Stereo Upgrade - opinions needed

[KevinH1990]

http://images.wikia.com/boxster/images/b/b6/Boxster_speakers_update_article.pdf

Here's some information on upgrading the sound system

[OklahomaBoxster]

I have a 99 that only had stock dash and door speakers. Like you said, it sounded adequate but not great. I replaced the dash speakers with aftermarket kicker speakers, the door speakers with kickers, and added rear speakers in the storage box. The sound quality difference is amazing and it has great bass even without a dedicated subwoofer. I also added a kenwood double din bluetooth touchscreeb head unit

[JayG]

IIRC, it is about 2.5 inch clearance

there is also a grounding stud that would need ot be cut off and teh ground point reattached somewhere else

The space is the same as under drivers (left) seat where the ECU is

The best solution would be a powered sub like
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KENWOOD-KSC-SW11-COMPACT-POWERED-ENCLOSED-SUBWOOFER-SPEAKER-AMPLIFIER-BASS-BOX-/121080886478
but less height

Its about .25 inch too high. I was looking at raising the seat tracks with some spacers, but the way they are mounted with a bolt at an angle in the front and flat at the back would make it difficult to just add a .25 in spacer as it would shift the track forward

Maybe a new project for you ...LOL

Like many Boxsters, I don't have Bose or door subs and also no amp, so a powered sub would be ideal

[brewerbry]

Like many others, I too sought an improved audio system in my Boxster. I replaced the head unit, dash speakers, door speakers (with 6.5" coax), added an amp, and tried to improve the Bose sub box. The sub never worked well - I first removed the Bose drivers and fabbed a mount for 6.5" Kicker "subs" - did not deliver much bottom end (mostly mid bass).

The only solution I found for real bass (other than a passenger footwell enclosure) was to duplicate the shape of the Bose sub box out of fiberglass and was ultimately able to fit 2 8" low profile Kicker subs in the "stock" sub location.

Building the sub box was a huge pain in the ass - I used the Bose box as a mold template and fiberglassed over the top of it (not easy) then remove the mold, added layers of fiberglass inside the box for strength (not horrible but still not easy) then fiberglass the bottom enclosing the whole thing, making it airtight all the while having wood mounting rings for the drivers integrated in the fiberglass box. As I said, it was a long painful process.

But I have low end bass that you can feel and hear (might be able to accomplish similar results with bass shakers)...

Oh, forgot to add, carpeting the whole enclosure was also a joy - there is no straight or flat surface anywhere on that thing!

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by JayG

IIRC, it is about 2.5 inch clearance

hmmm, that is not a lot but will check. Thx bud, too kind

Agree spacers would be a quick fix... but I refuse to believe there isn't a slim 2" SW avail these days. I'll have a look... fingers crossed :/

[JayG]

Originally Posted by Nine8Six

hmmm, that is not a lot but will check. Thx bud, too kind

Agree spacers would be a quick fix... but I refuse to believe there isn't a slim 2" SW avail these days. I'll have a look... fingers crossed :/

I did find a low profile sub speaker that was around 2", but it was 13" dia. so I don't think it would fit. It would be an exposed speaker, so i don't know how it would sound
WoofersEtc.com - Phantom 13 - Precision Power 13" 200W 4-Ohm Shallow Mount Subwoofer

[thom4782]

Originally Posted by JayG

IIRC, it is about 2.5 inch clearance

there is also a grounding stud that would need ot be cut off and teh ground point reattached somewhere else

The space is the same as under drivers (left) seat where the ECU is

The best solution would be a powered sub like
Kenwood KSC SW11 Compact Powered Enclosed Subwoofer Speaker Amplifier Bass Box | eBay
but less height

I'm visiting a local, high-end car stereo shop next week. I share their thoughts with the Forum. One question I'll be sure to ask is whether there a way to mount the Kenwood speaker under the dash on the passenger side at the top of the foot well. Given how low profile it is the unit may not affect legroom.

[JayG]

Originally Posted by thom4782

I'm visiting a local, high-end car stereo shop next week. I share their thoughts with the Forum. One question I'll be sure to ask is whether there a way to mount the Kenwood speaker under the dash on the passenger side at the top of the foot well. Given how low profile it is the unit may not affect legroom.

interesting thought.
My guess is it takes too much space. My wife is often riding in the Boxster, so I do care about the legroom. Then again, we can always take her 996

[thom4782]

Well I visited the local +high-end" car audio shop here in the Bay area. They fine tuned the amp and the Focal crossovers. The sound is improved greatly and I have a bit more bottom end. The disappointing out was that the shop had nothing to offer for adding a true sub-woofer or even a compact one without taking up legroom. Their view was that whatever would fit under the seat wouldn't be a big improvement over the 6" Focal subs in the doors.

[JayG]

with a basic system, there are no subs at all, so something is better than nothing LOL