Replaced the stock Soundplus speaker system

After much effort and time I replaced all of the stock speakers with Infinity Reference speakers. I took a lot of pictures and made notes as I did this, if this has not been chronicled already I would be happy to write up a complete post explaining how this was done. Please advise ladies and gents

I would love to see a writeup!

I'd like to see a write up as well. Is there a noticable increase in the audio quality?

Yes, please write it up. I'm sure I will need to do this eventually. Also, please detail how you got to the rear speakers in the shock towers. I know it's been covered before, but you can't get enough pics or and tips on that procedure. Seems like Porsche made it a bigger PITA than needed for such a routine thing.

I had already removed the CDR24 head unit and replaced it with a Pioneer ABIC930 unit (NAV/DVD/CD/FM/Bluetooth/Back up Camera). As noted in other threads there are eight speakers in the Soundplus package: - there is a 7" woofer and 4" midrange in each door - 4" midranges in the rear of the car, near the infamous tower - 1" tweeters in the dash I bought two pair of Infinity Reference 4" speakers (model 4032CF) from a seller on Ebay for $122 and a pair of 6.5" component speakers (model 6030CS) that include a pair of 1" tweeters for $100. Note that there are really very few options when it comes to replacing the stock 7" speaker, you can buy Pioneer or Kenwood . I don't much care for these brands so I stuck with Infinity knowing there would likely need to be some sort of adapter ring to fit them in the 7" opening.

The stock speakers are from an unknown manufacturer, you can see pictures of them below. Although they don't sound bad I thought an upgrade would be in order. Here you see the 7" opening in the door, and a sheet of thick ABS that Tony used to make an adapter ring. The ring screws into the original screw holes in the doors and adds another 5/8" of flange to attach the new, smaller 6.5" Infinity 6030 speaker

Once the door panel is removed (there's an excellent thread here on Planet 9 that describes how to take it apart) the first thing we did was install the mounting plate and the 6.5" speaker in the door. Next was replacing the stock 4" speaker with the new Infinity (no brainer) and attaching the crossover to the door with velcro.

The stock system uses wiring from the head unit to each individual speaker, in essence the crossover is built into the CDR24 and to some degree small bypass capacitors attached to the speakers. Since we were using component speakers we had to run a wire from the crossover to the 1" tweeters in the dash. It's very easy to replace the tweeters: pull up on the removable speaker grill built into the dash and pull the tweeter out. The stock tweeter has some sort of weird plastic holder, in lieu of trying to replicate it we simply put some foam under the new tweeter and used the top grill plate to exert some back pressure. Looks and works great.

So, we now have the door and dash components installed, the finished product doesn't look any different than before we began. The challenges so far: making the adapter ring, running wire from the crossover in the door to the tweeters on the dash, and almost not being able to put the door panel back on due to the depth of the new 4" speakers. It fits, but it's snug for sure. I knew the adapter ring was required and some wiring, rather than DIY I enlisted the help of Tony (he's been doing installs for a long time and doesn't charge an arm and a leg). Tony is in Vancouver Washington [phone removed] One thing I should point out: when you leave the car doors open for too long the small courtesy lights at the bottom of the doors turn off to conserve power. Don't worry, they'll light up again when you start the car.

Now on to the rear speakers, I figured this would be easy. Remove the grill covers, pop out the 4" speakers, then replace 'em with the new Infinity's and call it a day. Man, was I ever wrong. The speaker grills are built into the plastic housing with the infamous towers, so they have to be removed. We started on the passenger side, there are two screws you need to remove in the compartment where the oil and coolant access is. There are another four clips holding the tower piece in along the bottom, and one in the top near the front. So, the thing should just pop out right? Wrong. There's one screw towards the top middle of the housing, it's put in at a 60 degree angle and is impossible to remove. No matter what we tried there's no way to get the damned thing out , so we used a drill bit and cut the plastic tab off the screw. I told Tony it's my car, go ahead. Now you have the tower out it's dead simple to swap the speakers, then reassemble. Doing the driver's side was easy, as I said to Tony it goes a lot faster when you know what to break (he asked if he can use that phrase on future installs). Does the tower move around, shake, or rattle at all? No, it does not. Why Porsche put the screw in there, and at that angle, is anyone's guess. :crazy: So all told it took 6 hours and Tony charged me $140 for the job.

Finally, how does it sound? I'm an avid audiophile with some pretty elaborate hardware at home, and three guitars I noodle around on. Music really is my passion, hence the changes in the Cayman . I've used Pioneer head units and Infinity Reference speakers before, there's a synergy that just plainly works. I sat in the car with my girlfriend and fiddled with the EQ on the Pioneer head unit , dialing it in so the emphasis is on the mid range, a touchy of bass added and the tweeters kept flat. Does it shake and rattle like a teenage kid's ride? Nope, it's musical. Finally, I do not feel a need for subwoofers or external amplification, the system plays plenty loud without distorting and sounds much better than the stock system. I would say the head unit change brought on a big benefit, but so did the speaker swap. Whenever I read threads here I'm curious what the mods cost, so here's a breakdown (I bought it all on Ebay, roughly 40% cheaper than etailers such as Crutchfield or a brick and mortar store such as Cartoys): Pioneer ABIC930 head unit $615 Pioneer Back Up Camera $150 Eurospeed bracket kit to mount the head unit $250 Infinity Reference Speakers $220 Total hardware cost: $1235 Tony's labor for the head unit, blue tooth mic, and back up camera: $120 Tony's labor for the speaker install (including the brackets he made for the 6.5" door speakers) $140 Complete project cost: $1495

Are you sure that the cross-over is built into the headunit? Reason I ask is that there are 4 speaker pairs coming out of the headunit (left front, right front, left rear and right rear). Because of this, I imagined that the crossovers are built into the amp. This could quickly be confirmed with a quick glance at the outbound amp harness.

Couldn't find an outboard amp in my set up (my original set up was not a Bose system ), Tony sez the head unit separates the outbound wires for the amp outputs and the bypass caps attached to the OEM speaker act as a filter to isolate specific frequencies to the speaker. I was surprised to see they used electrolytic capacitors rather than polypropylene, sooner or later the electrolytic capacitors are going to fail. It's important to note we did not change any of the stock wiring; the Eurospeed kit comes with a wiring harness adapter to plug into the existing bundle, and I didn't see the need to rip out/replace the stock wires.

Wow - I can't understand how Tony stays in business since he only charged you $260 for a complete install. While my install included a Pioneer AVIC headunit and Eurospeed kit it also included removing a Bose Amp and mounting a JL Audio amp in it's place and modifying the OEM cover - as well as speaker install in the front doors and dash and crossover (mine are in the engine compartment) - I didn't do rear spearkers or a rear camera and I paid for 5 hours total labor. I've installed complete stereos on cars before - and I felt 5 hours was reasonable. You are ONE LUCKY individual.

Tony is meticulous, he takes his time and the end result is great. He's pretty laid back, charges what he feels is reasonable. I certainly didn't feel the need to haggle with the lad Incidentally, I stumbled across his services on Craigslist and have referred several people to him. BTW, Tony works alone from his home garage, no employees, and will only accept cash payment. I asked him if he considered working for an established car stereo store, he has no interest in that. He claims he'd make half the money he does now and the car stereo stores are all about pushing sales, not treating their customers right. Unfortunately we ran out of time and I had to head home when the install was done, but I did promise him I'd swing by and we'd go for a run in the Porsche real soon, he's dying to put it through the paces. :burnout:

I believe that the amp is under the passenger seat. I could be wrong though. Ever since replacing my headunit, I've wondered if it puts out more voltage than the outboard factory amp does.

In the Boxster the amp is in the Front Trunk.

I looked in the frunk and under the seats, no amp. Dunno where the thing is, but regardless there's plenty of juice, more than loud enough. One of the really nice things about the Eurospeed install kit is you don't have to sort out all the wiring, it's plug and play. :banana:

Did you look behind the panel in the back of the front trunk near the floor? That is where mine was.

You're absolutely right, I found it in the frunk, beside the toolkit! Already thinking about a Class D amp to replace it :cheers:

Found the mounting adapters for the 7" woofers on Ebay: $24.00 + $9 shipping for a pair (wish I found these before I did my install). I know the link won't last, the seller is mjmautoinnovations in Carnegie, PA, United States 6½" Speaker Adapters Porsche Cayman 2005-2010 Front | eBay Let's you replace factory speakers with 6½" aftermarket speakers -Replaces factory speakers and enclosures -5½" cutout houses most 6½" speakers with no modification -Brand New -1" deep adapters assure no clearance problems -Utilizes existing vehicle mounting points, and requires no cutting or drilling -Kit includes 2 adapters plus hardware -Guaranteed not to rattle -PVC is tough as nails -CNC machined adapters ensure an accurate f it

Hi hawc Looking at replacing my Bose system . Was planning on just replacing the amp and using stock speakers but I think I have found a better solution. My only problem was where to mount my crossovers for my component system. Do you know how big your crossovers are? I would hope to be able to fit my crossovers in the same way. If you're interested this is what I'm thinking about installing. Focal Polyglass 165 VR3 3-way 6-3/4" component speaker system at Crutchfield.com Going to just disconnect the rears as I can't find the matching 4" mids on their own and can save some space with my amp if I just get a 2 channel. Plus I'm not sure I want to tackle what looked like the hardest part of the install. Great write-up by the way!

Hitmanray, The Polyglass crossovers are small you could easily mount them on the doors next to the 6 1/2 woofer. also get some MDF and make a ring to fit the 6 1/2 in the stock 8" woofer spot like I did for my Focal speakers below. My friend who installs a lot of Focal Speakers does that. If you want 4" rears get the Focal KRS100's and you can stack the tweeter on top of the 4" (like a coaxel)and put it in the factory 4" spot behind the seats in the rear hatch. that is what I am join got do

dave-t Do you have experience with the Focals? I am looking at these purely based on reputation. Not actually heard them in a set-up. I would class myself as a mid-level audiophile (all my budget allows for at the moment) but the polyglass 3 way set up seems like a bit of a bargain, given the same tech as in the Berilium range (pretty much) but with cheaper materials. Also have you thought about amps? Keep changing my mind but currently looking at the JL Audio XD200/2 (obv will have to change if I put rears in). The main reason for the XD is I can mount it where the Bose amp is without any mods. The Rock-Fos and Focal Amps I have looked at would need some space creation where the Bose amp currently sits. p.s. hack, sorry I called you hawc. Different thread!

hitmanray, I used to have a lexus is250 and in that car I had a set of KRX2's in the front and a second set in the back alone with a JL 10w6 sub in the trunk. That particular setup was really nice. The K2 line is nice as well as the Utopia Be line which I had in my Cayman and is going into my Cayman R. The Utopia Be #6's I currently have are amazing but also cost $5k with the Crossblock . Instead of putting a set of the Polyglass 3ways 165VR3 I recommend on putting in a set of KRX2's. The cayman has to small of a cabin for a 3 way setup to propelyr sound stage without cutting up your whole interior. I currently have 2 Focal amps but am in the process of selling them ( Focal Dual Monitor and FP1.800LE Mono block sub amp) so I can get a Tru Technology amp $3800.00 6 channel class AB super clean amp. Jl amps are are to bright for my liking, but their subs are the best. Chris at Welcome to CAS Designs does all of my stereo work, could not be more pleased with his work. You will not be disappointed with Focal speakers.

dave-t OK you are obviously the guy I need to be talking to on this one! So did some more poking around and I think you are absolutely right. No point in a 3 way component system for the car. If I go 2 way up front and then do as you suggest for the rears then I will effectively get 3 way anyway, just the front/rear balance may be a bit weird. My only concern is the K2 range only go down to about 70Hz accordingly to the specs I have seen. I had planned to keep the Bose sub and just drive it below the 55Hz low freq of the polyglass line (not even sure if the Bose sub will drive that low anyway). At 70 Hz min range I am guessing I will def need a new sub. Did look at the JL 13TW5. Is 13.5" sub but only 2.5" deep. Figure I could mount it on the engine cover (in a custom enclosure) and not ruin rear visibility. Good to know about the JL Amps being bright. I have a B&W 704 set-up at home running off a Rotel amp and the one thing that bugs me is the brightness. My test track for brightness is MJ's Man in the Mirror. If you can get through the intro of that song at a decent high volume without chringing then you are doing well. Recently auditioned some of the B&W 800 Diamond series and took all my strength not to financially ruin myself! The other thing I'd be interested in is if you have any pics of your old install. I can't figure where all these components are going in such a small space. I am struggling to find room for an amp and the crossovers and you had 2 amps plus the massive crossblock. Also still not quite seeing how you are stacking the rears. Do you mount the tweeter on top of the stock grill, or remove the center cone dust cover thingy and put the tweeter in there?

I'm an avid audiophile with some very high end kit at home, I recognize that car audio is never going to sound as good (no where to mount my turntable) :hilarious: I've listened to Focal's home audio line and their automotive offering. Sound is a highly subjective thing, I'm not a fan of Focals, I find 'em analytical. The Infinity's are a well balanced speaker that seems to be synergistic with Pioneer head units, adding the 6 channel JL amp and now a JL 10" subwoofer and it's all good. For what it's worth the best sounding automotive speaker I've ever heard were Eminent Technology LFT-10's http://www.eminent-tech.com/history/eminentlft10.jpg Eminent Technology, Inc. Planar Magnetic Loudspeakers and Audio Technology Looks like Bruce isn't selling them any more, but I betcha he has a few pairs lying around. Feel free to ping me if you want to talk all things audio