Radio Wiring Question

[KevinH1990]

Originally Posted by spinjockey

The only other option you have is to replace the amp. You can go aftermarket which will break out the channels as you want to use them or you could get a Porsche 6 channel amp for a 996 so you can wire the rear speakers to the amp rather than the head unit. In the boxster there may not be much advantage as the audio configuration is sub optimal in general.

I initially installed a 996 amp in my car and used it to power the rear speakers. I eventually upgraded the door speakers and installed a separate amp to power them. You can read about that journey in this thread: https://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/79558-door-speaker-recommendations.html


I agree with spinjockey that there are inherent limitations in the Boxster's configuration that affect the quality of the audio experience. However, I found that replacing the dash and door speakers with better components and adding the rear speakers noticeably improved the sound quality.

In addition, upgrading the head unit makes the car feel more modern. I know some people feel that the double DIN head units degrade the OEM look and feel. In this context, I note that Porsche offered a PCM system with a screen on the 986 and that the Boxster concept included a screen in the dash.

[Tweetdriver63]

Originally Posted by KevinH1990

I initially installed a 996 amp in my car and used it to power the rear speakers. I eventually upgraded the door speakers and installed a separate amp to power them. You can read about that journey in this thread: https://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/79558-door-speaker-recommendations.html


I agree with spinjockey that there are inherent limitations in the Boxster's configuration that affect the quality of the audio experience. However, I found that replacing the dash and door speakers with better components and adding the rear speakers noticeably improved the sound quality.

In addition, upgrading the head unit makes the car feel more modern. I know some people feel that the double DIN head units degrade the OEM look and feel. In this context, I note that Porsche offered a PCM system with a screen on the 986 and that the Boxster concept included a screen in the dash.

I found just replacing the dash speakers with new OEM ones made a huge difference. The originals were in horrible condition.

The aliexpress head unit HERE looks amazing in the car. It looks like it was designed for it (and much, of course, it was). There are a bunch of choices for features (memory, MOST, LTE, etc).