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.

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

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.

Stl-986 · 05-06-2021, 08:29 AM

Do you have a factory amp? I dont think that kit takes the amp into consideration, just assumes that there isn't one.

john12312 · 05-06-2021, 08:34 AM

Yes, I believe the dash and door speakers are connected to it but the rear speakers go into the radio. I was wondering if that larger connector somehow is for the amp. Instructions say this are connected to the radio. The smaller connector fits into the B labeled group of pins in the middle of the back of the deck.

john12312 · 05-06-2021, 08:40 AM

Any thoughts on a better amp that's easy to install if I decide to upgrade that?

Stl-986 · 05-06-2021, 08:32 AM

I just looked at the back of a cdr220 I have and neither of those connectors would plug into the back.

Might want to reach out to Suncoast to see if they have any instructions. I know I saw a writeup somewhere before but I just always run my own wires & wire to the amp when doing rear speaker installs.

Stl-986 · 05-06-2021, 09:19 AM

My go to amp is the mb quart na2-500.5 Not the most powerful, but it's 5 channel and compact. perfect replacement for the factory. Search for some of my other posts. There are better and more powerful amps and doing 2 separate amps isn't an issue but then things start to get a little crazy with running wiring, power, etc. It's a convertible so no matter what you spend it wont ever be as good as a coupe. There is no good way to put a sub in that hides it to where someone wont want to cut your top to take the sub either.

When I replace systems I will typically just cut any factory connector, solder or crimp wires and run things to either an amp or from the head unit depending on the head unit and car. Comes down to budget more then anything. Have had some people that wanted to spend more on a headunit and go less on speakers or some that wanted better speakers & subs. Dont cheap out when it comes to rca cables, always get shielded cables no matter what. For a 986 I usually budget around $500 to replace everything and put in a mid level head unit.

john12312 · 05-06-2021, 02:05 PM

I spoke with a tech from Suncoast today, and he told me that the harness with the wires connected is meant to be used if the rear speakers were connected directly to the amp. They don’t mention this in the instructions they included with the kit. The cable that runs from the speakers all the way to the front of the car is meant to be connected to that smaller harness and that goes into the back of the radio. Would’ve been nice if they made that clear from the beginning but it’s a learning experience for me.

I appreciate your input on your set up. I think I may upgrade the amp next to something a little better but not too difficult to install and If that goes well maybe upgrade the deck to Pioneer or something else that’s compatible with the existing set up. I can’t see spending $1300 for the new set up that includes the touchscreen and all of the modern features.