XKR Cab - Ventilated seats vs Bower@Wilkins

[8bit]

Paracetamol said:

The BW and Alpine really both rubbish..

The B&W system is far from rubbish. I'd get your ears checked if I was you. That being said, if you're listing to a poor quality source (e.g. radio) in the first place then it's not going to make that sound amazing. From my iPod it's the only in-car system I've heard that manages to cut through general road/tyre/wind noise etc. without having to be cranked to seriously loud volumes.

[PH XKR]

unrepentant said:

PH XKR said:

unrepentant said:

The B&W system in the XK was not the epic system that was available on the XJ. I had a new XJ with B&W in 12 followed by a new XKR IN 2013 and there was no comparison. In the US all XKR 5.0's had both ventilated seats and B&W. if you have to choose I wouldn't set too much store in the B&W. My advice would be to not worry about the audio and get an early 5.0.

Edited by unrepentant on Tuesday 24th January 22:37

For a convertible the sound system is epic, it reproduces sound very well. Then, there may be spec differences for different markets. Not all XKR's here have vented seats (mine for example has the heated sports seats).

The system in the XJ was the 1200W B&W system and it really is superb, the best that I have experienced. The XKR (also the XKR-S) had the 525W system and it's puny in comparison. UK and US systems were the same. Go online and you'll find forums full of owners complaining.

Having said that it's better than the Meridian system in my F-Type R. Vibration is shocking (they've had loads of complaints), the much cheaper Burmester system in my Mercedes is way better. I had the same Meridian system in my F-Type V8-S and the vibration was not an issue but in the coupe it's awful. There was a fix but it made little difference. Fortunately the pipes on the F make the audio redundant.

The XJ is twice the car (interior size wise!) but yes compared to that I can see the mustard not being cut quite as well. I had the previous XJ with the top system (whatever that was) and that, for its day, was epic too. Considering its a soft top, the system reproduces sound brilliantly in difficult circumstances. I'd never let anything branded alpine near one of my cars Vibration is something that sees me venting and taking matters into my own hands... i.e. ripping panel covers off and then adding matting.

[Paracetamol]

8bit said:

The B&W system is far from rubbish. I'd get your ears checked if I was you. That being said, if you're listing to a poor quality source (e.g. radio) in the first place then it's not going to make that sound amazing. From my iPod it's the only in-car system I've heard that manages to cut through general road/tyre/wind noise etc. without having to be cranked to seriously loud volumes.

I and many many others disagree with you (check jaguar forums). Certainly its better with a good source but its way too shrilly and lacks depth of sound. Its loud for sure but very tiring to lisiten to.

In addition its not got built in bluetooth streaming.

[unrepentant]

Paracetamol said:

8bit said:

The B&W system is far from rubbish. I'd get your ears checked if I was you. That being said, if you're listing to a poor quality source (e.g. radio) in the first place then it's not going to make that sound amazing. From my iPod it's the only in-car system I've heard that manages to cut through general road/tyre/wind noise etc. without having to be cranked to seriously loud volumes.

I and many many others disagree with you (check jaguar forums). Certainly its better with a good source but its way too shrilly and lacks depth of sound. Its loud for sure but very tiring to lisiten to.

In addition its not got built in bluetooth streaming.

They never upgraded it for bluetooth streaming in the XK because the car was due to be retired. Same with the L322 RR.

My understanding was that the system in the XKR was actually a HK system with B&W speakers, not really a B&W system. I may be wrong about that but I seem to recall it. It's like the Meridian system. When we were trained on it they gave us a presentation all about the Meridian home speakers with incredible fibre optic cables or whatever. Wow we said - so that's in the cars? Err.. no. Good story though, we could tell customers that the people who made the audio in their new XJ also made speakers for $100k a pr.

[a8hex]

Paracetamol said:

I and many many others disagree with you (check jaguar forums). Certainly its better with a good source but its way too shrilly and lacks depth of sound. Its loud for sure but very tiring to lisiten to.

In addition its not got built in bluetooth streaming.

I'd really like bluetooth streaming, I listen to a lot of audio books from my phone so it would be very convenient to but play them through the speakers.
The sound quality seems much better with the roof up, I guess it must be difficult to get the acoustics right with the lid down. I must admit I was surprised how much you seem to have to turn up the volume.

[Paracetamol]

a8hex said:

I'd really like bluetooth streaming, I listen to a lot of audio books from my phone so it would be very convenient to but play them through the speakers.
The sound quality seems much better with the roof up, I guess it must be difficult to get the acoustics right with the lid down. I must admit I was surprised how much you seem to have to turn up the volume.

I have just ordered a ViseeO Tune2air wMA1000 Music Streaming.

This plugs into the Apple 30 pin plug and supposedly allows streaming from a bluethooth device. I will let you know if it works

[Bossv8]

Yes. I have that in my Land Rover Discovery 4.

[V88Dicky]

I've always found the sound to be dull and lacking somewhat from a compressed MP3 or MP4 source, I much prefer the crystal clarity of an original CD.

But then I'm a bit of a dinosaur

[a8hex]

V88Dicky said:

I've always found the sound to be dull and lacking somewhat from a compressed MP3 or MP4 source, I much prefer the crystal clarity of an original CD.

A lot of the issues with MP3 will be down to the compression rate, higher bit rates sound better.
I find the B&W system seems to play MP3 files more quietly than it plays CDs, which is a pain. Some stuff I've got on MP3 sounds really good on the system though.

V88Dicky said:

But then I'm a bit of a dinosaur

but then my ears aren't what they used to be

[8bit]

Paracetamol said:

8bit said:

The B&W system is far from rubbish. I'd get your ears checked if I was you. That being said, if you're listing to a poor quality source (e.g. radio) in the first place then it's not going to make that sound amazing. From my iPod it's the only in-car system I've heard that manages to cut through general road/tyre/wind noise etc. without having to be cranked to seriously loud volumes.

I and many many others disagree with you (check jaguar forums). Certainly its better with a good source but its way too shrilly and lacks depth of sound. Its loud for sure but very tiring to lisiten to.

In addition its not got built in bluetooth streaming.

I'm a member on various jaguar forums and the XKEC forum and read these with interest. You're certainly not the only person to say that but I'd say you are in the minority. That being said, everyone's ears and tastes are different. I found I had to play with the settings a little to get the best out of it but it's certainly not "shrilly" and does have a lot of depth. The choice of surround mode has a lot to do with this. I'll try and remember to take a note of my settings.

No built-in bluetooth is annoying though, I'm with you there. Re. your post further down about the Tune2air gadget, that should work fine - a number of forum members have used these to good effect.

[Paracetamol]

Paracetamol said:

I have just ordered a ViseeO Tune2air wMA1000 Music Streaming.

This plugs into the Apple 30 pin plug and supposedly allows streaming from a bluethooth device. I will let you know if it works

Received the ViseeO and am pleased with it.

It plugs into the Apple 30 pin slot using the standard Jaguar lead. Simple to connect to my Samsung A7 phone and I can stream without issues. What I cannot work out (and to my delight!) the phone also connects as a phone to the Handsfree system too. So its all working seamlessly.

Sound quality is still crap but I am sure its very compressed

[8bit]

That's good to hear, thanks for posting back.

Are you saying that the phone still connects to the car's own Bluetooth hands-free as it always did whilst now also connected to the Tune2Air device, or was the phone never connected to the car's hands-free but works now via the Tune2Air? It's perfectly possible to connect to both at the same time, they are different devices with different Bluetooth services.

I realise I said I'd post a shot of my settings but never did, here it is - I guess you'll likely have played with it a bit already but this is what I have mine set to and it sounds good to my ears.

[Paracetamol]

The phone connects to the Bluetooth as it always did.

It at the same time connects to the Air Wave at the same time and streams any type of music including apple play, youtube and my own library music.

If I get a phone call it cuts the music in favour of the phone and I can use the phone as normal.

In addition, if I am using Google Maps then the directions are played though the car speakers.

So, essentially the car is now bang up to date in terms of phone and bluetooth connectivity all for 80 GBP.

Awesome piece of kit

[8bit]

Great, glad to hear it's working well for you. I may invest in the Tune2Air yet.

[a8hex]

Paracetamol said:

Paracetamol said:

I have just ordered a ViseeO Tune2air wMA1000 Music Streaming.

This plugs into the Apple 30 pin plug and supposedly allows streaming from a bluethooth device. I will let you know if it works

Received the ViseeO and am pleased with it.

It plugs into the Apple 30 pin slot using the standard Jaguar lead. Simple to connect to my Samsung A7 phone and I can stream without issues. What I cannot work out (and to my delight!) the phone also connects as a phone to the Handsfree system too. So its all working seamlessly.

Sound quality is still crap but I am sure its very compressed

OK, it sounds worth a try.
Looking on Amazon, just to be awkward they list:


ViseeO Tune2Air WMA3000B Bluetooth Adapter for Streaming iPod/iPhone/iPad to BMW/Mini with original AUX/USB Y-Cable Connection
by ViseeO

ViseeO Tune2Air WMA3000A Bluetooth Adapter for Streaming iPod/iPhone/iPad to Audi/Mercedes/VW with Factory iPod/Media Input
by ViseeO

or

Bovee 1000 Wireless Bluetooth Music Interface Adapter for in Car iPod Integration
by Bovee

Argh

[PH XKR]

Going back to the "complaints" about the B&W system, I cannot get my head around them. The forums aren't full of people complaining, however, forums only ever typically voice complaints. The system is bloody good, especially for a cab and whilst I am sure the XJR with its fixed roof and greater space and double the wattage will sound "better", to say the XK version is rubbish is, well, rubbish. It is fantastic, if only let down by the worlds most infuriating user interface. That said, the old XK had more buttons than an Apollo rocket so they went polar opposite and shoved everything into the infotainment unit. Which is great, except when you want to put your heated seats on you have to switch a menu etc. The sound though, is great.

[Paracetamol]

You need the Bovee 1000.

I bought my tune 2 air on eBay.

I think it may be old stock

[a8hex]

Paracetamol said:

You need the Bovee 1000.

Ta
Ordered :-)