conversion. Time, energy....
I will emphasise- this comes down to
How much money do you have to spend on this?
Do you want to retain the original head unit? If so, you are stuck with 2 ohms, and the original amp, and your choices are limited and your expectation of results should be as well.
Good luck and feel free to DM me with any questions, or ask here. I literally just did this the other week so its all fresh in my mind.
@Throwback Thank you for the detailed write up. i am currently leaning towards replacing speakers and keeping my head unit as a starting point. I am embarrassed to admit but it looks like I need to go back and figure out weather I have a base or a premium system. Found this detailed video explaining the differences:
I think I jumped the gun and assumed that I have a premium based on having a CD changer in the back. There is definitely a place for the speakers on the dash and by the mirrors, need to make sure there are actually speakers installed.
Will report back. Thank s everyone.
@reko19
If keeping the existing head unit and/or amp, whatever it is, buy your speakers from somewhere with a good returns policy that wont charge you an arm and a leg for restocking/shipping each time, because there may be some trial and error. Sensitivity matters too; some speakers are louder than others, and because these cars require mixing multiple speakers into a single sound stage, it gets more complex.
Also to reiterate - the OEM units are AFAIK all 2 ohm. So if you replace your speakers "as a starting point" its a starting point to a dead end. You wont be able to re-use them if you upgrade to a new head unit/amp/4 ohms. Its kinda all or nothing with this car, not for one specific reason, but for a multitude of little reasons - the awkwardness of the radio install location, the limited depth of the speaker enclosures, the location of the OEM amplifier in the trunk, the lack of any double-din mounting locations for head units (the oem NAV system is just a shallow screen - theres no room in there for a head unit. Thus the monkeybrain solution (joying head unit with a custom bracket). The need for any replacement big screen head unit to have a REMOTE screen on an extension cord against drastically reduces choice. Fgure out what end result you want before setting out.
If I were you and I had a 3-gauge car with no navigation system, I would:
replace head unit with blaupunkt frankfurt or something that looks similar
add a 4 ohm 4 channel amp in the trunk
put either my kicker subs or some bassy 2-way 6x9s in the rear enclosures
put 6.5 inch woofers in the doors
1 inch tweeters in the dash top speakers (buy as a matched pair with the door woofers)
integrate steering controls with the radio
add a good phone mount (proclip do an EXCELLENT phone mount for these cars)
And live without a cd changer.
If you absolutely want to retain the original head unit and cd changer, then I would:
use powerbass 2 ohm 2-ways in the doors/dashtops and delete the corner tweeters in the doors
powerbass 2 ohm 6x9s in the rear and wire those to the coupe full-range rear speaker outputs which are in the convertibles, you just have to find the wires in the loom.
Stop there, dont spend more money.
All good points, thank you.
I do have a 3-gauge car with no navigation system. I am not 100% set on keeping the original unit, but large screen is not for me. CD changer is not important. Blaupunkt frankfurt unit is an option although a bit pricey. If I were to go this route would need to figure out how to integrate steering controls, etc. Should be able to figure it out but definitely more complicated than a second option with just the speakers replacement. Wondering how much difference there would be in the sound quality between the two options.
This may help:
Premium - you have speakers in the window sail, both sides.
(Sail - the triangular sail shaped space front bottom area of front windows)
You have a seperate amplifier in the trunk's CD rack.
I forget if standard had the CD changer or not.
1998 forward the same head unit was used for all cars. Difference being standard system had speakers attached to in dash radio. Premium sends all signals to trunk over a single multi strand cable.
Back of all head units have switch choose standard or separate amp.
Fyi should this come up. Besides the capacitor I mentioned in the sail, all crossover duties are done inside the amplifier.
Here is an update.
No premium sound. Speakers at the bottom of the doors and in the back. I believe the correct wiring diagram is below:
Speakers are 4Ohm and foam completely deteriorated:
I am planning to get a set of four Kicker 43DSC6504 6.5" 240 Watt 2-Way 4-Ohm Car Audio Coaxial Speakers available on Amazon, but welcome any recommendations. Good frequency response 40Hz-20kHz, seem like a perfect feet. A head unit recommended above maybe a next step, will see..
When I removed the speakers, a mystery object fell down, is this related to the door mounts? I never removed the doors before.
Its probably for the speaker's grill. No big deal. Its too late at night for the old brain to remember the items name, but it slips over the edge of sheet metal thats right next to a small hole in the sheet metal. Allows a sheet metal screw to thread onto something.
Picture a 6 inch hole for speaker. Six 1/4 holes evenly spaced as satellite locations around the speaker hole half inch away. Slip the fastener in photo over the small holes - gives a nice strong threaded mount for the screws to hold speaker in. That's just an example for you to picture how it works.
Wait! Come to think of it its probably used in the arm rest. Picture thar vertical area where the 2x4 inch rectangular leather(ique) cover presses on right behind the door switches. There is a sheet metal screw behind it that uses the piece.
Its probably for the speaker's grill. No big deal. Its too late at night for the old brain to remember the items name, but it slips over the edge of sheet metal thats right next to a small hole in the sheet metal. Allows a sheet metal screw to thread onto something.
Picture a 6 inch hole for speaker. Six 1/4 holes evenly spaced as satellite locations around the speaker hole half inch away. Slip the fastener in photo over the small holes - gives a nice strong threaded mount for the screws to hold speaker in. That's just an example for you to picture how it works.
Wait! Come to think of it its probably used in the arm rest. Picture thar vertical area where the 2x4 inch rectangular leather(ique) cover presses on right behind the door switches. There is a sheet metal screw behind it that uses the piece.
All done, four OEM speakers were replaced with KICKER 46CSC654 CS-Series CSC65 6.5-Inch Coaxial. Tremendous improvement in sound quality. Next order of business is to remove the console and re-lamp the head unit, most of the bulbs are out.
Ahh, the pre-2000 cars are 4 ohm. Good. Much more choice in speakers then . Those kickers are great, those are the ones I have up front but in component form. I didn't find them bassy enough, but I can only assume you do not listen to The Prodigy as much as I do lol thus I added subs. Speaker choice has a lot to do with taste or my lack thereof. For a while I thought the stock audio sounded a bit meh, but then I realised it has great dynamic range for classical music or pop at reasonable volume and that I am just a chav who wants bone crunching bass.
Speakers replacement recommendation
. Those kickers are great, those are the ones I have up front but in component form. I didn't find them bassy enough, but I can only assume you do not listen to The Prodigy as much as I do lol thus I added subs. Speaker choice has a lot to do with taste or my lack thereof. For a while I thought the stock audio sounded a bit meh, but then I realised it has great dynamic range for classical music or pop at reasonable volume and that I am just a chav who wants bone crunching bass.
