Subwoofer ideas for a C2 coupe?

I made the mistake of buying a 996 with a base sound system (although everything else in the car was great, so maybe it was an OK choice after all), and the absolute absence of bass is starting to get to me. I upgraded the dash and rear speakers to Focals, and it's worlds better, but still an absence of bass, so I'm trying to figure out what to do. I don't want to install a huge rear shelf subwoofer setup - I use the car to go skiing and I'd prefer to keep most of the space there for the snowboard and ski sets. I also ferry around suitcases and so on, so I don't want an insane setup. It seems like something close to the original Bose was probably the best I'd hope for. I've looked around but mostly people install pretty serious subs in the back. What are my options for an ultra-slimline install that would just create some bass? (considering I have zero now, any amount would literally be an infinite improvement...) I thought of maybe installing into the front doors (currently nothing there, as it was a base 4-speaker system) but I suspect the rattle will be awful. Thanks!

My suggestion would be going with the standard setup in the doors if you can source it then if you dont like it you can upgrade those. Would be a good starting point and provide a good platform to upgrade from. Would your amp support it? I.e. is it a 6 channel or 4 channel amp?

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I have no amp right now (powering from the HU) so I'd need to get one - I'd just get something "decent" and throw it in the frunk, I suppose, though I'm not looking forward to the wiring... When you say "standard setup in the doors" - you're saying switch the door panels for ones that have speaker mounts, put 6.5"s in there and make it into a 6-channel setup, and avoid installing a woofer for the time being? Won't that still sorely lack bass though? I'm sure it'll help having slightly larger speakers, but if memory serves from past audio installs I've done, 6.5s won't have much of a bass line either.

I see, having an amp will greatly improve the sound out of your foacals (in my experience) head units can only provide so much power and quality. I'd say get an amp first, redo the wiring to your current speakers as step 1. Then next step yes standard door panels and 5 1/4" subs on a channel amp (don't forget you can install 2 6.5" door subs one per side) I think that's plenty for a 996 cabin IMO. Otherwise anywhere else you put the subs you'll be reducing cabin space. Unless you dont use your rear seats then you could put one in its place. Guess you could put 2 in if you wanted! I'm sure others will chime in with more 996 related experience.

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Oooh you're saying put *subs* in the doors, not speakers, eh? That might be a good option indeed! But I'm concerned about rattle. The doors are sort of flimsy already, it seems ... Definitely can't remove rear seats - have a regular passenger in the back with his mini-Recaro.

Yep, door subs! Line them with Dynamat, it fixes everything

Someone is selling door speakers here: https://rennlist.com/forums/parts-ma...-part-out.html

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These aren't woofers, though?

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More to use the mounts for your own speakers

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Oh yeah, good point, that does make sense.

The cabriolet with Bose has a small sub box on the console side of the passenger footwell. You may want to look into that; there are a few on Ebay for $250-300. IIRC Del Rey Customs also makes a modified unit with a significantly better woofer installed.

If you don't mind losing the rear foot well(s), I've seen some nice custom enclosures done there. Without doing something crazy you're not going to get window rattling bass, but a little 7"er or 2 will give you enough to round out the sound profile nicely in a good enclosure.

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Hmm, that could be an interesting option as well! I'll take a look - thanks. Might make wiring easier, too. Can't lose rear footwells... have a rear passenger who's already sort of beginning to whine that the space is limited, hehe. But yeah definitely not looking for wild bass. Just a bit better sound profile.

The stock "door subs" are 5 1/4" not 6.5 ". In addition, they're very shallow - so if you plan on using anything other than the stock speakers (I forget the manufacturer, but it's not a recognizable brand - and they're not very good) plan on doing some modifications... Oh yeah, the stock speakers are also 2 ohm - unless you're using the stock 6 channel amp, this shouldn't make any difference. Good luck

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Good pickup, 5 1/4 not 6.5. Having two small subs in the doors would be better than not having them. Anyway the OEM manufacturer is Haes unless the car has the Bose setup.

I think my best option is to find alternates, but it doesn't sound like an easy task considering shallow depth, hmm.

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I've seen it done on here before so its not impossible

Do you have the Bose speaker system, with a "band pass" unit behind the rear seats that has two ports? Inside that are two drivers (5 1/2", IIRC). If so, install a decent power amp and head unit, match the resistance properly (those rear drivers are each 1 ohm. They need to be connected in series to run off of most power amps. Set the cross-overs, and play with the EQ. You will probably be surprised at the amount of bass you can get from the existing speakers.

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I put 6.5's in my doors no problem. The door panels have a purpose made sealed space behind the speakers.

When I changed my HU for a double din Pioneer I also had a 5 channel Alpine amp installed in the factory location in the frunk. Then I changed the door and dash speakers for great quality ones and then my shop made a custom encloisure to go where the Bose one goes since I did not want to compromise the rear storage area. I don't carry people back there but we use this car for trips and need the additional space. The sub is an 8" one and the sound is glorious, not too much bass but the perfect complement to the mids and highs. Almost as good as the engine Anyways, this was not cheap but I am too old to fold myself into a car for stereo upgrades and the shop did an amazing job. It looks factory!

"I put 6.5's in my doors no problem. The door panels have a purpose made sealed space behind the speakers." "No problem" is sort of a loaded statement, and highly subjective at best. Perhaps no problem for you, but a non-starter for some...

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I don't have a Bose system (had I had it, I probably wouldn't be in nearly as much of a pickle). You're suggesting I should find that bar for sale somewhere and install it, then run some wires? It might work, I was thinking of this - only problem is, I looked on eBay and people seem to want $600 for it, which completely inane considering one can get a custom setup for that... Which brand/model of 6.5s did you get? Did you fit them into the existing brackets or did you have to chop and saw?

Speakers are: Polk Audio DB651s Slim-Mount 6.5-Inch Coaxial Speakers (Pair) There was some cutting required. It took 2 minutes per side with a hacksaw. Then I epoxied the surfaces to make them level and t fill holes. Last step was to screw in the speakers with silicone sealant. The second pix is the cutting, the first is the epoxying. The third is the silicone prior to screwing the speaker in. So not too difficult if you can use basic tools. If you are all thumbs (DPORTO) you will stall out removing the door card. The speakers don't rattle in the doors.

I put an 8" Bazooka tube behind the rear seats. It fits right into the space and is mostly hidden from view. The benefits of this setup is that the sub is powered (has it's own amp) and can also run off the rear speaker leads. I ground it at the rear under the foamy carpet and ran power to the battery under the centre console. It can be removed anytime you need the space you just unplug the unit and leave the harness aside. It doesn't look great as far as presentation goes, but you dont notice it from inside the car just if you look in the rear from the outside.

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Nice. How do you find the bass though, considering these are basically midrange speakers? This wasn't what I had in mind when I was thinking subwoofers in the doors, but if this is the only way ...

The bass is fine for me. Given that the music has to compete with a loud engine I think was a good choice. I have a modest sized Alpine Class D amp that takes up the space where the disc cassette was. Real subs need a much large amp and I didn't want to lose the storage space. It's not a competition system. My MR2 Spyder system sounds better but it has a 300 W amp, high end JL Audio speakers and a small JL Audio sub. I pointed out that 6.5's fit in the doors thinking that the OP might put subs in there, although at 6.5" some would call them mid bases.

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As I said, I'm definitely not looking for earth-shattering bass - so I'm really glad to hear that door-mounted mids at 6.5 make enough sound to make it worthwhile. What do you have in your dash and rear panels?

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2 minutes per side cutting with a hack saw? Sounds unlikely at best...Looks like a bit of a "hack job", but functional. The only big negative in my book is that those aren't subs, and if they're being fed by the stock amp (which is a 2 ohm crossed over/lp signal) I doubt they sound very good or any better than the stock speakers. **I've had both door cards off speakers out etc... I thought I was going to have to replace my subs, but it turned out that the screws were just loose - a little blue loctite took care of them.

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Jeez man, why did you decide to get on my case? I did the work and I know what it took to do it. You haven't but you've decided to interpret my work for others? To set you straight. It took me 2 minutes a side to cut off the plastic in the way. There isn't much plastic to be removed. My craftsmanship that you have decided to diss is 100% appropriate for work inside a door. I did the work 2 years ago and no problems so far. The speakers aren't subs. I didn't want subs. Subs could be installed the same way, that was my point. If you read all the posts, I replaced the stock amp with an Alpine Class D. If you care, it took lots longer to mount the amp than the door speakers. The door speakers sound way better than the stock paper coned 5.25". Way better. 18 year old paper speakers are at end of life. If you want mega bass this approach is not for you, but it fits nicely into the car and is easy enough to install. I was trying to help the OP with an option, nothing more. I was not the first to put 6.5's in the doors. A search will find a much more detailed explanation that I used as a reference.

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Wow... easy there bruthah! Whatever you say

I read ditto's post a year or so ago.....bought a bunch of parts to upgrade my stereo and then started a kitchen remodel which took all of last year. Now I'm going to pull the parts out and upgrade in the upcoming month or two. Here's my parts and thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...o-upgrade.html

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Ooh. I may want this? Are you going to sell these, or?

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Not going to sell them.....just getting around to putting them in. The amp is nice and compact and has a high output. I'll post pictures of my install as I do it.

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Oops, misread your post. Please do post pics of the install. That amp looks very compact, I might actually consider getting that to avoid losing any space elsewhere in the car.

For anyone interested, I replaced my dash speakers using Polk Audio DB461P 4-by-6-Inch Coaxial Plate-Style Speakers. This work required a higher skill level. I harvested the individual speakers from the plates and installed them into the Porsche receptacles. It required some careful cutting as well as epoxying. The replacement system is a huge improvement over what was there.

One way of preserving rear legroom and having a sub is to place a custom subwoofer enclosure in the location where the 996 cabs had one in the passenger footwell. http://www.billjehle.com/PORSCHE/console.html This is sealed and takes an 8" subwoofer. https://www.crutchfield.com/S-Nqg6oT...***-21-V2.html I bought the 996 console subwoofer box and the above Focal 8" sub for my '02 996 cab which got totaled by a 17 year old kid pulling out in front of me. I didn't get to install the parts but would be willing to sell them for a good package deal. The objective of this sealed box and Focal sub is to try to have bass that is very tight and responsive rather than boomy. Good luck!

I just put the Tang 5 1/4 "subs" in the doors. Sounds great in the garage, pretty weak on the road with the car running. I put one of these in my other car, and sounds great: Amazon Amazon Now I'm thinking about ditching the Tangs and adding one of these in the 996.

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I have one of those amps in my car presently, it's better than nothing....but I'm taking it out.

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What do you dislike about it? I'm thinking even if I do add a sub to the car, I'm still going to need to move the speakers off to a dedicated amp - it seems daft to just run the subwoofer out to a small mono amp to power the sub - I might as well do it "properly". I need something small, though, and I was thinking something like that unit...

It just doesn't pack the punch I would like. I did a stereo upgrade on my daughter's car a few years back with a 10" sub in a sealed box that I made with four of the JBL door speakers I posted in my cross post and OMG, what a stereo. Had a big amp. Downside on my install is that I will be using the factory head unit. I will have the amp and the piggy back wiring harness that plugs between the factory harness and the radio, so no wiring changes required when I take it out, would be happy to sell it cheap. I can't remember what I paid for it....but something like $125 plus shipping. It has a wiring harness that runs through the center console, you unplug the harness at the back of the radio, put this inbetween and also has the bass control **** which is in the armrest cubby. I probably posted pictures of it.....let me see if I did.

Okay...here is what I have, it will be available for sale once I do the upgrade, which shouldn't be too far out: The Kenwood powered amp, it sits on the floor behind the passenger seat, I don't have it mounted. On the bottom left there is a plug and play adapter that plugs into where the yellow plug on the wiring harness for the radio goes into the radio. It takes the line level out and (1) passes it onto the amp in the frunk and (2) it converts the low pass bass frequency to the RCA outputs that feed the amp. To the right of that is the power adapter for the amp, it's just a plug and play and then you can see the yellow wire that is adjacent to the speaker, it's just a tap that provides power to the amp. RCA cables that feed the amp from the head unit to the amp. A cross over control for the bass, I have it in the armrest so you can control the amp. And then the wiring harness for amp, it brings the power into the unit via the yellow wire, black is ground, and you plug the RCA cables into the female side. You just have to take your center console out, or really just loosen it a bit to get the wiring under one side. I taped up the harness from where it goes outside of the center console with hockey tape to the amp, where the wiring is visible. It's a definite improvement, but I want something better with a new amp and a sealed sub woofer box that is covered with factory carpet.

In the event you decide to put subs in the doors, be mindful that there are at least two different sized door speaker enclosures which would have an effect on bass response. I know from dissecting the doors in the '00 Cab I sold recently, that it had the smaller of the available enclosures. Judging from the better low-frequency sound quality I am hearing from the stock amp and speakers in the Millennium Edition coupe I bought to replace the cab, I'm pretty sure the M.E. must have these larger, and thus more volumous speaker enclosures: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-986-...ZXRdtS&vxp=mtr If you have no enclosures at all, I recommend getting a pair of these.

Hi, sorry o post here but it might be relevant. I'm looking for some help fitting the standard Bose footwell sub into my non-Bose Targa. I'll start a new thread in a minute but I need to make 3 posts first...

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