Which headunit is the best out there now?

Hello, I want to replace the Bose OEM unit in my 2006 CS. i have read about poor GPS capabilities with the Pioneer units (AVIC 120bt). How does the Alpine and Kenwood fair in comparison? and I read about using the MOST HUR to install it. Is the kit from Euromotorspeed the best way to do the install? Seems pricey at $750 for the kit? any input would be great! thanks!

Looks like a lot of people are going for the Pioneer NEX... Series. The NEX8000 has the capacitive touchscreen. I however went with the Parrot Asteriod Smart which runs on Andriod. Hopefully I'll get a chance to install it this weekend. Like you I've got the Bose system so after quite a bit of research I decided to go with the Eurospeed Bose Kit. If you want to purchase the standard installation kit then you will need to switch out the Bose amp for a good aftermarket one. The one thing you have to be careful with is that if you keep the Bose speakers than you'll have to find an aftermarket amp that has a lower Ohm signal I believe (not really electrical savvy). There should be some threads on here with what will work. The kit is kind of pricey but it comes with great customer service from what I hear. The manufacture will help facilitate whatever it takes to get it installed right.

I've had a Z110-BT for 4.5 yrs - upgraded to Z140 software and current maps. I don't hear many complaints about GPS accuracy and mine isn't a problem. Granted I wouldn't use it to drive my car into my garage with the windows covered. And the routing sometimes has problems. Most complaints are with the BT phone quality (callers complain about sound). I used the Eurospeed kit - but I don't have Bose (thankfully). I highly recommend the products and support.

I also have an older Pioneer Nav unit (x930-BT). Navigation is pretty decent, although I will say it's not as user friendly as Garmin. Kenwood Head Units use Garmin for their nav. I have bose, used the Eurospeed kit with the optical adapter ($800 including the bezel and they did the soldering for the Pioneer Harness). Not cheap, but it has the upside benefit of avoiding any buzzing that can sometime happen with grounding problems. Let me keep the amp and speakers which all would have needed replacement if I decided to chuck the Bose system .

I just upgraded to the Kenwood DNX891HD, I like the Kenwood because it has Garmin NAV.

If you are a iPhone guy you might want to consider one of the Pioneer CarPlay head units. My stereo guy told me they are out now. Some older ones can get a firmware upgrade to run that too.

I've been out of the loop for a while, so this Eurospeed Bose kit will work with a standard harness from an aftermarket head unit? I haven't upgraded my system because I didn't want to rip out all the stereo system just for an updated head unit. Going to have to read up on this. Thanks

You'll splice the wiring harness that comes with your new head unit to the Eurospeed Bose wiring harness. Then it will plug directly into the car's existing wiring harness. Basically it's totally reversible if you decide to put the OEM head unit back in. I just installed mine about a week ago. Wasn't all that difficult. The wiring diagram for the Eurospeed harness is based off of pioneer and kenwood wiring harness so if you go with a different manufacturer than the colors might not match up perfectly. It's not a big deal. Just make sure you double check what each wire is on the head unit and match them up appropriately. I had to do this with my Parrot head unit and got everything right the 1st time. Here's a couple good threads to read through. http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-...7-cayman-boxster-electronics/56234-latest-head-unit-replacement-avic-120bt.html http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-boxster-electronics/80561-parrot-asteroid-smart.html

Thanks for the reply. Any chance of getting the installation/wiring diagram? I'm curious just how easy or difficult this will be (I've never had to install a head unit). But I have the regular factory (without GPS) and I've been itching to get one that supports Apple's Car Play. Appreciate the links to the threads. Thanks

I put an 8000NEX in my 05 BoxsterS about 6 months ago and upgraded the firmware for Carplay when it was made available around September. I used the NAV-TV adapter and kit and installed a SiriusXM module also. I have had no problems so far. I have a ProClip holder with lightening connector that plugged into the rear of the HU and now just slide my iphone5 into the holder for use with Carplay and for charging. I can use either the Pioneer NAV in native mode or the Apple Map in Carplay mode. Both work and both have their pros and cons. The sound quality is far better than the CDR 24, one reason being the equalizer on the Pioneer. The hands free phone is great with the top up but is worthless with the top down. I didn't get a Boxster to talk on the phone or have high quality music with the top down so no complaints there. I think this was a good solution for my needs and I would recommend it, however, it was very pricey. I also had mine installed by CustomSounds who did a very professional job, started in the morning and finished by afternoon.

I researched other brands and they were similar except one thing. One USB port. I wanted Android Auto (it has apple too) and Waze. In Chicago there are alot of speed traps. I went with JVC KW-M730BT. $310. It has everything I want plus TWO ports. One for my USB stick and one for my phone. I didn't want to swap them out everytime.

I went for the same unit, I use it with CarPlay and it's brilliant. One niggle I have at the moment is the brightness at night. Need to connect it to the dimmer properly, using the unit's built in dimming does nothing.

I just installed this Android head unit (see link below) into my 09 Cayman with CDR30 Sound Plus (ASK no Bose). Although it is listed on EBAY for the 06-08 Cayman, it worked just fine with no install kit or additional harness required aside from a metal cage that I modified and a short jumper wire to power the amp. In fact there was no need to run any power wires from the fuse box. It came from Hong Kong and included no directions for installation so I had to do quite a few searches to figure it out. I'm sure a pro would have no trouble. The wiring harness also includes Canbus decoder that allows song titles, radio station info etc to show below tach display like the CDR30. Pretty much plug and play. I had also purchased an Alpine amp to replace ASK, but found the sound much improved so decided to wait until the ASK dies to replace it. No wires needed to be cut so that I can put the CDR30 back in later if I sell the car. We'll see how it holds up. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Android-7-...-for-Porsche-CAYMAN/112561064774?hash=item1a35298b46:g:kP0AAOSw311Zt7vc&vxp=mtr

Thanks for posting this! I have been considering an upgrade for my R, but hadn't seen a complete setup like this. Any issues/niggles that you have encountered from a functionality standpoint? I am primarily interested to use with Google Music, and occasionally Google Maps. What was the cage mod you had to do? Don't suppose you have any notes on what you needed to do for the install? I am seriously thinking of going this route.

Check your messages. PM sent.

I’ve developed software for both Android and iOS, and don’t have a particular objection to the Google ecosystem. But, my personal phone is iOS - so that’s what my comments are limited to. I think when people buy aftermarket radios, they tend to go by feature list. This is wrong. The most important factor in an aftermarket stereo is interface. It doesn’t matter if one has more features if you have to waddle through 10 menus to get to it - that’s unsafe. Particularly in a car with a manual. The best two in my opinion are the Sony XAV-AX200SXM and the Alpine iLX-107. The Sony screen is mediocre and it’s resistive touch, meaning it’s slow and imprecise - but that is par for the course. It’s a very simple, intuitive interface. Plug your phone in and it works. I have this in my Audi TT, and I like that it has a physical volume knob. Getting Siri is simply pushing that knob in. The Alpine has a better screen, but the killer feature is Bluetooth CarPlay , meaning wireless. It connects automatically, and if you need power, you can just throw it in the center console. The downside is the interface is worse, and the tiny volume buttons are a pain to use while driving. Both of these support Android CarPlay , IIRC. Both are great choices.

I just had a Alpine ILX-107 installed, I boutght an adapter from ebay for $94 to retain the bose amp and speakers. Added a back up camera and the POR install key. The system is awesome...love it. Looks great, works even better.

Which Porsche do you have? I am guessing it’s the 987 from the numbers.

Yep 987...

It works great..I used the Alpine tune it app to fine tune to the sound parameters like parametric eq, time alignment, fader, subwoofer and expansion. The installer did not do this step which was fine as I have significant audio experience. Getting the time alignment set up correctly was the most critical component (Use a measuring tape and measure the distance to each speaker from your ear. This was done when Bose designed the system however when you put in t a new head unit this needs to be done and is easily set with the Alpine Tune It App. The sub in this car absolutely is well tuned and adequately powered for the car. The Alpine unit is a dream it connects wirelessly to my phone for apple carplay in about 4 seconds which is about the time I finished backing out using the rear view camera. Zero regrets on this setup. Paired it Apple Music subscription and it's a dream no reason to ever use satellite radio again.. IMO The bose used a surround processing system that worked well for what it was that is not going to replicated using another head unit. The center speaker on the dash will go away. However the upside of using the the adapter I purchased on ebay for $94 and the alpine unit with the tune it ap totally blows the original system away. The bose speakers and bose amp are perfectly matched and tuned to the car. Losing the surround set up is no big deal in a properly tuned car, surround is not part of original music recordings anyway. Happy to help anyone who needs more guidance. Alpine ILX-107

I think the best is the easiest to use. My 987 previous owner put in a Kenwood DNX891HD. Top of the line, Garmin, lots of flexbity. I think the most important thing when driving as I do is to keep my eyes on the road. I found the $1100 Kenwood’s touch screen impossible to see with my sunglasses on, the menus unintuitive, and myself unable to use the thing while moving. I just pulled it and put in a low-end Kenwood DPX502BT with buttons and dials, and a clear LED screen. Has virtually all the funcitonality of the high end unit including voice control of the hands free phone (except Nav, but I have the phone for that, too.) Tactile feedback is great. Simple to use, safe to use. Functionality and ease of use are the key to being satisfied, I think.

Strongly agree. This is why the more expensive aftermarket radios are not worth the money. They just pile more and more features in. Maybe this was impressive back in the 90s, but today simplicity in UI Is all that matters.