Audio Upgrade Questions for my 01 S

[Pacileo01S]

Recently I got a hell of a deal (dirt cheap actually) on a slightly used Bose rear unit. It is fitted with the 5.25 woofers (2 ohm) I believe. I was wondering how you think the sound quality would be after I splice them directly into the rear output of my new pioneer deck? (50x4watts)

I also purchased two 5.25 (4 ohm) kicker speakers, I was planning on put them in the doors as direct replacements. (since mine are shot)

Do you think the Kickers would be better in the Bose box possibly? (The deck would be sending a signal to match the 4ohm kickers I've purchased)

If that's the case I was thinking of moving the 2 ohm bose speakers to the doors since they have a low pass filter only allowing lows to come from them.

FYI* My car has the Haes 40x4 amp and originally came with dash and door speakers--no rears

[Topless]

2 ohm speakers will roast a 4 ohm amp in short order. Too much current kills the power supply. If you want to use the Bose 2 ohm you need a Bose capable amp to drive them.

If you match your amps, speakers, xovers, and tuned cabinets you will be rewarded with excellent results. Mix-n-match... not so much.

[Pacileo01S]

Originally Posted by Topless

2 ohm speakers will roast a 4 ohm amp in short order. Too much current kills the power supply. If you want to use the Bose 2 ohm you need a Bose capable amp to drive them.

If you match your amps, speakers, xovers, and tuned cabinets you will be rewarded with excellent results. Mix-n-match... not so much.

I understand exactly where you are coming from, but I also figure I will take my chances with the old 40x4 haes amp (if I roast it, whatever) It's not exactly a great product anyway. As far as the Bose amp, maybe down the line I will look into it *when I absolutely need it- After I eventually fry the Haes.

**My main question really is: When adding an aftermaket Head Unit rated at 50x4 watts and then having that current pass throught the factory amp 40x4, Am I then seeing 90x4 watts or is it 50x4 and just bypassing the stock amp? I plan to give the set-up a shot reagardless and see where I'm at sound wise. I'm no audophile so all information is much appreciated. Thanks for your input Topless.

[442nd986s]

Aside from voltage, current, and impedance (ohms), you will be very disappointed on the sound coming from the Bose speakers.
I only tell you this because I'm an audio guy and worked with Bose products for 8 years.
Bose speakers sound great only when they are in their natural enviorment (parameters). In order to make them sound like they were intended to, you must them their basic needs. I.E. DSP (digital signal processor), eq, crossovers.
Bose isn't know for kick ass bass, they are known for loudness and clarity. This is done by keeping them in their frequency sweet spot.
A typical human ear can hear from 20hz (low bass) to 20Khz (high pitch). A SUB WOOFER range goes down to 15hz to 120hz. A WOOFER range is 120hz to 700hz. A MIDRANGE speaker from 700hz to 8khz. A tweeter range is 8k to 20khz.
With that being said......A 5 inch Bose speaker is considered a HIGH midrange speaker (estimated 1k-8khz) in a normal enviorment. The speaker will sound terrible/distorted (possibly blow it) if you allow frequencies outside of its range. This is why Bose speakers ALWAYS use some sort of DSP, eq, crossovers. To place the speaker in its "sweet spot" and eliminate unwanted frequencies, thus reducing distortion and increasing clarity.
The Porsche Bose rear unit that you aquired was made to work in conjunction with the DSP unit and/or amp in the car. Connecting the speakers to your non Bose amp and/or head unit will only bring you disappointment. Yes sound will come out, but "BOSE QUALITY" will not. You will get KRACO sound :ah:
If I can be of further help, let me know.

[Pacileo01S]

Interesting post. I appreciate your honesty. I figured there could be an issue with the Bose 5.25 woofers so that is why I went ahead and purcahsed two kicker 5.25 (4 ohm) woofer. I will probably load the box with these and may move the Bose 2 ohms to the doors or even sell the Bose 5.25s.

I'm curious as to what the enclosure will sound like with the kicker components in there. I heard about someone putting focal components in their bose unit and ended up being satisifed.They also added the unit after the fact and upgraded their deck but did not change the factory amp. Again, I am no audiophile, so I do not need earth shattering bass, just looking for a slight improvement. Think I can get it done with the kickers?

[TriGem2k]

Pacileo,

I have the bose rear deck with Focal Utopia Be subs. It going to take A LOT of tunning and proper equipment to make that box sound good. I invest 7k into my system just to get the right sound and at the end of the day was it worth it...................propably not. Don't get me wrong my system sounds GREAT but not what 7k in a full sized non convertible car would sound like. Fact is that the boxster is not acustics friendly and no matter what you do you wont be 100% happy.

With that said, once you open the Bose box up make sure you have a new seal to put around the edges as the original seal wont be as tight once broken.

I attached a diagram of my car just for reference.

Oh and here are pics of my install...
http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n430/JDeMircift/Porsche%20Stereo/

Good Luck!
James D

[442nd986s]

Originally Posted by Pacileo01S

Interesting post. I appreciate your honesty. I figured there could be an issue with the Bose 5.25 woofers so that is why I went ahead and purcahsed two kicker 5.25 (4 ohm) woofer. I will probably load the box with these and may move the Bose 2 ohms to the doors or even sell the Bose 5.25s.

I'm curious as to what the enclosure will sound like with the kicker components in there. I heard about someone putting focal components in their bose unit and ended up being satisifed.They also added the unit after the fact and upgraded their deck but did not change the factory amp. Again, I am no audiophile, so I do not need earth shattering bass, just looking for a slight improvement. Think I can get it done with the kickers?

Just because the "picky-ness" of BOSE, I think the Kickers would sound better. However, the Kickers might need more air space than your box allows.
Airspace changes frequency responce for the speakers. To overcome this you will need to stuff the speaker enclosure with some poly fill (Walmart fabric department). This will slow down the soundwaves to immulate a bigger enclosure area for airspace. I would research on how much airspace your Kickers need and compare it to how much airspace your enclosure has. Formula for airspace: Length x Width x Height= cubic inches/feet
On another note: Unless your amp has a built in crossover that you can use for your kickers, I would HIGHLY recommend a passive crossover (least expensive) or a new amp with a built in crossover. A passive crossover connects in between the amp and the speaker. A crossover is as basic as a coil ($20) to a crossover network ($100). This will eliminate unwanted frequencies to your Kickers. e.i. 10khz and above. You don't want high frequencies going to your Kickers, only mid-midbass.
You might want to check if your head unit has a dedicated output for selectable crossover. I know mine does.

[Pacileo01S]

Thank you all for the help and insight. I am going to start my project tomorrow. I'm going to continue doing some research on the kicker's specs and see what I can dig up. I will keep everyone updated as I begin the install. thanks everyone!

[Pacileo01S]

So I just wanted to post and let everyone know my install is complete.
IT sounds unbelievable, I really lucked out. So for anyone looking to do a similar install for a resonable cost here it goes.

I bought a used bose sub box $200- pulled the bose speakers, did some minor customizing, fit the Boses in my doors (pulled the old haes speakers from doors). The Bose speakers actually really make a huge difference and they are also 2 ohm like the orginal Haes (for reference)

Loaded the Bose box with two 5.25" kicker DS speakers (4 ohm), ran a pair + - directly into my new Head Unit right side rear hook up, ran another + - to the other side for the highs (left rear hook up)- $30.00 speakers wire free, (had extra laying around)

Got a wiring harness kit from a seller on Ebay with a nice porsche mounting plate to tie in my dash and door speakers w/factory amp- $160 (Very Simple and straight forward)

Got a Pioneer AVIC brand new-(steal) found on ebay- still boxed never opened $260.

*** Important the Head unit really made most of the difference- when I put the Bose Speakers in the doors prior to installing the Head Unit they only sounded slightly better.

I am also sure if I hooked the rear Bose box and Highs directly to the factory radio they would have also not sounded to hot. I believe with the rears on the factory radio it is a direct connect and the factory HU is only delivering around 16watts

Any additional questions-feel free to ask