986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Double Din Stereo Install W/Amp and 3 ways

TRP · 01-21-2020, 04:48 PM

Cross post - I added pretty much the same info to the "What do you do with your Boxster Today?" Thread

This weekend I managed to take what I learned from a bunch of Stereo posts and installed a double din head unit, an aftermarket amp, and a pair of Focal 3-Way Separates.

I started with a single din Alpine something something 149bt:

Not a bad deck by any stretch. I could have lived with it. It's for sale if any of you want to live with it.

I wanted something more modern to tie into my phone. I picked up a Sony... something something 7000. Same as the 5000 except it has 55W per channel and an anti-glare capacitive touch screen. The deck doesn't play any CD's or DVD's so it's very compact. It's a double din screen with a single din chassis. This allowed me to very easily tuck away any excess wiring under the head unit. I only regret that I can't upload a custom wall paper. Only has 5 or 6 to chose from and they are all very boring.

New Head Unit W/Boring Background:

My other main goal was to ditch the stock 6 channel amp (yes, I had a 6 channel amp) and DSP. The HVAC panel was moved to the DSP slot.
With that all moved I was able to pull out the 6 disc changer and install a modern amp with built in DSP. Because the car originally had an aftermarket deck in it the install of the deck was extremely simple. Everything I needed for the speakers was located on the big purple amp plug.

I chose to modify the existing CD changer bracket to hold the amp. I used the old amplifier bracket to hold the cross overs.

I went with an AudioControl D-4.800.:

I wired the amp directly to the battery with Stinger 4 gauge and a big ole fuse. Picked up remote out from the deck. I ran one set of Stinger RCA's to the DSP. I also wired in a bypass to avoid the whole e-brake nonsense.

I went with some 3 way Focal speakers. (https://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/car-audio-kits-solutions/performance/access/component-kits/165-as3) For whatever reason I didn't take any photos of the speaker install. I followed along with what most folks already found successful. I modified all of the existing Hayes brackets for the dash. For the 6" drivers I carved up the coveted smaller Hayes boxes to embed a 6" ABS mounting ring. I sealed up the edges around the ring and speaker and left the box ported/vented with the existing vent. I used all of the stock vehicle speaker wires.

I'm sending Deck power (50-55W per channel) through some caps to the rear storage compartment speakers (4 - 3.5" speakers). I ran one set of RCA's from the deck to the amp and the rear speaker input wires through the grommet that sits behind the battery. The cables are all routed and loomed nicely to duck around the battery tray. The XM radio antenna is hidden up under the wiper cowl sitting on a CAI audio stand. Signal output is being through channels 1-4 via the DSP. Front channel is through DSP to the cross overs / caps to the tweeters and mid-range on channels 1 and 2. The 6" drivers are being sent directly through the DSP using channels 3 and 4. I am choking down the drivers through the DSP (no highs and minimal mid base). I chose to protect the mids/highs with the supplied Focal crossovers. May remove those later. Not sure. The way this is wired I can fade to front between front (D-4.800) and rear shelf to achieve a nice sound stage. May need to invest in better clock radio speakers behind my head.

Result was great. Need to learn this DSP software (and educate myself on frequency ranges!) to make this sound better. I was honestly blown away with how punchy the 6" speakers are. Impressed so far.

Thanks for letting me share,
Ted

01-21-2020, 04:48 PM	#1
TRP Registered User Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: California Posts: 148	Double Din Stereo Install W/Amp and 3 ways Cross post - I added pretty much the same info to the "What do you do with your Boxster Today?" Thread This weekend I managed to take what I learned from a bunch of Stereo posts and installed a double din head unit, an aftermarket amp, and a pair of Focal 3-Way Separates. I started with a single din Alpine something something 149bt: Not a bad deck by any stretch. I could have lived with it. It's for sale if any of you want to live with it. I wanted something more modern to tie into my phone. I picked up a Sony... something something 7000. Same as the 5000 except it has 55W per channel and an anti-glare capacitive touch screen. The deck doesn't play any CD's or DVD's so it's very compact. It's a double din screen with a single din chassis. This allowed me to very easily tuck away any excess wiring under the head unit. I only regret that I can't upload a custom wall paper. Only has 5 or 6 to chose from and they are all very boring. New Head Unit W/Boring Background: My other main goal was to ditch the stock 6 channel amp (yes, I had a 6 channel amp) and DSP. The HVAC panel was moved to the DSP slot. With that all moved I was able to pull out the 6 disc changer and install a modern amp with built in DSP. Because the car originally had an aftermarket deck in it the install of the deck was extremely simple. Everything I needed for the speakers was located on the big purple amp plug. I chose to modify the existing CD changer bracket to hold the amp. I used the old amplifier bracket to hold the cross overs. I went with an AudioControl D-4.800.: I wired the amp directly to the battery with Stinger 4 gauge and a big ole fuse. Picked up remote out from the deck. I ran one set of Stinger RCA's to the DSP. I also wired in a bypass to avoid the whole e-brake nonsense. I went with some 3 way Focal speakers. (https://www.focal.com/en/car-audio/car-audio-kits-solutions/performance/access/component-kits/165-as3) For whatever reason I didn't take any photos of the speaker install. I followed along with what most folks already found successful. I modified all of the existing Hayes brackets for the dash. For the 6" drivers I carved up the coveted smaller Hayes boxes to embed a 6" ABS mounting ring. I sealed up the edges around the ring and speaker and left the box ported/vented with the existing vent. I used all of the stock vehicle speaker wires. I'm sending Deck power (50-55W per channel) through some caps to the rear storage compartment speakers (4 - 3.5" speakers). I ran one set of RCA's from the deck to the amp and the rear speaker input wires through the grommet that sits behind the battery. The cables are all routed and loomed nicely to duck around the battery tray. The XM radio antenna is hidden up under the wiper cowl sitting on a CAI audio stand. Signal output is being through channels 1-4 via the DSP. Front channel is through DSP to the cross overs / caps to the tweeters and mid-range on channels 1 and 2. The 6" drivers are being sent directly through the DSP using channels 3 and 4. I am choking down the drivers through the DSP (no highs and minimal mid base). I chose to protect the mids/highs with the supplied Focal crossovers. May remove those later. Not sure. The way this is wired I can fade to front between front (D-4.800) and rear shelf to achieve a nice sound stage. May need to invest in better clock radio speakers behind my head. Result was great. Need to learn this DSP software (and educate myself on frequency ranges!) to make this sound better. I was honestly blown away with how punchy the 6" speakers are. Impressed so far. Thanks for letting me share, Ted Last edited by TRP; 01-21-2020 at 04:53 PM.