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YOUR RESEARCHstock stereo = terrible?
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Disconnect rear side speakers)
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I decided to give the Bose speakers six months with some nice clean, properly EQ'd signal (I disconnected the rear side speakers).
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on the P-car I changed just the head unit to Alpine BT149 and used a fiber optic converter and the rest is stock HiFi amp and speaker.
Run 700 watts alpine systems in my other two vehicle's
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I have the HiFi system in my 04 and was not impress with it at all, I run 700 watts Alpine systems in my other two vehicle's.
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As a side note , the phrase "no highs no lows must be Bose" is used by audiophiles when questioned about Bose.
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but you really have to read the manual on the Alpine unit to learn the functions and adjust ability.
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You can replace the head unit and power amp for around a grand, installed, and pick up all the modern functionality, i.e., bluetooth, hands free, USB/aux inputs, etc.
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Just curious is anyone actually happy with the stock stereo? I have the hifi package in mine but the whole system sound terrible. I dont know if its just because its old or if it was like this from the factory as I have nothing to compare it to but it maybe the worst sounding stereo of any car I have ever had in 20 years.
Time to swap out all the components, starting with the door subs I am going to try to jam these 6 3/4" kickers, i ordered the 40CWRT672 but it shows I was shipped the 43CWRT672 which would be sweet for the price I paid
Not sure how much a pain it will be to get them in there but they are only 2 3/4' deep so they should fit
I am going to replace the headunit with a carplay unit and of course the 4" speakers as well that I am still looking at.
Here is a start for you...
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...-speakers.html
And here is what you want to really read if your going high end:
https://rennlist.com/forums/audio-an...nd-alpine.html
The second guy shows you what he did to get the larger door speakers to work...
Yes, it's crap.
Cue the Bose apologists who will claim that the system in the 996 is the aural equivalent to multiple orgasm.
Note that the factory amp plus the factory wiring necessitates using some low-impedance drivers; I believe some of the factory drivers are 2-ohm.
yup I have the stock amp and the subs are 2ohm like the stock ones
mine is not bose, but I had two Bose systems in audis and neither impressed me at all
I have the HiFi system in my 04 and was not impress with it at all, I run 700 watts Alpine systems in my other two vehicle's. on the P-car I changed just the head unit to Alpine BT149 and used a fiber optic converter and the rest is stock HiFi amp and speaker. what a difference it made to the 04. even bass comes in nice and clear now, left to right stereo is great. only thing missing is the fader. don't need it. and everything cost less than 450. along with the plug and play harness and antenna adapter from CIA.
now I do have Hands Free phone, along with Blue Tooth, and Pandora.
I surprise myself, was thinking to try it first and then I can upgrade the amp and speakers. the Alpine BT149 is a great head unit, and was skeptical about the RCA to MOST converter. amazing results. but you really have to read the manual on the Alpine unit to learn the functions and adjust ability.
IF you mean crutchfield, they do not! Seems I would better luck if I had the single din HU. I did however find the schematic for the PCM1 HU, but I am not sure I want to hack up the stock wiring harness.
+1 on the upgrades. I changed out the amp, speakers and head unit. I will say however radio reception is poor ever since. The stock unit was much better for radio reception.
(I know why listen to the radio - I check traffic as I leave work)
My Bose sounds fine. Simply added an iPod cable years ago. I'm not an apologist, simply someone who doesn't need to hear every subtlety in the music.
When I update the system it will be to gain Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay. I probably won't upgrade the speakers.
Can you add a sub woofer to the PCm1 set up (Double din with phone Amp and navigation set) I understood Porsche supplied a sub that went in the footwell but was this for the later models (as it was a bose unit) Thanks O_Sr
You can add an aftermarket powered subwoofer fairly easily. I added an 8" tube subwoofer it fits right behind the back seats. It can be removed really easily and it sounds good, but it's not hidden or integrated in any way. Theres a kick panel option but you need to power it with an amp and it needs to be wired to your head unit Im not sure if the stock PCM has extra sub outputs.
Actually, for a sports car, not sure why anyone cares about the stereo. Generally, speaking I tend to modify the exhaust in all of my cars so that I can hear the sound of the car better but I always stick with stock stereo.
I guess I'm one of the apologist because I've always liked Bose technology; however, I didn't have the Bose setup in my 996. My stock system was the "hifi" option which meant it was a 10 speaker/6-channel (with door subs) and... bom bom buuuuum... MOST based.... and that's where the problems began.
And yep, the door subs are HAES 2 ohm, but produce an amazing bass sound from just 5.24 bass speakers. You can push them hard like larger speakers, but if you keep it EQ'd right, they add the low end that makes the music come alive. Just my 2 cents worth.
I echo Lowpue's comment, I find myself turning the radio off and enjoying the natural sound of the Porsche sports exhaust. AWESOME!
Might want to do a little research on Bose technology. Marketing is what they are known for not new tech .
AVS forum would be a good place to start learning about Bose or a search on the web for Bose speaker quality would be informative also .
i agree that listening to the engine is more fun than the stereo but driving to / from work in traffic the stereo comes in handy
after changing the head unit it sounds better but still bad
I have a modern Sony head unit in my car and am not thrilled with the low-end performance from the front door panel speakers.
Wondering if anyone has used these? How much room for speaker depth is there in the enclosure? These say 2.63' deep...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CDT-Audio-CL...IAAOxy4t1SiBQw
Alan,
I would say that Dr. Amar Bose and his company has contributed more to the audio industry in R&D than most and would say that he was as much an innovator than maybe even Dolby. IMHO.
He has quite a history in electronic/acoustical engineering and research at MIT.
And, his company that he founded has hundreds of patents that were implemented into his products.
Check it out.
http://products.bose.com/static/patents/index.html
And yes, Bose puts a lot of money into marketing, but who wouldn't if you want to be a successful company?
I have never heard a great Bose stereo in a car, they have created lots of things no doubt and they are innovative but for what you get its over priced I think and there are lots of other systems that are cheaper / sound better.
Did you get the larger Kicker shallow-mount subwoofer from your original post into the stock housing? If so, any mods necessary and did it make any difference at all?
There are many different systems, so not sure what is meant by "stock". My 2003 came with CDR23 and Bose speakers. I recently ditched the head unit, power amp and MOST connection harness, to Alpine. In my opinion, the weak link was the head unit and power amp, and it wasn't close, based on my ears. The Becker unit had ghosts in it, poor EQ capabilities, and dated functionality. I decided to give the Bose speakers six months with some nice clean, properly EQ'd signal (I disconnected the rear side speakers).
I am very pleased with the results. For my tastes, no further upgrades are warranted.
So, I just checked the specs of my Sony MEX-BT4000P head unit and it's output is rated for 4-8ohms, not 2ohms.
It does not look like the stock speakers were ever changed out of my car, so my head unit is pushing sound to 2ohm speakers. It doesn't take much to make the door subs distort.
I wonder how much improvement I could expect If I swapped my speakers to quality 4, or even 8 ohm components?
I don't know how much sound improvement you'll get, but you won't be burning up the amp in your head unit. Keep the volume low until your speakers are the correct impedance for the amp.
Also, measure the impedance at the wiring harness to the amp - the factory Porsche speaker wiring may have some surprises in store for you.
According to my car's build sheet, it would have came with code 490 (non-Bose analog Hifi upgrade) and code 693 = 6-disc CD changer Becker Porsche CDC-3.
My head unit is gone and the CD changer is missing from the frunk (cables are still there) but I have no clue where the amp would be??? Could it be my head unit is just sending line level signal to the factory amp, which is actually powering the speakers? I guess I would need to determine that before I start swapping them out and changing impedance ratings.
Not if the bottom line became more important than the products being produced. Care to look online to find out about the 25 cent paper cone speakers used in their $1000 systems ?
Any reputable testing company would be a good place to learn the truth about the current Bose systems. Stereophile Magazine ,Sound and Vision Mag, Audio Video science forum, Dolby labs , etc, all are good sources of information .
As a side note , the phrase "no highs no lows must be Bose" is used by audiophiles when questioned about Bose.
If you throw enough mud against the wall, eventually some will stick. Kinda like what happens here on RL regarding the dreads of the M96 engine. But thanks for the advice. Based on what you claim, sounds like a lot mud slingin' in these magazines. Ha!
Check out this article:
http://www.popsci.com/science/articl...nius-amar-bose
While you cannot calculate with precision the impedance of a driver with a multimeter, you can determine which of the common impedance ranges it falls into using a multimeter. I agree that measuring reactance with a Radio Shack multimeter isn't happening.
As an audiophile, it's WAY worse than a M96 engine with 90% of audiophiles. I'd maybe even say that 95% of people in the know wouldn't have BOSE systems. It's not that BOSE isn't decent, it's that you can get better sound for a lot less money. Andrew Jones Elac for example.
Whatever you do, put the flame suite on over at AVSforum if you post about BOSE. It isn't just some mud that sticks. It's more like hardly any mud falls off, lol.
I can say that my stock CR-220 (cassette) with external changer actually sounded decent. The speakers, however, have no bass whatsoever (expected). I have an Alpine in there now and it's decent. But I plan to replace all 4 speakers and add a sub.
I don't really care about the audio quality... I just wish it would pick up a few radio stations. Guess I need to attach a huge antenna on the fender or something. I have to use I Heart Radio or some other streaming app on my phone. Now, where to put that phone???
Forgive the analogies...
We could also buy many new sports cars for fraction of the cost of a new Porsche 911, and some would even outperform the 911 in many categories, but would we?
And...
We could probably get a loan and purchase a new Porsche 911, but would we?
I say "NO".
I think you may agree with me here that most people on the Rennlist 996 forum did not buy their Porsches brand new. That's the cool thing about the 996 RL owners. We're the like the patient fisherman waiting for the fish. Let the other guys pay the enormous new price - we'll wait for it to depreciate. Most of the nuts on the 996 RL forum, love the performance and value of the current 996 cars (wouldn't you agree?), and we're not stupid enough to go out and pay $100,000 for these cars when they were new. Same goes for Bose and other high-end electronics. Heck, I'm in the television production business, you think I'm going out and pay $3,000+ for one of those new 4K curved TVs? Absolutely not! I paid under $400 for my 48" Panasonic Plasma and it runs circles around many of the LCD and LED displays these days. (OLED is another story. hahaha)
Regarding the sound quality... IMHO, it's a very subjective thing and I wouldn't base my decision on the usual forum "pot stirrers". (I prolly wouldn't have bought a 996 if I based it solely on the constant barrage of negative comments on Rennlist and other forums) Magazines can be just as bad. Many people feel that Road and Track as well as Car and Driver only like Porsche and BMW... and, if you subscribe to their publications, that would be a fair analysis to have because many of their articles in recent years praise the German cars. But does that mean you can't get a decent sports cars from other makers? Nope!
It all boils down to what YOU appreciate and willing to pay for. Many people think that Rolex is a waste of money and that better performing watches can be purchased for less than $50. In many respects that may be true, but in 10 years, I wonder which one will still be working and... which one will be worth more.
Cheerios my friend!
If you want a simple completely reversible phone mount option you could do something like this.
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...e-install.html
Or my new spot which is where the 991 factory phone mount is.
Pretty spot on. I was set on a 997S as my first P car, but didn't really find the experience all that much better than a 996 and at twice the cost, it was a no brainer to go with the 996 instead.
However, i'm now enjoying the P car experience so much, i'm considering the move to a 997 Turbo, or 991 Targa.
i wonder if anyone can help me please? i have a bose system in my 2002 targa
i read somewhere that aftermarket car phone kits can effect settings but i cannot find it anywhere in here.Something to do with grounding perhaps
My system has way to much base. when starting the car i have to go and set base to -7 which is as far as it goes. When i turn of car the setting is back where it was. strangely the cd doesn't sound to bad
Hmm.. that's an interesting problem. Normally, people like alot of bass, but I'm more like you, I don't want a lot of bass to make my head hurt. Not sure how a phone kit could change the settings of your system. It would be best if you post a new thread with your question. Also, take pictures of HU and describe anything you've done to it. Hopefully, someone can walk you through the process of finding a solution. Boosting the mids and highs would be a good first step... and if the speakers in the dash and rear aren't working properly, then the bass will be perceivably overpowering.
Hi Thanks for that advice sadly i am new on here and have not worked out how to post a new thread or discussion. It is the standard head unit as far as i am aware with a tape player sitting behind it. It has a red flashing light in the centre when the car is locked. I think i read it can affect earthing if a phone kits fitted.
As far as i am aware everything is absolutely standard. Its so bad i thought a speaker was blown
You have a "standard head unit" with a tape player sitting behind it?
Is the tape player connected to anything? Are we talking about 1980's Sony Walkman or what?
A red flashing light? Do you hear a ticking sound when it blinks?
not quite 1980's but i will do my best to describe. The cd changer is in the luggage compartment in the cubby hole under head unit are 6 little tape holders and the HU has a button that flips the front down and you can put a tape in. I am amazed they made them still in 2002
i keep meaning to dig one out from my loft to see if it even works. Could you kindly point out to a newbee where he is going wrong. I can only see a button with post a reply on here how do i start a new post?
Thanks. My amp is still in the car, but the CD changer is gone.
Without pulling the head unit or amp, is there a way for me to tell whether or not my updated Sony head unit is using the power from the factory amp?
So i just got my first Porsche an 03 C4S , and to my dismay my stereo guy told me i can't just upgrade the head unit, i have the cdr223 bose hi end package option, so what are the options here? All i really want is a usb or ipod cord, done some research and can't really come up with anything.
Thanks for the link, my car does not have the cd changer, so depending on how much it costs to code it, add the cost of the dension, might just be easier to put a new system in?
If you're looking at a lower cost solution look into the itransit fm modulator that you can plug directly into you're antenna in to add Bluetooth or aux
That's the route I ended up with last year. I was on a budget, so did a Kenwood head unit (so I could have the orange display to match stock) and a single mono amp. Power the sub off the amp, and front and rear speakers straight off the head unit. Next upgrade will be to add a second amp to power speakers, then maybe speakers.
My budget solution works pretty decent, and I'd rather spend my budget on tires
You can replace the head unit and power amp for around a grand, installed, and pick up all the modern functionality, i.e., bluetooth, hands free, USB/aux inputs, etc. If you want to DIY, be careful connecting the speakers, matching resistances.
Or this method worked out great for me and low cost. no cutting wiring harness either, sounds great.
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...ctory-amp.html
Yes you can. I recently upgraded mine because both the radio and amp gave out.
You can see the details here. I stuck with the factory Bose speakers. The key was selecting an amp that would work with the factory speaker impedance. The Polk amp does that nicely including the 1ohm Bose sub. Once you get the amp set-up it sounds incredible. If you are a DYI person you can do this for less than $500.
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-the-dust.html
You did a great job. Polk audio makes some amazing sound equipment.
Love the expression on your son's face! Sad the Falcons lost the Superbowl. What in the world happened to them after halftime? Uggh. Such was to see a team lose a 28-3 lead and cost them the big game.
Thanks. It was heart breaking. I can't believe we let Shanahan do the same thing he did to the Seahawks and pass the ball when we should have been running it.
I believe if we would have taken a field goal attempt we would have won. Always next year
.
I thought the same thing. After the running back got hurt, they called a pass play that cost the Falcons a turn over when Matt Ryan pulled back and then got sacked trying to pass the ball. I screamed at the TV... why in the world is trying to throw it! The Patriots capitalized on our lack of energy and what started as a snowball, turned into a major avalanche comeback. 28-3 into 34-28.
That loss gives new meaning to the song, "The night the lights went out in Georgia"
