I've seen a lot of activity on this so I went ahead and did it. I took me a lot of time to figure out where the wires went but it is an easy install that could take about an hour plus all the clean up stuff - so you can benefit from my pain! I think I found a fairly non-obtrusive way to mount it, it mutes the stereo and plays through the exsisting car speakers. I posted an article at:
http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=122
the best part is now I have Bluetooth and an iPod connect for a total cost of about $320.
The article will probably be hard to follow because it's hard to talk about a bunch of wires in a bundle. I was quoted $700 by a shop to install this but I think most people can do it without a problem. As long as cutting and stripping a wire doesn’t make you nervous.
This is really really easy if you don't have Bose but only slightly more difficult if you don't...
Good install, thanks for the article.
I'm glad the wiring through the center channel line worked out.
Hey tme110, good install!
I have read all the installation and I have done some Parrot installations myself on other cars, but there is something I don't understan from your write up, when you say "The only problem I have now is that you cannot use your phone to talk when you are in the car. I may have to add a power switch." what do you mean with that? I use Nokia phones and while talking through the Parrot there is an option on the phones that says something like discreet or phone or something like that to be able to use the phone instead of letting evrybody hear the conversation if that is what you mean. I am not sure if it is an only Nokia feature...
I'll have to look at that. I didn't even think about looking at the phone to disconnect from the parrot. I just assumed it would be too involved while driving. Of course, I have the chocolate phone and I can't even answer a call without it giving me a headache - possibly why I went to bluetooth.
Since youve done some installs, I have a question. I just ran into a major problem. When the car is off or it's just running in park, I can just wisper and the person I talk to can hear me perfectly. But when I'm driving (even at cruse with low engine noise) they have a problem hearing me.....
Can't help you with that one, as I have done all my previous installs in "quieter (I guess) cars", and I just don't own yet the Cayman to know if there is too much noise inside. There are at least two other guys here with a Parrot bluetooth kit installed in their Caymans (and both live in Spain also) the nickname for one of them is Spaniard, the other I don't remember, maybe you can try sending a PM/email to him to see if he has any problem, but I doubt it as they both have had the parrot kits installed by the Porsche dealer and if they keep installing it might be because they don't have customers complaints.
My experience with these kits is that they perform even better (sound clarity) even than OEM systems of other cars, my wife's Opel Vectra sounds like sh*t compared to the Parrot, you hear a lot of road noise when talking to the one driving, but the car just came with the bluetooth integrated, so there was no point in changing.
Have you tried upgrading the firmware of the Parrot? You can download the latest firmware from their website and upgrade using a laptop with bluetooth with no need to unplug from the car.
Ignacio
