Meridian vs Meridian Surround in Facelift Cars

[scz4]

Evening all,

As per my "wanted" post, looking to get back into a F-Type.

My previous MY14 had the base Meridian sound system and to be quite honest, it was appalling!! Worst sound system since my Peugeot 205 in 1998 lol. Just as well the exhaust sounded so good.

I always pledged if I was to buy another F-Type I'd hold out for the Surround setup. However, looking at the 2021 brochure it's a £1050 upgrade, so doubt many will have.

My simple question is, did Meridian get better over the years, much like the rest of the car? Does anyone have direct experience of Pre-Facelift vs Facelift?

G

 

[Tj7456]

I have the meridian surround in my 2012 XF and the standard Meridian in my FType. The surround is definitely a better system. I really like the sound system in my XF. However I'm not sure I would spec it in the F Type. The F Type is a much noisier car than the XF and at speed I'm not sure you would benefit.

 

[Cluck]

Apparently, a lot of the cars built after 2019 had the additional 'surround' speaker built in and the extra audio controls can be enabled via reprogramming - LR Retrofits offers this. What they don't say, however, is whether the amp is also the higher spec one, just that the additional speaker is present, though the inference is that it is there.

From their site:

"Meridian Surround Sound Amplifier Upgrade

Our research has shown that 5.0 F-Types that have the characters LCK, MCK, NCK, PCK and RCK in the last eight characters of the VIN have the ability to have a Meridian to Meridian Surround upgrade without the change of any hardware (extra dashboard speaker is already present)."

I haven't gone through with this myself (yet!) but am very tempted. That said, for the most part audio isn't of huge importance to me in a car, so I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between good audio and bad audio (and I say that as somebody who has 10 speakers in his living room for watching movies!), Of course, whether any of this will still meet your needs is debatable, and the only way you'll find out is to sit in a recent model with the option ticked. And yes, I left it out because £1000 for an audio upgrade was too rich for me when I specced the car.

 

[scm]

... I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between good audio and bad audio (and I say that as somebody who has 10 speakers in his living room for watching movies!),

And bear in mind that the F-Type cabin is no concert hall. :shock:

 

[ianp]

Apparently, a lot of the cars built after 2019 had the additional 'surround' speaker built in and the extra audio controls can be enabled via reprogramming - LR Retrofits offers this. What they don't say, however, is whether the amp is also the higher spec one, just that the additional speaker is present, though the inference is that it is there.

From their site:

"Meridian Surround Sound Amplifier Upgrade

Our research has shown that 5.0 F-Types that have the characters LCK, MCK, NCK, PCK and RCK in the last eight characters of the VIN have the ability to have a Meridian to Meridian Surround upgrade without the change of any hardware (extra dashboard speaker is already present)."

I haven't gone through with this myself (yet!) but am very tempted. That said, for the most part audio isn't of huge importance to me in a car, so I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between good audio and bad audio (and I say that as somebody who has 10 speakers in his living room for watching movies!), Of course, whether any of this will still meet your needs is debatable, and the only way you'll find out is to sit in a recent model with the option ticked. And yes, I left it out because £1000 for an audio upgrade was too rich for me when I specced the car.

That would have been the best £1,000 you spent on the car!

 

[Cluck]

Except I can apparently do it for £300, so that would have made it the very worst £1000 I could have spent . And scm has a point, the car isn't exactly the best environment for quality listening, especially at speed. I can understand we all have different priorities though and I still don't think any amount of "I think it's great" or "I think it's garbage" posts can help the OP, it really is something you have to hear for yourself to know if it's good enough for you. For me, the standard system is fine but I am tempted to do the £300 upgrade to get some finer control over the sound.

 

[scm]

When I attended an "F-Types Beyond Limits" event in 2014 there was a team from Meridian seeking feedback from the attendees. I don't think anyone there turned the system on!

 

[Madlil]

If you do end up with standard Meridian the video below is a great way to upgrade with premium speakers and sound proofing. I am planing to do mine next week although getting hold of the woofers second hand is tricky. I have ordered those new from Jag.

Tweeters AW9318808AC C2D30486 C2D30486
Mid AW9318808BC C2D2076 C2Z3438
Bass CPLA18808FB C2D24861 LR047119

https://youtu.be/ZecRBquBTtw?si=3RXCQpdC9gH_Q63D

 

[scz4]

Thanks for the information regarding LR Retrofit. However, the only upgrade I could see is £995. Perhaps that's for earlier cars that require the hardware too. £300 seems reasonable.

Upgrade your existing Meridian Sound 380w system to the Meridian Surround 770w system.
Meridian’s audio system uses precision digital technologies to create an authentic audio experience for all passengers. The Meridian Trifield technology delivers a personal and unique musical performance of unrivalled standards.

 

[Cluck]

Keep scrolling to the bottom of the F-Type page here - https://lr-retrofits.co.uk/x152-f-type

 

[munchie]

Can’t speak for the preface; lift but I sought out a my21 with surround sound and it’s good, especially if you use a cable for android auto. Of course the better the codec used the better the sound.it isn’t as good as my HK 2013vin my bmw m3 but it’s a good 8/10.
Seek it out if you like music.

 

[jagseven]

You maybe able to do a parts check to see if the hardware has changed over the years.
I do recall reading that there was a software issue a few years back that made the Meridian sound poor but i can’t see that affecting more recent cars.
I have the Meridian surround in my pre-facelift car and all I can say is it’s better than I expected given some opinions - it’s not amazing but definitely more than just ok - it can sound pretty good actually with some tweaking of the settings and a good source (I use Amazon music HD with cable from phone).
I sometimes think the extra power of the surround system (rather than the centre speaker) is what improves things over the standard Meridian system but I haven’t heard one to directly compare.
When I got the car I thought I would probably look at upgrading the system but now I’ve used it more I’m more inclined to leave it alone.

 

[pirateprentice]

Watching the video above, it seems like activating the extra 'surround' drive unit, or even a bigger amplifier, will not improve the sound much.
Anybody have experience of comparing the options?
Seems to be the cheap drivers and acoustically poor door mounting that is the problem.
I'm surprised that Meridian wanted to put their name on it. My stock MY21 does sound quite naff.

 

[Lady Eleanore]

I have one of the requisite codes in my VIN number to "upgrade" to surround sound. So I'm interested in whether it's worth it, especially for £300

 

[ianp]

I have one of the requisite codes in my VIN number to "upgrade" to surround sound. So I'm interested in whether it's worth it, especially for £300

Perhaps we should call you Lindisfarne lol. I have the surround sound version and I'm a big Meridian Hifi user so I would thoroughly encourage the upgrade Alison.

 

[ralphr1780]

I have one of the requisite codes in my VIN number to "upgrade" to surround sound. So I'm interested in whether it's worth it, especially for £300

Equally curious for reading other's experience on how successful this upgrade turns out.

 

[Lady Eleanore]

I have one of the requisite codes in my VIN number to "upgrade" to surround sound. So I'm interested in whether it's worth it, especially for £300

Perhaps we should call you Lindisfarne lol. I have the surround sound version and I'm a big Meridian Hifi user so I would thoroughly encourage the upgrade AMANDA .

Well, my copious Lindisfarne collection might sound better with an audio upgrade

 

[ianp]

I have one of the requisite codes in my VIN number to "upgrade" to surround sound. So I'm interested in whether it's worth it, especially for £300

Perhaps we should call you Lindisfarne lol. I have the surround sound version and I'm a big Meridian Hifi user so I would thoroughly encourage the upgrade AMANDA .

Well, my copious Lindisfarne collection might sound better with an audio upgrade

To be fair, I wouldn't mind upgrading to the same model F-Type as yours, but as a retiree, it's just not going to happen!

 

[V6ontheway]

If you do end up with standard Meridian the video below is a great way to upgrade with premium speakers and sound proofing. I am planing to do mine next week although getting hold of the woofers second hand is tricky. I have ordered those new from Jag.

Tweeters AW9318808AC C2D30486 C2D30486
Mid AW9318808BC C2D2076 C2Z3438
Bass CPLA18808FB C2D24861 LR047119

https://youtu.be/ZecRBquBTtw?si=3RXCQpdC9gH_Q63D

How much are the Subs from Jaguar? is it the Surround sub?

 

[jagseven]

I have one of the requisite codes in my VIN number to "upgrade" to surround sound. So I'm interested in whether it's worth it, especially for £300

Go on Amanda - it’s “only” £300 which must be worth a punt - then you can report back!
If I didn’t already have the surround system I’d be tempted to do this