Biochemlab

Hi 718 owners!

Do your cars pipe in engine noise through the speakers? I'm curious for both the GTS and S models. I didn't think this was the case... But Road & Track said:

"There’s just one problem with the new GTS: You can’t really hear how great it is, despite the standard sport exhaust. Standing in pit lane, waiting to hit the track, it was easy to miss the Caymans blasting by without listening closely. Even inside the cabin, the fat-four is muted, despite a speaker behind the back seat that subtly amplifies the snarl."

EDIT: https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a19694790/2018-porsche-718-cayman-gts-first-drive/

squid42

I think they mistook the pipe for a "speaker"?

DBH

Not sure about 718, but 981 had a pipe connecting the intake plenum to the firewall behind the seats. This device just allowed a more direct avenue for the intake/engine sound into the cabin. There is no speaker or artificial amplification involved.

RandyL

981 Boxter, Cayman, or both? All years?

DBH

For sure, 981 Cayman GTS. Pretty sure Boxters as well.

Wild Weasel

I don't think so. I think only the GTS models had the sound symposer (hole).

CaymanSinAR

Not sure about the Base and S, but the GTS definitely has the "symposer". See this first look article about the 2015 GTS from Car & Driver.

From a 2012 C&D article about engine sound enhancements:

"Porsche’s new Sound Symposer, fitted to the new 911 (991) and forthcoming Panamera GTS, is another intake-noise amplifier. As the 911 has grown up, so have the needs of its drivers: One need in particular is quiet cruising. Wide, low-profile rubber howls at 80 mph, and damping that distraction also diminishes the primal sounds of the engine. Porsche calls its amplifier an “acoustic channel,” and it consists of a tube housing a diaphragm and a valve. When an occupant pushes the sport button on the *center console, the valve opens and the diaphragm goes to work amplifying the mechanical sounds radiating from the intake plenum."

conceptDawg

Only on GTS models.

GregWormald

There are threads re: the 718 Soundaktor--including instructions for a quick easy disconnect.

okie981

The 981 Boxster S has no such pipe for engine noise into the cabin. I have heard the GTS models do but I have not had one taken apart, so can not speak with first-hand experience.

I've had my BS engine bay open multiple times and there are no tubes or pipes transmitting sound to the cabin.

CaymanSinAR

This is how the current gen (ND) Miata handles it on certain models as well. Most folks spend $25-$35 on the delete kit to remove it.

Wild Weasel

FWIW, there was never a moment in my Boxster GTS where I thought there was too much engine noise and that I should look into some way of toning it down. That car sounded AMAZING!!

It might be my inner 12 year old, but I actually miss the crackles and pops and the fact that if I downshifted and let off the throttle it would often go off like a shotgun.

CaymanSinAR

The thing I don't like about the "extra" noise in the GTS is I can tell exactly when it has been actuated. To me that makes it a bit artificial.

Or maybe I'm wrong and the change I hear around 4,000RPM is not that.

Biochemlab

Thanks to everyone for the detailed answers!

manifold danger

I think you posted this in the wrong forum.

I actually noticed the reference to a speaker in the R&T article as well, and was a bit surprised. I've never been "that guy" who thinks artificial noise is the devil (I think Clarkson started it all when he reviewed the turbo v8 M5 on Top Gear), and actually kind of enjoyed the fake noise in my M4... but I would find it interesting if Porsche gave another middle finger to purists and did the speaker thing in the 718 GTS.