pcar964

Let me start by saying I was not looking for earth-shattering bass or a competition audio system, just a noticable improvement from the factory setup... My car ('95 Coupe) came with the basic 4 speaker system (with component door tweeters), and not the hi-fi setup. This consists of a pair of 4x6 rear deck speakers (paper construction, trash) and 6 1/2" door speakers (also trash) - mine had the common Becker CR-1 head unit (tape with CD changer hookup, although mine didn't have one). The basic sound system in our cars does NOT come with the Nokia amplifier like the hi-fi sound option cars, so you basically have a very weak head unit pushing equally weak speakers. Here is a summary of the different setups I have tried over the past few weeks and their results...

ATTEMPT 1:
I first decided I'd try to keep everything stock, and add two 6x9 speaker boxes in the rear footwells (this way I could easily remove them for track days, etc). I bought some $160 Alpine 6x9 speakers and $40 boxes, removed the rear speakers (but left the grills to keep the appearance) and ran the rear speaker wires under the rear seats to the 6x9s.
RESULT:
Sound STILL sucked! First of all, the speaker boxes weren't a good fit, and they moved around while driving which made it feel really cheap. At this point I was starting to realize that there wasn't nearly enough power to run 6x9s without an amp anyway, so I quickly returned my purchase (gotta love BestBuy), and tried again...

ATTEMPT 2:
I decided that I'd keep the factory head unit, and buy some excellent quality speakers. So I bought some Boston Acoustics 4x6s for the rear deck and some $140 Pioneer 6 1/2" front speakers (I left the factory component tweeters in place).
RESULT:
I was amazed that even with high quality speakers front and rear, the sound was only marginally better - the bass response was still horrible, and the hi- and mid-level distortion was noticable at even normal sound levels. I was very disappointed. (And the rear speakers didn't even fit correctly, the speaker grills wouldn't fit over the Boston Acoustics speaker "rim," so I had to return these too!) Overall, maybe a 10% improvement over factory stock - yeah, that's it! Back to the drawing board...

ATTEMPT 3: Success!!!
After returning the rear speakers, I decided to leave them out completely (hey, that's about 3 lbs less in the *** end of the car, has to improve lap times, right? ) I left the $140 Pioneers in the front, and figured it was time I entered the 21st century... Back to BestBuy to find a new deck. After looking at all the different models (most of which are way too colorful and tasteless to put in a 993!) I bought a Pioneer DEH 2700 (pictured below) for $94 after rebate. I decided on the Pioneer because they have a good reputation, it looked relatively low-key, had a full-range adjustable built-in Equalizer, and 45 Watts output per channel (22 Watts RMS, for you technical guys).
Basically, this was a low-end aftermarket Pioneer deck, but it is LIGHTYEARS ahead of the piece of sh*t that came stock in our cars... That said, installation was a trial-and-error affiar, as the previous owner completely hacked up the wiring harness, making it very difficult to decipher the wires. But after a few hours of tinkering, the stereo came alive and I couldn't be happier...
RESULT:
The sound is amazing - bass response is outstanding, mids and highs are crisp and clear, and with the built-in equalizer, fine-tuning the sound is very easy. There are more gadgets in this "low-end" Pioneer head unit than you would believe - from pre-set EQ settings, FIE (front image enhancement), auto-programming functionality, automatic gain control, CD player with CDR/RW compatibility, detachable face for security, etc... Not only do I have an incredible sounding system that is MORE than I need (and keep in mind I only have the 2 door speakers and tweeters, no rear speakers at all!), but the new Pioneer deck looks as good as it sounds when installed, despite my initial fear that it would look too "ricey."

Total cost: $140 speakers + $100 head unit = < $250 including tax! I should have done this upgrade when I first purchased the car! (EDIT: with mail-in rebates, total cost was about $200 including tax)


I didn't know much about car stereos a few weeks ago, and I have learned A LOT since... But if you are a newbie like me, and looking for a great upgrade to your factory setup, there are only a couple things you need to understand...

1) Good quality sound requires POWER. That doesn't mean you need 15" Subs and 1000 Watt amplifier, and it doesn't mean you have to spend $1000 or more on a system (although, I have seen $2000+ systems in 993s, and they do sound great). The point is, the factory head unit is WEAK!! Even a low-end modern aftermarket head unit is a HUGE improvement!

2) Your stereo is only as good as its weakest link... If you have a good head unit with crap speakers, it will sound like crap - if you have a crap head unit powering great speakers, it will STILL sound like crap. A $100 head unit and decent speakers are all you need for a night-and-day difference, that's how bad the factory setup is!

3) Our cars are very small, and getting good quality sound that you can hear above the exhaust is quite simple (for those RARE occasions when you'd prefer to hear music ) Again, ALL you really need is a modern head unit and some good quality speakers in the stock sizes.

For anyone looking for a simple and cheap solution to the crappy factory stereo, hope this helps... First two pics are factory CR-1 head unit (notice the hacked-up wiring harness!) Second two are of the installed Pioneer head unit, please excuse the picture quality they were taken in a dark garage. I'd take some shots of the speakers, but they look factory because the grills are black, so this really is a good way to upgrade without it looking much different.

pcar964

For comparison purposes, I've been trying to find the power output of the factory CR-1 unit. The new Pioneer is 22 Watts per channel (RMS) 45 Watts max per channel. Anyone have the specs for the CR-1? The manual doesn't have it, and couldn't find anything online.

I'm keeping the CR-1 in the box just in case I decide to return the car to stock, although I don't see myself ever selling this car!

dpkoby

pcar964,
How is the FM reception on your stereo (both before and after the new headunit)? I have the cdr 210 and it sounds equally weak in sound quality but more problematic it has atrocious FM sensitivity-almost to the point of being unlistenable. I wonder how much is due to the small in windshield antenna vs. a poor tuner in the headunit. Glad to hear you got the results you wanted for a most un-Porsche like price

pcar964

Funny you mention that, the improvement in FM reception is outstanding, a big and noticable improvement from the reception of the CR-1. I was reading the owners manual and specs of the new Pioneer, it has "Pioneer's exclusive Supertuner IIID which ensures top-notch radio reception with cutting-edge digital processing." I don't know what that means, but there is simply no comparison to the old unit. I'm sure it's not just my Pioneer, but all stereos have gotten much better over the years.

All I can say is, the advancement in technology over the past 10 years is incredible, and as you say, it's a very "un-Porsche like price" for a huge upgrade in performance.

For those long trips when I just want to listen to some good music on my ipod, or some Phil Hendrie on the radio, this will make my 993 that much better.

Dr. No

This is good to know. All of the other stereo upgrades I've seen seem to involve spending $4000 and taking up the boot with a 1000w amp and cooling unit.

pcar964

I also thought $1000+ system was the only real solution - I really couldn't believe that just a set of modern aftermarket speakers and $100 head unit could give me this kind of sound. I can't stress enough just how much the factory system in these cars SUCKS. I don't know if that's due to the technology being 10 years old, or due to Porsche skimping on the stereo. Either way, it's so cheap to upgrade it doesn't even matter. Great sound is just $200 away!!

Weissach

The CR-1 that came on 92-96 Porsche is not made by Becker, it's a Sony unit. Porsche started using the Becker units with the CR-210 and CDR-210. These units have one of the best FM tuners on the market. If your FM reception is lacking with one of these radios, it's most likely the antenna.

Rob 97 993c2

No, i believe the Cr-1 is an alpine unit (with a porsche stamped on it as pictured above). Perhaps im wrong, but im fairly certain.

pcar964

Rob is correct, I just confirmed this - the CR-1 is an Alpine unit. Don't know why I assumed it was a Becker - regardless, in the Boxster S we had breifly, the unit was the TrafficPro which was a great looking unit and easy to use, but 1) still didn't have the funtionality of the aftermarket units (except the traffic function which never used) and 2) didn't have the power of these aftermarket units.

I'm pretty sure that no matter what deck the car comes with, almost any aftermarket deck will be a good upgrade - I'm not sure this applies to the brand new cars as well, but I wouldn't doubt it.

EDIT: I just checked the specs of the TrafficPro line from Becker, I am amazed that their whole range of $500+ decks still don't have the power of my dinky $100 Pioneer. The Pioneer has 50 Watts per channel output (22 Watts RMS) while the TrafficPros have 30 Watts per channel (18 RMS). The Becker units look better for sure, but not enough to justify an extra $400 and LESS power than my BestBuy special...

This is another case of Porsche/German parts costing more but not necessarily being any better (and in some cases, inferior!) It's the same thing when we pay top dollar for Bosch parts when the equivalent Jap or US spec part (be it a compressor, a fan, etc) is just as good at 1/5th the price!

Sooner

I just had this exact same unit installed in my car a month ago. Previous owner had done a lot of stereo work, but I hated the head unit & couldn't get any AM reception. I also needed to pull the sub out so the kids could ride in the back. I pulled out all the gear he had installed in the trunk, moved "his" amp under the passenger seat & added the new Pioneer head unit. I agree, it'sa fantastic. ONly difference is my car has MB Quart speakers all the way around.

Weissach

The reason that Becker's come with such low watts is becuase they are usully part of a "bigger" system(with an amp). Since most poeple don't actually use the head units power, they use an amp to power their system. Most "professional" head units don't even come with an internal amp...

FisterD

That looks nice. Not too gawdy, like the ones with all the neon lights blaring.

pcar964

Yeah my biggest requirement was that it didn't look gawdy - and as luck has it, the model two levels up (the Pioneer DEH-4700) went on sale today at my local BestBuy for $124.99, which is just $25 more than the unit I just got - so at lunch time, back to BestBuy for yet another exchange, and now the 4700 is installed - again, excellent unit! It's not any better than the 2700 in terms of sound quality, but it plays MP3s, has a remote control, and can accept the IPod adapter if I decide to do that in the future. Here's a picture of the NEW unit installed...

FisterD

Good thing it has a remote, with the large interiors of our 993s, sometimes it's difficult to reach all the way over and adjust the stereo
Looks really nice, how about a pic with it turned on?

Chaos

Thank you !
I am still at attempt 2 and my system still sucks !