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Old 07-31-2010, 03:31 PM   #1
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Speaker upgrade

I bought a 07 Boxster with 14,000 miles. Very nice car and it came with an Xplode 600 Watt amplifier in the front bonnet. Its sounds marginal and I think the old owner did not change the stock speakers. Any ideas and should I consider higher quality speakers?

Thanks M-

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Old 08-01-2010, 09:50 AM   #2
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No audio specialist out there to give me some advice?
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Old 08-02-2010, 08:29 AM   #3
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I have an 08 Cayman that came with the base sound system (i.e., front and dash speakers only). I replaced the radio with Pioneer AVIC Z110BT and added rear speakers and the improvement was incredible (and I don't even have a separate amp). The radio offers a graphic equalizer unit and a number of effects that you don't get out of the standard radio, and make a big difference. Adding the rear speakers also helps a lot because otherwise you tend to hear nothing but the engine. It will never be an audiophile stereo without spending thousands more but right now it is very competent.

I had a 99 Boxster before and I hated the sound in that car, too. When I added the factory Boxster rear speakers, it made a huge improvement in the sound in that car as well. Again, not exactly audiophile quality, but then I spent very little $$$ on them. Maybe $200?

So, I would recommend that you replace the head unit and add the Boxster rear speakers, and that should do the trick for you. I didn't replace the front door speakers because: (a) it's a lot of work fitting them, (b) they are matched to the tweeters in the dash, and hence you might need to replace the tweeters as well, (c) the stereo guy thought the speakers sounded okay and didn't try to sell me new ones, and (d) from all I read, the speakers Porsche uses aren't that bad.
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Old 08-02-2010, 08:52 AM   #4
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Free Option: The amp is going to have some high pass and low pass filtering. You can try messing with the amp settings. It is possible something got bumped or the previous owner just doesn't have the same preferences as you.

$250 option: The stock speakers on the 986 are cheap and quite frankly garbage. I have no idea what the upgrade, if any, was on the 987. This would be the best starting point though, replace those stock speakers.

The xplod amps are cheap too, but I'm guessing that just a simple speaker swap would remedy all of your issues. I have Infinite Reference speakers in mine and think they are a great buy for the money. I've dumped thousands in car audio upgrades over the years (not on this car)... and now I'm just keen to the <$1k sound system and putting money in mechanical performance and maintenance. After you get the speakers swapped, you'll have to make sure the amp is set correctly for the new speakers as well.

+$200 option: Swap out the xplod for something more decent. I'm not going to debate xyz amplifiers here, there are more forums and opinions than I care to count on these things. For regular mids/highs and not subwoofers, getting a $200-$250 4channel Alpine is a decent buy.


These are the steps I'd take and in the order I'd take them, but you didn't mention if the head unit is stock or aftermarket, you can get a very decent Alpine for $200 with USB, Aux, and Ipod input.
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Old 08-02-2010, 05:17 PM   #5
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I do have a stock head unit. Does the aftermarket head units look out of place on the 987 Dash? I Infinite Reference be nice to have an Ipod and USB port. I assume that Crutchfield carries the Infinite Reference speakers. I give that a try before changing the head unit. Thanks

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