Sound Systems

[Guest]

Anyone have the bose upgrade in their boxster? I get my car in a couple of weeks but it only has the standard CD player and speakers. Is it any good? I was thinking it might be cheaper to go for an aftermarket speaker upgrade i.e Alpine or something and get Drivers to come up with something.

Thoughts anyone?

Paul

 

[Guest]

Hi Paul,

I've got the Bose system in my 53 plate 2.7. The sound is good, but having had previous cars with subs I think the sound is a bit light on Bass. Mind you, there's not exactly a lot of space to put a sub in, so at least with the Bose you don't loose any boot space (I don't think it can be retro fitted).

I'd be interested to hear what a decent aftermarket ICE place had to say about it though, because you can get quite a lot of good kit for the price Porsche charge for the Bose (around £1100 once you include the multi changer and knock off the price of the wind deflector).

Let me know how you get on.

 

[jac in a box]

Hi Paul

I haven't heard the Bose system as fitted to the Boxster, but I have had a TT with Bose and it was OK but nothing special, so I'll make a dangerous assumption - it won't be too special in the Boxster.

I have recently had the so called "upgraded sound system" in my Boxster replaced with some after market equipment - it's now fabulous!

Some pictures and a very brief "how to" is here:

http://www.porsche-1.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=958

I'll apologise now if it's considered "bad manners" to refer to other forums or even X-post....simply offering another perspective on improving / getting the best VFM sounds in your car!

And the other half is still being "sweet talked" into writing a more detailed document on how to tackle the upgrade as a DIY project!

Merry Xmas all

Jackie x

 

[Guest]

thanks all.

Paul Bigman

 

[Mark_Bennett]

And the other half is still being "sweet talked" into writing a more detailed document on how to tackle the upgrade as a DIY project!

Thanks Jackie!

The Boxster Register and Porsche Post will be very grateful...[]

 

[Guest]

(I don't think it can be retro fitted).

It can, but it's expensive and IMHO worth it.

I bought a Bose rear shelf speaker system from Porsche (£650 approx plus £450 approx for fitting inc amp ). Since saw them on Ebay for £350.

I originally had the Porsche advanced sound system which sounds great in the showroom but is useless at over about 60mph with the top down. You really need the sound coming from just behind your ears.

I would now always specify the Bose system from new. Have a look at the Bose site which has v interesting illustration and description of how the system was designed for each car and how sound is reflected from the various surfaces.
I have personally tested Bose at 135mph with the top down in my Boxster S and I could still hear the music quite well. The ability to play loud music at high speed is surely an essential element of a sports car.

I tested Bose in my wifes Caynenne last week at 144mph and still sounds good.

 

[Guest]

B3sun,

Wow, you really do test the speed Vs sound to quite an extent!!

Paul Bigman

 

[Dapster]

The acoustics of the car itself are obviously very important. I listened to the Bose effect in my colleagues new shape Audi A8 and it was beyond belief, just stunning. I've heard that the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus is even better. I'm tempted to order Bose in my Boxster as I can't be arsed to research and go down the after market ICE route. Will definitely listen to Bose before ordering to ensure that it offers a tangible benefit over the Sound Pack I currently have. Not sure it'll be a grand better though.....

 

[Andy Tims]

Why bother?

The standard system is fairly reasonable & nothing is going to compete with wind/road/engine noise at high speed unless you want to have it so loud as to make you deaf.

Anyway the best music comes from the large lump just behind you.

Do you want a car or an audio system?

Time to get back in my box I guess.[]

 

[Guest]

Andy,

It depends what mood you are in and how important music is to you. Personally I need my music, being in a band etc. But yes somedays there is no need, and all aural pleasure can come from the engine.

Paul Bigman

 

[Andy Tims]

Of course. It's your dosh after all, but all my mates who are in bands are deaf as posts. The worst of them rides a bike too, which just compounds the problem.

Why not take a "test drive" of an upgraded car & then decide if it's worth it.

 

[Guest]

when i got my company car (mondeo no choice) i was surprised how damn good the stereo was... i havent heard any in the boxter's yet... but just have a gut instint i'll be disappointed....

no doubt a porsche sys is quite expensive so just out of value for money i'd prob fit my own prob with sat nav too

dunno if that was any help just my t'pennys worth...

 

[Guest]

<Do you want a car or an audio system?>



That's what I said when I ordered the Porsche advanced system but it really is useless over about 60 with the top down..

But the added exhilaration of loud music at high speed is fantastic so though my Bose upgrade was expensive it was , for me , worth it.

So now I have both.

I would have saved about £700 if I had ordered it with the car.

Bose approx £1,000

Porsche advanced approx £600

Upgrade approx £1,100

 

[thboxster]

Just another opinion into the pot:

On my MY02 I had the Porsche sound pack fitted when it was ordered and the CDR22. With the top down, which is the way it should be driven (if pos.) The stereo does that sound levelling thing where it listens to the background noise in the car and raises the stereo sound to compensate. When I hit 75-85, the volume increases, but the sound quality really does fall off, to the extent that at times, I have to turn it down. Basically, the setup has too much mid range which gets washed out by wind noise. It needs more base and high-end, and a little less mid.

This time round i've ordered the Bose pack with the copious amount of speakers including the big base and the extra tweeters. Test drive proved better with the sound, but the real test will only come in June when it arrives.

 

[Guest]

I have now had my car for 3 days and its the bog standard sterero and its pretty average. I agree that Ford seem to produce cheap and nasty looking but pretty good sounding stereos. Had a focus on hire once and I was surprised at the bass response. There was an advert in GT magazine this month for a self fitting back shelf upgrade for (from memory) £150.

Might try that as it aint much cash but should provider better weightier sound.

Paul Bigman

 

[Guest]

thboxter, I wonder if you would be kind enough to try to shed light on my own puzzle. I too have a sound pack in a Boxter S (2001) that was speced (for the original owner) with a cdr-22 but came to me with a cr-22 (loose, as it had a Blaupunkt in situ). My recent purchase, a nice new (second hand) becker 4720-CD-radio-sat nav, has to all intents and purposes the same outputs (plus a woofer) from the pre-amp as a cdr/cr-22 and Blaupunkt.

My query is; how should the fader behave and what frequency range (approximately) should I expect from the door speakers. The Blaupunkt, just like the Becker does now, produced a very low almost woofer like sound and without any real perceivable volume. On the other hand when faded all the way to the doors, there was no sound at all - is this normal or is there something amiss.

Cheers [8|]

 

[Black80XSA]

The fader basically is not used, as in effect the headunit only drives front speakers

The rear parcel shelf aftermarket unit can be plugged into the spare socket on the rear of the headunit, and then acts as rear speakers. The bose unit is a subwoofer, so still works off the front channels.

The door speakers only handle bass notes, the ones atop the dash handle highs and mids.



On the 986 the speakers are real cr4p - paper Nokia units. The headunit is actually pretty decent quality (albeit not Nakamichi or Levinson quality). The sound pack amp is not that bad, albeit a bit lightweight in both sonic and physical terms.

The only real issue with just changing the speakers is finding a matched set, as most three way kits that include a 4" midrange tend to use 6.5" bass units which means modifying the stock door housings.

MB Quart do some reasonable quality units for not huge money, after that you're into serious stuff like Morel, Focal, DLS, Diamond or Rainbow.

 

[jw2015]

When looking for my Boxster I had the upgraded sound sysem as one of my must haves, as I've always had best bang for medium bucks sort of systems in my cars and at home. When the Boxster I have appeared, it had everything I was looking for except the upgraded sound system, but after checking that the standard 2 speaker sound system wasn't going to be the worst thing I ever heard, I bought the car. I find the standard system perfectly acceptable and I have a 7 speaker concert hall on wheels as my other car. With the top up, it's more than acceptable for 80-90mph cruising along the motorway. With the top down, I tend to find that at 60 or 70mph on a country road, I don't really care what the sound system is like, and I do like my music too. I personally wouldn't bother with the Bose upgrade, it's a lot of money for something you'll not be noticing as you roar along at high revs with the top down.

 

[Guest]

I make frequent trips to the south of France and can assure you that fast driving with the Bose switched up is, for me, worth every penny.

The first time I did the trip in my MY02 car with the Porsche sound pack was on a charity run to Monaco (the Grand Tour) with Ferrari's, Astons and a few Turbo's and a Lambo so as you can imagine the pace was far from gentle. We hardly touched motorways and covered some fabulous mountain roads.

The second time on the Grand Tour with the Bose rear speaker meant I could actually clearly hear the music clearly as I drove fast with the top down. Fantastic!

Test both at speed with the top down is my advice.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Black80XSA, having spoken to a Becker service station in the UK (and they to Porsche and Becker in Germany) and a few Porsche centres, you have provided much more. I have a Nakamichi amp in a draw (and cassette head actually) that I'm clinging onto from my Lotus Esprit of years and years ago. Should I consider resurecting it do you think. I can't say which one it is, but I know the place that fitted it also fitted Cliff Richards [:-] It was always okay for me though - It would even play AC DC [8D]

Cheers