Verdict: Jaguar XF's Bowers & Wilkins System is Banging

A couple of weeks back, John and I took a trip from Seattle to Portland in CarDomain’s 2009 Jaguar XF Supercharged test car. Our goals were simple: John was there to put Jag’s hot new Kitty through its paces, and I was there to evaluate its Bowers & Wilkins sound system. Johnny is my best buddy, and he wanted my opinion on the the stereo because I’m an audioengineer, and I spend virtually every waking second thinking about sound. So obviously, I was stoked to get to spend some quality time listening to music in a beautiful machine.

We started our adventure from Johnny’s place on a Saturday morning. The XF was curbside, laying in wait much like a dog waits for its owner. It was Vapour Grey—which matched the day’s overcast skies like camouflage—and even though it was parked, the car seemed eager for the road. After we sat down on the plush white leather seats, Johnny fired her up, and we both just sat there listening to the 420 horsepower engine purr. It was going to be a good trip. Continue reading after the jump…

As we were settling into the XF, I opened the armrest compartment to find your classic DC plug, a USB cord, and to my surprise, a four-inch iPod cable. After plugging in my iPod, its screen displayed the leaping kitty—nice touch!—and stated that it was safe to unplug it at any time. Now, this was my first time operating the Jaguar XF’s touch-screen, and in about the same time it takes me to figure out most people’s toasters, I heard the "CRASH CRASH CRASH" of "Tired of Sex" from Weezer’s "Pinkerton." This is one of my favorite songs, and I’ve listened to it  on a wide variety of stereos, from the classic Junior High Sony boom box, to high-fidelity home equipment—but I’d never listened to it through a British-designed 14-speaker car stereo.

The audio was routed through a Dolby Pro Logic II 7.1 Surround Sound algorithm, which gives the Jag’s interior the same sound quality and perfect imaging you’d find in a movie theater. I had total control of the subtleties—treble, bass and mid-range—and there was also a discreet sub woofer control. To be honest, I found that the factory settings created a listening experience that I’d be pleased to enjoy in a high-end home theater, let alone out on the open road. The cymbals came across with pristine clarity, and the kick drum poundedwith pure tone and resonance. I was a very happy passenger.

All in all, Bowers & Wilkins has created an amazing package worthy of such an elegant machine. The front doors house a six-inch woofer, a four-inch mid-range speaker, and high-frequency aluminum dome tweeters, while the back doors are the same with the exception of the mid-range units. In the center of the dash, there’s a four-inch driver that’s similar to the full-range four-inch surround sound speakers in the rear storage shelf. There’s also a 10-inch sub woofer in a nine-gallon sealed enclosure under the spare, and it packs some intense low-end punch with absolutely zero trunk rattle—very gangster. Aside from the tweeters, all the speakers are made of rugged DuPontKevlar composite, and everything is driven by a robust 440 Watt Alpine Class AB DSP amplifier. Even when we were moving at a pretty good clip with the windows down, power was never a problem.

While we ripped up the road between Seattle and the City of Roses, we listened to everything from opera to hip-hop, and I was more than satisfied with the Bower & Wilkins system. Not only does it sound freaking amazing, but I trust this system to acurately render what the recording artists were going for, which is about the biggest complement I can give. Read Johnny’s complete review of the XF Supercharged here.