1999 PCM1 Upgrade or replace... your advice, please

[ThomasCrown]

Hi

This is my first post, so be gentle with me ;-)

I've just taken ownership of a 996 Millennium Edition, which I'm really happy with.

However, the car has the original PCM1 system fitted as standard. I'm aware that this has serious limitations in terms of upgrading maps and hooking an iPod up etc.

As this unit was standard fit in the car, I don't want to get rid of it altogether and I'd prefer to keep the 'in dash screen' look and set-up.

I've seen a lot of debate on the forum around the possibility of upgrading this unit, so my question is... should I upgrade the existing unit and is it possible to connect an iPod to this unit, or is there a better solution i.e. should I remove the unit and replace it with an aftermarket double din unit (e.g. Pioneer, Becker, Kenwood...) and (naturally) keep the PCM unit safely should a future owner want to return the car to its original spec?

Any advice or solutions would be really appreciated.

Thanks

[typhon]

Hi

This is my first post, so be gentle with me ;-)

I've just taken ownership of a 996 Millennium Edition, which I'm really happy with.

However, the car has the original PCM1 system fitted as standard. I'm aware that this has serious limitations in terms of upgrading maps and hooking an iPod up etc.

As this unit was standard fit in the car, I don't want to get rid of it altogether and I'd prefer to keep the 'in dash screen' look and set-up.

I've seen a lot of debate on the forum around the possibility of upgrading this unit, so my question is... should I upgrade the existing unit and is it possible to connect an iPod to this unit, or is there a better solution i.e. should I remove the unit and replace it with an aftermarket double din unit (e.g. Pioneer, Becker, Kenwood...) and (naturally) keep the PCM unit safely should a future owner want to return the car to its original spec?

Any advice or solutions would be really appreciated.

Thanks

i have the same car, same dilema.

you will find the navi to be very limited. the last update for the unit was 2001. nothing newer is available. sometimes it shows me driving around in the wilderness with none of the streets showing up. new units are easily upgradeable.

i have opted to replace the entire unit with a more updated touch-screen model. i have been looking at several and have not decided on one yet. i have been searching the forums for a while and have not really found a 6 speaker install yet. there have been plenty where subs were added to a 4 speaker system, but i would like to keep the subs in the doors where the low freq. drivers are currently mounted. i also need to find out if there is an amp that can handle that, like the stock one that is currently installed or do i need two amps?

if you look for my previous posts, you will see one that addresses the reverse phasing of the rear speakers. that is the stock wiring. i am still not sure if new speakers should be wired this way or not.

i think that you have the right idea, i.e. replacing the system and storing the stock unit. you just have a little research to do on choosing the best replacement for you.

hope all of this helps. let me know what you go with.

[EGamble3]

It appears I am now cosidering the same issue. Need to replace the PCM1 but have been told that there is no retrofit kit available for this model Porsche at my local stereo shop. Is this true. I don't need anything serious in terms of speaker system but would like a nice touch screen radio with navigation.

Edward

[Loren]

It appears I am now cosidering the same issue. Need to replace the PCM1 but have been told that there is no retrofit kit available for this model Porsche at my local stereo shop. Is this true. I don't need anything serious in terms of speaker system but would like a nice touch screen radio with navigation.

Edward

That is correct - if you do a search you will find a number of folks that have done aftermarket upgrades that are much better than the Porsche supplied units.

[ALBERTQ17]

Here are three options for running four speakers and two door subs with one amplifier.

1. Get a 6 ch amplifier. They are not a lot of options, but they are out there. ( JL Audio G6600 )

2. Get a 5 ch amplifier. Power the door speakers on the sub ch either in parallel or series depending on the resistance of the speakers and the rating of the amp.

3. Get a 4 ch amplifier. Get one that will double it's output when connected to half the load. For example: 100 watts into 2 ohms, and 50 watts into 4 ohms, which is very common. Connect each side of mid and high frequency speakers in parallel to two of the channels, and bridge the door speakers to the other channels using the amps crossover to separate frequencies between the speakers. If you go this rout, I think you should go with an aftermarket sub for the doors. I think the factory door subs are 2 ohms, so if you connect them in parallel your amp will see a 1 ohm load that it will not like, and if you connect them in series, the amp will see 4 ohms and it will give you 50 watts for both speakers while the other speakers get 50 watts each. you can play with the gain controls but it's still not the ideal situation.

Hope this helps

Albert

Edited August 14, 2010 by ALBERTQ17