stevewilm

Just took delivery of my '06 Slate Grey/Stone Grey S. It came with the Bose system. Anyone out there have an opinion to the optimum setup (base, treble, surrond,etc.)?

Palting

Between '02 to '05, the Bose system has not improved. It's unlikely to have improved for '06. It's an improvement from pre-'02, but it still sucks. My best setting is OFF, and listen to the flat-6 instead.

Congrats on the new car! PICS!!!!!

willr

Agree - Bose seems to be flawed in the Boxster, compared to 911. I found reducing the bass and turning off "surround" helped improve the sound quality - otherwise it was too boomy.
However I have heard that Bose can be reprogrammed for the car's acoustics, and sometimes doesn't get set correctly in the factory - maybe your dealer can help?

mbodo

... not being an audiophile, the bose system sounds fine to me. I do notice a more "boomier" sound while I am listening to FM as opposed to a CD. I've attributed this mostly to some of the stations I listen to and how they equalize their broadcasts, i.e. a song on 91.1Mhz will sound better (less boomie) than the same song on 105.3Mhz. Same reception, same overall sound quality, noticably different sound equalization coming from the DJ.

ELUSIVE

I can't believe that I spent the amount of money that I did on the bose. The stock stereo in my ford expedition is better.

mrpc12

I don't think the Bose is THAT bad. I like how it adjusts for top up or down and speed and road/wind noise.

schnell987

stevewilm:
Congrats on the new Boxster S! Love to see pictures of it (color combination sounds really nice!). IMHO, I am sure that the Bose system sounds noticably better than the stock stereo system (which I have).

A general comment: I had a high-end component system in a former car, and even after spending thousands of dollars on equipment, the car system never sounded as pure and satisfying as a high-end home system. Certainly sounded better than the stock system, though.

Enjoy!

scycle2020

my 05 has the bose...i am an audiophile and professional musician....i dont think is sounds bad..its not as good as my friends 997s, but coupes have much better accoustics...some cars, like the lexus ls430 and the acura rl have great dvd sound systems that can approach home systems...but it is harder on a conv....the box stereo does sound better than my 360 spider hi fi sound option...but nothing beats the sound of the engine....

mrpc12

Woa. What do you need a Boxter for if you've got a 360 spider already? Surely, it wasn't because it had a better sound system.

Doug&Julie

mrpc12...it's spelled Boxster. I wouldn't razz you but its spelled wrong in your sig...but spelled right in your avatar!

mrpc12

Doh. I didn't notice that. I couldn't have made the same mistake on the Avatar because it's an actual picture of the badge on the back of my car.

Doug&Julie

It happens! Beautiful car by the way!

mach-hog

I have the Bose 11 speaker option (Stock 8 speakers, I believe) and I am not sure it was worth it. Perhaps, as I am not an audiphile, someone could offer me some insight.

When I adjust the "fader" setting so that all the sound should be coming from the rear, (consists of the sub-woofer and two smaller speakers), I can only hear a fraction of the volume that I hear when the "fade" selection is more neutral or forward. I know the rear set-up only consists of 3 speakers, vs. 8 up front and in the doors, but I would have thought I would hear more from the "sub-woofer", especially on bass heavy songs... am I out of my gourd? Am I thinking correctly about this? Suggestions or recommendations from someone with more knowledge please?

Thanks!

Mach-hog

Moogle

i have my 03'S' bose set at:

treble +5
bass -7 (bose is toooo boomy)
balance 0
fader backward bias +5 (to balance sound out)

these settings seem to work great with FM tuners/ipods too (iTrip)

ltc

You are (partially) correct.
The same DSP amplifier (with MOST fiber optic interconnect between headunit, amplifier and CDChanger) is used in all MY03+ Porsches (996, 997, 986, 987, Cayenne). The difference is merely the DSP tuning S/W parameters loaded into the amplifier. This amplifier will remain in all Porsches until ~ 2008 when the next version (currently finishing design and beginning validation) is introduced (totally new design with DTCP (digital transfer copyright protection) to keep the recording industry lawyers at bay, as the S/PDIF exemption is expiring....long boring technical/legal story, trust me.
It is possible for someone to have installed a Carrera amplifier into a Boxster, but unlikely to be the case, given how Porsche works.
Your dealer can interrogate the amplifier via PIWIS and verify exactly which software version/revision is loaded and correct as required.