[xj-s] XJS Speakers

I want to replace the garbage speakers that shipped with my XJS…BUT…how
do I get to them to remove them. The metal grilles look like they are
REALLY secure.

Is there a ‘trick’ to removing these?

Both front and back look like 5" round speakers.

Cheers

Graham

I want to replace the garbage speakers that shipped with my
XJS…BUT…how
do I get to them to remove them. The metal grilles look like they are
REALLY secure.

Is there a ‘trick’ to removing these?

The speakers and grilles are held on by nuts from behind. You need to
remove the trim panels to get to them. Allow some time the first time you
do it.

The door trim panels are held by clips around the edges, and a screw hidden
behind the chrome trim on the grab-handle. Take care not to damage the
leather when prising this trim from its clip. The trim panel eventually
slides vertically upwards to clear the window channel etc.

The rear quarter panels are held in by a screw hidden behind the B-post
trim, 2 screws hidden under the leather at the edge of the door (pull off
the fur trim and unclip the leather from the door frame), and a screw behind
the rear seat back. You need to remove the seat bottom to get access…

Both front and back look like 5" round speakers.

I think you will find they are 100mm (4") Philips speakers. I recently
fitted a set of Kenwood 100mm dual-driver speakers. Not particularly hifi,
but cheap, better than the original and they fit the original holes and
grilles.

BTW, you might want to remove the 2.7 ohm resistors from the rear speakers
(replace with a suitably large fuse).

regards,
MikeFrom: Graham Murray

Can anyone help!!!

How tricky is it to replace the speakers in a 1992 XKS 4.0??? And
does anyone know what size the speakers are so I can get soem
replacements in advance of removing trim panels!!

Thnaks for any help in advance

Alex–
Alex Bartman
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–

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alexb@abartman.freeserve.co.uk wrote:

Can anyone help!!!

How tricky is it to replace the speakers in a 1992 XKS 4.0??? And
does anyone know what size the speakers are so I can get soem
replacements in advance of removing trim panels!!

Thnaks for any help in advance

Alex

I’ve done it in a '93 (semi-facelift). I have pictures of my rear install
at Download Latest Nigerian & American Christian/Gospel Music | PraiseZion. (Replace 1 with 2 etc to see
subsequent pictures, up to 8.) Sadly no pictures of the front, but they
aren’t as useful anyway, it’s not hard.

Front and rear are technically 6.5", but the holes will need to be
re-drilled as the standard items use 3 holes. I put my 6x9’s in the rear,
despite being told by “pro’s” that they’d never go in. It was necessary to
cut the mounting piece, but you can’t see it as it’s covered by the grille.
I got my 6.5" components in the front, again after being told they wouldn’t
fit. I needed to cut about 3mm out of the hole in the door as my woofers
are particularly beefy, but depending on the model of speaker, that may not
be necessary. Again, it’s covered by the standard door trim. I mounted the
crossovers in the doors, and the tweeters in the panels behind the wing
mirrors.

Good luck!

Antony

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My 94 uses 6.5 inch front and rear. Anthony’s 93 apparently also uses 6.5’s.
Your '92 may differ. I’m sure someone with a 92 can confirm or correct.
Or, you may want to remove a front and rear panel to confirm, since it’s so
easy to do.

However, the method of mounting in the front should remain the same as our
93’s or 94’s, which is quite easy. Simply remove the door trim panels,
remove the speaker screws, and replace the speaker. Many new speakers have
multiple mounting holes, or a mounting ring with multiple holes, so that
having only 3 screw holes in the door won’t matter. Otherwise, drill new
screw holes.

Anthony’s pictorial of the rear mounting is excellent. (Drop the “1.jpg”
from his URL, and you’ll get a directory of 8 jpg’s. While some show the 6x9
conversion, jpg’s 3, 4 and 5 clearly show the original 6.5 in mounting)
Because he converted to 6x9’s, his install was more complicated than yours
will be. Your new speakers should simply fit where the old ones were.

You will really enjoy the difference from the old speakers! (You might
consider replacing the head unit too. It made a world of difference for me,
even before I changed my speakers.)

Gary
94 4.0L Convertible
San Jose, CA----- Original Message -----

Can anyone help!!!

How tricky is it to replace the speakers in a 1992 XKS 4.0??? And
does anyone know what size the speakers are so I can get soem
replacements in advance of removing trim panels!!

Thnaks for any help in advance

Alex

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Gary wrote:

You will really enjoy the difference from the old speakers! (You might
consider replacing the head unit too. It made a world of difference
for me, even before I changed my speakers.)

You’re right. I’m a big music buff, but anyone would enjoy the difference.
My speakers and head unit used to be in a BMW 318is 1995, and they have so
much more impact in this car as the cabin’s smaller.

Funnily enough, I don’t listen to the stereo quite so much in this car as I
have done before - the engine sounds great too. :wink:

Antony

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In reply to a message from alexb@abartman.freeserve.co.uk sent Mon 9 Jun 2003:

Alex,
If your XJS is a ‘92, it must be a face lift version, therefore not
much different from my ‘94. The speakers are 6 1/2’’ dia. both, at
the doors and at the rear quarter panels. The door trim panel comes
out like they all do: remove the usual screws from the handle ends
and undo the clips around the perimeter (sides and bottom); make
sure you undo the cables to the electrical stuff on the panel (seat
controls and marker light, etc.), then lift the panel to clear the
top edge and pull it out.

TIP: If you want higher quality sound, make sure you buy the ones
with a swiveling-angled tweeter cone, so you can turn the tweeters
around and direct them to the passengers for sharp high frequencies
and best stereo imaging. The ones I installed on my XJS are
Infinity Reference, but several good brands make them with swivel
tweeters; it’s the best next thing to component speakers, although
I’ve been thinking about replacing mine with component speakers,
only I don’t know where I would locate the separate tweeter without
affecting the interior aesthetics.

Reinaldo
Redondo Beach, CA–
'94 XJS 4.0L - '98 XJ8L
Redondo Beach, California, United States
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I replaced the rear speakers and am looking forward to soon replacing the
front speakers. It is not difficult. You may have to remove the rear
seat for extra working room and the arm rest top and bottom pulls out.
You may want to get a shop manual for exact instructions. Make sure
you note how many ohms your old speakers were. I have seen reports that
some cars had 8 ohm speakers and others had 4 ohm speakers. You must
replace them with the same ohms; otherwise, you may put too big of a load
on your stereo unit. It is true that you do have to drill new mounting
holes, but no one can see them when you replace the speaker cover. Sorry
I can’t offer much more help.

How tricky is it to replace the speakers in a 1992 XKS 4.0??? >

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I connected the 4 outputs of by head unit (new Alpine)to form 2, one for
each side (don’t use the fade control if you do this!). Then I used
component speakers, a 6 1/2" woofer in the back, and 1" tweeter in the
front on each side. I had to make a plate to cover the 4" speaker hole,
then mounted the 1" speaker in the plate and put in new carpet on the
door area.

TIP: If you want higher quality sound, make sure you buy the ones
with a swiveling-angled tweeter cone, so you can turn the tweeters
around and direct them to the passengers for sharp high frequencies
and best stereo imaging. The ones I installed on my XJS are
Infinity Reference, but several good brands make them with swivel
tweeters; it’s the best next thing to component speakers, although
I’ve been thinking about replacing mine with component speakers,
only I don’t know where I would locate the separate tweeter without
affecting the interior aesthetics.

Sam Kozaitis
Melbourne, FL
'83 XJS

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I’m not sure that I understand the logic in that. If you’re going to mount
the tweeters down by your ankles in the front, why not just use good coaxial
speakers all the way around? You’ll get better distribution of the highs.
(For instance, I hear my rear tweeters much more than my front.)

In the case of the models with 6.5in holes in the front, you’ll have more
lows, as well. Even with smaller front holes, you’d still be better served
by using coax all around, compared to component woofers in back and tweeters
by the ankles.

Also, tying the front ant rear outputs of the left and right amp outs of the
head unit is normally not too good for the amp. Are you using some sort of
bridging device, or special wiring scheme, or simply splicing together both

  • and _ of each side’s outputs?

Gary
94 4.0L Convertible
San Jose, CA----- Original Message -----

I connected the 4 outputs of by head unit (new Alpine)to form 2, one for
each side (don’t use the fade control if you do this!). Then I used
component speakers, a 6 1/2" woofer in the back, and 1" tweeter in the
front on each side. I had to make a plate to cover the 4" speaker hole,
then mounted the 1" speaker in the plate and put in new carpet on the
door area.

TIP: If you want higher quality sound, make sure you buy the ones
with a swiveling-angled tweeter cone, so you can turn the tweeters
around and direct them to the passengers for sharp high frequencies
and best stereo imaging. The ones I installed on my XJS are
Infinity Reference, but several good brands make them with swivel
tweeters; it’s the best next thing to component speakers, although
I’ve been thinking about replacing mine with component speakers,
only I don’t know where I would locate the separate tweeter without
affecting the interior aesthetics.

Sam Kozaitis
Melbourne, FL
'83 XJS

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Samuel Kozaitis wrote:

I connected the 4 outputs of by head unit (new Alpine)to form 2, one
for each side (don’t use the fade control if you do this!).

This is allegedly not a good idea unless the amp is designed for bridging
(which it isn’t).

Antony

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Gary said:

Also, tying the front ant rear outputs of the left and right amp outs of the
head unit is normally not too good for the amp.

There is nothing wrong with running speakers in parallel. The impedance is
simply cut in half. If you speakers are 8 ohm, then doing this cuts the
impedance in half, resulting in 4 ohms.

Looks at the minimum allowable resistance of your amp and proceed
accordingly. Many amps will do 2 or 4 ohms quite nicely without problems,
but check the specs first.

Lee Miller
95 XJS coupe 4.0L

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That is not what I said. I said that combing the OUTPUTS OF THE AMP is not
good. Of course running speakers in parallel is OK. That’s audio 101.

Gary said:

Also, tying the front ant rear outputs of the left and right amp outs of
the
head unit is normally not too good for the amp.

There is nothing wrong with running speakers in parallel. The impedance is
simply cut in half. If you speakers are 8 ohm, then doing this cuts the
impedance in half, resulting in 4 ohms.

Looks at the minimum allowable resistance of your amp and proceed
accordingly. Many amps will do 2 or 4 ohms quite nicely without problems,
but check the specs first.

Lee Miller
95 XJS coupe 4.0L

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In reply to a message from Lee Miller sent Wed 11 Jun 2003:

I would be careful with the speaker connections. If you connect CAR
speakers (all are 4 ohm) in parallel, you’re creating a 2 ohm load.
Yes, there are fancy amps that are designed to work with 2 ohm load
per side, but not any head unit that I know of. You’re either gonna
create distortion or shorten the life of your equipment. I don’t
really see why bend the rules and risk funny and umbalanced sound.
It is better to have 4 regular (or coaxial) speakers than two in
the back and only tweeters in the front in a location where the
highly directional sound beam of the tweeters will only reach your
legs, rather than your ears. All head units come with 4 speaker
output, so, four decent speakers, whether component sets or just
regular coaxial ones, will complement the four outputs from the
radio perfectly and all 4 speaker locations in the XJS will accept
6 1/2’’ speakers. Either that, or add a stack of 5 high end amps in
the trunk’s right cavity and a 10’’ high end subwoofer inside the
rear seat’s back rest, the way I did. You add a digital sound
processor and voila, you have a concert hall on wheels. The XJS
always deserves the best.
Reinaldo–
'94 XJS 4.0L - '98 XJ8L
Redondo Beach, California, United States
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In reply to a message from Lee Miller sent Wed 11 Jun 2003:

Dear Lee
Reinaldo is not wrong. I often get into a car and think wow
this sucks from the point of view of stereo picture etc. the top
coming at you from here and the low mid from there it is all down
to active crossovers and dedicated amps. Phase coherence is gone
and it all sounds fractionated. By the way I am a record producer
and professional in the recording studio Biz. I would stick to good
quality high efficiency coaxial units augmented by a tuned
enclosure responding from 125 Hz downwards preferably running off
the sub out of the head unit which should contain a mono sub bass
output. The bass unit can be mounted as suggested by Reinaldo.
I think that Jbl should be able to supply the drivers.
Regards Mark–
Bassmec, XJS V12 1977 Coupe
Ipswich, Suffolk., United Kingdom
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