Upgrading the sound system - overhauling the speakers

[atmorris]

Upgrading the sound system - overhauling the speakers

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Here is a documented guide to overhauling the Boxster's speaker systems for improved sound. I did this for under $600, and the difference is astonishing. Covers front,rear, and door speaker systems. Well illustrated, and contains a detailed section dealing with updating the door speakers from 5 1/4" to to 6 1/2" drivers while maintaining a completely stock appearence. Hope this helps many a Boxster owner. First986NJ    UPDATE 4/23/08: Wow, 2600 downloads - cool! Hi Guys, a couple o

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• Author
  atmorris
• Category
  Boxster (986) - Mods
• Submitted
  06/06/2006 04:43 PM
• Updated
  03/10/2017 06:01 AM

 

Edited February 20, 2010 by Andy_M

[Cassiebox]

Andy-

Great COMPLETE write up and thanks for taking the time to document the entire process! I wish this was available before I fumbled my way thru each of these upgrades to my stock M490 system. You ought to see if this can be added to the Boxster Wiki site as well for posterity.

[atmorris]

Andy-

Great COMPLETE write up and thanks for taking the time to document the entire process! I wish this was available before I fumbled my way thru each of these upgrades to my stock M490 system. You ought to see if this can be added to the Boxster Wiki site as well for posterity.

Thanks Cassiebox and Sboxin for the kind words. I hope it helps out lots of Boxster owners. :welcome:

Edited June 20, 2006 by Andy_M

[Sboxin]

Thanks Andy for the great work you did documenting this project :clapping:

No doubt a lot of owners will be using this in the future.

Ed

[atmorris]

Andy-

Great COMPLETE write up and thanks for taking the time to document the entire process! I wish this was available before I fumbled my way thru each of these upgrades to my stock M490 system. You ought to see if this can be added to the Boxster Wiki site as well for posterity.

The article is now also available on Boxster Wikia, but hey - no need to go further than right here, T-H-E best Boxster board on the web !!! :renntech:

[rrotondo]

Great Job Andy!

What about the Template - you still going to post that?

rick

[atmorris]

Great Job Andy!

What about the Template - you still going to post that?

rick

Yes Rick, I do still intend to post one. I am very busy with my son's graduation activities and HS football start up at the moment, but as soon as that smoke clears, I will get the template drawn up and posted.

Andy

[fasterjames]

This is exactly what I was looking for, even better. Thanks for the incredible pictures and documentation. I too have MBQuart speakers that I took out of another car and will be replacing my stock 986 speakers with.

[mee]

Great document! Lots of info. Still digesting ;) Thanks!

[atmorris]

Great document! Lots of info. Still digesting ;) Thanks!

Glad to see it is helping you guys out. Not a bad way to spend a weekend. I enjoyed doing it.

Andy

[gandrade1]

Hi guys,

I need your expert advice on the audio upgrade of my ‘01 Boxster with a 220 factory CD player and a 4 channel HAES amplifier.

I plan on replacing the (1) door speakers and (2) the amplifier and then (3) installing a free air 10’’ subwoofer (in this order). I already replaced the dash speakers with 4’’ Infinity Kappa 42.7 I and it made a big change. I am budget conscious, since I just finished paying for my car and I am looking for clarity rather than power…I would also like to keep the OEM look.

My questions are:

- Is it worth it to adapt the doors and install 6 ½” drivers rather than simply replacing the speakers with 5-1/4" speakers? I have been suggested Kicker 055KS525, will these do the job? I will probably be doing it myself and I am not really experienced in custom installations.

- When installing the new amplifier, will I need to run additional wires through the doors or can I simply keep the wiring I already have? I am asking that because I realize the current amplifier allows the door speaker to play only Bass and I am not sure whether I will need additional wiring to reproduce mids and tweeters. If I need additional wiring I will probably run them when I open the doors to install the new speakers…

- Does anyone know of any 4 to 6 channel amplifier which can be installed with minimum space commitments and yet is not very expensive… I looked at the new Alpine PDX-4.150, but it is way beyond my budget, despite its compact design

- Any suggestion on what to get and where to install the 10’’ sub? I though about free air because it doesn’t actually need large enclosures.

Thank you very much guys…And thanks Andy Morris for inspiring me to do the upgrade..

Gustavo

[Cassiebox]

I crossed back over this thread tonight and realized I never posted here the link to the baffle template I created. I did post it on the wiki last fall but forgot to double back here, sorry. Anyhow, here is the link to it on the wiki:

http://boxster.wikia.com/images/b/bf/Door_...le_Template.pdf

And also a direct copy here. Good luck and enjoy your new sound systems as they are definitely worth the effort!

Door_Baffle_Template.pdf

[atmorris]

Part 2 coming very soon !

This weekend I will be replacing the head unit and amplifier. I will write that one up as well. I think I'll call it "Guide_to_Modifying_the_Boxster_Sound_System - Part_Deux" :P

Edited June 21, 2007 by Andy_M

[artandscience]

Would there be anything very wrong in replacing the door speakers with INFINITY KAPPA 52.7i speakers.

Seem to be the right size and given that they are very capable replacements (from what I've read here)

for both front and rear speakers why not use them in the doors?

[jxsmiln]

Part 2 coming very soon !

This weekend I will be replacing the head unit and amplifier. I will write that one up as well. I think I'll call it "Guide_to_Modifying_the_Boxster_Sound_System - Part_Deux" :P

Andy-looking forward to the Amp and head unit discussion-Thanks for taking the time!

[MrPegazus]

Hey All!

This was truly a great guide! Thanx Andy!

Just bought me a Boxster 3 days ago and I have already ordered the PNP, rear speaker package. Something has to be done to improve the sound, Fast!!

So I need some clues other than what Andy provided: I ONLY have the front speakers, nothing in the doors......so I thought of putting something there as well.....has somebody done this and can help me with wiring of the doors??

OR will it be enough with upgrading the dash-speakers, installing the rear-system and maybe buy one of the new, slim Subs to place under the seat??

Thanx

//Mats

[atmorris]

Hey All!

This was truly a great guide! Thanx Andy!

Just bought me a Boxster 3 days ago and I have already ordered the PNP, rear speaker package. Something has to be done to improve the sound, Fast!!

So I need some clues other than what Andy provided: I ONLY have the front speakers, nothing in the doors......so I thought of putting something there as well.....has somebody done this and can help me with wiring of the doors??

OR will it be enough with upgrading the dash-speakers, installing the rear-system and maybe buy one of the new, slim Subs to place under the seat??

Thanx

//Mats

Mats,

Well, replacing the front speakers and adding the PNP rear shelf speaker kit will certainly improve the sound. Adding a Kenwood KSC-SW10 or Blaupunkt THb 200A powered subwoofer behind the passenger seat would help fill in the lows as well. Since you have neither door speakers or the stock rear shelf system, you probably have either no amp other than the HU, or have the small 4 channel one. in either event, adding an amp, or a better amp as the case may be, for more dynamic headrrom will also produce further improvement in sound quality, as the stock systems are seriously under powered. It is a common misconception that a set of speakers were "blown up" by driving them to hard or loud, when the speakers were actually damaged from being under powered and over driven. The distortion that this causes can be inaudible to all but a highly trained ear, yet severely damage the speakers over time.

Door speakers would be a little more difficult since you don't have them already, but certainly not impossible. If you want to add door speakers, it would not really be all that hard to accomplish. You could search for a set of door panels with the speaker grills in them if you don't want to cut yours, put a set of speakers in the doors as my guide describes, and then wire them up. You will most likely have to run wiring to them yourself. Perhaps Loren or one of the other guys here could tell you if the wiring for the optional door speakers is present whether or not your car was ordered with them. However, I'm betting that it is tied back to the applicable option package, and so if the option package wasn't applied the wiring isn't there. You will probably have to install your own wiring from the HU or amp down through the door pillars. Again, not really that difficult and there are a couple of possible ways to accomplish that.

Hope this helps some.

Andy

Edited July 31, 2008 by Andy_M

[EddyH]

I currently have the MOST M490 sound system and I'm changing the headunit and speakers which will be run directly off the headunit instead of having an amp. I don't want to touch the moisture barrier in the door so plan on using the standard enclosures. Is there room between them and the door cards for adaptor rings so 6.5" speakers will fit or do I need to go with 5 1/4"? Also if keeping the enclosures would it be worth packing them internally?

[03BoxsterS]

Andy_M, this is an absolutely great writeup - thanks for doing this. And thanks to EddyH for asking a question, which made this thread show up in the "New Posts" area, allowing me to view it. I had done some searches on Boxster stereo mods, but hadn't found this one.

I have a 2003 Boxster S, CDR23, upgraded Bose system with amp in the boot, dash speakers, door speakers, and rear speakers. My major complaint is the bass is unfocused, muddy, fuzzy, boomy, etc. You get the idea.

Andy, I have a question. I have asked multiple installers about modifying my stereo system. All of them tell me, because of the MOST system, I have to replace EVERYTHING - head unit, amp, speakers - I can't do incremental or gradual upgrades. Can you comment on this? It appears you have made a major improvement just by replacing the speakers - are you still happy with the result, or have you since upgraded your head unit and amp?

Thanks again, great writeup.

[EddyH]

Andy_M, this is an absolutely great writeup - thanks for doing this. And thanks to EddyH for asking a question, which made this thread show up in the "New Posts" area, allowing me to view it. I had done some searches on Boxster stereo mods, but hadn't found this one.

I have a 2003 Boxster S, CDR23, upgraded Bose system with amp in the boot, dash speakers, door speakers, and rear speakers. My major complaint is the bass is unfocused, muddy, fuzzy, boomy, etc. You get the idea.

Andy, I have a question. I have asked multiple installers about modifying my stereo system. All of them tell me, because of the MOST system, I have to replace EVERYTHING - head unit, amp, speakers - I can't do incremental or gradual upgrades. Can you comment on this? It appears you have made a major improvement just by replacing the speakers - are you still happy with the result, or have you since upgraded your head unit and amp?

Thanks again, great writeup.

I think the problem with upgrading the speakers on your Bose setup is that the speakers are not standard impedances so finding suitable replacements that are compatible with the Bose amp will be tricky.

[A2MVS]

Andy_M, thanks for an excellent write up. This has given me the confidence to upgrade my door speakers.

A couple of questions:

- what's the impedance of the Porsche fitted doors speakers

- have you tried the Kickers and if so which impedance version did you choose (there's a 2 Ohm version and 4 Ohm version)

Thanks!

[amagalla]

Hello all,

I have the 490 hi-fi option and am looking to use the following speakers. Let me know what you think:

door subs Kicker CVT651 http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_43587_Kicker-CVT651.html

or Subs and amp http://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_46458_Kicker-Complete-Bass-Package.html

Front speakers Polk Audio db401 http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_23091_Polk_Audio_db401.aspx

Rear Speaker Polk Audio db351 http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_23090_Polk_Audio_db351.aspx

Thanks in advance for the constructive comments.

Tony

Edited January 12, 2014 by amagalla

[jjb7]

Have you resolved the fitment issue? Porsche OEM Nokia speaker mount to the grill not to the body.

[motosparkz]

Just wondered if this was still available to download anywhere? 

 

Cheers,  Shane 

[JFP in PA]

If you are referring to the tutorial, it is available for contributing member's.