Sound system for Porche Boxster 986 1997 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Petem · 04-08-2021, 01:27 AM

Hey there, i've been lookin into atleast upgrading my stereo for my Porcshe, there is already an amp installed in the front trunk. Do you think i need to upgrade my door and dash speakers aswell or will the sound be fine with a new stereo. Thanks for all replies.
-Petter

ike84 · 04-08-2021, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petem

Hey there, i've been lookin into atleast upgrading my stereo for my Porcshe, there is already an amp installed in the front trunk. Do you think i need to upgrade my door and dash speakers aswell or will the sound be fine with a new stereo. Thanks for all replies.

-Petter

I think it depends more on how you drive the car. If you do a lot of top-down driving, I would recommend getting the rear speaker aftermarket kit. That will help a lot more than upgrading the other speakers. If you do a lot of top up driving, though, it would probably be best to upgrade what's already there.

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ExplorerLyon · 04-08-2021, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petem

Hey there, i've been lookin into atleast upgrading my stereo for my Porcshe, there is already an amp installed in the front trunk. Do you think i need to upgrade my door and dash speakers aswell or will the sound be fine with a new stereo. Thanks for all replies.
-Petter

Aftermarket amp or the Porsche original factory amp?
I kept my original head unit. Installed a JL Audio Amp in the front trunk ad JL audio speakers.

Benitom · 04-08-2021, 10:18 AM

I added an aftermarket radio and utilize the existing AMP. Sounds great with new dash speakers but requires volume to be turned up high. Not sure if they ship worldwide but crutchfield makes/sells a plug and play wire harness for 986 Boxster.

Grim1ock77 · 04-08-2021, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petem

Hey there, i've been lookin into atleast upgrading my stereo for my Porcshe, there is already an amp installed in the front trunk. Do you think i need to upgrade my door and dash speakers aswell or will the sound be fine with a new stereo. Thanks for all replies.
-Petter

I would pull out and look at your dash speakers to see if they are in good shape. Depending on the year; the foam surrounds disintegrate making them sound terrible. There are several tutorials for cutting up the existing speaker bracket to replace with aftermarket or another forum member sells adaptors that you can purchase and use.

The door speakers are actually subs if they are original (not very powerful), but they are less likely to disentegrate.

shacky · 04-09-2021, 05:17 PM

I put an Alpine head unit in my '99. Checked dash speakers and they are good. Left door speakers and amp as is. Great to have CD that doesn't skip and BT and charging cable for phone.

Have to say sound is much better. I use bass boost and love it.

Stl-986 · 04-09-2021, 07:04 PM

How much money do you have? your options range from $25 to $2000 or more. What are your expectations and what is your end goal, doing the work yourself or someone else doing it? Way to many options. Look through youtube there are many videos.

john12312 · 04-16-2021, 01:58 PM

I saw a video last year of a way to disconnect the CD player and solder a USB connector that can be fished to the console compartment and use my iPhone for music. Does anyone have a link or instructions on how to do this? Any recommendations for back speakers and how to connect? I have the rear box already so just need to do some surgery to get them in.

Zordrack · 04-16-2021, 03:03 PM

For cheap easy bluetooth I've had god luck with adding these two to the original becker.

This was more of a stop gap since everything that I'm looking at is out of stock everywhere.

This one is unavailable right now but worked really well and offers AUX, USB and handsfree input as well:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D9JW6S1

This one was cheaper and easier to install as it's smaller and didn't have any additional inputs, but it's a bit more annoying as you have to connect to it each time and we did have to reset it every few weeks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MV115BF

I know this is probably not what you're looking for, but figured it might be helpful considering what the landscape of in stock items have been the last couple of months.

john12312 · 05-01-2021, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zordrack

For cheap easy bluetooth I've had god luck with adding these two to the original becker.

This was more of a stop gap since everything that I'm looking at is out of stock everywhere.

This one is unavailable right now but worked really well and offers AUX, USB and handsfree input as well:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D9JW6S1

This one was cheaper and easier to install as it's smaller and didn't have any additional inputs, but it's a bit more annoying as you have to connect to it each time and we did have to reset it every few weeks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MV115BF

I know this is probably not what you're looking for, but figured it might be helpful considering what the landscape of in stock items have been the last couple of months.

Thanks for the recommendation. Just got the BTA from Amazon yesterday and it seems to work well. I thought it replaced the CD connector but it plugs in right next to it. It was little tight plugging it in but after carefully pushing it slipped in (there's a joke in here somewhere). I like that I didn't lose the functionality of the CD player. I haven't tested the BT phone mic yet. It was a little tricky finding a place to attach it so I wound up running the wire under the dash and tucked it into the creases on the left side and positining it on the dash just above the vent. The BTA I attached to the shelf under the steering wheel with some double sided tape. I'm not so concerned about talking on the phone with this as I am for getting to listen to my streaming music. Just replaced the dash speakers which were disintegrated and am working in the dorr speakers today. Waiting on the rear speaker assembly from Suncoast and hope to install next week. Just the dash speaker replacement made a huge difference in sound.

Zordrack · 05-01-2021, 01:10 PM

Look right below your phone mount in your cluster.

That's the OEM microphone mount.
if you disassemble the mic that came with the kit and put the foam pop filter from it around the capsule, it'll just squeeze into the void for the OEM mic.

It's a pain in the ass to run the cable but it's completely OEM look and it actually works great.

You will have to remove the cluster to run the cable down through the dash to the center console though.

I would say it's worth the effort to the point where I would do it again. And the mic that comes with it is good enough in that spot that I wouldn't replace it when I upgrade the head unit.

As for dash speakers I just replaced the OEM with the JL Audio C2 4".
Sounds decent with the OEM amp.

I also have a Bose sub/rear speaker from a 987 that I plan on replacing the drivers in with the JL Audio C2 3.5".

Then the real experimentation begins.
Gonna try and figure out what drivers can be fitted to replace the 5.25" woofers in the sub and the door subs.
I was going to go with the JL Audio C5 5.25" woofers but they discontinued them.
There's a few other options out there but it all comes down to mounting depth in the OEM enclosures.
Should be possible to some really decent sound without destroying the look.

john12312 · 05-01-2021, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zordrack

Look right below your phone mount in your cluster.

That's the OEM microphone mount.
if you disassemble the mic that came with the kit and put the foam pop filter from it around the capsule, it'll just squeeze into the void for the OEM mic.

It's a pain in the ass to run the cable but it's completely OEM look and it actually works great.

You will have to remove the cluster to run the cable down through the dash to the center console though.

I would say it's worth the effort to the point where I would do it again. And the mic that comes with it is good enough in that spot that I wouldn't replace it when I upgrade the head unit.

As for dash speakers I just replaced the OEM with the JL Audio C2 4".
Sounds decent with the OEM amp.

I also have a Bose sub/rear speaker from a 987 that I plan on replacing the drivers in with the JL Audio C2 3.5".

Then the real experimentation begins.
Gonna try and figure out what drivers can be fitted to replace the 5.25" woofers in the sub and the door subs.
I was going to go with the JL Audio C5 5.25" woofers but they discontinued them.
There's a few other options out there but it all comes down to mounting depth in the OEM enclosures.
Should be possible to some really decent sound without destroying the look.

Thanks. I thought that may have been a sensor. I'll check the Bentley manual for a way to remove the cluster. Do you have a pic of your mic set up? I installed Kicker 47KSC404 in the dash and they sound great. Got Kicker 47KSC504 for the door speakers installed today and frankly I'm not noticing that much of difference from the new speakers compared to the old ones but my hearing could be failing me. The old speakers were the OEMs and looked pretty much intact as they don't come in contact with direct sunlight like the dash mounts.

Zordrack · 05-03-2021, 11:35 AM

I never did take pictures of it.
I guess I should have so I could have done a proper writeup.

But it's fairly simple once you get the cluster off.
Biggest pain with that is releasing the connector for the hazard switch.

But after that you can simply pop out the mic trim piece with a trim tool and the mic capsule will just squeeze into the cavity in the back of the trim piece where the OEM mic would normally go.

It friction fits, but with just enough give that it wont pick up too much noise from the car.

john12312 · 05-03-2021, 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zordrack

I never did take pictures of it.
I guess I should have so I could have done a proper writeup.

But it's fairly simple once you get the cluster off.
Biggest pain with that is releasing the connector for the hazard switch.

But after that you can simply pop out the mic trim piece with a trim tool and the mic capsule will just squeeze into the cavity in the back of the trim piece where the OEM mic would normally go.

It friction fits, but with just enough give that it wont pick up too much noise from the car.

Thanks. I checked it out and the mic is a tight fit into the trim piece. I'm afraid to force it and break the trim piece. I'm thinking I might be able to fish a line through the opening to the back and pull the mic cord through. Did you not use the foam covering?

Stl-986 · 05-03-2021, 01:06 PM

Easier to just drill a hole in one of the blanks to the left of the radio and glue it in there. If you center it, you can hardly notice it. I'll get a picture of how I usually mount the mic later today. Much simpler and no need to pull the cluster out

Zordrack · 05-03-2021, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by john12312

Thanks. I checked it out and the mic is a tight fit into the trim piece. I'm afraid to force it and break the trim piece. I'm thinking I might be able to fish a line through the opening to the back and pull the mic cord through. Did you not use the foam covering?

I dissembled the mic, removing all the plastic, so I was left with just the capsule itself at the end of the wire.
Then stuck the foam around the capsule, both for fitment and pop filtering/decoupling, and crammed foam wrapped capsule into the rear of the trim piece right in the middle.

Getting the wire through the console was a pain in the rear, but everything else seemed to fit really well.

john12312 · 05-04-2021, 05:48 AM

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to see if I can snake a cord through the mic opening and dash and if so, crack open the mic. If that doesn't fly I may go the other route and use those blanks.

john12312 · 05-06-2021, 08:08 AM

I"m in the process of installing my rear speakers and am ready to connect to the back of the radio. The pic shows the harness with the wires connected but it doesn't fit into the radio. The harness next to it was in the plastic bag with the clips and does fit. Am I supposed to break apart the larger harness and insert the connectors into the smaller one? I now this is a simple issue but I've never dealt with these connectors before.

Stl-986 · 05-06-2021, 08:22 AM

Need more info. What exactly are you trying to do & use? Not sure what plastic bag you are referring to.

Need a more complete picture. factory radio, factory amp, aftermarket, etc.

john12312 · 05-06-2021, 08:26 AM

Installing the rear speaker kit from Suncoast. The connector on the right came in a separate parts bag with the kit. It fits the radio. The wired connector is too big to hook up to the back of the CDR220. I'm thinking I need to remove the wires from the larger harness and install into the smaller one but I wanted to check with those more in the know to see if I'm missing something or if I need to cut and splice.