My 2002 996 "renovation" thread

[Groovzilla]

Lookin good!

[TheDeckMan]

Looking great! That black is shiny

[Groovzilla]

Black 996 lives matter....

[B3DAWG]

Well, every since I installed the Porsche CDR-220 and OEM Harmann amp, I've noticed that although the speakers were more responsive to the factory setup, they still had some distortion. Over time, the distortion became louder even at lower volume. I had time this weekend to start taking out the factory speakers and look what I found...

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Yep, MORE from the "glue guys"! These people are extremely lazy! This what audio nightmares are made of... sloppy, lazy people that are only into rigging it for a quick buck. Not only did they over glue the tweeter to the plastic cover, but they also got tons of glue on the front of the tweeter. When I pulled the cover off, the wires that were connected to the tweeter had been cut. I'm pretty sure it sounded like crap when it was connected to an amp.

Here are some pictures of the original factory HAES 4 inch speakers. Definitely dry rotted and scrubbing bad against the voice coil. Contacted Crutchfield and they're sending me some replacements and wire harnesses, but they said that since Porsche uses customized speaker mounts for the dash and rear speakers, and so the new 4 inch speakers will have to be modified to fit. This is obvious from looking at the speaker covers. The door speakers are standard 5.25 drivers and the book says they're supposed to be "full range" (instead of subs) and so I assume standard coaxial drivers will suffice. My only concern is the factory impedance is 2 ohm. Putting a 4 ohm load on an amp designed to handle 2 ohm speakers shouldn't be a problem or should it? Everything I've learned from my engineer father, it shouldn't greatly affect the amp, but matching the right speakers with the right amp and HU is always the better course of action. Going the other way is more problematic for your amp... for example, connecting a 2 ohm load on an amp that can't handle any lower than 4 ohm.

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[gnat]

Yeah we ran into that when I had that horribly overpriced and exceptionally shitty CDR system* ripped out and replaced. Porsche did not make it easy to drop in replacements and get good sound out of the system.



* We were told by Porsche owners before ordering "NEVER order an upgraded stereo. They all suck.", but we didn't listen and suffered for about 5 years with that godawful $5k mistake

[32wildbilly]

Yeah we ran into that when I had that horribly overpriced and exceptionally shitty CDR system* ripped out and replaced. Porsche did not make it easy to drop in replacements and get good sound out of the system.
* We were told by Porsche owners before ordering "NEVER order an upgraded stereo. They all suck.", but we didn't listen and suffered for about 5 years with that godawful $5k mistake

Ok a personal disclaimer...I'm sure I have significant hearing loss from age, racing go-karts and racing sprint cars, but I think my CDR23/Bose sounds pretty good. I'm no audiophile but the youngest kid is i.e.: builds his own amps, speakers and other things I don't understand for his house system. I have listened to his stuff and heard things I never knew was on the track. Still the Porsche system sounds pretty good to me, not perfect but good. Let's get serious the inside of an automobile is not the best acoustics design available. Hard to sit in the sweet spot and still drive, although...

[gnat]

Yeah there is certainly good enough, but there is also absolutely terrible. Especially weighed against the price.

I followed that advice when I bought the P!g and intended to have my audio guy redo it all for me right away. One thing led to another and after a few months I realized that the stock PCM system was good enough. Try saying that in a P!g forum though and you'll be shouted down about how much better the Bose and Burm packages are (I've listened to them and while I agree there is a difference, it's not worth the costs to me).

[B3DAWG]

Yeah we ran into that when I had that horribly overpriced and exceptionally shitty CDR system* ripped out and replaced. Porsche did not make it easy to drop in replacements and get good sound out of the system.
* We were told by Porsche owners before ordering "NEVER order an upgraded stereo. They all suck.", but we didn't listen and suffered for about 5 years with that godawful $5k mistake

Ok a personal disclaimer...I'm sure I have significant hearing loss from age, racing go-karts and racing sprint cars, but I think my CDR23/Bose sounds pretty good. I'm no audiophile but the youngest kid is i.e.: builds his own amps, speakers and other things I don't understand for his house system. I have listened to his stuff and heard things I never knew was on the track. Still the Porsche system sounds pretty good to me, not perfect but good. Let's get serious the inside of an automobile is not the best acoustics design available. Hard to sit in the sweet spot and still drive, although...

I agree with you Billy, the basic CDR systems are decent, but compared to modern systems by Alpine, Sony, Kenwood, and others, it's old school sound especially when you compare the modern capabilities (e.g. Bluetooth, Nav, etc.) to these old units. It's insane to think that the PCM headunits from Porsche are over $5,000, but people still want the factory originals and so there is consistent demand.


The problem I have with car manufacturers today is that they're engineering their so called "infotainment systems" to be completely proprietary even beyond basic audio. That is, the same systems that provide music also control the air conditioning, back up cameras, navigation, car diagnostics/settings, etc. etc. They make it impossible to install an aftermarket unit in the modern vehicle. That's another reason why I like the older cars... easier and more affordable to upgrade. I can't even imagine trying to upgrade the audio systems in my Volvos. Crutchfield says there is NO support whatsoever.

Oh well, so much for that. I'm sure the Porsche 991 is the same way... we're screwed! Would someone please pass the Vaseline! Ouch!!!

Therefore, you better enjoy that 996 and Becker CDR-23 while you have it Wildbilly!

[32wildbilly]

I agree with you Billy, the basic CDR systems are decent, but compared to modern systems by Alpine, Sony, Kenwood, and others, it's old school sound especially when you compare the modern capabilities (e.g. Bluetooth, Nav, etc.) to these old units. It's insane to think that the PCM headunits from Porsche are over $5,000, but people still want the factory originals and so there is consistent demand.

The problem I have with car manufacturers today is that they're engineering their so called "infotainment systems" to be completely proprietary even beyond basic audio. That is, the same systems that provide music also control the air conditioning, back up cameras, navigation, car diagnostics/settings, etc. etc. They make it impossible to install an aftermarket unit in the modern vehicle. That's another reason why I like the older cars... easier and more affordable to upgrade. I can't even imagine trying to upgrade the audio systems in my Volvos. Crutchfield says there is NO support whatsoever.

Oh well, so much for that. I'm sure the Porsche 991 is the same way... we're screwed! Would someone please pass the Vaseline! Ouch!!!

Therefore, you better enjoy that 996 and Becker CDR-23 while you have it Wildbilly!

The thing that pisses me off is all the "consolidation of functions engineering" is done on purpose. Car manufacturers don't want you as the consumer to be able to modify/change the system. They want you to buy replacements from them when something goes bad and it will get expensive! Like
I told you...I'm deaf!

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[gnat]

Oh well, so much for that. I'm sure the Porsche 991 is the same way... we're screwed! Would someone please pass the Vaseline! Ouch!!!

Yeap. 991.1 had the same PCM as I do in the P!g. It's not quite to the point you mention, but it's not far off.

Where you need Vaseline is in the states with safety inspections. Many (VA starts next year I think) are starting to require that your backup camera is operational if the car came with it installed (next steps is the Feds working on requiring the damn things ). So if you have one and your head unit goes on the fritz, you must get it fixed before the next inspection.


Oh, and Porsche and Audi want $5-7k for their head units !