Headunit Upgrade

[mattevans1983]

Hi guys, first time poster and Porsche owner,

I have a Boxster 2006 plate, with single CD/Radio and BOSE system, here in lies my confusion,

I have searched many forums seeing if it is possible to replace this CDR24 with an aftermarket double din unit.

Now, most forums tell me that the BOSE system is an active system and changing the headunits requires changing the sub and the speakers as they are specially connected.

However, one of my friends who has had his Audi done says you can have looms (spelling) fitted that just makes everything click together and then all I need to do it get the headunit, pay for the install and get a Porsche facia plate for the double din.

Can anyone confirm that this is possible? Or (as I have read on most forums) do installers tend to not want to do these BOSE installs due to the complexity?

Many thanks for your advice!
Matt

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

These cars have a fibre optic loop, which transmits control signals and sound between the head unit, amplifier, CD changer, phone, etc. The difficulty with fitting an aftermarket head unit is that there are no conventional (wired) inputs on the Bose amplifier. As far as I know, nobody makes an interface to convert the wired output of the head unit to the optical input of the amp. Hence the amp needs to be changed. Another slight snag is that Bose systems have speakers with odd impedances, so they may need rewiring or changing.

 

[berty987]

Try looking on planet-9.com under the articles section for electronics. There are a few specialist companies that make looms to allow interfacing the BOSE amp with an aftermarket head unit though they are costly. The difficulty you have is that the Bose amp is matched to the protocols of the porsche PCM / CDR head unit , the head units act as the timing device and controller/ gateway for the MOST fibre optic loop. The communications from the head unit are transferred solely by MOST fibre optic , only the outputs from the amp to speakers are copper wire . The speakers and subwoofer are also matched impeadence to the BOSE amp , so if you plan to change these as well , you are almost certainly looking at changing the amp too.

There are a few people on www.boxa.net you could contact if you plan to remove the complete bose system and replace with high quality audio with an aftermarket double din nav/phone/radio/mp3 head unit. The double din kits are available on e bay for a few pounds but its a lot of work to rewire and install aftermarket stuff.

The bose equipment is one of the better systems fitted to the boxster/ cayman , what is your reason for changing the head unit ? If its a requirment to play MP3 or have bluetooth there are neat and unobtrusive solutions available from Dension and Mobridge , or hands free interface kits from parrot. If your requirement is to have Navigation, the PCM 2.1 can be retro fitted to your car with relatively straight forward coding from a dealer or independent with PWIS (workshop coding tool) Think carefully about the PCM option though as the maps are expensive and only available from porsche and it doesnt have the flexibility to add personal data such as speed cameras etc.

 

[Andy Fagan]

So the PCM 2.1 is compatible with the Bose system cars but just need adapting?