Speaker Upgrade - Suggestions?

Hi everyone, Well, it's one month into Porsche ownership and i'm luvin it! Knew i would of course...;-) Anyway, one minor bugbear is the quality of the sound system. I've known that the Porsche systems are pretty poor but it's bugging me now as it just seems so out of place for a car of such quality. So, I'm thinking of upgrading the speakers - Front and/or back. Any suggestions for this? As ever, all opinions appreciated! Taran :?:

you naughty naughty boy for not doing a search... http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=12885

LOL...i did see this wagonface, i should of said...but was just wondering if there were any other options? Or ar the MB components the ones to go for? How different is the sound quality? Worth it? Cheers Taran :?:

I've just been looking at the "996 - Ipod" thread. Seems like the Becker Grand Prix head unit is good'un too. Would you lot recommend upgrading to this head unit also? How good is the Bluetooth function on it? Taran :shock:

I have another suggestion, fit the sport exhaust system and turn off the stereo and just enjoy the sound. When we went on the last 911 driving tour we never bothered with the stereo, the car sounded glorius through the mountains and tunnels... wind down the window knock it down a peg and revel in the glory of a flat 6 on full song. its magic

996 speakers MB is not the only option. I fitted POLK kits in my 996.Some pics here too , somewhere.... And also planning of another kit , this time real improvement , not a factory made kit thistime , but a real DIY set... with soldering and glueing involved :shock: A 3 way set , designed for a car , leaving out the woofers , as they simply wouldn't fit.Except inside the doors , which I don't wan't to open... So will be using the original door woofers + this new kit. Mainly because I am too afraid to take out the door panels.... Remember , what ever you try or will fit there , it will be somewhat difficult and as you can see from that excellent pictureshow previously ( link here ), you have to dismantle parts of your vehicles interior. And there is not much room available inside the dashboard area. My Polks were so tight , that I had to take out something from the back side of the grilles with the famous and good Dremel tool. I can post some details here when time permits. EDIT : The elements that are used in this kit are : Midwoofer Peerless 832513 (which I intend to leave out , and use the existing door woofers ) Mid Peerless V-line TG9FD 10-04 Tweeter SEAS 25TAFFN/G And naturally some other components to do the crossovers. This "kit" is actually designed for car use , and is considered HiFi.... :wink: , but as I mentioned , haven't done it yet. So can't say anything about sound or fitment.

I am hoping you are replacing the OEM kit and not the Bose kit? I have just bought a car with the Bose upgrade and I thought it sounded pretty good! I know in some cars the Bose upgrades aren't much better than the cheaper option and you are better of savig a bundle and buying after market kit, my 350Z was a prime example, but in the two Audis I have had the Bose has been superb.

the BOSE in my car sounds fine. wouldnt consider changing it.

No it's not the BOSE speakers guys. I was going to ask if anyone has heard the diff between the standard speakers and the BOSE? Or if i'm going to change is it worth me going for the MB? Are they much better than the BOSE? I have BOSE in both the A4 convertible and the RS4 and it sounds excellent, so would expect similar quality to those. I'm seriously thinking about uprgrading the head unit though to the Becker Grand Prix, would love to hear opinions on this also. Cheers Taran :?:

Re: 996 speakers Cheers eki912. To be honest though, i don't want to get my fingers dirty so will be getting my mate who owns an ICE shop to install. Also, i don't want to spend too much on it either, so will be keeping it simple! Taran

I am also thinking of urgrading, but to the Becker Indianapolis with Nav. Anyone got this system ? Steve

Re: 996 speakers Cheers eki912. To be honest though, i don't want to get my fingers dirty so will be getting my mate who owns an ICE shop to install. Also, i don't want to spend too much on it either, so will be keeping it simple! Taran [/quote] OK , If you have a pro to do the job , then it is easier. Not necessarily cheap though. That´s why I am going for this DIY route , as it involves only fooling around with dashboard speakers. They come out relatively easily. The doors are another story.... This DIY kit shouldn´t cost too much anyway , especially considering that it should be a huge improvement to any available kit , that fits there. There aren't too many available , I hate to say.

At the Ragley bash I was listening to A set of Rainbow speakers in a 964. http://www.four-online.co.uk/ £3500 total cost of the kit involved! Sounded phenominal though!!! MAIN THING .. I never really thought about this untill it was pointed out. Just fitting new speakers is pointless! You need to "sound deadon" the back of the doors to get a good base response. Ok Ok ... go out and tap your door! Very thin metal huh! A bit like putting a set of speakers in a cake tin really as was explained. Made lots of sense too! So .. I liked these guys attitude and sound quality. The Rainbow speakers sound great. BUT!! Like most things its preperation and knowing exactly what your doing!! I'm debating stuff but at way under £3500!!

Oh its all about getting the set-up right as in an amp and "stuff" not just the head unit apparently!

Hi David, Thanks for the tips. A couple of my good friends have spent £000's and £000's on sound sytems on their cars and I know what it's all about. I don't want any Sub enclosures behing the rear seats or running an amp in the front compartment. The amount of power that you can gain from a good head unit will be more than sufficient for the sound level i require. If you were to run Subs, then naturally i would recommend an amp and also power-cap for the system so not to drain the car battery. With regards to the tinny nature of the metal, Porsche ain't too bad to be honest, but you can apply dyno-mat to sound proof the car if you are going for a serious sound system. BUT this is heavy and I won't require it for what I need. I just want a richer quality of sound which can be gained from speaker components with the need for separate amps or subs. I'm not after heavy bass or loudness. Cheers Taran