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Old 02-19-2019, 07:22 PM   #1
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Radio question

I have been researching this site and a few others with regards to replacing the radio in my 04 base. I'll admit I am confused. It has a factory amp in the front which I think will give me the most issues. I have been reading that 03/04 cars have the MOST bus which sounds proprietary. I cannot figure out if all 03/04 cars with amps have the MOST bus. I was really hoping just to install double din unit and use the existing amp and speakers, really only installing so I can get Apple Play.

1. Is this s simple adapter from Crutchfield?
2. If I were to replace the amp also, can I use the existing speakers?
2a. I know the door speakers are subs so I'm guess they would need replaced.


I'm trying to avoid gutting everything and pulling new wires, more of a project than I wanted.

I would love some advice on #1 and #2 from above and if I'm on the right track.

I was hoping to be in the $600 budget, dual din and amp.

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Old 02-20-2019, 05:10 AM   #2
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All 03 and 04 cars have the MOST bus. My 03 S came with just the radio and 2 speakers in the dash and it has the MOST bus. There is some information in For the people have swapped their cdr23 with fibre optic that might help. I don't think anyone here tried the $99.99 adaptor available on AliExpress that Nine8Six mentioned in that thread.
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Old 02-20-2019, 07:30 AM   #3
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I saw a post on here not too long ago that had a link to a converter via amazon that was reported to work excellent. The boxster wasnt listed it said 996 if I rember.
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Old 02-21-2019, 09:28 AM   #4
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I have done some more research and came up with the following. I think I have one of the following options. I'm also not looking for audiophile sound, just want ApplePlay and better BlueTooth. The lighter/radio transponder isn't working, well not for my wife so you know how that goes.

** My car has door subs and front amp, I haven't verified MOST bus but seems likely

1. I can replace the hu, get the adapter and use factory amp. Appears the adapters are only power the dash speaker

2. Replace the hu and amp, figure out how to create an adapter to go from the amp to the factory harness. I would also put in new door speakers, full range. I think I have stumbled across those diagrams but not sure here to get the 'connector' to make the adapter.

3. Same as #2 but run new speaker wire, I really do not want to do this. Especially to the door speakers.


Does those options appear correct? I'm leaning toward #2 but not sure how to create the adapter. I called Crutchfield and they said they only have adapters from hu and wouldn't create one for the amp so I will be on my own.
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Old 02-21-2019, 08:17 PM   #5
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Sounds about right i have a 00. No most swapped hu, amp, put in 3 way sperates and bought a bose subwoofer for 996 cabriolet passenger footwell off ebay i modified it to hold 8” sub driver. I bought an old stock amp off ebay and took it apart to make and apator into the factory wiring for the speakers except the tweeters ran cables to run those from hu amo because i use amp as a active crossover control. Sounds great was alot of work.
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Old 02-22-2019, 04:27 AM   #6
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I recently replaced the entire factory Bose sound system for higher quality components. The Porsche/Becker/MOST system really limits the available options. Like you, I wanted Apple CarPlay and BT. There are lots of head units out there, but if you're wanting CarPlay, do your research, read reviews of head units to find a reliable, easy to use model. The factory amp is a five channel, under powered, MOST-only component. Amps are relatively inexpensive. You can interface with the factory speaker wiring and there are several websites that have the wiring diagrams. I think theRennTech site has posted several. The dash speakers, for the Hifi and Bose are component, 1 in tweeters and 3 in midrange drivers. The Car Audio Innovations website (cai-store.com) has adapters to mount 4 in coaxial speakers in that space. That's a great upgrade, and can be relatively inexpensive. The door speakers are 5 1/2 in.

If you have the Bose system, the wiring from amp to speakers is a bit wonky so that Porsche/Bose could use a cheap amp to get acceptable sound volume. The speaker drivers are fairly low quality, but can be made to sound good with a cleaner amp w/ a bit more power. But, they wired the door speakers to 2 ohm load and the rear "subwoofer" enclosure to a 1 or 2 ohm load.

Wanting Apple CarPlay in a double DIN configuration, I replaced the CDR 23 head unit and amp in my 03 Boxster S with a Kenwood HU and amp. That solved the MOST nonsense. The installer wired into the existing speakers. Sounded much better. CarPlay is wonderful. BT is handy. But, the Bose drivers are flat, bass is muddy, dash speakers not clear but very biased towards voice and "bright".

Next step, replace all speaker drivers. Rod at CAI Store helped with great advice and a few products. Some research online helped with other aspects. I ended up the CAI Store dash mount Hertz 4 in coax speakers. For the doors, I mounted Hertz 5 1/2 in woofers from the component set and put the tweeters in the rear deck speaker enclosure where the Bose tweeters were previously. The crossovers are mounted in the trunk next to the amp. The woofers in the rear box were replaced with Morel 5 1/2 in woofers. (I stumbled across this build plan on the DIY Audio website)

How does it sound? Wow!!! It's an amazing transformation. Certainly, the signal processing capabilities of a modern head unit help tremendously (Kenwood DDX 8905S and Kenwood XR 901-5 amp). The speakers are very clear and driven by an amp that has enough power to drive them efficiently. The rear deck subwoofer has "deep" tight bass. To say that I'm pleased would be an understatement.

I don't know if there's an easy way to get where you are wanting to go. The MOST bus is severely constricting to adding modern audio.

Last edited by Elmer; 02-22-2019 at 04:29 AM.
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Old 02-22-2019, 11:02 AM   #7
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Looks like Becker offers a BT solution if you send it into them.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-CDR23-911-Boxster-Cayenne-Radio-Bluetooth-Streaming-Modification/253947252776?epid=2122357250&hash=item3b206f9028:g:V5oAAOSwo4pYZutz:rk:14f:0
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Old 02-22-2019, 03:44 PM   #8
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I will vouch on the hertz speakers as i used hertz 3 way component set in my upgrade.

Take a look at the CAI website products a bit pricey but they work as advertised.
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Old 03-10-2019, 01:11 PM   #9
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ok, this is my plan as of now.

I going to get a new head unit, amp and speakers but I would love to use the existing wiring. My plan is to purchase another amp to and make the harness with it's connector. I cannot find anyone who makes the amp adapters.

Does the amp have to be from the same year (I have an 04) or can it be from anything 99-04? I currently have an amp in the front and door speakers (woofers). I don't like the MOST adapter because it appears to be only two channel and would rather put that money into an amp. I was thinking about the base Alpine 4 channel amp.

I'm not looking for anything top shelf, really just doing this because my wife wants better bluetooth and ApplePlay.
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Old 03-10-2019, 02:07 PM   #10
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ok, this is my plan as of now.

I going to get a new head unit, amp and speakers but I would love to use the existing wiring. My plan is to purchase another amp to and make the harness with it's connector. I cannot find anyone who makes the amp adapters.

Does the amp have to be from the same year (I have an 04) or can it be from anything 99-04? I currently have an amp in the front and door speakers (woofers). I don't like the MOST adapter because it appears to be only two channel and would rather put that money into an amp. I was thinking about the base Alpine 4 channel amp.

I'm not looking for anything top shelf, really just doing this because my wife wants better bluetooth and ApplePlay.
I think you have the MOST bus, so you need a converter or something. Wish i could help more, mine is a 00 stero is totally different from the most. Check with CAI he is a good guy and has alot of solutions for porsche.
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Old 05-22-2019, 07:06 PM   #11
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I ended up with an Alpine headunit and amp. Can anyone recommend how/where I can run speaker wire from the frunk to inside the car?
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Old 05-22-2019, 07:33 PM   #12
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I ended up with an Alpine headunit and amp. Can anyone recommend how/where I can run speaker wire from the frunk to inside the car?
Search on 'Rear Speaker Install' and you'll find a great spot where it's recommended to run rear speaker wires to a 6ch amp in the frunk (if applicable).

Posts will have pix. In a nutshell, remove battery and on firewall behind where battery is located look for a round or oval grommet. The grommet ends up being ~ 6" above accelerator pedal. Using a sharp exacto or utility knife cut a 1"x1" 'X' in middle of grommet. Feed a fish tape, dowel or other stiff wire from frunk side into passenger compartment. Use a flashlight to find said fish tape et al in corresponding location (it has to go thru insulation inside) in passenger compartment.

Good luck
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Old 05-22-2019, 08:46 PM   #13
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I ended up with an Alpine headunit and amp. Can anyone recommend how/where I can run speaker wire from the frunk to inside the car?
There is a rubber grommet in the firewall in the battery box that will get you into the cab.
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Old 05-26-2019, 07:00 AM   #14
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So I'm missing something, I cannot figure out how to secure the double din bracket to the car. It slides in nicely but there isn't anything to hold the unit into the car.


Last edited by gsy4771; 05-26-2019 at 07:07 AM.
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Old 05-26-2019, 07:26 AM   #15
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Maybe have tabs that bend down on the mounting bracket.
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Old 05-26-2019, 07:57 AM   #16
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any suggestions on how to disconnect the switches (door lock, roof and defrost). i’m concerned with pulling too hard
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Old 05-26-2019, 09:54 AM   #17
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any suggestions on how to disconnect the switches (door lock, roof and defrost). i’m concerned with pulling too hard
Just wiggle and pull hard.
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Old 05-26-2019, 07:27 PM   #18
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Sorry for all the panic posts this afternoon, project turned out to be much harder than expected.

Unfortunately it seems my project is taking a turn sideways. I bought a donor amp and wired it up based on some diagrams I found on the site but they appear to be different than my plug. Mine plug is totally different, appears that pins 9 and 10 are power/ground and (8/17), (7/16), (6/15) and (5/14) are speaker wires and I am not wired for rear speakers. I'm beyond frustrated/disappointed, mainly because I didn't verify my plug prior to created my harness. So I guess back to the drawing boards tomorrow.


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Old 05-27-2019, 06:25 AM   #19
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Sorry for the rambling post but I had success with the 'dry run'.

I had to adjust my harness in the donor amp but I have sound on all the speakers. Now the next issue is they sent the wrong adapter for the antenna, always something.
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Old 06-07-2019, 09:16 AM   #20
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I was hoping to post I'm done but not quite. I have everything in the car and I was taking my first ride when I discovered an issue. Every time the car starts to move the radio resets, the radio will come on but sound horrible. Speeds under 15 mph are pure static and engine speed doesn't affect the situation. When I come to a complete stop the radio will again reset. While the car isn't moving the system sounds great. These symptoms occur every time the car moves and stops, although I didn't notice it when I reserved the car.

I used the Metra connector to wire the car and head unit. Does the Boxster have a speed sensitive wire in the wiring harness. I'm going to take out the unit and connect a volt meter to the wires, just wanted to get some ideas before I tear into it.

Any/all opinions welcome.


** I have a 04 base

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