987.2 Non-Bose Sound Package Plus Replacement Speaker Recommendations

Hi all, I am splitting off of this thread to avoid hijacking it any more than I already have. Apologies to @foodbiker The speakers in my 2010 Boxster have expired and I have an appointment at a local car stereo shop next Friday to get them all replaced. I am not looking to do any upgrades so it would be a tremendous help to know exactly which speakers fit as direct and unmodified inline replacements since they said they’d have to basically take everything apart to determine what “might” fit. 🙄 😬 To be fair, I fully stipulate that some massaging of mounting plates, screw hole relocation, etc. may be needed, but want to stay as close to “taking the old ones out and putting the new ones in” as possible. 🙂 So, in short, what speakers has this group successfully installed in the doors and the dash (I don’t have the rear speakers) as, essentially, direct bolt-in replacements? Brand names with specific models and measurements are appreciated to prevent me from either being taken advantage of, buying the wrong ones. Happy to answer any questions. Thanks in advance!

Since your speakers have stopped working and you already have to spend to order new ones, think about upgrading as well. In my opinion, it would be wrong not to do so.

I hear you, and I may not have been clear, but would be interested in hearing what you had in mind. I fully intend to get the best speakers possible, but am pulling up short on a new amp, rewiring, new head unit, and/or major vehicular surgery. The car is 13 years old and I may not keep it for much longer, plus, it’s a Porsche convertible so the noise floor really doesn’t led itself to audiophile level expenditure, IMO.

Not sure what your budget is but this setup comes with instructions and you can add the adapters to mount the speakers: Custom Hertz Mille 3-way Speaker Set For Porsche 911, Cayman, & Boxster - Car Audio Innovations

@DS3 From what I remember you have not yet pulled the door cards to see what you are dealing with. Just to verify, you have a 2010 Boxster (non-S). Are you sure your car has SPP (Sound Package Plus)? It was optional on the base 987.2. I'm not very familiar with the speakers on Boxsters, but on a 987.2 base Cayman only SPP and Bose had rear speakers. Mine had rear grills but nothing behind them. If you don't have rear speakers, that might be a tip that you have the basic package. The standard non-SPP CDR30 only has 4 speakers and no ASK Amp. The mid-range grills in the doors are empty. When my main speakers developed severe distortion, I decided to replace them . They were 6.5" (165mm), not 8". I found that Rockford Fosgate R165X3 Prime 6.5" was a drop-in to replace the existing speakers (discarding the included grill covers). They are currently only $60/pair on Amazon. Also being a 3-way speaker, it has better frequency range than the OEM. I felt no need to deal with the missing mid-range speakers in the doors. I'm no audiophile but in this fairly noisy vehicle, it sounds better than the OEM setup.

So this is why I’ve had issues identifying what speakers I have. At my. porsche .com it shows me having SPP (pic attached) but my head unit is the CDR-30 (attached pic from the internet but is what mine looks like). So, what do I have…and what do I need to get?!?

Not cheap, but I like that they are close-to-perfect drop-ins. Would be interesting to find out how compatible they are with the ASK amp, and where they suggest mounting those substantial crossovers. I don't know much about Hertz speakers; time to do research.

@DS3 – Again, no worries and thanks for your patience! Thanks for your complements. FWIW, I hardly consider myself a car audio expert, and more of a generalist project tackler (with a penchant for hacking and an appetite for somehow things the hard way). There’s a huge and wonderfully dedicated audio community out there, who are far better equipped to answer your questions than I am. Meanwhile, here’s my take and YMMV: ​ As you know in my SPP Focal Audio thread , I went with the Focal kit. It met my criteria of quality, affordability, and something I could likely DIY. I wanted something fairly close in audio quality akin to the BOSE systems in my former 987.1 Boxster S, and currently in my 981 – and I figured this might do the trick. Although my installation isn’t quite complete, things are looking and installing just great so far. This means that I’m very confident that you’d be just fine with the kit in my thread, assuming you put it into hands of a talented and reputable installer. In that case, to keep things very straightforward and labor costs down, I would have your installer do a few things: Instead of having them modifying the 8” OEM basket, which would likely take too long to do (as it’s a project in itself) I’d have them use a very inexpensive off-the-shelf adapter for the 8” woofer — which will be much faster, straightforward, and very inexpensive per labor. Car audio installers do this sort of thing all the time. You will receive two Focal TNI.1 tweeters that come with the 8” Focal. As it would take way too long for your installer to remove them from their housings (I have just confirmed that they were heavily glued in and removing them was a nerve-racking project in itself), just have them recommend a set for the front that they can easily remove from their housings — probably one of the newer Focal designs. (Check your PM about this.) What about the center (front) channel? For starters, I have already confirmed that it is MUCH louder than the front speakers — as it is larger and far more efficient than the tweeters — rendering it virtually unusable as it drowns out the tweeters. From my research, most people simply disconnect it — and one guy with a BOSE system wired up a volume control for it to try and tame it. Meanwhile, I think I have a better solution: One other person apparently installed one of the Focal TNI.1 tweeters that you’ll receive for the center, which should drop right in the center without having to remove it from its original housing. So as you’d be going with other tweeters anyhow, I’d suggest you use just one of the two unused Focal TNI.1 tweeters that will come with your kit for the center. If the shop offers sound deadening, go for it. This will ideally make your door sound more acoustically solid, improve your bass, and even slightly quiet the interior cabin. Again, in your case, particularly if you’re in an absolute rush to get this sorted – any audio shop should easily be able to quickly set you up with a 6.5” speaker and adapter to replace the large 8” woofer – which would be a very safe bet and with superb results -- and easily be done with all this. I plan discuss this in more detail over in my original thread . Yes, what you have there in your pictures is both indeed SPP and a CDR-30 head unit. It's exactly what came in my 2010 987.2 Boxster base. Hopefully my recommendations will should put safely put you in good stead, @DS3 - Good luck and let us know what you decide and how it works out for you. Cheers!

Thanks so much @foodbiker for the detailed response. Much appreciated. So if I’m understanding (correct me if I’m wrong): The Focal 8” fits the door but it’s best to install as-is (leave the tweeters attached) and wire them in allowing the crossover to take the tweeters out of the picture The 4” mid/woofers you mention in your thread fit in the doors with minimal issue The Focal TNI 1.5 tweeters fit all three upper dash slots The Focal tweeters appear to be discontinued. Where were you able to find them?

Of course! To answer your questions: Correct about the 4" mids. Those will come with in-line crossovers, which will plug right into the back of the speakers. Those will be connected to the wiring harness. The Focal 8" will fit right onto the door, assuming the installer installs a thin adapter so the bolt/screw holes line up properly (ignore my basket modification as that will likely take too long). The crossover already comes pre-soldered onto the speaker. (Forget about the tweeters that will come with the 8", as those may be confusing the situation. Just consider them as "extra tiny speakers" that happen to come in the same box as the woofers.) Next, the 8" kit will come with Focal TNI 1.5 tweeters, which have been since discontinued. They will not fit into the front left and right speaker holes as-is, and were a very difficult project to safely remove from their housings. Just have your installer install two newer model tweeters (likely by Focal) that your installer should be able to easily remove from their housings. This being said, have you installer install one of the Focal TNI 1.5 speakers and install it in your center channel. That will fit in its original housing, without any issue. Hopefully these will answer your questions, and I'll follow up with a PM. Thanks!

I was in car audio in my past and I never heard of Hertz, but that was a while ago, so I could be well out of the loop. That being said, I'd love to hear what you find... I do know Focal, and can say they are very well regarded.

I have a complete set of Bose speakers, amp and head unit from a 987.1 Cayman S that I removed when I converted to a track only car. Glad to send you pics and part numbers if you think that would help.

Thanks. I am also aware of Focal for mainly home audio, but agree that they are well regarded.

I appreciate the offer. I have ordered the same woofers and mods as @foodbiker mentions in his thread so the only remaining hole in my plan is finding a set of tweeters that will fit for the left and right dash tweeters. He has graciously sent me his that he removed to use as a measuring guide and I’ve found one thread where the tweeters‘ diameter is shown as roughly 35mm and their mounting hole diameter of roughly 36mm, if your measurements confirm that?

Quick update. The Focals have arrived! The countdown to Friday has begun. I’ll post updates on Friday.

COOL! Take pictures. Lots of pictures. We can write what goes between the pictures when you're done... a nice DIY gets you the Outstanding Technical Contributor medal, and a free-premium membership for a year.

I was hoping someone here can help with a speaker ring question. I am replacing the 8" door subs with the 8" Focals, I have 4 ea 1/2" thick rings on hand. My question is this, does anyone know if stacking two of the rings will work and still clear the door panel? Clearly 3/4" does but I would have to order a couple of 1/4" rings to make that happen. Thanks in advance! Mike

Hey Mike. I can’t help as I paid a shop to do my installation, but hopefully someone else can. IIRC, the shop that did mine did have to do some minor trimming of the mounting hole, but I don’t recall them saying anything about stacking mounting rings. Perhaps they did the trimming to avoid the stacking?