investlt

My 964 currently has no stereo, and I am in the process of trying to decide what to get. I have looked at a number of units, but almost all of them are way too flashy for me (bling bling The Nakamichi CD 400 looks nice, but I don't think it can take an Aux In.

The CR 220 looks nice and it comes from a 996 and it can take an Aux In. So, to make a long post longer, does anyone have one and how easy/hard was it to wire and install? Yes, I know it is a tape player, but with an MP3 player and Aux In, I won't have to worry about CD's.

Thanks in advance.

Fanatic

I'm in the same boat, looking for an upgrade. My stock unit is toast in my RSA and I'd love to keep it looking sotck with a CDR 210 or CDR 220 but don't know about the fitment....wiring harnesses, mounting brackets, etc.

Would love to hear what other 964 owners have done.

Jon

WilliamO

Very timely...I'm replacing an old Pioneer head unit with a CDR 220. Fortunately, all wires were labelled by the previous installer, so wire identification wasn't an issue. You can buy the wiring plugs that connect to the Porsche radio from Becker (www.beckerautosound.com).

Prior to this, I had a CDR 210 (returned due to defect). Both units share the same wiring plugs. The 210 needed a cage to slide into. I believe the 220 doesn't, but I'll have more info when I secure it in the dash in a few days.

investlt

WilliamO,

I'm looking forward to your post. I have been to the becker site and message board (both old and new) and have read alot of the posts. It will be good to hear first hand experience from a fellow 964'er. Thanks in advance.

John

mark lintott

I have a Nakamichi unit - the CD 40Z - which has an Aux input included and I think it looks way better than all those other "over spec'd" units with buttons, ***** and disco lights. Looks good on the dash and sounds great too.

Mark

94 964 TL coupe Taiwan

WilliamO

Ok, finally got a chance to finish up the work. Besides installing the CDR 220, I also replaced the speakers in the front and back. Front were component tweeter & 5 1/4" driver, rear component tweeter & 4" driver. I replaced the front with tweeters mounted in factory housing and 6 1/2" drivers - no modification necessary to door panel. Rear was a little trickier, but I was able to shoehorn a 5 1/4" driver in place of the 4". This required trimming the grille a little bit, but fits nicely. Next check will involve making sure nothing catches when lowering the top.

Head unit was a tight fit, but after making sure all wires were clear from behind the radio, it slid in. Unfortunately, the unit still stuck out about 1/2". I bent two metal stops on each side of the radio inward and flush with the housing, and was able to finally fit the radio flush with the dash.

Here are some pics of the install. Very happy with the way it turned out, and sounds really nice. Next thing will be to order the modified faceplate from Becker so that I can see the display.

WilliamO

different angle

WilliamO

rear speakers

investlt

WilliamO,

Nice job on the install. Looks great.

Fanatic

Excellent WilliamO! Glad to know that a CDR220 will work in a 964 with the right harness and a little patience. Thanks for the write up.

Another question...is there a factory amp that powers the speakers or does the head unit carry enough juice alone to power the speakers? If there is an amp where is it located?

investlt

WilliamO,

Was your antenna cable a simple plug in? Mine does not seem to fit the CR 220.

WilliamO

investIt,

The radio had a plug that came out the back, but it doesn't fit the antenna lead. What I needed was a L-shaped adapter that plugs into the radio on one end, and has a sleeve on the other to accept the antenna. I ordered this straight from Becker, along with the modified faceplate.

It'll be nice to have radio once more....

WilliamO

The radio has connections that appear to be amplified signals, so I believe it can power the speakers alone. There is an amplifier, located underneath the passenger seat. It looks like a Blaupunkt. Since I was reworking the stereo system from a previous install, the stock amp is bypassed. I have a line level output that goes from the head unit to the trunk, where the signal is fed into an amplifier. From there, the signal is routed to all the speakers.

I have a 993 that has the exact setup (minus the head unit). In both cases, any internal amplification was bypassed by running line level RCA's to a trunk mounted amp.

-w

pete000

I found a nice mint Porsche CD2 Factory head unit out of late 944 S2 on ebay complete with lock code. Bolted right in all connections fit perfectly. Nice Factory upgrade for my C2 for 150 bucks! Even says Porsche right on it and has the cute flasing red led when the key os off.

pete000

Any suggestions for component door speakers that will fit as a direct replacement on the 964? My stock speakers are a bit tired. I would like to retain the factory grills and just replace the drivers them selfs.