I continue to peruse all the threads on 98 XK8 head unit upgrades. I'm down to one issue/question regarding the upgrade. Can you utilize the existing premium amp with an aftermarket head unit ?
Best I can tell from my research, nobody can definitely say one way or the other. I've read a lot of "I don't think you can" and a few "the existing amp sucks" plus I've seen this particular question posed previously a couple of times, but nobody seems to be able to definitively answer.
Can you utilize the existing premium amp with an aftermarket head unit? Thanks.

 

I wouldn't keep the existing head unit. It's really poor quality. Don't know the specs, but they've got to suck. The entire system sucks. I put in two amps, one for door speakers and one for subs in the rear. It may seem like a pain or added cost, but the reward will be worth it. Out with the old, in with the new. Even the tweeters in the doors are complete junk. In the next few weeks, I'm going to do a total rebuild on a newly acquired 98 XK8, I'll try to document as much as possible. I used pioneer amps and head.

 

Thanks for your input...I understand what you're saying.
But I'm not looking for super duper sound system, just and modern and easy to install system. I have a new Alpine head unit ready to install, it would be much simpler for me to plug into the existing amp with all the existing speaker wires, etc. Right now, that's what I want to do...hence, the question: can I utilize the existing amp with my new Alpine head unit?

 

If you have the HK system the amp has eight 30 watt channels but only 5 inputs because crossovers are built into the amp. So you could make cable adapter to feed a different head amp to it but you would be restricted to how the amp is set up. Its not very powerful and only average quality.
I wouldn't bother with it as most new stereos have at least 22wpc so using the old amp wouldn't really get you much more. The best thing would be to just use a new amp along with the new head unit if you need more power than what the new head unit has. Of course you would also have to make up crossovers for the existing or new speakers or get a head unit with electronic crossovers build in.


Dave

 

Dave, thank you. Question, I read in a couple of the threads on the website that the HK premium amp was 300-400 total watts. Is that true? If I understand correctly the amp only enhances volume power not the quality of the sound...is that correct?

 

I have the premium HK setup and the power is 8 X 30 for a total of 240 watts rms. The amp uses standard dual hybrid IC amps that are nothing special. Not awful but there are much better amps out there if you are going to change the head unit. The amps are rated for speakers between 2 to 4 ohms so keep that in mind if you keep it and ever change the speakers.



Dave

 

So Dave...if I understand you correctly (because you're not really saying it)...if I can find the right connector(s) for my Alpine (single DIN) head unit and the HK amp, the system should work (that is the head unit, amp and speakers).
I understand i'll have to modify the antenna connector from ISO to DIN and make other mods to utilize the steering wheel controls.
I appreciate your help and I do realize you don't agree with my approach. Perhaps I will add a new amp in the future. Thanks again. Steve G.,

 

Yes it could be made to work. As far as I know there are no ready made adapters so you will need to find the appropriate connectors and wiring diagrams and wire them yourself. There are various adapters for the steering controls and depending on your new head unit one of them could work.


Dave

 

What is the output of the Alpine unit? The existing unit is only 30 watts per channel, but who knows what the specs are. Alpine puts out great stuff, I'm sure you'll be happy using it's amp.