Blown... wait for it...speakers!

That�s right, this post is not about blown motors, failing IMS bearings or other engine short comings. Rather it�s about upgrading the sound system on my 99 996 with the 491 option. I�ve removed the nav/radio unit and CD changer located in the frunk. Decided to take a closer look at the speakers and the first one I removed came from the rear panel of my cab. Looking for speaker recommendations and any other insight as to amps, head units etc. Blown out rear 4� speaker.

Subscribed as I'm going through this situation right now. I've done a fair bit of research so far and I've really not seen an easy DIY solution that's not an arm and a leg.

I have a pretty detailed thread on what I did a few years ago. It sounds great, but not like a modern car with a high end factory stereo. If I bluetooth MP3's into it, it sounds the best. I like the look of the factory head unit that I kept. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...o-upgrade.html

My bose amp blew and it was a nightmare. I always like the way the original stereo looked so did not want to replace it. I ended up getting an alpine deck you can cut up 4x6 Polk plate speakers and they glue into the factory front and rear baffles. You will then need an amp. It's all pretty easy to do. My car had door speakers and I ended up with the matching polk 6.5 inch speakers for the doors. It does not sound as good as the original stereo that was made for the car. No low end. Easier to connect with phone and spoitify though. If I could do it again. I would get the tang 6.5 subwoofers for the doors and run a low hz output to them for low end. I tried to bandaid the whole thing with the smallest powered sub I could find, and it didn't fit under the seat. I put it in the frunk and it works, but not to great through the firewall.

Ok, disclaimer: Before I read Carl�s post, I didn�t even know the car came with rear speakers, but of course it does! I know next to nothing about audio systems, and my car did come with an aftermarket system installed by the PO. My 28 year old son says �this thing really bumps!� I think that means he likes the bass response. Anyway, I did a bit of investigation. Head unit is Pioneer AVH-X4600BT double din. https://www.pioneerelectronics.com/P...rs/AVH-X4600BT Amplifier is ZSTAT ZAB1504 https://www.zstatcaraudio.com/products/zab1504 Sub woofer is ZSTAT 822 https://www.zstatcaraudio.com/products/zst822 Front and Rear speakers are Nokia, standard issue from Porsche. I know this because they have a Porsche part number on the back. Here is a pic of the rear speaker backside. Comments welcome. I don�t care if you tell me it�s a POS, I won�t be offended, nor will I replace it. Bottom line is I like the way it sounds! I wish it had built in navigation, though.

I don't even turn my radio on when I drive! But the few times I have it sounds good to me...02 cdr220 with Bose sound pkg from the factory.

All four of my speakers were completely destroyed when I bought the car. At the time I did not think that was a big deal, but it turned out to be a pain in the *** to replace them. Standard 4” round speakers physically fit, but there is no easy way to attach them to the speaker grills which are what actually holds the speakers to the car. My solution was to cut away the mounting pieces on the factory speakers, and use Gorilla Glue to attach them to the new speakers. While this sounds like a really bad idea, it actually works very well - almost a year later it is holding up fine. Crutchfield recommended making up some brackets from metal strips, which possibly could work as well. In my case I had the base stereo, so no door speakers. My understanding is that the door speakers are much higher quality than the dash and rear speakers, which were absolute crap. So you may be fine leaving your door speakers in place - likely they are not blown. The dash and rear speakers use inexpensive paper cones, so it is really a matter of time before they go unfortunately. Daryll

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Charlie, you are luck that you�re ok with what you have. I don�t listen to the radio all that often, but when I do I want it to sound good! Im already getting some good feedback. I�m Planning on definitely replacing the dash and rear panel speakers and will wait on the door speaker until I have pulled the panels of and inspected what�s in there. Please keep the comments coming.

There are suppliers that sell the material to re-cone speakers..

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thx pdxmotorhead but I don�t think they are worth the effort. IMHO Replacement four inch speakers start at around $29.00 a pair for something far better than the twenty year old speakers when they were new. Besides I haven�t spent any money on my car in weeks😉

Yea,, it was more aimed at the "It has to be stock" crowd.. I'm planning on a smart head unit,, I want the backup cam for my CAB.. It will be wired ot also be my rear view mirror for some situations.. The Bose amp and speakers are likely to go away as well,, I like the high current amp speaker combo,, but like you said,, 20 year old speakers and the caps in the amp.. And the most setup is just not functional near as I can tell.. Bose depends on current not voltage to drive their speakers,, I've found in general they out perform like size speakers but they don't play as well at lower volume due to the efficiency losses with the low resistance and low voltage.. I don't plan on dropping too much money on speakers in a convertible either..

So I�ve ditched the stock head unit, amp and CD player. The car is so light now I only drive with at least 3/4 full gas tank...😉 I�ve installed a Rockford Fosgate R400-4D amplifier in the CD player location and a Pioneer SPH 10BT Blue tooth single din (for now ) Radio in the dash below a factory cup holder. I had intended to put the amp and radio into my 78 911SC but just never got around to it. The ultimate goal is to put in an iPad mini head unit... more on that later. Now I jut need four 4� speakers to go into the dash and rear panels. I�ll leave to door speaker alone and see what it sounds like. Future upgrade for this is planned. I�ve retained all the original wiring, cut nothing! I removed the speaker wires going to the original amp and made some extensions so that the rear speakers and front speakers are powered by two channels and the door speakers by the other two channels. Amp placed where CD player used to be. Lots of from now for tools etc.

I love big loud sound systems. I have them in my house, all my cars, and even in my back yard. Never really thought of the Porsche having anything much to hang anyone up when replacing the stereo system/speakers. I guess for those who want to keep it stock replacements speakers for the component speakers are quite simple to find. Call up crutchfield and they can hook you up or even pelican parts i'm pretty sure offers stock replacement or the equivalent of such. If not worried about "stock".. go all out and have fun. I have an aftermarket pioneer head unit and all my component speakers WERE Memphis with built in crossovers being pushed by a kicker amp and subs. IT SOUNDED AMAZING in the Porsche. i'm now updating everthing with Alpine Tupe R completion speakers all around and making custom pods for most of them. Just throwing out my 2 cents.. have fun with you car, you cant pull it with a hearse in the end. The porsche set up sounds great with some aftermarket speakers.

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I'm also not a fan of hacking up the factory wiring. When I replaced my speakers I bought adapter pigtails for both front and rear from Crutchfield. They are Metra #71-017C ' Speaker Wiring Harnesses '. It allows you to use the stock speaker plugs saving you from having to hack the stock wiring.

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Thank you for the Metra adapter part number.

Today I ordered a pair of the Polk Audio DB461P 4x6-Inch Coaxial Plate-Style Speakers (Pair, Black) from Amazon. Amazon Amazon and will try my hand at separating them from the plate and adapting them to the porsche speaker mounts as others have done.

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Here is an option for dash and rear speakers in case someone needs an easy fix : wire adapters: Amazon.com: Homyl 4X PC2-805 Speaker Adaptor Lead Cable Ste for Vauxhall Corsa: Automotive Amazon.com: Homyl 4X PC2-805 Speaker Adaptor Lead Cable Ste for Vauxhall Corsa: Automotive Porsche Boxster 986 and 996 dash speaker adapter installation - YouTube