Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post - 2013 XC60 "Premium" Sound System Specification

jronnquist · Sep 5th, 2021, 02:07

Having dealt with all the engine issues (one oil leak, one leaking radiator and one split vacuum actuator feed line) on my recently acquired D5 XC60, I am now turning to the sound system. It's not broken, per se, but to call it premium is certainly being very generous. The fidelity is tolerable to about halfway up the volume scale and rapidly descends into pure noise after that. As someone who likes their music loud and clean, I am going to have to do something about this.

Unfortunately, I have had little success so far in ascertaining exactly what the 2013 Premium Sound setup actually consists of. Volvo's own press piece on the XC60 for the 2013 model year describes it thus:

"The most advanced audio unit, Premium Sound, has a Class D digital 5x130W amplifier with circuits from Swedish experts Anaview, Dolby Digital in combination with Dolby Pro Logic II Surround, the latest MultEQ from Audyssey Laboratories and 12 loudspeakers."

But this seems inaccurate to me. I've had the driver's side door panel off and there's one paper cone mid in there with a tweeter up top. Assuming all four doors are the same, that's 8 speakers. There's also something under the grill mesh on the dash, but it's definitely not a sub. And if it is, it's not one any audiophile would take seriously.

The claim of a 5-channel amp pushing 130W per channel also sounds dubious. My last car was running a 4-channel Kenwood amp at 100W per channel, and that setup (paired with 4 JBL Stage 600CE 50W component speakers) makes what I'm hearing in the Volvo sound like pure garbage by comparison.

So unless I've got this all wrong, the sound system in my car - which is labelled "Premium Sound" - is either not what Volvo is describing above, or it is and the hardware just isn't fit for purpose. Assuming it is the first, does anyone know what the system I have might be and what the spec is for it?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Once I have some idea of what I'm dealing with, I will come up with an effective way to overhaul without replacing the factory head unit and get a post up and running on here to track my progress in case anyone is interested.

Sep 5th, 2021, 02:07	#1
jronnquist New Member Last Online: Sep 5th, 2021 13:10 Join Date: Feb 2021 Location: Basingstoke	2013 XC60 "Premium" Sound System Specification Having dealt with all the engine issues (one oil leak, one leaking radiator and one split vacuum actuator feed line) on my recently acquired D5 XC60, I am now turning to the sound system. It's not broken, per se, but to call it premium is certainly being very generous. The fidelity is tolerable to about halfway up the volume scale and rapidly descends into pure noise after that. As someone who likes their music loud and clean, I am going to have to do something about this. Unfortunately, I have had little success so far in ascertaining exactly what the 2013 Premium Sound setup actually consists of. Volvo's own press piece on the XC60 for the 2013 model year describes it thus: "The most advanced audio unit, Premium Sound, has a Class D digital 5x130W amplifier with circuits from Swedish experts Anaview, Dolby Digital in combination with Dolby Pro Logic II Surround, the latest MultEQ from Audyssey Laboratories and 12 loudspeakers." But this seems inaccurate to me. I've had the driver's side door panel off and there's one paper cone mid in there with a tweeter up top. Assuming all four doors are the same, that's 8 speakers. There's also something under the grill mesh on the dash, but it's definitely not a sub. And if it is, it's not one any audiophile would take seriously. The claim of a 5-channel amp pushing 130W per channel also sounds dubious. My last car was running a 4-channel Kenwood amp at 100W per channel, and that setup (paired with 4 JBL Stage 600CE 50W component speakers) makes what I'm hearing in the Volvo sound like pure garbage by comparison. So unless I've got this all wrong, the sound system in my car - which is labelled "Premium Sound" - is either not what Volvo is describing above, or it is and the hardware just isn't fit for purpose. Assuming it is the first, does anyone know what the system I have might be and what the spec is for it? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Once I have some idea of what I'm dealing with, I will come up with an effective way to overhaul without replacing the factory head unit and get a post up and running on here to track my progress in case anyone is interested.