Recommended replacement amplifiers - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

aglsteven · 10-24-2005, 04:24 PM

Ok guys,
I can't tolerate it any longer. My left speaker has been cutting out intermittently for the last two years

, so I am going to upgrade the stereo piece by piece, starting with the amp.

Can I draw on your collective experience

(I know that many of you have upgraded the sound systems)?
My plan is as follows:

1. Replace amp.
2. Replace speakers
3. Replace head unit (the Becker's are actually really good, so want to keep the stock look)
4. Rear speaker kit

If you guys could recommend a few amplifiers, I will see if I can source them here in Australia. I'm not looking to go overboard, so price range is approx. US$500.
many thanks
regards
Alex

gRed04 · 10-25-2005, 04:38 AM

Have you taken a look at Crutchfields? They carry most everything.

www.crutchfield.com

RandallNeighbour · 10-25-2005, 06:13 AM

Pairing a becker head unit with a non-becker amp may not be the easiest thing to do.

If you can stomach a different faceplate, buy an Alpine like I did and you'll be able to put whatever kind of amp you like on it, and it plays MP3 files as well... the becker units don't do that if I'm not mistaken.

I was into the "keep it looking factory" on the inside until I started comparing prices and features. Now the new stereo in the dash looks fine considering how great it sounds and the fact that it was half the price of a becker unit.

TriGem2k · 10-25-2005, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aglsteven

Ok guys,
I can't tolerate it any longer. My left speaker has been cutting out intermittently for the last two years

, so I am going to upgrade the stereo piece by piece, starting with the amp.

Can I draw on your collective experience

(I know that many of you have upgraded the sound systems)?
My plan is as follows:

1. Replace amp.
2. Replace speakers
3. Replace head unit (the Becker's are actually really good, so want to keep the stock look)
4. Rear speaker kit

If you guys could recommend a few amplifiers, I will see if I can source them here in Australia. I'm not looking to go overboard, so price range is approx. US$500.
many thanks
regards
Alex

I just finished doing a complete stereo install on my boxster. Total spent was close to $4,500.00. If you are looking to install rear speaker and already have door speaker i would highly recommend a 6channel amp. I went ahead and installed a six channel JL Audio amp for speakers and also a JL Audio mono channel amp for the subwoofer in the passanger kick panel. If you already have a factory amp, it is very simple to rewire the speakers to the new amp. If you need help PM or Email me and i'd be happy to help you out. Took me about 3days to install everything and about another two days to make a box for the subwoofer.

aglsteven · 10-25-2005, 10:35 PM

Thanks for the info guys,

I'm taking the car to an audio specialist on Friday to be checked out for the fault first. When I described it to him, he said it sounded like a dry solder joint or similar, so we'll try to isolate it to the amp or head-unit or speakers. If it's not from those, then it would have to be the wiring loom.

On the research side, I've had a look at a JL Audio 6 channel amp or an Alpine MRP-F240 which someone on Boxta.net had recommended. Sorry RandallNeighbour but if anything I'll go from my current CDR21 to a CDR22 (or 220 - as both are shipped to Aus). I really like the Becker head units.

Once that is in place, then I'll order in the rear speaker units from the US (I've not seen them for sale in Aus or fitted on any cars of my vintage yet, so that would make it pretty unique).

The Crutchfield site is excellent, but they won't ship outside the US, so we can use it for research, and then have to try and source locally. However ebay is a wonderful thing.
thanks again

TriGem2k · 10-26-2005, 10:50 AM

I have a CDR-220 that i removed from my car. The unit was replaced under warranty and less than a month later taken out to put in a full DVD Navigation. Practically brand new. Cant tell that it was even used. All button look untouched. Let me know if u are interested. I also have the factory CD changer to go with it if you like.

kajita · 10-26-2005, 11:13 AM

i have a alpine IVA-D310 dvd in my box with alpine 5 channel amp (400watt), with stock speakers. big mistake! blew my door speakers, so i changed it to fosgte mids (5.25inch) in the doors last weekend, only 50 bucks, did it myself, and wow, what a difference. thinking of putting in a sub but with all the 80's music i listen to, i dont think i need one yet. i have the ipod hooked up, (with regular audio rca into 3.5mm headphone jack cable, 12feet) to the AUX in the brain of the alpine and it works like a charm. no need for cds or changer, 1000+ music to go!!

aglsteven · 10-28-2005, 02:24 PM

Hey guys,
I've got a result. The audio shop finally found the fault, and it was the head unit. They swapped in another device, and it worked fine. So, out with the old and in with the new.

I also learnt something interesting. Blaupunkt stereo's are a plug and play fit. The only thing that won't plug in in the CD changer. However, I am going to remain with the factory look, and upgrade to a CDR22/CDR220.

Then I started talking to the guys about speakers. Their recommendation was to have a look at some Boston Accoustics SL series, which could be mounted in the original fittings, and run off the original amp (the Nokia one). So that is my initial plan. My aim is to keep the factory look but change what we can't see.
The amp will eventually go as well.