New Audio System

[Jorge332655]

I have a 2000 C2 Cab.. Does anyone have any information on upgradeing the soundsystem. Since its a cab i have no idea were i can add a sub. As for the radio i would like to leave it stock and just add an amp to it. Is there a way or a kit to add a bigger amp and replace the one that is in the front? Can i install a Hight to low off of the cables that are in the front. Has anyone tried adding a sub in the front?

[JohnJStewart]

Hi

I have a 99 C2 Cab with the Porsche stereo upgrade which is basically the Radio Cassette head unit and amp plus 6 cd setup. It is rubbish. The speakers are rubbish and the head/amp is rubbish too. So I set about changing it. In my 993 C2 I had a Pioneer Head with MOSFET chip - this basically between 45 and 55 amps depending on model yearand type but pumps out a good oomph and you don't really need an amp - it has lot sof settings to get bass power or whatever your musical tastes are. I had to change the multi cd and disconnect the Posrche amp as they are not compatible or so I was told. So basically my head unit drives the speakers direct. The shop did say that they could dis-assemble the little integrated speaker sets and put in new speakers but it was big money - £100's and didn't really seem worth it. The set up I have was around £150 for the head unit, £90 for the Pioneer CD multi and £100 labour including the special harness needed. Watch out for the alarm wire when you remove the old Porsche head as if you don't sort this properly, you get an alarm beep when you try and lock the car as it thinks some scally has stolen the radio. Easily fixed.

End result, not a bad sound, nice Pioneer head unit and not too much cash. If money is no object, then......well I know a man in the UK but......

[Guest]

I have a 2000 996 C4 cab

The sound system in it is a wopper. I bought it used and the fellow before me had a system installed. It has two amps and subwoofer along with cd changer. The woofer and amps are very neatly located in the trunk. I believe the spare was layed down flat and the sub woofer actualy looks as if it is the hub for the spare it was ported out the wheel well. Then along side the tire twards the front two amps are mounted to the car vertically. I belive he then had a board cut that was carpeted with trunk carpeting and when it is place in you can't see any of it. The cd changer is mounted to the board where it is in most 996's. If you will email me I will take some photo's of it for you and email them to you.

I am not a big fan of booming radios, but it is nice with the top down to crank it up and hear every thing.

sphilhower@knology.net

Hi

I have a 99 C2 Cab with the Porsche stereo upgrade which is basically the Radio Cassette head unit and amp plus 6 cd setup. It is rubbish. The speakers are rubbish and the head/amp is rubbish too. So I set about changing it. In my 993 C2 I had a Pioneer Head with MOSFET chip - this basically between 45 and 55 amps depending on model yearand type but pumps out a good oomph and you don't really need an amp - it has lot sof settings to get bass power or whatever your musical tastes are. I had to change the multi cd and disconnect the Posrche amp as they are not compatible or so I was told. So basically my head unit drives the speakers direct. The shop did say that they could dis-assemble the little integrated speaker sets and put in new speakers but it was big money - £100's and didn't really seem worth it. The set up I have was around £150 for the head unit, £90 for the Pioneer CD multi and £100 labour including the special harness needed. Watch out for the alarm wire when you remove the old Porsche head as if you don't sort this properly, you get an alarm beep when you try and lock the car as it thinks some scally has stolen the radio. Easily fixed.

End result, not a bad sound, nice Pioneer head unit and not too much cash. If money is no object, then......well I know a man in the UK but......

[SPR]

Mosfet has almost nothing to do with power output other than maintaining it better. It merely describes a type of power supply.

Most amps in the head units are junk because they have high thd regardless of power output- that is why most people go to outboard amps.

I have a 2000 996 C4 cab

The sound system in it is a wopper. I bought it used and the fellow before me had a system installed. It has two amps and subwoofer along with cd changer. The woofer and amps are very neatly located in the trunk. I believe the spare was layed down flat and the sub woofer actualy looks as if it is the hub for the spare it was ported out the wheel well. Then along side the tire twards the front two amps are mounted to the car vertically. I belive he then had a board cut that was carpeted with trunk carpeting and when it is place in you can't see any of it. The cd changer is mounted to the board where it is in most 996's. If you will email me I will take some photo's of it for you and email them to you.

I am not a big fan of booming radios, but it is nice with the top down to crank it up and hear every thing.

sphilhower@knology.net

Hi

I have a 99 C2 Cab with the Porsche stereo upgrade which is basically the Radio Cassette head unit and amp plus 6 cd setup. It is rubbish. The speakers are rubbish and the head/amp is rubbish too. So I set about changing it. In my 993 C2 I had a Pioneer Head with MOSFET chip - this basically between 45 and 55 amps depending on model yearand type but pumps out a good oomph and you don't really need an amp - it has lot sof settings to get bass power or whatever your musical tastes are. I had to change the multi cd and disconnect the Posrche amp as they are not compatible or so I was told. So basically my head unit drives the speakers direct. The shop did say that they could dis-assemble the little integrated speaker sets and put in new speakers but it was big money - £100's and didn't really seem worth it. The set up I have was around £150 for the head unit, £90 for the Pioneer CD multi and £100 labour including the special harness needed. Watch out for the alarm wire when you remove the old Porsche head as if you don't sort this properly, you get an alarm beep when you try and lock the car as it thinks some scally has stolen the radio. Easily fixed.

End result, not a bad sound, nice Pioneer head unit and not too much cash. If money is no object, then......well I know a man in the UK but......

[JohnJStewart]

Mosfet has almost nothing to do with power output other than maintaining it better. It merely describes a type of power supply.

Most amps in the head units are junk because they have high thd regardless of power output- that is why most people go to outboard amps.

I have a 2000 996 C4 cab

The sound system in it is a wopper. I bought it used and the fellow before me had a system installed. It has two amps and subwoofer along with cd changer. The woofer and amps are very neatly located in the trunk. I believe the spare was layed down flat and the sub woofer actualy looks as if it is the hub for the spare it was ported out the wheel well. Then along side the tire twards the front two amps are mounted to the car vertically. I belive he then had a board cut that was carpeted with trunk carpeting and when it is place in you can't see any of it. The cd changer is mounted to the board where it is in most 996's. If you will email me I will take some photo's of it for you and email them to you.

I am not a big fan of booming radios, but it is nice with the top down to crank it up and hear every thing.

sphilhower@knology.net

Hi

I have a 99 C2 Cab with the Porsche stereo upgrade which is basically the Radio Cassette head unit and amp plus 6 cd setup. It is rubbish. The speakers are rubbish and the head/amp is rubbish too. So I set about changing it. In my 993 C2 I had a Pioneer Head with MOSFET chip - this basically between 45 and 55 amps depending on model yearand type but pumps out a good oomph and you don't really need an amp - it has lot sof settings to get bass power or whatever your musical tastes are. I had to change the multi cd and disconnect the Posrche amp as they are not compatible or so I was told. So basically my head unit drives the speakers direct. The shop did say that they could dis-assemble the little integrated speaker sets and put in new speakers but it was big money - £100's and didn't really seem worth it. The set up I have was around £150 for the head unit, £90 for the Pioneer CD multi and £100 labour including the special harness needed. Watch out for the alarm wire when you remove the old Porsche head as if you don't sort this properly, you get an alarm beep when you try and lock the car as it thinks some scally has stolen the radio. Easily fixed.

End result, not a bad sound, nice Pioneer head unit and not too much cash. If money is no object, then......well I know a man in the UK but......

OK so MOSFET might not be the greatest HIFI In the cosmos but it is a massive improvement at a reasonable cost over the supposed Porsche HIFI upgrade. Two amps woofers etc is goingto be close to 4 fugures or more and the head unit I used was £150 and throws out some serious sound.

[Jorge332655]

SDPJR, do you have any pics of your installation.. Im curious how they go they sub in and more importantly how they get the sound into the car since i belive there is no fire call from the front trunk to the inside of the car.

[tx996cab]

SDPJR, do you have any pics of your installation.. Im curious how they go they sub in and more importantly how they get the sound into the car since i belive there is no fire call from the front trunk to the inside of the car.

All,

I just had Reus Systems install "The System" in my 2000 C2 Cab and all I can say is "Holy sonic booms batman!!" It has a sub in the spare and a sub in the passenger footwell along with replacement speakers all around. Oh, I also have tweets in the rear-view mirror pointing forward. The imaging is amazing and the system is crystal clear (even at 90 w/ top down!). It is, by far, the best sounding, non-intrusive system I have ever heard. I'm using the stock head unit, so at first glance, it doesn't look like anything's been done but when you crank it up.....

To answer a question about getting the bass up front, the sub in the spare is ported in through the hole where the steering column would be in a RHD (British) vehicle. Amazing engineering.

TX996CAB

[Guest]

I believe my last post got sent prematurely. I was saying that the sub is mounted around the spare using what has to be a kit specially designed for Porsche. It is way to perfect a fit for it not to be a custom kit of some type. I have it all out in the floor right know adding a litronic light system. I should be putting it back together around the 15th and i'll take pictures as i reassemble the unit. Sorry can't be sooner, but i'll be out of town till then

SDPJR, do you have any pics of your installation.. Im curious how they go they sub in and more importantly how they get the sound into the car since i belive there is no fire call from the front trunk to the inside of the car.

[nycebo]

All,

I just had Reus Systems install "The System" in my 2000 C2 Cab and all I can say is "Holy sonic booms batman!!" It has a sub in the spare and a sub in the passenger footwell along with replacement speakers all around. Oh, I also have tweets in the rear-view mirror pointing forward. The imaging is amazing and the system is crystal clear (even at 90 w/ top down!). It is, by far, the best sounding, non-intrusive system I have ever heard. I'm using the stock head unit, so at first glance, it doesn't look like anything's been done but when you crank it up.....

To answer a question about getting the bass up front, the sub in the spare is ported in through the hole where the steering column would be in a RHD (British) vehicle. Amazing engineering.

What did the total package cost you, if you don't mind my asking. Just interested in a range more than anything else becuase I love the notion of keeping a stock look and it sounds like this is just what you got. Also, do they install on the east coast (NYC area)?

[tx996cab]

The cost can range anywhere from between 3k to 5 or 6k, depending on how many subs you want, mirror tweets, etc. They make road trips periodically and I was lucky they were making one in my area and they could squeeze me in.

[johnp77777]

Below isa reply to a query I sent to Rod Birch at Car Audio Innovations in So-Cal. I asked about reasonable upgrades that can be done in stages. I hope Rod doesn't mind the use of his response publically...

Hi John,

thanks for the email.

That's cool that you got a car with the hifi package already, the guys without the door speaker location are at a serious disadvantage, and it's costly to convert the door panels and add that location.

The drawback to having the 996 is trying to make economical upgrades. There are no strengths in the factory setup, 'simply replacing speakers isn't sufficient because the factory amp is underpowered and can damage the new speakers by overheating them with distortion. Keeping the factory headunit initially can save you some money, and I have a Becker Din/RCA adapter plug that'll allow it to interface with an aftermarket amplifier.

Maybe instead of doing a 3 way component set in the dash and doors, separate subs and amplifier, maybe do the economical version of just a small 4 channel quality amplifier to run a dash component set by Focal and better quality door subwoofers. You can just use head unit power to run the rear speakers, even leaving the stock ones in initially. Eventually, changing out the factory head unit will be wise to maximize the money you've spent on other, better quality components. For an oem look I really like the Nakamichi, it looks factory but trounces the performance of the Becker unit.

If you just want to upgrade dash and rear side speakers, no sweat, I'd recommend a set of 4" Focals for the dash, $379.95/set, and 4" coaxials for the rear at $179.95. We can mount up the speakers to your grills for $95 for the dash mount and $65 for the rear speaker mount. You can ship your grills to me and I mount them up and ship them back, they're kind of tricky, the speakers mount to the grills, and a good speaker mount requires a rigid, airtight mount.

A 4 channel amp to run the dash and door speakers is $479.95, vs. a 5 channel amp to run all speakers at $649.95. The door subs I like are the Focal 5" at $249.95 each.

let me know your thoughts. Congrats again, I hope to have my own 996 in the next few years!

-Rod

from the desk of Rod Birch

www.caraudioinnovations.com specializing in audio upgrades for the Porsche 911 "time spent with a customer is time invested in a friendship" 1-800-892-6430

[fujikomine]

Any recommendations on installers in the SF Bay Area, preferably in the south bay region?

[Djbrand1]

I am in the middle of my own stereo install in my 996 cab. Already modified the speaker pods with a set of Focal 3-way components. My question is what should be done with the alarm wire mentioned in the stock wiring harness for the headunit? Should it simply be grounded to prevent the "beep" when locking the car?

[Loren]

My question is what should be done with the alarm wire mentioned in the stock wiring harness for the headunit? Should it simply be grounded to prevent the "beep" when locking the car?

No, it should be disconnected and taped.