[Ken4]

I don't know why, but I thought you had the AKG system and you were upgrading that?

 

[LarryO]

Not on this XT4. Have AKG in my ‘24 Escalade which I love!

 

[Ken4]

A '24 Escalade, yes a nice vehicle. The 2025 XT4 that I have now has the AKG stereo and It is waaay... better than the base. I would not have bought another XT4 with the base sound system after having one in my 2021. I did the front speakers on that and was considering doing the rear speakers with a small woofer unit but I bought a newer model instead. The front speakers did help though. I am kind of a stereo person

 

[LarryO]

This is our third XT4. Had a ‘19 and ‘22. The ‘19 had the Bose system which was just OK. The ‘22 had the base system which actually sounded better than the Bose. This ‘25 sounded flat and muffled, no bass and tinny sound. The JBL’s I installed are absolutely incredible! What a difference! The factory speakers I took out have paper cones and the magnets are 1/4 the size of the JBL’s. I don’t know what GM was thinking but they failed miserably on the ‘25 base system.

 

[Ken4]

I think the best sounding factory system I have had was a Harmon Kardon in my 2013 Buick Regal. Did you use the foam speaker housings in your installation.

 

[Ken4]

I used these when I did my speaker install, keeps speakers dry when water gets in the door. Factory speakers have shields built into the plastic housing. Got them at Crutchfield.

 

[LarryO]

I think the best sounding factory system I have had was a Harmon Kardon in my 2013 Buick Regal. Did you use the foam speaker housings in your installation.

I did not use them as they were not recommended by Crutchfield when I bought the JBL’s. Here is a pic of what I took out. They have no weight to them and looks and sounds what came in my 1981 Pontiac Grand Prix with the base Delco AM/FM radio. 😂

 

[Ken4]

I think the best sounding factory system I have had was a Harmon Kardon in my 2013 Buick Regal. Did you use the foam speaker housings in your installation.

I am mistaking on the Buick being the the best stereo. I forgot about my 2016 XTS platinum with the Bose, that one was great. How could I forget, I would go out in the garage and blast some favorite tunes from time to time. That car was awesome, wish I had never sold it.

 

[LarryO]

I am mistaking on the Buick being the the best stereo. I forgot about my 2016 XTS platinum with the Bose, that one was great. How could I forget, I would go out in the garage and blast some favorite tunes from time to time. That car was awesome, wish I had never sold it.

I think the best system I had was back when I had a 1986 Grand National with the RPO UX1 factory AM/FM/cassette with equalizer. I added an Alpine amp and Alpine speakers. T-tops off and loving it! Like you, wish I still had that car!

 

[Ken4]

I think the best system I had was back when I had a 1986 Grand National with the RPO UX1 factory AM/FM/cassette with equalizer. I added an Alpine amp and Alpine speakers. T-tops off and loving it! Like you, wish I still had that car!

We had 2 cars both 2016, an XTS and a Regal. Went to 1 car so we kept the Buick Regal because I bought it for my wife as a surprise Christmas present. Shortly after we sold the XTS someone pulled out in front of us at the last second and the Regal got totaled and I was without any car. Bummer.. This is how I got into the XT4's. I would still be driving that Regal if it was not totaled. That 2.0 turbo is different than what we have now, that car flew and was loaded to the max. With the Regal gone I would have kept the XTS.

 

[LarryO]

Update:
To top off my new upgrade to my 4 door speakers, I just replaced the top center dash speaker with a JBL Club 34F. With the jumper wire harness, I installed it in 20 minutes. Sound is greatly improved up front and center! Got my whole setup from Crutchfield. They are awesome!

 

[CCA]

Update: Just completed speaker upgrade on my 2025 XT4 PL. Took me every bit of 4 hours as I took my time. Door panels were easier to remove than I thought. Once you get them started at the bottom corners the rest is easy. They are very tight though at the bottom. A few clips on the rear door panels were left behind in the door but had the right tool to get them out and replace on the panel. The new JBL speakers came with a roll of foam tape which I applied to the back of the speaker frame before mounting them in the adapter brackets. The factory speaker brackets had foam tape on them where the bracket touches the door frame and carefully peeled it off and re-used for all new speaker brackets and worked great! I wrapped the wire harness adapters and connector in Fabric fleece electrical tape and zip tied the harness to the tab on speaker for all 4 doors to omit any rattle. After all speakers were installed, I tested BEFORE I reinstalled the door panels. Re-installed all door panels. Drove around with audio off to check for any rattles. None. A HUGE night and day difference from the factor crappy speakers! Bass is punching and mid's and highs are crisp and clean!

One note: If you do not disconnect the negative cable on the battery before you start, (which I didn't) you will get a OnStar Red light on the overhead console and OnStar will be inoperable. I called them and told them that I replaced the door speakers and they diagnosed that there was a code stored that there is no communication in the door modules. They did a OTA reset for the OnStar module and light then turned back to Green and all back to normal.

Hope this helps to contribute as others have in upgrading your '25 XT4 sound system. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to help.

Thanks for the review! Question for you, do you notice any difference in the noise cancellation aspect of the system? I've read that replacing the speakers effects it. Thanks again!

 

[Radiant XT4]

Ok. Just wanted to share this because if you're disappointed with the non AKG sound system, changing the front and rear door speakers makes an amazing difference. I replaced the front with infinity reference 6x9s with the adaptors and wiring kit that plugs into factory door wiring. And replaced the rear with JBL 6 1/2 . Both coaxial and the car sounds clean and added enough lower bass that was non existent is now there with with the JBL speakers . I personally like it. No rattles. I am glad I did this, my wife and I love the car, I wasn't happy with the sound . Cost less than $200 with all the adaptors are free if you buy speakers from crutchfield . Anyway. Hope this helps someone. Took some pictures. 😉
View attachment 671704
View attachment 671705

hi, if you still have the old speakers could you put a multi meter on one and tell me the amount of ohms your read (impedance). Thanks
Neil

 

[Radiant XT4]

I don't know why, but I thought you had the AKG system and you were upgrading that?

I just purchased 3600 mile certified preowned 2024 xt4 sport. It has the seven speaker system. I ordered a set of JL audio 6 x 9 and 6 1/2 inch from Crutchfield, to replace all the door speakers they should be here on Friday. I'm an old guy but from 79 to 89 I had a car stereo business up in New York. I've been in Florida for 30 years, and still taking cars apart and working on sound systems of my own. I did the same speaker upgrade in my 2020 Honda passport which I still own an excellent improvement.

 

[LarryO]

hi, if you still have the old speakers could you put a multi meter on one and tell me the amount of ohms your read (impedance). Thanks
Neil

Still have the factory speakers. The front door speakers measure 2.9 ohms and the rear door measure 2.7 ohms. Hope this helps.

 

[Radiant XT4]

Still have the factory speakers. The front door speakers measure 2.9 ohms and the rear door measure 2.7 ohms. Hope this helps.

Yes, thank you Larry for your response. I actually changed them all out yesterday and your measurements are correct. I put a set of JL audio in the front and rear doors sounds so much better not a giant increase in base but way more definition and enjoyable.. I have noticed that I have to crank the volume up slightly more since the speakers are four ohms, which is OK because it’s making the amplifier work a little bit harder push a little more power out.

 

[LarryO]

Yes, thank you Larry for your response. I actually changed them all out yesterday and your measurements are correct. I put a set of JL audio in the front and rear doors sounds so much better not a giant increase in base but way more definition and enjoyable.. I have noticed that I have to crank the volume up slightly more since the speakers are four ohms, which is OK because it’s making the amplifier work a little bit harder push a little more power out.

Glad it worked out for you! I went with the JBL Club series and they are rated at 3 Ohms and happy with the Bass punch but did have to set bass on EQ to 9 to achieve my preference. I’m sure you will now be happy with your upgrade as I am with mine!

 

[Gary Lef]

I did a speaker upgrade in my 2024 XT4, hoping the sound would be much better. This is the second set of speakers. The first were Pioneers which were fine and now I have Infinity Reference in the front and JBL's in the rear thinking these are the ones to up my sound. They do sound good but I was hoping for more bass. I want more bass! I had an under-the-seat powered sub with the Pioneers but the ANC didn't like the bass and would cut the bass out so I took the sub out. It would work on lower volumes but the bass would get cancelled out when I increased the volume. Crutchfield says you can't add a sub or amp with the ANC and that you have to unhook the ANC. I'm not willing to do that nor do I know how to do that. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was hoping to download an equalizer in the car from the play store but that's not one of the apps I can download. Thanks

 

[LarryO]

I totally understand your issues. Doing my research for my’25 XT4 with Crutchfield and what I wanted to achieve, I was paired with the JBL Club series front and rear doors and the speakers are rated at 3 ohms which matches the factory amp. I too like the punch of bass and the JBL’s deliver what I was looking for. In audio settings on the screen, I set my bass level to 9 and treble to 1 and left the mid at 0. I also replaced the center dash speaker as well with JBL Club 34F. Based on the factory amp, this is the best that I can get. I listen to SXM a lot but use Tidal most. This car isn’t set up from the 80’s where you can get a sweet Alpine head unit, amp, eq, and the all to favorite rear package shelf 6X9’s and have a whole wire harness plugged into a 20amp fuse under the dash!😆 I also have. ‘24 Escalade with AKG and sounds just OK at best. Not changing anything there.

 

[MHT]

I find the OEM sound system in our 2024 XT4 to be very lacking. It is not a Bose Sound System and I have not seen anything indicating what it is. It is really hard to believe that Cadillac would find it acceptable to have this sound system in any Cadillac especially a Premium Luxury model.