PRSWILL

I have ADS 2 ways in the back - not sure if these are what Porsche sent with the car originally or not- but they are very mid-range biased and not very smooth. the fronts have been replaced with Rockford Fosgate 2 ways and the Amp under the seat is also a Rockford Fosgate- decent power- but the sound is just so marginal. I admit i am a bit of an audio snob- as a musician i have to be. But i'd love to hear what folks are putting in their cars that sound really great. I know Porches have never been known for their audio prowness, but there's got to be some good setups right? right??

dbrians

I installed Focal speakers in the doors and in the rear deck. K2 Power 165's in the doors (6-½") and K2 Power 100's in the rear deck (4"). I could not fit the JL Audio HD/600 amp that others have used so I installed an older Focal amp (75w x 4). I did not install a sub-woofer & amp since my listening habits don't justify it. And, yes, the paper speakers that I removed were torn. Very pleased with the result as I decided before I began that it had to appear factory OEM once completed.

Spyder_Man

I'll be going down this road too. I have the factory Hi-Fi option and as far as I can tell two of the driver's side front speakers are shot and the rear passenger side is shot too. It makes it a somewhat unpleasant experience for my passengers when I route most all the sound through the front passenger side and crank the volume so that I can hear it well enough in the driver's seat.

Does anyone know what the specs are for the original Hi-Fi amp? I'm wondering whether I need to swap that out in addition to replacing speakers.

One last thought, I've read good things about using Focal speakers within the 986 Boxster community too.

Kika

"Best" is somewhat subjective as there are different tastes and preferences.

Having said that, any quality aftermarket speaker will sound better than the original Nokia speakers, which most likely are dried out by now.

As dbrians mentioned above, Focals are an excellent manufacturer. They make a wide range of models, with the top of the line being unbelievably expensive.

I have a set of Oz Audio Matrix Elite separates powered by a Lunar 2125. good sound requires clean (noise-free) power and a decent amount of it.

Rockford Fosgate in the 80s was a great USA built amp, like Orion, but now their stuff is made in China to keep production costs down and maintain the volume they now do. I really like the old RF stuff, but not so inclined to use any of their current stuff. I like amps built in the USA.

while the 993 is not an audiophile environment, you should be able to get decent sound with the right equipment and a good installation. There are many threads in the archives with a variety of brands.

All of the major manufacturers have multiple lines of equipment to compete at different price points. Stick to the higher levels of any of the major brands and you should be OK. I always suggest that you listen to a bunch of different speakers to see what sounds best to YOU, and bring the type of stuff you want to listen to, with you to the store.

good luck!

replacing 17 year old equipment from anything current WILL be an improvement. AND like anything else, your sound system is only as good as its weakest link, so use a quality source (headunit/ipod/iphone) with GOO digital source, a good amp that produces high ~100W/channel RMS @ low THD, and component speakers in front. The rear speakers are just for fill, so they are much less critical, however, they will be exposed to much more direct sunlight, so from a durability standpoint, it is worth putting a decent speaker back there, not something that will dry out and rot in 6 months.

ble2011

I do not have the hifi option. Last year, I replaced my head unit with a Pioneer DEH-80PRS. Really nice unit. I thought the existing JL Audio speakers would be perfect. They weren't, so I bought new JL Audio's. Still not satisfied with the sound. I'm now replacing the JL Audio with Polk's I bought over the winter. The Polk's are a step down, but friends have raved about them and for the price, I thought I would give them a try. I'll post what I think abut them after I install them.

Kika

I'm curious, did you listen to the speakers before you purchased them?

H.H.Chinn

Any contemporary polyethylene coned speaker would be far better than the factory Nokia paper coned crap that came with the car. My concern was to replace the components with those that fit with no cutting or drilling.

jg291446

I will replace mine in 3 weeks. Crutchfield seem to be very knowledgable. I have the hifi option in my cab and will go with Polk DB651 (6.5'') in front (they told me it would fit) and Polk DB521 (5.25'') in the rear to replace the aftermarket that are in there actually.

I will replace the amp by Rockford Fostgate PBR 300x4 with a MEX BT 3100 unit from Sony (with bluetooth).

I will tell how it sounds as soon as installed... But if anyone think my choices aren't good, do not hesitate to PM me

Tonydec

I also have the Focal K2's, with Xtant amplification. No metal cutting was required, but some custom tweeter pods were needed as the Focal's didn't fit the stock pods. You can only tell if you know what the stock pods look like. The stock pods narrow slightly where they attach to the door, the custom ones don't. A small 8" Kicker sub fills in the lows. I questioned my installer about the Kicker, he said I'd be wasting money getting something better. I had a high end aluminum Eclipse and Soundstream SSR on hand, and he said the Kicker would actually work better due to the enclosure limitations.

I still have the stock rears, as I have them on very low so they don't interfere much with the soundstage.

M. Schneider

...... To borrow a carpenters saying. Measure twice, cut once. The speaker sizes recommended by Crutchfield below will not fit your 993 Cabriolet (or coupe) built with the #490 HiFi speaker option.

EMBPilot

Fister Stage II or IIIs

M. Schneider

OP ..

Go fully active. Elegantly simple, stealthy aesthetic with herculean acoustic control. Fully active !

M. Schneider

+1 ... a sound track that never gets old .... Too funny. (LPMM a DIY on the cheap $)

ble2011

I did not. I have Polk 5jr home studio monitors (old - not sure new compares) and love them, so felt comfortable buying Polk's. To be honest, they were so inexpensive, I thought I would take the risk and give them a try.

Kika

Actually I was referring to the JL Audio's that you didn't like. at least the Polks came with a recommendation.

I remember hearing some Polks back I the 90s, sounded unbelievable, but I couldn't afford them.