Hard to upgrade the most basic audio / stereo / sound system?

A 996 I'm considering buying seems to have the most basic sound system available - it doesn't even have door speakers. I don't mind that it doesn't have Bose - I've read in this forum that the non-Bose system is easier to upgrade (and that the Bose system isn't much good). But what about this system? Can I get good results without speakers in the doors? And is it enough to replace the navigation front end unit with a Kenwood or Pioneer unit? Or if not, what is needed? (By the way, it's a 2004 car, if that makes a difference.) (Or on the other hand, is this basic system actually good? I'm not buying the car for listening to music, but I would want to do something about it if the sound is worse than an M3's Harmann Kardon system (E46), for example. (Like the Bose, this isn't nearly as good as one would expect/hope.)) Thanks for any insight into this!

Are you sure there are no speakers in the doors? My car is not Bose equipped and has door speakers.

I have two 2000 996's. One is a C4 and has the door speakers. The other is a C2 and has storage where the speakers normally sit. Not sure what the original system was in each as both had aftermarket systems when I bought them. And to be honest with you, there isn't really a difference in the way each set up sounds (door speakers vs none in the door).

My 2004 C2 has the base audio system. Two speakers in the dash, two speakers by the side of the rear seats. Both dash and rears are nearly identical, with the dash speaker grilles just having a bit more 'tilt' in them to direct the sound. Since the base audio doesn't have the Bose system with the silly optical connection to the amp and funky ohm-rating on the speakers, it is actually much *easier* in the base audio to upgrade the speakers and even add an aftermarket amp if you want. I removed the stock paper-cone speakers and modified some fairly inexpensive Polk 4x6 plate speakers to mount into the OEM grilles. Pretty easy job with a dremel, and the grilles are inexpensive as replacement parts if you want to keep the stock setup on a shelf. I also swapped out the headunit for a pioneer with a USB input and fit an iPad to control the whole thing, but there is no reason you couldn't just upgrade the speakers with the stock head unit. More details on this thread (speakers at post #11), but here are some pictures... This is what the base audio OEM speakers and grilles look like... Dash speaker grille on the left, rear on the right. You can see the only difference is how they 'tilt' the inner plastic a bit. Both dash or rear grills can be modded as shown. This is the dash opening... Can't have too much depth here. One screw is a little tricky on the dash speakers, windshield is in the way. Use a small bit driver or other tool. Torx screws on the 2004... Rear sides. Much deeper, could mount a much bigger speaker here, just not using the OEM grilles... These are the plate speakers I trimmed up to attach to the oem grille. I had to cut out a bit of the inside plastic on the grille for the tweeter, the outer grille is unchanged so it doesn't show. I attached the plate speakers to the stock grille. Hot glue gun to get everything positioned, then sealed with epoxy putty (quick-steel). Easy... Reinstalled, they look 100% OEM and sound much better. Plate speakers like this are only about $65 a pair, so the entire upgrade was under $150. If I was interested in better sound, I might add an subwoofer, but I really was just looking for "decent", as it is a fairly noisy environment in the first place and the engine/intake is real Porsche music

For an amp upgrade to the stock, non-bose Becker head unit, a super-compact class D four channel amp with speaker level inputs would wire in easily and not cost much. You could use a larger, conventional amp, but you would have to mount it in the frunk or under the passenger seat. Some of the class D's are so small you can easily mount them in/under the dash. I haven't tried one yet, but these new NVX Microamps look perfect for the application! $175 on Amazon. $175 on Amazon. The Zed Mikro is the same idea, a bit bigger, but higher quality. Made in USA instead of China, about double the price...

Wow that's a tiny amp!

JBL GTO series speakers sound great and are 2 ohm, so can run off your head unit. I used the 3.5 inch coax in the dash and rear, left the Bose tweeter in place, and put 5.25 inch coax in the doors and replaced bose sub speakers with 6.25 inch as well. Runs fine off of the stock Bose amp -- and an aftermarket amp would probably sound even better. See JBL GTO 328, 528 or 508- c with substantial markdowns on onlinecarstero.com or sonicelectronix.com -- Less than $250 for 8 new speakers (2 dash, 2 rear, 2 door, 2 for bose sub enclosure).

Thanks to everyone for the helpful posts! So do I understand correctly that for better sound the most important thing to to is upgrade the speakers, the 2nd is to add an amp (assuming the car doesn't have the optional Porsche amp), and the least important thing is to replace the front end? (Based on this thread and other things I've read, it looks to me like there were just two front end options in each model year, one with nav and one without. Can anyone confirm this?) Thanks!

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sds 911, do I understand correctly that this JBL kit is (only) for cars with the Bose system? The car I'm thinking of buying does not have the Bose system, and there is no place in the doors to put speakers, so I don't think this would work.

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Would this work with the Polk speakers suggested above? Or would they require 8 channels (4 for the main speakers, and 4 for the tweeters)? (No - I don't know much about car stereos ;-) )

I believe there were three options for audio: base audio, PCM navigation, and the PCM + Bose. My car has the "hifi" option with PCM, I believe the hifi option is what adds the door speakers. Sadly I've had both and they aren't much different. OEM audio just isn't great in these cars.

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4-channels. Most speakers with tweeters have a passive crossover built-in. The amp sees it as a single speaker.

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That brings up another question though, is the six speaker audio system a six channel amp, or is the front channel all four front speakers?

The JBL GTO speakers should work with any head unit, even w/o the bose amplifier and will sound much better than stock speakers -- they are highly efficient. You may not need as many speakers if you don't have the door speakers (i.e., delete the 5.25 in the doors -- or have a shop add them for you w/custom baffle). Inventory your current speakers and sizes and just order the JBLs that are similar in size. I ordered the 3.5 inch coax for the dash and rears and they sound much better even before I added the sub and door speakers. You can look at either the GTO coax or component packages. The 328, 528 and 508 GTOs are about 50% off on onlinecarstereo.com and/or sonicelectronix.com. I ordered sets for my car and my GF's MB C350. I also ordered dynamat extreme from another website for about 50 to 70 bucks and used it on the front doors.

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I'm not that familiar with the 996 Bose system, but most of those types of systems involve lots of digital processing in the amps/electronics and specialized speakers with funky impedance's and frequency response ranges. In other words, you typically can't just replace part of the system with upgraded components and expect good results... Here is the description of the Bose system from the 2004 Buyers Guide: Bose High End Sound Package Six-channel amplification with equalization 490 tailored to the Carrera's interior. Bose-patented Two-State Modulaton (TSM) switching amplifier (100 watts), five linear amplifiers (5x25 watts) , 11 high performance speakers

FWIW, I've seen aftermarket kits to add door speakers to the 996. It can be done if you choose. I believe the door speakers in the Bose system are small subwoofers. I replaced all my speakers, and mine is set up now with subwoofers in the door to compliment the larger one behind the rear seats.

The bose or stock speakers can be upgraded to JBL or Infiniti Kappas running at 2 ohms and the clarity, warmth and bass are all improved w/o any other upgrade to head unit or amp. I've read others who used the Infiniti Kappa line and were happy with their new speakers (both owned by Harmon Kardon now). I would agree with Dennis that you will need door speakers or a subwoofer for low end however, as you will not get much low end with only the 3.5 or 4 inch replacements.

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So it appears that the Bose is a true six channel system. I wonder about the non-Bose six speaker system.

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I've been trying to figure out the wiring of the speakers in my 02 cab with Bose. According to the Bentley manual, the wiring diagram and what I've found by looking my cab, I have: Door speakers: 11.4cm bass-midrange in 5.5 liter housing (2-channels) Top of dash speakers: 8.9cm midrange and 4.3cm tweeter (2-channels) Rear speakers: 11.4 bass-midrange and 4.3cm tweeter (1-channel) Subwoofer: located in the passenger footwell next to the center console (1-channel) So that's 6-channels in all. The Bose amplifier handles the door, top of dash and rear speakers (5-channels) and an additional amplifier handles the sub. There is a small "booster amplifier" attached to the front of the Bose amplifier although I've read that there is an amplifier in the subwoofer enclosure. I suspect that on mine, it is just relocated to the trunk. I don't fully understand why I do not seem to get anything from the rear speakers with my aftermarket head unit, but now at least I know that there is no individual rear left and rear right.

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how are you finding it ? Im looking at upgrading the speakers in my 996 gt2, but keeping the stock headunit (Cdr-23)

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The speakers are definitely an improvement, while retaining a completely stock look and the ability to go back to 100% stock easily if desired. Obviously not a ton of bass out of those tiny speakers, and the CDR doesn't have much power to drive them. If you wanted a completely stock looking system and didn't mind investing a bit more, I'd keep the CDR, upgrade the speakers as shown above, and add some electronics in between... A decent amp and an audio processor like the AudioControl four.i.

I did the same thing, same Polk speakers. I also put 6.5" Polks in the doors and replaced the stock amp with a $40 ebay Alpine. The CD changer is gone, replaced by and iPod or iPhone. Sound is really good now but the cockpit looks 1999 and I like that.