Sound-system design on the new Jaguar XJ

According to Stuart Nevill, a senior applications engineer at Bowers & Wilkins, the speakers in the XJ are of an infinite baffle design. That differs from the earlier XK model which, due to space restrictions, used one ported subwoofer in a sealed enclosure to enhance the bass from the system. In the XJ, Nevill said, the number of subwoofer drivers obviated the need for such a ported design, allowing the company to produce a cleaner sound.

Creation of the bespoke speakers demanded that the Bowers & Wilkins engineering team took into account the form factor of the drivers, especially when designing the speakers for the doors. A compromise had to be met to produce drivers with profiles that would not only fit into the door well at a depth that was both shallow, yet deep enough, to provide the required movement of the voice coil.