F Type Standard Audio?

[bruce916]

I don't think i'm alone in being disappointed with the standard audio in my ex demo F Type standard v6

It seems the only adjustments are to bass and treble, no balance or fade..... can this be right? or is it my lack of ability to interpret the confusing screens etc? I also seem to have a fair amount of rattles and vibration from the speakers at even low volume.

Just wondering how to upgrade as i'm not sure i can live with the audio as it is, maybe speaker replacements might be possible.

Anyone else think the same or is it just me/my car?

[Inverness]

bruce916 said:

I don't think i'm alone in being disappointed with the standard audio in my ex demo F Type standard v6

It seems the only adjustments are to bass and treble, no balance or fade..... can this be right? or is it my lack of ability to interpret the confusing screens etc? I also seem to have a fair amount of rattles and vibration from the speakers at even low volume.

Just wondering how to upgrade as i'm not sure i can live with the audio as it is, maybe speaker replacements might be possible.

Anyone else think the same or is it just me/my car?

Borrowed my parents XF last week (fitted with standard/basic audio) and I could not belive how high I had to have the volume up to listen to DAB stations compared to our Disco (fitted with the upgraded Harman/Karden audio). So yes standard would appear to be crap, it may be you just need to to fit an amp, but I would recommend you do the speakers as well. Any Car audio shop should be able to sort you out.

[Rick Cutler]

I test drove an xf with the basic audio system and then looked and noticed that the upgrade is over £900 which worked out cheaper to step up to the next model that had the sound system upgrade as standard.

[wellzee]

Maybe I'm alone in this but I don't think the standard audio in my F-Type is that bad. Don't get me wrong its far from brilliant but it's more or less what I expected. The other dealer options for sound are 2 Meridien systems, which speaking to other owners are riddled with faults which Jaguar are yet to do anything about. If you want an upgrade I'd go aftermarket.

Re: your vibrations, this is the main flaw of the Meridien systems so I'd complain to your dealer, I don't get too many vibrations even at fairly high volume so I don't think its 'normal' on the base system.

[a8hex]

Inverness said:

Borrowed my parents XF last week (fitted with standard/basic audio) and I could not belive how high I had to have the volume up to listen to DAB stations compared to our Disco (fitted with the upgraded Harman/Karden audio). So yes standard would appear to be crap, it may be you just need to to fit an amp, but I would recommend you do the speakers as well. Any Car audio shop should be able to sort you out.

My XKR has the HK audio and that seems to need the sound turning up unnaturally high to hear properly. Typically halfway or more, which seems way too far. Not tried seeing how loud it will go, I was just surprised at needing to crank the dial that far up.

[bruce916]

thanks for the helpful comments, i will let the dealer take a look and see about the vibrations and also explore the aftermarket amp and speaker options, probably too much to hope that there is a set up already off the shelf so will try couple of car audio dealers and see what they suggest

will keep you posted

Cheers

[ftypical]

If the console won't let you adjust the sound, how will an aftermarket set of speakers and amp help?

[gizlaroc]

ftypical said:

If the console won't let you adjust the sound, how will an aftermarket set of speakers and amp help?

Because if you added a small 4 channel amp you could take the adjustments for crossover and levels on that.

Nearly always amp rather than speakers anyway. Most stock speakers actually perform pretty well when driven properly and are not being clipped.

[bunyarra]

bruce916 said:

I don't think i'm alone in being disappointed with the standard audio in my ex demo F Type standard v6

It seems the only adjustments are to bass and treble, no balance or fade..... can this be right? or is it my lack of ability to interpret the confusing screens etc? I also seem to have a fair amount of rattles and vibration from the speakers at even low volume.

Just wondering how to upgrade as i'm not sure i can live with the audio as it is, maybe speaker replacements might be possible.

Anyone else think the same or is it just me/my car?

Nope - was well pissed off with the inability to even balance. Not the kind of thing you expect from a car this price. And, of course, not a single demo car had the base spec audio. In hindsight, should have realised there was a reason for it.

The sound is not too bad - had worse. But no where near the old XK's system. Will be very interested to hear how you get on with aftermarket stuff.

[Effjay]

Like Gizlaroc said it's usually a lack of amplifier power which hinders stock speakers.

Although I agree on a car at this price level even the standard audio should be good enough, if you want to have a go at upgrading with some aftermarket bits then I'm sure even the following will be a huge improvement...

A small Class D amplifier like this pioneer one which is powerful but small and can be easily hidden...

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/amplifiers/two-cha...

A set of components such as these...

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/speakers/component...

I used the older versions of these in a Z4 and they're incredible speakers for the money, they play so low they punch like a small dedicated subwoofer (which again eliminates the need for a separate sub unless you're really wanting hair shaking bass). A lot of component speakers struggle to reproduce really deep bass.

Installation is another VERY important factor though, some extra sound deadening and solid speaker mounts make a massive difference, even to a factory set up, and would eliminate a lot of the rattles and vibrations you're experiencing.

[Rettster]

I agree just been tinkering with my used Ftype not had it long and pulled out the rear speaker covers and a big hole for a subwoofer and a pathetic tweeter. Might need to upgrade. Has anyone done this can they recommend without costing a fortune. I'm assuming the wiring isn't there. Stock audio is pretty poor. No balance control and pretty poor at speed.

[ftypical]

This is:
a. Not a quiet car;
b. A car with a very compact cabin.

With the trim vibration sorted (there's a Jaguar Technical Service Bulletin that covers this), the standard stereo can still make both driver and passenger vibrate.

Balance might be useful if you're listening while stuck in traffic, but Fade (in addition to needing to be stationary) is going to struggle to move the sound around given that most of it is coming from some surprisingly large co-axials in the doors.

The Meridian systems appear to be unable to feed the additional speakers with the correct frequencies at levels that don't cause clipping, so are a spectacular waste of money.

Seperately, it may be that Meridian have Jaguar over a contractual barrel, so neither firm is going to cough up to fix the problem...

[snatchbox]

I have the Meridian system and when you turn up the volume I get a lot of vibration in the seats and floor. Not impressed with the quality

[acollin5]

Having just purchased a 14 month old coupe with Meridian Surround I too was very disappointed with the system. The car it replaced, a Vantage V8, with an incredible 700w system with one sub puts it to shame. I took the car into my nearest dealer who can't have been more helpful and have traced the main gripe which was vibrating trim which was really making a mess of any chance of nice tight bass notes. They invited me in to listen one side removed and one side clipped in. It was quickly evident the panel was to blame. The panels themselves measure about 2ft by 2ft and house the rear grills and are held on by yes you've guessed it.... plastic clips hence the buzzing, rattling and general cheap sounds. So the main source of my particular problem has been found. Thank you Pentland Edinburgh. A software update has also been downloaded to the car stereo which I think probably reduces the bass level although to be fair I haven't had a chance to listen to it properly yet. In general though not a smooth quality sound and the rear subs don't sound comfortable with what they are being asked to do. The Vantage system could rumble mightily impressively with no distortion (they cost the same)! The Meridians I fear would have packed their bags and slunk off home long before. Not a good system for the money Jaguar - time to rethink, I will probably be venturing into the world of aftermarket speakers, not a great advert for Meridian either as a 2k system. Puts me right off their speakers. The rest of the car I'm happy to report is fab and I am enjoying it immensely!

[snatchbox]

acollin5 said:

Having just purchased a 14 month old coupe with Meridian Surround I too was very disappointed with the system. The car it replaced, a Vantage V8, with an incredible 700w system with one sub puts it to shame. I took the car into my nearest dealer who can't have been more helpful and have traced the main gripe which was vibrating trim which was really making a mess of any chance of nice tight bass notes. They invited me in to listen one side removed and one side clipped in. It was quickly evident the panel was to blame. The panels themselves measure about 2ft by 2ft and house the rear grills and are held on by yes you've guessed it.... plastic clips hence the buzzing, rattling and general cheap sounds. So the main source of my particular problem has been found. Thank you Pentland Edinburgh. A software update has also been downloaded to the car stereo which I think probably reduces the bass level although to be fair I haven't had a chance to listen to it properly yet. In general though not a smooth quality sound and the rear subs don't sound comfortable with what they are being asked to do. The Vantage system could rumble mightily impressively with no distortion (they cost the same)! The Meridians I fear would have packed their bags and slunk off home long before. Not a good system for the money Jaguar - time to rethink, I will probably be venturing into the world of aftermarket speakers, not a great advert for Meridian either as a 2k system. Puts me right off their speakers. The rest of the car I'm happy to report is fab and I am enjoying it immensely!

I have the same system and problems. Can not turn up volume without vibrations. My Ford Ranger truck has better sound. Not what you expect from 2k option. Going to contact dealer and see if they can sought out the issue

[Robbidoo]

Any updates from folks on here? Did you get your stereos to a better place with the dealers?

[ftypical]

As mentioned previously, there are Jaguar Technical Service Bulletins that cover issues with trim, speaker mountings, and the signal being fed to the speakers.

Be nice to your Dealership: JLR don't seem to be very nice to them...