New to me 2000 XK8 with nav screen and original radio. I haven't picked it up yet. The owner tells me that the original radio is flaky - sometimes it works and sometimes not. Based on this I don't think I can trust to using an adapter to just stream from my phone. In addition, the nav screen is messed up, so that space is also available to me.

In searching, most of the threads I find are years old and the links to install kits, etc. are long gone dead. Crutchfield has nothing. I would be fine to do a separate standalone system (phone direct to amp or something like that) and keep the radio in the dash to maintain the look if I can piece something together. Otherwise, are there any modern-day strategies for an aftermarket head unit?

 

I am nearing the end of doing a fairly deep conversion on my 01 coupe so some of what I ran into might be helpful. To my understanding (someone please jump into correct me otherwise), a nav equipped car should have the "premier" Alpine audio package. That equals; woofer and tweeter in the door, mid fill in the dash, full ranges in the rear seat and either one or two subs (coupe is one in the package shelf, vert is one in each sail). There is an proprietary amp in the trunk stacked with the DVD drive for the nav and the cd changer. The head unit feeds back to the trunk over AiNet where the amp then distributes the speaker signals (and the most easily accessible tie-in to the feeds). If the a speakers are in decent condition (the cones tend to fail over time, meaning either rebuild or replace), the system itself sounds quite good. It has decent separation and the sound stage is solid.

The next question is how far do you want to go with converting the system? Simpler solutions can be a cassette adapator or adding a line-in bluetooth converter either to the CD changer feed or the antenna feed. Given that you're already being told there are issues you may want to plan on a more aggressive solve. As the amp is unable to be driven by a new head unit, it will need to be replaced, as the head unit's phone patch can't be tricked into accepting music from streaming, it wants to be swapped as well. As the nav hasn't been updated since 06(?), it doesn't hold much value either.

So far, I have pulled all three systems out, leaving only the original speakers and their placements. I am trying to finish up the install today or tomorrow and can give a full wirte-up then. in the short term, most of the pieces I found to adapt the system came from incartec out of the UK. They actually seem to have these pieces in stock and are reasonably responsive to questions.

 

Thanks, extheaterkid, I'll definitely be interested to follow your progress! And many thanks for the reference to incartec, that was a huge help.

 

I'm in a very similar situation with my '99 X100 so I'll be waiting for your description of both highs and lows, successes and failures , and what you ended up using will be apopreciated.

 

I did the conversion on my '06 from NAV to RealGauge 3 unit display. Fortunately my radio works well, most of the time(Volume control not always the best). I player, and cassette when needed. I would like to see how the radio is pulled for replacement if anyone has pix of this.

 

Pull radio:
remove center console. ( 4 screws front & back) capture spacers in front.

Remove shifter surround.

Remove wood piece surrounsurrounding shifter

Remove e clipped in leather plate cover far rear of center console structure.

Unbolt Bolts under that cover.

Unbolt 2 forward facing horizontal bolts (same size as rear) exposed by removing shifter wood surround.

Pull top center console center console support structure up and back. Remove it.

radio and climate control module switch packs mounting screws now exposed.

Unscrew and pull out. Plastic is fragile wants to crack.
John

 

In my experience, plastic is already cracked, possibly in many places, often needing repair, possibly extensive...

 

If the radio and amp are in good condition, then this company sells a lot of different "adapters" for adding in bluetooth and Aux inputs. Might find something here that fits your bill, if you use your phone a lot ...
https://www.discountcarstereo.com/Au...guar_aux.html/

 

+1 to Darbysan. I use the jaghf cd, though I must admit I never thought bluetooth would replace the CD changer in my cat. Boy I was wrong! Never really listened to it again.
John

 

Hi,

I recently completed a complete upgrade of the premium sound system in my 1999 XK8 Convertible, with satisfying results. Here’s what I did:

Speaker Renewal:

• Door Sub/mid: Alpine R-S65C.2 Fits nicely without door panel removal, just grill.
  
• Door “Sail” tweeter: tweeter accompanies the Alpine above, but some re-work to the speaker housing and frame to obtain a fit in the speaker mount.
  
• Fascia Mid-range: Memphis 2.75. Not a high cost/performance speaker, but one available in this relatively rare size. Some re-work of the mounting bracket required.
  
• Rear Box Woofer: I used the same Alpine R-S65C.2 used in the door.
  
• Rear Box Mid-range: (I’ll bet many don’t even know it is there): Memphis 2.75, same as in fascia. Again, some mounting bracket work required.
  
  All sourced from Crutchfield, I highly recommend them for shipping, service. No affiliation, just a satisfied customer.
  

Head: A friend in Germany scored me an Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB. Overkill because of the DAB not being available in US, but a nice receiver many great features digital inputs, Bluetooth, etc., etc., etc. Other requirements:

• Requires a Single DIN Fascia. Check around, these are quite pricey but occasionally found to be less so.
  
• Metra ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control (if you wish to maintain steering wheel functionality).
  
• 5 outputs require 5 RCA lead. I used EFX 6-Channel RCA Patch Cable, (one will be un-used), 12 feet is long enough, 10 feet not enough.
  
• I chose to remove the CD player, and use digital media instead. It often locked up anyway.
  
• Requires splicing into the harness.
  

Amplifier:

• Alpine PXE-0850S. This is a serious upgrade to the 8 channel Premium Alpine Amp original equipment.
  
• The 5 channel inputs from the head are transformed 8 Channel outputs to speakers. Each output adjustable in about a billion ways. Filters, equalizers, levels, freq. ranges.
  
• A control app allows adjustments where you can hear the results; in the driver’s seat. Then adjust the controls as much as wanted, with an iPhone.
  
• Requires +12V power, ground, one switched power line (for me, run from the head unit while running the RCA cable).
  
• Requires splicing into the correct speaker wires.
  

Overall Impressions:

The sound is a nice improvement over last century’s technology now > 20 years old, and for me, the billion adjustments allow sound quality to be dialed-in, to be set perfectly and enjoyed. Others may prefer continual adjustment experimentation. The installation is as expected, nothing to ominous, just normal detailed work.

The cost may seem out of line with what is now a $6,000-$8000 car (at best), and some, my wife included, may question the sanity of the project. But my thinking is: with 6 months quarantine / working from home office behind me, and who knows how many ahead, my automotive budget has been favorable by not buying 2 tanks per week at $60 per tank. So available auto budget = new project.

You may see I have an affinity towards Alpine; my field is Automotive Semiconductors, and Alpine is one of our customers who do their design work right and rarely have a design/application issue. An impressive feat, and much respect from me.

All the best,

Jerry Lippmann