Rennlist - Porsche Discussion Forums - A budget friendly speaker refresh for my C2

Hi friends,

Although not complicated, I thought I would document the speaker refresh I just finished in my 1993 Cabriolet. The goal was simple : improve the overall sound quality by 20-30% (i.e. make it acceptable) without investing too much given that the main use of the car is spirited driving. I am not an audiophile and as you will see, I did not know much about sound systems before getting started.

After carefully removing the front speaker cover (the boomer cover snaps, the tweeter cover unscrews), I was a little puzzled to realize that there was a plug in addition to the positive/negative wires I was expecting. After a bit of research, I understood that the positive/negative wires are actually sending signals to the tweeter and that the boomer (964.645.503.00) is also acting as a crossover.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...6f8bf1b7ab.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...a84f04976b.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...0fb32a14f8.jpg

As you can see, the boomer is pretty toast, even though it was still producing some sound. At this point, I documented myself a bit on the distinction between a component system (boomer, tweeter, crossover) and a simple co-axial speaker. I figured that a modern speaker would probably get me the right bang for the buck without having to deal with a component system (and remove the door panel). I ordered a pair of JBL Club 5020 5-1/4 on Amazon for $80 given that someone on this board said they would fit and I sourced a Metra 72-9000 Speaker Wiring Harnesses on Crutchfield for $10. Note: if your car is pre-1992, it will have a crossover and you will not have to get that connector. You will however have to do a bit more work if you want to delete your tweeter. Before you get started, check if your boomer is the fancy "boomer-crossover-all-in-one" that I had.

Here's the tweeter I removed (964.645.502.00). I simply screwed the grille back on with a piece of black paper underneath.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...3e1deecb4c.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...e35c718cd9.jpg

Here's the new boomer and once I received it, I realized that I was missing the frame that would help secure the grille. It turns out that with my speaker (964.645.503.00), there's no separate frame and I had to order a pair (911.555.671.01, $20 each on Pelican). I ended up being quite disappointed with the fit of that frame, I had to use tape to make sure the grille would snap back in properly. I kept the original speakers and might dremel them in the future to recreate a proper frame.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...367d94f7e2.jpg

Next step was to tackle the rears. I had read mixed opinions on them, some claim that they are pointless in a cab but I still wanted to replace the 28-year-old speakers. I ordered a pair of Infinity Reference REF-4032CFX 4" (Amazon, $50) and the install was quite simple (note that there's no need to use any kind of adapter here). The OEM rear speakers were shot too, part number is 964.645.504.00.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...eec78bd071.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...4845c720fc.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...95b84c37de.jpg

All in all, quite a simple project and I definitely reached my goal : it sounds a lot better and cost me less than $200. Music is clear, I can crank it to the max without distortion (good at 50mph top down, 90mph top up). Of course, it is lacking proper bass but that was expected.

TL;DR: surprise 1 was the boomer including the crossover (had to buy an adapter), surprise 2 was the need for a separate frame, surprise 3 was that it does sound pretty good