Yet another car stereo question
 

I know that many threads have been posted about upgrades to the Boxster stereo system but I have a few questions.

I currently have front dash only speakers and a CDR23 with no amplifier. It sounds a little better than a walkie-talkie. There has been much said about the Boxster being a noisy car and that a premium sound system is a waste of money. I have also read that the factory front dash speakers are unique in the way they are mounted and that only a limited number of replacements will work (like the Dynaudio or MBQuart)

My questions are:

1. Would getting an amp only improve the sound of my current set up? If so which one?
2. Would getting a new radio with built in amp be a better idea? Any recommendations that would visually fit the interior with out looking too ghetto?
3. Would just getting new dash speakers improve the CDR23?
4. Which of the above three would give me the best improvement in sound quality

My take on your questions are that yes, getting an amp only will make it sound better....But the signal coming from your head unit is what the amp will be putting out, so that could be better also....Also, if you push up the wattage with the amp, the speakers may fry, as I don't think they can handle much beyond 40-50watts....A stereo system can get better sound by improving the head unit, adding an amp, or upgrading the speakers.....But doing all three can give you great sound as opposed to just better.....The sound from your system is only as good as the weakest link in the chain so to say....

Most head units have power already, but in my opinion a good amp will tend to give you cleaner sound with more power....I have a Nak head unit with 47w x 4 hooked up to an Audison 4 channel 60w x 4 amp driving the dash and doors.....The Nak has a button which allows you to use only the head unit power or amp power.....I get better sound quality and power just using the amps wattage....

The speakers have to be able to handle whatever wattage your pushing as well, otherwise just increasing the power will possibly blow your speakers.....

If your looking for a deck without all the lights and whistles the Nakamichis are very nice.....They have had some reliablity issues, but mine is working well ....so far!

Lou

Thanks for the advice. Are there any dash speakers you would recommend? Are they easy to install or is this a job for the pros?

Yet another car stereo question
 

Hi, you might consider adding the rear speaker kit. I did and it made all the difference! Should be standard at these prices :(




good luck
bob

I don't know what you're looking to spend, but I have Focal 100v2 components in the dash, I believe they cost $279 for the pair.....They will fit in the stock mounts, but they need a little customizing to get them to fit.....I had Rod @ www.caraudioinnovations.com mount mine, I didn't want to screw them up.....He will give you directions on how to do it yourself if you want to give it a go....Otherwise he will charge $100 for the fit w/speaker wire.....You then remove your old speaks and mounts and return them to him, and he will give you the $100 back.....

I like'm , and it keeps everything stock looking :)

The MB Quarts I heard will work also, but I am not sure if they will need some customization as well.....also....

The Focals are mids/ tweeters, so they are not meant to pump out anything below 100hz....

Lou

I'm doing almost the same upgrade, new HU kenwoof DDx 7025, Ground zero 900W amp and focal 100Kp in dash and focal upia 5ws in the doors.
It's not yet finished so I can't give you any info about the result. all I can say is that fitting the 100KP isn't that easy! the rest of the job is quite easy.
I'll post some pics later

I would love to see the pictures of the install. If you can, try and get some shots of the process.

I think there should be an entire section on this forum about upgrading and modifying the sound system. It seems everyone is unhappy with the stock sound system.

I thought I would put my latest discovery on the forum for anyone looking to upgrade their sound system in the future.

Again, I have a CDR23 with dash speakers only and no amp. I found the overall sound quality to be muddy and it did not fill the cabin very well but sounded like it was a "squawk box" in the dash.

I did not want to put much money into a sound upgrade mainly because the car cabin is small and doesn't seem to lend itself easily to premium sound equipment. I also tend to agree with prevous posts that once the top is down your sound quality drops significantly so why bother. After reading many posts here it sounds like you have two options: 1. have a professional intallation and pay $$ or 2. get the rear speaker kit and pull apart your car for a modest sound upgrade --- oh and you need an amp to do this and of course need to pull apart your car even more to install that...

I then began to wonder how the hell can a little desktop sound system (like a Bose) sound so amazing with only two speakers? I know they are built specifically for that task but still... So I bought a pair of Boston Acoutic RX47 - 4 inch speakers and after much fooling around I got them mounted in the dash and they sound great. I will add that it is not the full sound that most of you are trying to get because I have no bass speaker but they are so much better in my opinion than the crappy factory speakers. The improved sound could be described as sharper and brighter. They have more of a snap to them than the thunking of the old ones. I think I have accomplished all I was looking to do.

So if you are just trying to get a better sound you might try replacing the dash speakers. If you are going to do it yourself I suggest removing one of them to see what the factory mount looks like (and what you are getting into) before buying any speakers. You have to get a speaker under two inches deep and then devise a way to mount it to the dash.

Seacrest Out

What I did
 

I recently did the stereo upgrade, even though I'm not a big audio guy, this stock system really did suck. I visited many area shops and picked one that I trusted and that listened to me and what I wanted.

I put in Rainbow X-Plain 6.5's (German Co. of course) in the stock door location and Alumapro 4" in the dash, put a/d/s 6 ch amp in the front trunk and a Nak cd400 head unit(hard to find, been reliable so far, looks and sounds AWESOME!!) And the rear speaker upgrade run to the amp(which sounds better with more power). The shop didn't use the original dash grills but made a template for the speaker/tweeter and covered with black speaker cloth and also covered the door grills with the same cloth. I think it looks good, still stealthy and not flashy but not exactly stock.

I replaced everything because I didn't want to do it piece by piece and I would be dissatisfied with a partial redo. I watched the shop each step of the way and even gave them tips I've read from this board. I'm still having a very small hum from one of the speakers due to electrical interference, not sure how to solve but is not audible with the engine purrring.

Not sure what would improve sound if you only changed 1-2 things, probably amp and speakers. otherwise save up and do all!!

I faced what you do once. I replaced the Becker with a $350 kenwood unit and added rear speakers. The whole project was reasonably priced and it sounded much better.

I had a set of Porsche rear speakers around so the cost of that part of the project was minimal and of course, the speakers were where they were supposed to be, in the rear stoarage unit.

Good luck! :cheers:

Cdr23