Chaps,
There is occasionally a thread on here which mentions audio in 944's, but I don't think I have ever seen a thread dedicated to it. There have been discussions about head units and whatnot but not much more than that. Hopefully this thread will pick up the pieces.
I have had my S2 for getting on for a decade now and I've never been totally happy with the sound in it. It is a 'standard' model in that it didn't have the 10-speaker option, just the 6x4 speaker hole in the front doors and the 6inch speakers in the rear panels. I have fitted an aftermarket head unit (a Blaupunkt DAB unit, as I very much like digital radio) with a home-made DAB aerial in one of the A-pillars. The built-in amplifier in this connects to the rear speakers, and there are RCA cables running to the boot where I have mounted a small, old-school Rockford Fosgate amp in one of the rear wells. This is connected to the front two speakers, which are JBL 6452 units, like this:
The problem with speakers in the front doors is that the window mechanism behind them catches the back of the deeper ones, and hence the choices are limited. These JBL units were recommended and just about work, although they have had to be spaced out a little and are very tight.Of course, you can't space them out too far as they catch on the end of the dashboard. I have also put a small amount of sound-deadening mat inside the front of the doors, which made a huge difference, and put some more capacitors across the front speakers to act as high-pass filters, ensuring that they aren't trying to play anything too bassy.
The end result? They are OK, but nothing more. The speakers distort quite readily, particularly on lower frequencies (despite the capacitors) and don't produce much in the way of bass. The whole lot is OK at lower volumes, but if driving more enthusiastically with the roof (and wife) out, the inadequacies are soon very apparent.
New speakers in the front would seem to be the way to go. Something larger, preferably, although I am VERY keen not to add weight and equally keen not to make it look too non-standard. 4 inch components would be a good idea but they don't produce much bass, and are both rare and expensive. 5.25inch components would be better, but will be larger and hence harder to fit. For reasons of weight, I'm happy to stick with four speakers and don't want to start adding heavy bass boxes.
If anyone has any good suggestions for things to do to improve the car's audio system then I'd be interested to hear. Equally, some photos of what has worked in other cars would be good. In the meantime, here are some shots of the front speakers in mine and the amp in the boot.
Speaker, driver's side, without cover, showing overlap with dashboard.
Passenger side, with cover.
Amp in boot, mounted on board.
Oli.
There is occasionally a thread on here which mentions audio in 944's, but I don't think I have ever seen a thread dedicated to it. There have been discussions about head units and whatnot but not much more than that. Hopefully this thread will pick up the pieces.
I have had my S2 for getting on for a decade now and I've never been totally happy with the sound in it. It is a 'standard' model in that it didn't have the 10-speaker option, just the 6x4 speaker hole in the front doors and the 6inch speakers in the rear panels. I have fitted an aftermarket head unit (a Blaupunkt DAB unit, as I very much like digital radio) with a home-made DAB aerial in one of the A-pillars. The built-in amplifier in this connects to the rear speakers, and there are RCA cables running to the boot where I have mounted a small, old-school Rockford Fosgate amp in one of the rear wells. This is connected to the front two speakers, which are JBL 6452 units, like this:
The problem with speakers in the front doors is that the window mechanism behind them catches the back of the deeper ones, and hence the choices are limited. These JBL units were recommended and just about work, although they have had to be spaced out a little and are very tight.Of course, you can't space them out too far as they catch on the end of the dashboard. I have also put a small amount of sound-deadening mat inside the front of the doors, which made a huge difference, and put some more capacitors across the front speakers to act as high-pass filters, ensuring that they aren't trying to play anything too bassy.
The end result? They are OK, but nothing more. The speakers distort quite readily, particularly on lower frequencies (despite the capacitors) and don't produce much in the way of bass. The whole lot is OK at lower volumes, but if driving more enthusiastically with the roof (and wife) out, the inadequacies are soon very apparent.
New speakers in the front would seem to be the way to go. Something larger, preferably, although I am VERY keen not to add weight and equally keen not to make it look too non-standard. 4 inch components would be a good idea but they don't produce much bass, and are both rare and expensive. 5.25inch components would be better, but will be larger and hence harder to fit. For reasons of weight, I'm happy to stick with four speakers and don't want to start adding heavy bass boxes.
If anyone has any good suggestions for things to do to improve the car's audio system then I'd be interested to hear. Equally, some photos of what has worked in other cars would be good. In the meantime, here are some shots of the front speakers in mine and the amp in the boot.
Speaker, driver's side, without cover, showing overlap with dashboard.
Passenger side, with cover.
Amp in boot, mounted on board.
Oli.
