Update the rear speaker system to Bose Subwoofer system

[wzf18r]

Currently my boxster had 2 dash speakers and a rear storage box with built-in speakers, but no door speakers.

I would like to upgrade the rear speaker system to a Bose system with subwoofer, do anyone know it is a stright simple swap? Are the connectors on both speakers system are compatible? Do I need to upgrade my AMP inorder to update the speakers or I can keep my existing AMP (I am not planning to add any door speakers in the future).

Any help is appreciate

Thanks

:D

[Chris_in_NH]

from what i've heard, the Bose sub didn't give the amount of bass you would expect from a subwoofer. plus it was crazy expensive.

personally, i'd look for a slim-line compact sub (like the Kenwood KSC-SW1) or a custom sub from Monney.com.

here's a pic of the KSC-SW1 - i'll be buying one this week.

this page briefly compares 3 of the smaller subs.

http://www.bizrate.com/carsubwoofers/produ...226250--on.html

custom from Monney...

just my $.02

[wzf18r]

Thanks for your information, but I still would like to go after the Porsche Bose rear speakers system, do anyone now is it a stright forward swap from Porsche storage box with 2 speakers system to Bose rear speaker system with subwoofer

Please advice

Thanks

[wzf18r]

I finally swapped my exiting rear speaker system with the Bose rear system, it is a stright forward swap, both system are using the same connectors. All I need to do is to unplugged the connector on the existing rear speaker system and then plug it into the new Bose system and it works

Edited December 4, 2006 by Thomas Ching

[Westcoaster]

from what i've heard, the Bose sub didn't give the amount of bass you would expect from a subwoofer. plus it was crazy expensive.

personally, i'd look for a slim-line compact sub (like the Kenwood KSC-SW1) or a custom sub from Monney.com.

here's a pic of the KSC-SW1 - i'll be buying one this week.

this page briefly compares 3 of the smaller subs.

http://www.bizrate.com/carsubwoofers/produ...226250--on.html

custom from Monney...

just my $.02

The Kenwood unit may be the only one that fits, but I like the spec and looks of the Infinity unit better. If I could only find room for it... :(

[Chris_in_NH]

The Kenwood unit may be the only one that fits, but I like the spec and looks of the Infinity unit better. If I could only find room for it... :(

yup, me too. i know someone that has both the Infinity and the Kenwood. he prefers the Infinity (which is too big for the Boxster). you can't blame him, it has a bigger driver and can hit lower bass notes (notes you can't 'hear', but 'feel'.)

[PrinciPorsche]

How big is the standard Bose sub?

[Chris_in_NH]

How big is the standard Bose sub?

i'm going to estimate that it's 10" wide and 4" high (the speaker). it fits in the section under the rollbar (where the storage shelf is) and it doesn't take up the whole length of the rear shelf, just the middle part. i don't know how deep it is...

but i hope Thomas will post back to tell us how it sounds.

[wzf18r]

I haven't test drive it a lot after the swap, since it is already snowing in Canada and the car already in storage. I find it the base is a bit better than my previous rear speaker system, but I need to spend more time on it to compare the different. The Bose system size is identical to my previous speakers system, my previous system is a factory storage chasis with 2 speakers on each side and there are sliding dorrs on the center.

[RAZOR1]

How big is the standard Bose sub?

i'm going to estimate that it's 10" wide and 4" high (the speaker). it fits in the section under the rollbar (where the storage shelf is) and it doesn't take up the whole length of the rear shelf, just the middle part. i don't know how deep it is...

but i hope Thomas will post back to tell us how it sounds.

FYI.. There are two 5.25" subs (more like mid bass drivers then woofers) along with two 1" tweeters. Spend the money on something else. I loaded the factory bose box with 5.25" FOCAL components. Is like night and day.

Joe

[PrinciPorsche]

How big is the standard Bose sub?

i'm going to estimate that it's 10" wide and 4" high (the speaker). it fits in the section under the rollbar (where the storage shelf is) and it doesn't take up the whole length of the rear shelf, just the middle part. i don't know how deep it is...

but i hope Thomas will post back to tell us how it sounds.

FYI.. There are two 5.25" subs (more like mid bass drivers then woofers) along with two 1" tweeters. Spend the money on something else. I loaded the factory bose box with 5.25" FOCAL components. Is like night and day.

Joe

How much did the Focals cost?

[burfieldstuff]

i have the bose bass box which i recently i bought from eb*y, i have the front speakers on my car only and a becker tp sat nav which has exactly the same connections as the original porsche head unit.

what i need to know is what harness would i need to connect the bass box to the head, does it need an amp or just a straight connection direct from head to speakers.

here is a few pics of the box stripped down (just the one side) and the connector.

thanks

steve

Edited December 15, 2006 by burfieldstuff

[wzf18r]

You Don't need an AMP, I got the cable form my previous rear speaker system, one end go to the Porsche Factory CD or Tape unit and the other end connected to the Bose speakers system connector.

I am not sure where you can get that cable individually, but I know on Ebay, all rear speaker upgrade system came with that particular cable, email those sellers, they may have extra cable for sale.

[shastamonk]

Burfieldstuff, are those the stock speakers that are in the rear sub? Or are they aftermarket?

[burfieldstuff]

Burfieldstuff, are those the stock speakers that are in the rear sub? Or are they aftermarket?

I really dont know m8, they are bose speakers in a box designed around the parcel shelf and covered in bose stickers and mouldings.

i have made myself a wiring harness that will connect direct to my becker iso connector so i wont need an amp, and yes i rewired the speakers in series to keep the impedance within my units limits, i got it down to 4.6 ohms by splitting 50% 50%, not ideal i know sound wise but i will give it a go.

i found an excellent writeup........................

in my ignorance i didnt get a name to credit this to but thanks anyway...............

1. The correct way:

You need two cross-over filters, one for high and one for low.

Typically, the low cross-over is available (built-in) on amplifiers with woofer out, the high cross-over is just a coil and capacitor (buy anywhere). This way you can regulate the bass and treble seperately.

Make sure that the amp you connect to the woofer can handle the very low impedance. (High current amps). Most amps will fry themselves when connected to the woofer (including your TrafficPro and existing Nokia amp).

2. The simple way:

Connect each subwoofer in series to a tweeter, and break the parallel connection. This raises the impedance on the left and right channel to (2+1) 3 Ohms which is ok with most amplifiers. The disadvantage is that the bass and treble cannot be seperated, and the maximum power is somewhat limited (although the 5.25" size also limits this). This way you can connect them to the Traffic Pro directly.

On your Traffic Pro, you should find both connector B and C1 being unused.

If you go for option 1 (new amp), you connect your (new) amp to the pins in connector C1:

C1: line output rear left

C2: line output rear right

C3: line output ground

C6: subwoofer line output

Note that C6 is full-range, not low-range. You still need a cross over filter if you connect to a sub (but the Bose 5.25" speakers can handle full range I understand)

You will also need to connect A5 (remote power on lead) to the amp.

If you select option 2 (speakers in series) you should use connector B directly to the speakers:

B1: loudspeaker rear right +

B2: loudspeaker rear right -

B7: loudspeaker rear left +

B8: loudspeaker rear left -

Do not mix options 1 and 2.

steve

Edited December 17, 2006 by burfieldstuff

[burfieldstuff]

it sounds crap!........

i need an amp :-)

[RAZOR1]

Burfieldstuff, are those the stock speakers that are in the rear sub? Or are they aftermarket?

Those are the factory/stock speakers. I replaced them in mine with the Focal Kevlar series. Same speakers in the factory door box's and then MB Quart Ref's in the front.

With the factory Becker head unit and amp it sounds decent. 100% better then it was. Have ordered 2 new JL Audio amps and a new Nakamichi deck to make it sound even better.

[burfieldstuff]

Burfieldstuff, are those the stock speakers that are in the rear sub? Or are they aftermarket?

Those are the factory/stock speakers. I replaced them in mine with the Focal Kevlar series. Same speakers in the factory door box's and then MB Quart Ref's in the front.

With the factory Becker head unit and amp it sounds decent. 100% better then it was. Have ordered 2 new JL Audio amps and a new Nakamichi deck to make it sound even better.

did you just replace the woofers in the box, what were the impedance please mate.

cheers

steve

[Chris_in_NH]

With the factory Becker head unit and amp it sounds decent. 100% better then it was. Have ordered 2 new JL Audio amps and a new Nakamichi deck to make it sound even better.

which Nak deck did you get? CD-400/500/700-II? i picked up a CD-500 about a month ago and it crapped out on me. i kept getting disc errors with any disc that i played (brand new discs, burned CDs, etc.) it's sitting here in a box ready to be shipped back for replacement. i did a lot of research on the Nak decks before i bought one and read that while the sound quality is top-notch, the build quality is less-than-stellar. something to do with them being built in Malaysia now, as opposed to Japan.

the only Nak deck that i personally wouldn't buy is the CD-300 which has a 1-bit Digital/Analog Converter (IIRC), compared to the 24-bit DAC in the CD-400/500/700-IIs.

[RAZOR1]

With the factory Becker head unit and amp it sounds decent. 100% better then it was. Have ordered 2 new JL Audio amps and a new Nakamichi deck to make it sound even better.

which Nak deck did you get? CD-400/500/700-II? i picked up a CD-500 about a month ago and it crapped out on me. i kept getting disc errors with any disc that i played (brand new discs, burned CDs, etc.) it's sitting here in a box ready to be shipped back for replacement. i did a lot of research on the Nak decks before i bought one and read that while the sound quality is top-notch, the build quality is less-than-stellar. something to do with them being built in Malaysia now, as opposed to Japan.

the only Nak deck that i personally wouldn't buy is the CD-300 which has a 1-bit Digital/Analog Converter (IIRC), compared to the 24-bit DAC in the CD-400/500/700-IIs.

Used the 400. I had heard about the qaulity issues but I really like the almost factory look without all the crap new radios have. Organic display, ect.

Plus it has a warranty..Can always send it back.

[RAZOR1]

Burfieldstuff, are those the stock speakers that are in the rear sub? Or are they aftermarket?

Those are the factory/stock speakers. I replaced them in mine with the Focal Kevlar series. Same speakers in the factory door box's and then MB Quart Ref's in the front.

With the factory Becker head unit and amp it sounds decent. 100% better then it was. Have ordered 2 new JL Audio amps and a new Nakamichi deck to make it sound even better.

did you just replace the woofers in the box, what were the impedance please mate.

cheers

steve

Yes. I reused the factory box. They fit right in. Bolt/screw holes lined up like perfect. I had to make blanks to mount the tweeters to as thefactory tweeters have the bolt holes built into the frame of the speakers. the blankswere nothing more then a kevlar look plastic cover I had for an old C.A.I.. Cut it to fit. Snaded the edges. Easy, Easy.

[ChrisZang]

Hi Thomas,

I also just bought a Bose rear speaker system on eBay to replace my stock (cubby) speaker system.

I just took the whole thing apart and looked at the wiring. And what I found is really weird:

The Bose box has two sets of speakers

1.) two tweeters, 3 Ohm each

2.) two drivers for the subwoofer, 1 Ohm each

The weird thing is that the two tweeters are connected parallel and the two subwoofer drivers are connected parallel.

Well, the connector out of the Bose unit has only four wires.

That means if you hook up your original wire then you will have the following effect:

One channel (dunno if left or right) will be connect to the two tweeters

The other channel will be connected to the subwoofer.

In simple words you will hear the left channel in high and the right channel in low (or the other way around), not exactly Hi-Fi.

To make things worse as each pair of speakers is connected in parallel now the tweeters are total 1.5 Ohm and the subwoofer 0.5 Ohm

Several conclusions:

1.) The Bose cable (from the head unit or Bose amp) has different wiring than the stock Porsche cable

2.) If you hook the Bose box up with the stock Porsche cable you will hear something, but I am pretty sure it will sound like crap

3.) If you hook the Bose box up with the stock Porsche cable sooner or later your head unit or amp will overheat and fail as the impedance of the Bose sepakers is WAY to low.

So here is what I will be doing:

* rewire the speakers (as suggest in this thread) that one tweeter and one woofer are in line each.

* rewire the cabling to the connector so that I hear left in the left speakers and right in the right speakers

Unfortunately I have to go on a business trip tomorrow but I'll keep posting about my little project as it goes along.

to be continued ....

I haven't test drive it a lot after the swap, since it is already snowing in Canada and the car already in storage. I find it the base is a bit better than my previous rear speaker system, but I need to spend more time on it to compare the different. The Bose system size is identical to my previous speakers system, my previous system is a factory storage chasis with 2 speakers on each side and there are sliding dorrs on the center.

[mistasmiff]

Hi Thomas,

I also just bought a Bose rear speaker system on eBay to replace my stock (cubby) speaker system.

I just took the whole thing apart and looked at the wiring. And what I found is really weird:

The Bose box has two sets of speakers

1.) two tweeters, 3 Ohm each

2.) two drivers for the subwoofer, 1 Ohm each

The weird thing is that the two tweeters are connected parallel and the two subwoofer drivers are connected parallel.

Well, the connector out of the Bose unit has only four wires.

That means if you hook up your original wire then you will have the following effect:

One channel (dunno if left or right) will be connect to the two tweeters

The other channel will be connected to the subwoofer.

In simple words you will hear the left channel in high and the right channel in low (or the other way around), not exactly Hi-Fi.

To make things worse as each pair of speakers is connected in parallel now the tweeters are total 1.5 Ohm and the subwoofer 0.5 Ohm

Several conclusions:

1.) The Bose cable (from the head unit or Bose amp) has different wiring than the stock Porsche cable

2.) If you hook the Bose box up with the stock Porsche cable you will hear something, but I am pretty sure it will sound like crap

3.) If you hook the Bose box up with the stock Porsche cable sooner or later your head unit or amp will overheat and fail as the impedance of the Bose sepakers is WAY to low.

So here is what I will be doing:

* rewire the speakers (as suggest in this thread) that one tweeter and one woofer are in line each.

* rewire the cabling to the connector so that I hear left in the left speakers and right in the right speakers

Unfortunately I have to go on a business trip tomorrow but I'll keep posting about my little project as it goes along.

to be continued ....

I haven't test drive it a lot after the swap, since it is already snowing in Canada and the car already in storage. I find it the base is a bit better than my previous rear speaker system, but I need to spend more time on it to compare the different. The Bose system size is identical to my previous speakers system, my previous system is a factory storage chasis with 2 speakers on each side and there are sliding dorrs on the center.

Very interesting..I have no intention to use the current speakers in my new bose rear deck which I picked up for peanuts off ebay, I'll be ordering 2 6" JL subwoofers and 2 JL tweeters. I just need to make sure the subwoofers are not too deep for the box. B)

[burfieldstuff]

@ ChrisZang been there done that (4 ohms per side) and it sounds like cr*p really p*ss poor volume for some reason.

plan b for me is fit an amp.

steve

[FrayAdjacent986]

Will either of those powered woofer enclosures fit in the Boxste? Say, under the passenger seat?