bart1

Note that I have no EQ. Seems the M490 is supposed to.

Robby

hmmmm.... interesting- I know that the 968 could have optional 17's w/out full M030- I wonder what the PO did... He could have just upgraded the sways to M030, but there are so many possibilities... I think you're right, that the M490 stereo should have an EQ. I know part of the under HU pocket was covered by a clock in the 968, but I thought the EQ was right beside it, just made smaller for the 968 b/c of the clock, if that makes sense...? It could be that later 968's got the amps & the EQ's were on them maybe...? Check under your seats & see if you have the amps under there- I think it was one under each seat... Also, I didn't know the front speaker grill was screw-on, since I've never seen one up-close. If it comes off that easily, can you pull it off & snap a pic or two of it & maybe measure the diamter of the speaker itself...??? If it's a paint to pull, then don't worry about it... I know what the speaker looks like- it's got an oval outer mounting edge- just not sure on total measurements...

bart1

All the 968s I've seen pics of have a analog clock and small cubbyhole under the clock. That's mine.

The stereo is odd. Apparently, there is some tiny "booster" under each seat. I may have to pull the seat to even find it. Also oddly, the speker grill is screwed onto the speaker, and when you pull it, you only see the cone & surround - not the mounting points. I guess you have to pull the door panel to actually change it.

Robby

Yes, the "boosters" must be the amplifiers I'm speaking of- they are supposed to add a small amount of power to the HU- the EQ's (IF they do exist) might very well be on them, or on one of them, but I could be wrong- I'm pretty sure I've seen pics of the 968 pocket thing which was ~2/3 EQ & ~1/3 clock, but I may be wrong- I'll look through my disorganized collection of pics & see what I can find. Does your car have the optional CD changer? Does it have the factory in-dash CD or tape deck, or does it have something aftermarket...?

I wonder what the reason was to be able to unscrew the grill to get to them if you have to remove the whole door panel to remove them anyway...? Seems kind of odd, but they did plenty of odd things w/these cars... In any case, if it's that easy to just unscrew the grill, then I'd love to have a measurement on the cone itself, as well as the grill measurements if you get time later...

phil0618

Hi,

There is an amp under the passenger seat. It is a small Alpine unit. The amp takes the line level signal from the preamp of the radio/cassette etc. Power goes from the small amp to the doors. There is a 3 way crossover in the doors that splits the signal to each of the speakers.

If you are getting no sound at all from one side then it is likely in the radio/head unit or in the amp. It would be hard to believe that the entire crossover and/or all the speakers are blown. If you take out the passenger seat (easy to do) you can pull up the carpet and likely switch the leads going into the amp (I don't recall if you can actually do that or not, but I suspect you could figure out a way to do it). If you get sound coming out of the drivers side after switching inputs to the amp then the AMP is the problem. If you don't then it's the radio/head end.

The rear speakers are unusual. The amp & xover is actually mounted to the back of the speaker. Are you getting sound from the rear drivers side speakers? If so then I'm thinking it is the amp under the front seat. I have found these little amps on eBay and I do have pics of that amp and the whole rest of the stereo if you need them. That factory amp only cranks out like 6 or 8 watts so if you have to replace it I would get something better. You could mount it under the glvoe box, which is what I'm likely to do the next time I upgrade the system.

Robby you sent me a question a couple months ago and I finally replied maybe 2 weeks ago. Did you get my reply?

I don't know much about cars but I do know a bit about audio, so PM me if you need more info or want some upgrade ideas etc. Also if you search for my posts you will find most of them deal with audio-related stuff.

Good luck and congrats on the new car.

Phil

Robby

Phil- aren't there two amplifiers though? From your reply, it sort of sounds like you're saying the 968 only had one amp... As a matter of fact, I think it was you who sent me pics of the amps before- I can't find them, so it must have been before my HD failure last summer- would like to get them back if you could...? I'm about to send you a PM w/my addy, etc... I don't remember getting a reply from you in the last few weeks- if it was more like 3wks ago, then, it could have been when my modem failed- I was w/out service for ~3 full weeks- this would have been b/t ~3 & 6wks ago- when I got back online, I had over 1500 messages b/t two accounts & it is very possible that I accidentally deleted your's- I'm very sorry if that's the case- I hope it wasn't a long reply...? Actually, I'm about to change one of the e-mail addys b/c of that fiasco- I'm getting WAY too much spam on it- time to change, right...? Anyway, I'm about to type up a PM & send it your way,.... good to hear from you...

Bart- let us know what happens w/your's & if you can get me those measurements sometime in the next few days, that would be great... I'm hoping to start my install this weekend...

phil0618

I believe there are three amps total.

One under the front passenger seat that is a stereo amp that powers the front speakers in the doors. Each of the rear speakers has what I believe is a mono amp and crossover mounted to the back of it.

I'll dig up the pics and post them...

Robby

Phil- just sent you a PM- also found your reply- it was a PM reply- evidently, I had told you about some of the stuff already... Anyway, as for the amps- I thought those things on the back of the 6.5" rear speakers were just crossovers, but could very well be wrong... They are much different from the early M490 6.5's, but I had come to the conclusion that they were just improved...? I had always been under the impression that there was an amp that ran the front channels & an amp that ran the rears... again, I have no idea if this is true or not- have you ever looked under the driver seat? What about in the engine bay along the firewall? These are two spots for factory amps from what I understand, but again... not positive...

phil0618

Some pics of the more interesting parts of the audio system can be found in this thread...

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...5&page=3&pp=15

Phil

AllenM

Congrats on the car. It looks suprizingly similar to mine...92 968, blk on blk, 6-speed, LSD, 17" twist wheels, and I also found mine in Atlanta about 3 months ago. These cars are crazy amounts of fun. I hardly get a chance to test the limits in the car since there aren't any fun roads in Atl. It's a ton of fun on country roads.

As for the stereo, I gave up on the factory unit w/ crazy amps and bought a new alpine head unit. I plan on replacing the factory speakers, buying new amps and building a subwoofer box similar to the setup made by this company, http://www.klaindustries.net/

bart1

Robby, I think I am unclear on what you are doing, but I will get you some measurements.

Mine is the 490 sound package.

Phil, thanks for your advice. I used to play with audio a lot, too. Been a few years. What I really want to do is go to a good head unit with Alpine controls, put some Dynaudio components in the doors, and maybe the KLA box with an 8 in the rear. Probably use the factory 6.5, if I can do so. I would like to see some install pics if you have any. Nice clean factory looking installs.

Thanks, Allen. I think I will just buy the KLA box, looks nice.

Robby

Allen- I've been planning to make a little road trip to Atlanta soon- maybe in the next few months. Would love to see the 968- would get in touch w/a few Rennlisters to meet up for a few joy rides... The KLA would be cool for a sub, although I'm trying to get around using subs- if I were going to do it, though, I'd either go w/the KLA set-up or possibly a Bazooka tube...

Bart- Yeah, I was sure your's was the M490- I could see the round grill at the front lower corner of the door panel- the late 968 w/M490 is the only one to ever get this... I'm going to install a 6.5" in that location- it's a tight fit- the window frame comes down right in the center of the magnet, leaving 1.75" depth + ~1/8" panel thickness- so, you have less than 2" total depth & there are no 6.5's made that are this shallow. The convertibles did not have this prob- their little triangular window brings the window frame more towards the center of the door. Then, the edge of the dash will pinch if you space it outward. But, if you start w/a shallow speaker (under ~2.5") & move it back & possibly down slightly, & use a small spacer, you can do it. Too big of a spacer & you'll push it against the map pocket, unless you want to convert to earlier 944/951 map pockets- I like my taller 968 map pockets though...

So, I've got a Slim 6.5" woofer going in that front lower corner, a 4" midrange going under the armrest where the 5.25" is, & a tweeter in the stock location... I only found 4 total 6.5's that I was ~99% sure one could put there- Infinity Kappas, Diamond Audios, Focal Slims, & CDT Slims. All of them have excellent 3-way component sets- the Kappa 1.7CS are only available in the UK & the CDT & Focals are way too deep unless you can swap out one of their slims in place of the normal 6.5" woofers. Diamonds are cool b/c you can buy either a 4" OR 5.25" component set & then "add-on" the 6.5" to it, so you have a choice on your midrange size- most 3-ways come w/4". Dynaudio makes some excellent speakers- I looked at their 3-way components, but was afraid the 6.5" would be too deep, not to mention they were way out of my price range...


I just wanted to get the actual factory measurements so I could compare w/mine. I'm going to be very slow & careful when doing this b/c I have 968 door panels in my car that I bought used, several years ago- they are in excellent condition & I do NOT want to mess them up- they're early panels, so I don't have anything up front where your extra speaker is, so I'm going to have to cut a hole from scratch, &, much larger, since it will be for a 6.5" instead of a 3-4"...

bart1

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Q9DXFi9...000&I=108607CS

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Q9DXFi9...00&I=107DB6500

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-Q9DXFi9...000&I=2065KS62

Actually, it's harder to find 5.25"s under 2" depth.

Dynaudios 15W75 and now MW150 are, I think, some of the best engineered spekers ever. They sound good and can handle basically whatever you throw at them. Pretty expensive. I use them in an MTM setup at home. They are just a little over 2" depth. I was hoping to get a 5 1/4" component set in the front holes of the door and not use the current 5.25" hole. Not sure yet. I think their MW170 mounts a bit deeper. Look on www.dynaudiousa.com if you wanna check. You certainly can get good speakers for less $, though.

Robby

Oh yeah, I think Dynaudio is excellent! No doubt about it... I've never seen those Kickers before, but yes, the Kappas are one of the shallowest 6.5's. Not sure about the Polks- they're listing top mount depth in all of those- I was always trying to find total depth including grills, but that's almost impossible w/most speakers- even still, I noticed w/my CDT's, the grill actually has some room in it- I'm going to have to add some small washers to space it out & get the speaker out at the front of it- Anyway, I'm sure I missed a few that might have fit, but I wanted something in the range of Kappas to slightly better, plus, I also got stuck on searching for 3-way components, so I probably weeded out a few that MIGHT have fit b/c they didn't come in 3-way comps....

As for 5.25's- yes, you're right- I've noticed that sometimes they're not any shallower than their 6.5" counterparts, but I don't think I've ever seen them actually be deeper- of course, you have to trust all of the specs you read too- I don't trust Crutchfield 100%, but I do think of them as a pretty good research site, just b/c they list so much info on everything. They don't know sh** about 944 / 968 stereos though. Anyway, you don't have to worry about 5.25's depth very much- the stock 5.25 that resides under the armrest is 2 7/16" deep- total depth- top mount (measuring from back of magnet to underside of face...?) is 2 1/16"....Plus, you can squeeze slightly deeper into that little plastic mounting frame & still not rub the pocket. There are quite a few 5.25's that will go into that little thing. Plus, I've seen a few people mount 5.25's where your 3-4" speakers are- being a smaller circle than a 6.5", you can more easily clear the sloping dash edge- I've only seen two people mount 6.5's there, though, & only one of those was really nice looking- BOTH were Kappas.... I've got all kinds of pics of this kind of stuff...

I've spent WAY too much damn time dealing w/all of this- I'm so ready to get my system together & just be done w/it... My new amp just showed up- an Alpine F345 V12- 75w/ch 4-ch amp- Now I need to figure out how to set all of the crossover settings, etc- it's much more complicated than I thought & I don't understand the first thing about that stuff... I miss my ADS PQ10- some a**hole broke into my car & stole it last summer- that was a nice little amp for hte power it put out- the Alpine's should be cool though- I hope so... So, I'll have CDT 3-way comps w/Slim 6.5" (instead of regular 6.5" woofer) up front, w/6x8 Kappa components in rear, all run off the Alpine amp. Should sound pretty nice....

bart1

Robby, you might consider leaving your tweets off in the rear. Just a thought. Syatem should be a good one, though.

Like I said, I trying not to use that 5.25" hole. Too blocked by the seat. I want to put 5.25s in the current 4" hole.

You can't blame Crutchfield. Porsche did some strange things with these stereos, I guess from evolving over time.