CDR-24 w/Bose to Kenwood DNX6960 self install

So the crappy CDR-24 had to go. I actually really liked the sound quality of the BOSE system , but I needed MP3 support, I just couldn't deal with only 20+- songs per disc!! Also, why not get Navigation, Bluetooth (a must for manual transmissions), and backup camera while at it!! ______________ BEFORE___________________________________________________ AFTER I picked out my parts: Kenwood DNX6960 - wanted a volume knob & disc slot - $800 JL Audio G6600 - needed 6+ channels for all the speakers - $300 - newer model recommendation: JL Audio XD600/6 Boyo back up camera - might as well for - $130 double-din + Bose adapter kit - ebay - $275 RCA wires, speaker wire, etc. - $50+ Total approx: $1600 This was a priceless resource: http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-electronics/28892-recent-dvd-navigation-install-avic-d3.html definitely print these instructions out, if you're going to install a radio yourself These 2 threads helped me run the back up camera: Detector/LIDAR jammer install (9500i, ZR3) tips:Back-up cam, power - Articles (scroll down to the license plate portion) AND http://www.planet-9.com/cayman-boxster-electronics/22579-avic-d3-self-install.html#post456049 You should run the back up camera wire and the illumination & reverse wires all together! This I think should be your first step as it was one of the biggest pains in the butt getting the wires snaked around the motor area and keeping them clear of things all the way up to the front of the car. You could avoid the camera wire & reverse wire, if you don't install a back up camera. And you can also skip the illumination wire, b/c the Kenwood can auto-adjust the brightness based on the time of day/GPS time from the Garmin. When you're removing the interior door sill cover that supposedly just "snaps off" according to some guides. You should loosen the 2 allen head bolts. Look between the seat and the interior door sill cover, you will see 2 black plugs, pull them out and this will give you access to stick an allen wrench in, you'll have to test fit a few sizes since you can't really see in there well. I didn't know this tidbit and cracked a small piece b/c one of the bolts was really tight. If you buy the kit with the BOSE amp adapter, you will need to solder and heatshrink wires on to it like this: this is at the half way point, bottom row soldered & top row still bent up I did this in advance and labelled all the wires, then connected them to my amp. So when it came time to swap, all I had to do was drop in the new amp, unplug old plugs, plug in my giant bose adapter, then connect the remote wire, which I had run separately, and plug in the RCA cables. Do not use the ground from the BOSE harness for your amp's ground, it will give you terrible whine. The speaker channels were run as: Front L&R: dash & door highs Rear L&R: rear pillar speakers Subwoofer L: both door subs run in series, b/c each speaker is only 1 Ohm subwoofer R: passenger footwell sub - wire run directly from amp through firewalls, etc to speaker. Had to disconnect & remove small amp on the box, then wire to both pairs of wires for the sub. (dual voice coil?) Take the speaker off & be sure to match the wires correctly. I used the "battery test" to determine which was positive/negative. Next I ran the wires needed from the front trunk, which were: 3 pairs of RCA cables (front, rear & subs) 1 remote turn on wire 1 speaker wire to passenger footwell 1 ground wire for radio (extra) 1 satellite antenna & wire I ran the RCA, remote & speaker wire up the passenger side of the trunk compartment, I had to remove a large plastic angle mounting bracket to access the large rubber grommet, then passed the wire across toward the windshield to where I had mounted the satelite antenna, then ran all of the wires underneath the wiperblade area across to the drivers side and then down & in to the drivers side grommet. You should also run an extra ground while running these. Nearly everything else is covered in the first link above by Truellionaire. installed w/ custom background: And here's the custom background that I made: Amp in trunk: SPEAKER SIZES: - compiled from other sources, I didn't measure or replace mine. Dashboard - 2 X 25mm neodym tweeters (or 19mm) Center - 1 X 70mm neodym mid range loudspeaker Door - 2 X 80mm (or 100mm) neodym loudspeakers, 2 X200mm Nd low range loudspeakers Rear Sides - 2 X80mm neodym (or 100mm) mid-range loudspeakers Subwoofer in footwell, one 102 X 153mm low range loudspeaker

Also, I had to dig around to find out how to change the BOOT SCREEN: While HU is on, hold down eject + SRC, then hit the reset button (this causes a reboot).. continue holding the eject+SRC down during this reboot, until a screen pops up saying "Kenwood" or "OEM" once this is displayed you can release it. Select OEM, select your USB drive, navigate to the file, select it, hit enter. (takes a while to load to memory) Then hit SRC to power down. I think I had to hit eject+SRC again for it to stop showing the option to pick other backgrounds. Here's the BOOT SCREEN : (used something different for boot, than normal operation) Some earlier models require 16-bit bitmap (.bmp) files. I found his out when helping someone with their custom Mercedes logo recently.

Thank you for sharing... I have to do this!

Various samples I made up. The blue looked best, especially with the blue/black button theme that I use. The other 2 themes: red & brushed aluminum for the buttons don't look right in my car.

Congrats on a clean install, it looks great. I like the home screen as well, nice touch.

Did you replace the Bose amp out of necessity or would it have worked with the - double-din + Bose adapter kit - you purchased?

Very nice! This is very tempting, but the soldering part makes me nervous...

HiFi: The simple answer is YOU SHOULD REPLACE YOUR BOSE AMPLIFIER in the trunk. The small BOSE subwoofer amp inside the car can be used with an aftermarket headunit and line level outputs, however, thats just 1 of your 10 speakers!! However, I removed this amp, and wired the subwoofer to my 6-channel amp . The BOSE amplifier connects to the stock headunit via the MOST (optical) link. The MOST-HUR adapter supposedly can eliminate the need for an aftermarket amp, and allow you to use an aftermarket headunit with the rest of your system (amps/speakers) stock. But I believe the best sounding solution would be to go with an aftermarket amp. I was hesitant initially, and wanted to keep the BOSE amp as I was happy with the sound before. But I can tell you after doing it, the sound quality is even better now. It did take a little time tweaking the 3 different sound panels in the stereo: crossover level, equalizer levels, etc. (all on the stereo, I did not use the HP/LP filters on the amp at all) The highs are crisper, the lows hit harder and crisper too. Overall the sound quality is great. The double din adapter is great for fitting your headunit in to the stock Porsche rails and snapping perfectly in to place and filling the extra space with their faceplate adapter. However, the speaker portion of the wire harness they provide for the headunit only works if you have a non-bose system. If you have a BOSE system your speaker connections are all in the trunk at the BOSE amp, on that giant connector. Thats the extra $25 BOSE adapter ($275 kit) that you have to solder on if you want to use it. You can obviously just cut the Porsche harness off and hardwire everything if you want, and get the $250 kit. But I wanted it reversible and I liked how it makes my amp easily removeable. MrWonder: I have no prior experience with a soldering gun. I started out a little slow, but got good by the 2nd row of connectors. The double din adapter from ebay comes with a wiring diagram, so you will know what pins are what. As for the soldering process: -Take the white plastic piece off the pins on the adapter. -Then bend the top row of pins up & out of the way. (if you were experience you could probably skip this) -prepare all wires (strip them & put a piece of heatshrink on it for later) -solder the connections that you need. -then slide up the heatshrink and shrink it -I soldered the 2 power wires, and the 5 speaker channels. FL, FR, RL, RR, & center. (never hooked up center, but just in case) -then I put the white plastic piece back on just the top row, helps separate your rows - I cut the extra pins not needed off the 2nd row just to clean things up -solder the top row of connectors (2nd half of all the speakers) And your adapter is done! EDIT: ADDED this from another post I made, concerning questions and using a MOST HUR adapter. In my opion you should not use the adapter and go with an aftermarket amp, however, since there is that option, I'll include this for completeness of information: Your options if you have a BOSE system, when changing to an aftermarket headunit: 1. use the MOST-HUR adapter. This allows the new radio to "talk" to the stock BOSE amp. The stock amp needs a fiberoptic input and presumably turns on & off by whether or not there's a signal. 2. change BOSE amp in trunk to an aftermarket amp 3. change BOSE amp in trunk to an aftermarket amp and bypass the subwoofer amp also. notes: center channel not pictured and door highs are part of the "dash" speakers 2 & 3. will require you running RCA (purple wires in diagram) to the aftermarket amp. Also not pictured, but easy to run is a single 12v+ "turn on" (remote) wire. Most installers will probably run a new 12+ power wire to the amp also with a nice heavy gauge wire. I actually used the existing 12v+ rail to supply power to the amp, and use a nut close by for the ground. I've been contemplating running a new power wire since the battery is so close, but truthfully it sounds so good, I've put it off. Everyone who has heard my system cannot believe its stock speakers. Including 2 other Cayman owners who have stock BOSE systems. Part of making the system sound good is tweaking the crossover levels and input levels on the amp, sound levels, etc. 3. shows how i have my 2 door woofers run on the same channel to increase the resistance on the amp (left subwoofer channel), then I have the subwoofer in the footwell run to the right subwoofer channel. <--<< RECOMMENDED CONFIGURATION

Nice job on the install! Looks awesome

I hooked up the subwoofer in the passenger footwell directly to my amp (bypassing the BOSE sub amp). I took both pairs of wires and joined them then connected them to the Right sub channel on my amp. (ie: the dual voice coils are run parallel) It sounds fine so I assume everything is kosher. But I was researching a little more on dual voice coil wiring here: JL Audio - Car Audio Systems And I don't know how many Ohms are on each voice coil, and if I should have run the 2 coils parallel like I did or in a series. edit: I just realized my voltometer has an Ohm setting, so next time I'm playing with things I'll test the subwoofer resistance. edit 2: I assumed b/c the speaker had 4 wires connected to it that it was dual voice coil, but I've been told its single coil and it just has extra wires. Still never got around to testing the Ohms.

Man the install looks great. Mind sharing how you hooked the door subs in series? Did you have to run separate wire to the speakers, or were you able to do it at the connector in the trunk?

You did a beautiful, complete job, straight down to the OEM-looking cover plate and Cayman boot screen. I should replace my PCM 2.1 with your kit - that is incredible. Did you use the stock speakers that come with the Bose system ? I had understood their impedence was very low and tied toward the Bose amplifier operation, so my understanding was they would need to have been replaced if you bypassed the Bose amp . Your car's color is great too.

The faceplate and mounting sides kit, is from Euromotor speed on ebay. $250-275.00 (depending on if you want the Bose amp adapter) Its not "my kit"! Most good amps are capable of handling the 2 Ohn loads fine. All of stock speakers are 2 Ohms, except for the door woofers . Those are only 1 Ohm so you either need to add a resistor (easy) or just put them both in a series on the same channel (even easier). If you read through my other posts you'll see its quite simple. The stock speakers sound good, so I plan on keeping them. Down the road I MAY change them for even higher grade speakers if I can find exact size replacements. If I do that then I'll probably disconnect the sub in the footwell and connect the door woofers to the individual left & right channels instead of both on the same channel. I'm gradually getting everything perfect. I've went back & pulled everything out and moved around wires, b/c I knew the wires were all bunched up back there & wanted to clean things up a little. There are a few more little tweaks I want to do to make sure "everything is perfect". I'm going to be redoing the way I have the amplifier mounted. I took the foam piece off the old cover and screwed it to the plastic, however everything is a little tight, and I'm concerned the plastic wiggles and isn't held in at the bottom, so I'll post back my "fix" for that later. You can see more pics here: Photo Album as I refine things. The original way I hid the amp using the stock piece of plastic:

Thanks for the additional info... I really gotta do this!

Another note: originally I used the +12v and -12v power from the existing Bose amp wire harness, that should be ok for the 12v+, however, for the ground you should use a closer contact point. Or you may get some whine from a poor ground. I found a bolt under the carpet right next to the trunk light and attached a short 12gauge ground wire, with tinned (soldered dipped) ends!

C-rizzle - Nice install mate...!! very impressive Took advice from multiple forums myself to get around my 997 Bose MOST system - new head unit, AVIC-Z120BT and an alpine PDX-5 amp. My Bose is the 11 speaker setup = 3 Dash highs (L + R + Center) - 4 Door speakers (2 Woofers and 2 Mids) - 2 Rear Quarter Speakers (L + R) and Bose Bass Box behind the rear seats (2 x 5.25" Drivers inside bose box w/ small amp) Still trying to figure out the best way to configure the speakers to run off the Alpine PDX-5 Any body know the true impedence of the 5.25" woofers in the BOSE bass box (4th pic) ?? - Anybody had experience hooking these drivers up to an aftermarket amp?? Pics below BTW - This faceplate is from Europe - I love the stock look as this was very important to me PM me for part numbers

Who did you purchase the double-din + Bose adapter kit from? I can only find one that is significantly more than the $275 and it does not have the Porsche lettering.

987 double din items - Get great deals on Electronics items on eBay.com! $274 or directly: http://www.euromotorspeed.com/ or 877-408-(EURO) 3876 The PORSCHE lettering is a little thin sticker that you can put on.... very carefully as its just the letters on a backer sheet!!

sajacr, you can also order the kit directly from euromotorspeed if you didn't want to go through ebay. That's how i ordered my kit, just ask for Loi and he can answer all your questions you may have. Rob

I would love something like but finding somebody to do the work is difficult, especially when you hear some of the horror stories from shitty installs. Unfortunately I'm just not technically minded enough to do it myself. Anyone know of a good installer in the Raleigh area? G

I'd like to know of any good installers in the NY/NJ area if anyone knows of any that could do this GREAT mod. Thanks!

I have just completed my install of the following into my BOSE equiped 987S: - Kenwood dnx5220 dvd sat nav head unit - ipod interface - JL xd600/6 amplifier using resisters for the door subs - Nexxus wiring harness (custom adapted) - reversing camera - full interface with Sony bluetooth system see here for full details: Board Message

Update: I didn't like the flimsy stock piece of carpeted plastic that was over the amp. I had 3 problems: fitment, heat, and appearance So first, things didn't really fit correctly. Everything was just kind of forced in there with the plastic kind of bent, and the 2 clips wouldn't stay in, so I tried bolts and that didnt' work that great either. And the bottom wasn't really secured well Second, the amp couldn't could breathe. I doubt it would have ever been a big issue, but it would be nice if the fins were exposed so it could run cooler. Third, I wanted something to look a little nicer, and possibly showcase the amp. THE RESULT: I used 3/16" masonite with two 2" boards sandwiched between them (1 on top of the amp, 1 below the amp right above the cones. Then I used black laminate on the 2 outside edges. The base board is screwed down with the amp on it. Then the laminated cover board has 2 screws that it screws in to one of the 2" tall boards. I still need to use some Naptha to remove the spray adhesive and vacuum the carpet. This was right after a messy install, and I was soaken wet with sweat, so I called it a night.

I guess I was lucky that I got the later JL amp that is so much smaller so it fits in the cubby. The next project that I'm thinking of is a Boxster specific job: I want to open up the rear sub and replace the BOSE amp in there with a JL item.... but I've no idea what amp to go for that would compliment my xd600/6?

Yeah I wish I had seen the measurements on the XD600. I don't think it was out just yet, when I ordered mine, as I was looking at all the 6 channel amps, that did 2 Ohms. I don't remember seeing the XD600. I'd definitely recommend for anyone doing this to get the XD600/6 as that should fit perfectly where the old BOSE amp was with only a few minor modifications to that area.

Recent Upgrade to Kenwood DNX6960 Here is my recent upgrade to the Kenwood DNX6960 from the sound system plus on my '08 CS. I used the Porsche OEM double DIN bezel painted in grey vs. the full custom kit since I wanted the head unit centered in the bezel. This part is also sold by Euromotorspeed on eBay. The sound is a major improvement over the very poor Becker unit plus all the new features that the Kenwood provides. There were no issues in getting the AMP or the center channel speaker to work. In case anyone is interested, there is a promotion for this Kenwood head unit and iPod cable at Al & Eds online for $850. This store is an authorized Kenwood dealer and the coupon code is dev300. There is also a $100 Kenwood factory rebate through September which brings the total cost to around the lowest you can find (certainly from an authorized store). Enclosed is a copy of my bootup screen.

Re: Recent Upgrade to Kenwood DNX6960 Your post kind of sounds like an advertisement for Al & Eds! How do you hook up your center speaker? I didn't have any dedicated channels not used on the amp, so I wasn't sure the best way to hook it up. I assumed I could either hook it up to the head unit's left + & right - (or vise versa). I was afraid to do it on the amp like that (ie: left + & right -) as I wasn't sure how that would affect the impedence and wattage, etc. I assumed if I connected it that way it might get twice the wattage as if I'm running channels 1 & 2 mono.

I took the centre speaker out. why do you need it? pointless imho. And, as for connecting it, if you have a mono output from your amp, you could parallel connect it maybe? test the resistance to estimate the impedance.

Same for me in the Houston area?

C-riz can you make a full size version of the above background that's located bottom row, middle column? The one with just the crest and no model script. Thanks!