BOSE Upgrade FINALLY Complete - Baller on a Budget Version
07-09-2019 | 04:04 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,043
Likes: 1,041
From: Los Angeles
BOSE Upgrade FINALLY Complete - Baller on a Budget Version
Hi Everyone, I know Musicar has built a great kit for non-bose folks, but given the fact that the BOSE amp handles the handsfree in our cars they have pushed off an official kit as they prefer to do things 100%. I have the Apple Carplay retrofit that has hands free built in that solution so I have hands free in my car.
BUT if you are ok with losing your hands free you can piece together some great components at very fair prices. After about 1 month of shopping, researching and finding great deals on second hand equipment I assembled a fantastic system for around $2,400.
for the Tweeters I did the Musicar Dynaudio tweeters, the best tweeter upgrade on the market. If you want to go cheaper you can get these tweeter mounts printed and build your own.
3D Printing plans for tweeter mount
~$700 NEW
for the mid I went with Morel MW4 Hybrid Speakers - AWESOME SOUNDING Speaker and about 1/3 the cost of the Dynaudio Esotar 4". It's too bad Dynaudio doesn't make a 4" in their Esotec line.
These Morel speakers fit PERFECTLY in the 4" opening in our cars without the need for adapters. You can just put down some speaker gasket and the speaker just pushes right in with little mounting ears you can align to the factory attachments!
~$400 NEW
for the door woofer I found a great used set of Dynaudio MW 182's on the forums. Yes it's a 10" woofer and yes it fits in our doors!
~$550, but closer to about $1,000 new
Amplification - Mosconi 160.4
Can be found used for about
~$350
Yes this is a 4 channel AMP, but our BOSE cars have the mid and tweeter wired in line, so I just used that wiring. I do have set of passive 3500hz Crossovers I got from Parts Express I may wire inline with my 4"s but the SQ doesn't seem degraded without it.
I would have loved to go full 6 channel, but this was a way to save quite a bit of money and get comparable Sound Quality.
If you have BOSE you will need a MOST to RCA converter, Mobridge and Audison both make them, but they are $400+ and hard to find in stock, so I got one of these from a Russian Company called Trioma and it works GREAT. This adapter takes the fiberoptic cable and converts the digital signals which include music, Parking sensors etc and converts them to 2V analog signal for your amplifiers and/or DSP.
~$150
Finally I did a DSP, there are many options here, and Mosconi offers them built in to their amps, which I think is the best route, but I like to tinker so an iOS app to adjust my DSP is a must and I had size constraints, so I ended up going with the Dayton Audio DSP, it's relatively inexpensive, sounds great and small. Helix, Rockford Fosgate, Focal, JL etc all have great options too. If I upgrade here I may go with the Audiocontrol as their software looks the most polished and Mac Compatible.
-The DSP made HUGE improvements, the Crossovers, Time Alignment and EQ's make HUGE improvements. It can make stock speakers sound acceptable. This is a MUST have when removing the OEM amplifier which has a DSP built in, but obviously non adjustable.
~$150
If you don't like to cut wiring harnesses, which I HATE you can use this kit to build your own harness that plugs into the BOSE harness! You just need a wiring diagram which can be downloaded here. At the bottom it describes the wiring for the BOSE amplified 991.1 911's. I bought my harness from this EBAY vendor. This is the harness under the passenger seat that connects to the OEM Bose Amplifier and gives you direct access to the wiring in the door speakers.
~$44
I also sound deadened my car using Sound Barrier from Parts Express, the 25ft roll is PLENTY for both doors. TONS of options here like soundskins etc, but this seems like reasonably quality product at a reasonable price, and it's working great in my car, really improved the rattles and mid bass.
~$45
+another $75 in misc wiring etc
--------------
My build came out to about $2,464
I also have an 8" powered JL box in my parcel shelf which adds the perfect low end (NOT RAPPER BASS) which are about $400, but i had this in car for a few years and didn't include this in the above build cost as the system sounds GREAT without the sub.
So if you have time and like to tinker in your car, you can easily get a nice sounding system with excellent equipment for under $3,000, especially if you are ok with hunting on ebay and have time to install this stuff. Sooo the drawback of going this route versus having a shop build you a complete kit is you need A LOT OF TIME. I probably spent 30-40 hours between all the research, shopping, installing, making mistakes, fixing the mistakes and TUNING. the DSP tuning alone took me several hours as I have never RTA'd a car until this month, but this is an entirely different subject. I also spent a ton of time searching for wiring diagrams and DIY's on taking things apart like door panels etc.
I enjoy this type of DIY stuff so this was fun for me, but for people who just like to plug and play, this is NOT FOR YOU.
Happy to help anyone who is interested in building something like this, just PM me.
BUT if you are ok with losing your hands free you can piece together some great components at very fair prices. After about 1 month of shopping, researching and finding great deals on second hand equipment I assembled a fantastic system for around $2,400.
for the Tweeters I did the Musicar Dynaudio tweeters, the best tweeter upgrade on the market. If you want to go cheaper you can get these tweeter mounts printed and build your own.
3D Printing plans for tweeter mount
~$700 NEW
for the mid I went with Morel MW4 Hybrid Speakers - AWESOME SOUNDING Speaker and about 1/3 the cost of the Dynaudio Esotar 4". It's too bad Dynaudio doesn't make a 4" in their Esotec line.
These Morel speakers fit PERFECTLY in the 4" opening in our cars without the need for adapters. You can just put down some speaker gasket and the speaker just pushes right in with little mounting ears you can align to the factory attachments!
~$400 NEW
for the door woofer I found a great used set of Dynaudio MW 182's on the forums. Yes it's a 10" woofer and yes it fits in our doors!
~$550, but closer to about $1,000 new
Amplification - Mosconi 160.4
Can be found used for about
~$350
Yes this is a 4 channel AMP, but our BOSE cars have the mid and tweeter wired in line, so I just used that wiring. I do have set of passive 3500hz Crossovers I got from Parts Express I may wire inline with my 4"s but the SQ doesn't seem degraded without it.
I would have loved to go full 6 channel, but this was a way to save quite a bit of money and get comparable Sound Quality.
If you have BOSE you will need a MOST to RCA converter, Mobridge and Audison both make them, but they are $400+ and hard to find in stock, so I got one of these from a Russian Company called Trioma and it works GREAT. This adapter takes the fiberoptic cable and converts the digital signals which include music, Parking sensors etc and converts them to 2V analog signal for your amplifiers and/or DSP.
~$150
Finally I did a DSP, there are many options here, and Mosconi offers them built in to their amps, which I think is the best route, but I like to tinker so an iOS app to adjust my DSP is a must and I had size constraints, so I ended up going with the Dayton Audio DSP, it's relatively inexpensive, sounds great and small. Helix, Rockford Fosgate, Focal, JL etc all have great options too. If I upgrade here I may go with the Audiocontrol as their software looks the most polished and Mac Compatible.
-The DSP made HUGE improvements, the Crossovers, Time Alignment and EQ's make HUGE improvements. It can make stock speakers sound acceptable. This is a MUST have when removing the OEM amplifier which has a DSP built in, but obviously non adjustable.
~$150
If you don't like to cut wiring harnesses, which I HATE you can use this kit to build your own harness that plugs into the BOSE harness! You just need a wiring diagram which can be downloaded here. At the bottom it describes the wiring for the BOSE amplified 991.1 911's. I bought my harness from this EBAY vendor. This is the harness under the passenger seat that connects to the OEM Bose Amplifier and gives you direct access to the wiring in the door speakers.
~$44
I also sound deadened my car using Sound Barrier from Parts Express, the 25ft roll is PLENTY for both doors. TONS of options here like soundskins etc, but this seems like reasonably quality product at a reasonable price, and it's working great in my car, really improved the rattles and mid bass.
~$45
+another $75 in misc wiring etc
--------------
My build came out to about $2,464
I also have an 8" powered JL box in my parcel shelf which adds the perfect low end (NOT RAPPER BASS) which are about $400, but i had this in car for a few years and didn't include this in the above build cost as the system sounds GREAT without the sub.
So if you have time and like to tinker in your car, you can easily get a nice sounding system with excellent equipment for under $3,000, especially if you are ok with hunting on ebay and have time to install this stuff. Sooo the drawback of going this route versus having a shop build you a complete kit is you need A LOT OF TIME. I probably spent 30-40 hours between all the research, shopping, installing, making mistakes, fixing the mistakes and TUNING. the DSP tuning alone took me several hours as I have never RTA'd a car until this month, but this is an entirely different subject. I also spent a ton of time searching for wiring diagrams and DIY's on taking things apart like door panels etc.
I enjoy this type of DIY stuff so this was fun for me, but for people who just like to plug and play, this is NOT FOR YOU.
Happy to help anyone who is interested in building something like this, just PM me.
Last edited by Joec500; 07-10-2019 at 03:23 PM.
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07-09-2019 | 02:48 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 1,063
Likes: 392
From: SW Ontario
Hi Everyone, I know Musicar has built a great kit for non-bose folks, but given the fact that the BOSE amp handles the handsfree in our cars they have pushed off an official kit as they prefer to do things 100%. I have the Apple Carplay retrofit that has hands free built in that solution so I have hands free in my car.
BUT if you are ok with losing your hands free you can piece together some great components at very fair prices. After about 1 month of shopping, researching and finding great deals on second hand equipment I assembled a fantastic system for around $2,400.
for the Tweeters I did the Musicar Dynaudio tweeters, the best tweeter upgrade on the market. If you want to go cheaper you can get these tweeter mounts printed and build your own.
3D Printing plans for tweeter mount
~$700 NEW
for the mid I went with Morel MW4 Hybrid Speakers - AWESOME SOUNDING Speaker and about 1/3 the cost of the Dynaudio Esotar 4". It's too bad Dynaudio doesn't make a 4" in their Esotec line.
These Morel speakers fit PERFECTLY in the 4" opening in our cars without the need for adapters. You can just put down some speaker gasket and the speaker just pushes right in with little mounting ears you can align to the factory attachments!
~$400 NEW
for the door woofer I found a great used set of Dynaudio MW8's on the forums
~$550, but closer to about $1,000 new
Amplification - Mosconi 160.4
Can be found used for about
~$350
Yes this is a 4 channel AMP, but our BOSE cars have the mid and tweeter wired in line, so I just used that wiring. I do have set of passive 3500hz Crossovers I got from Parts Express I may wire inline with my 4"s but the SQ doesn't seem degraded without it.
I would have loved to go full 6 channel, but this was a way to save quite a bit of money and get comparable Sound Quality.
If you have BOSE you will need a MOST to RCA converter, Mobridge and Audison both make them, but they are $400+ and hard to find in stock, so I got one of these from a Russian Company called Trioma and it works GREAT. This adapter takes the fiberoptic cable and converts the digital signals which include music, Parking sensors etc and converts them to 2V analog signal for your amplifiers and/or DSP.
~$150
Finally I did a DSP, there are many options here, and Mosconi offers them built in to their amps, which I think is the best route, but I like to tinker so an iOS app to adjust my DSP is a must and I had size constraints, so I ended up going with the Dayton Audio DSP, it's relatively inexpensive, sounds great and small. Helix, Rockford Fosgate, Focal, JL etc all have great options too. If I upgrade here I may go with the Audiocontrol as their software looks the most polished and Mac Compatible.
-The DSP made HUGE improvements, the Crossovers, Time Alignment and EQ's make HUGE improvements. It can make stock speakers sound acceptable. This is a MUST have when removing the OEM amplifier which has a DSP built in, but obviously non adjustable.
~$150
If you don't like to cut wiring harnesses, which I HATE you can use this kit to build your own harness that plugs into the BOSE harness! You just need a wiring diagram which can be downloaded here. At the bottom it describes the wiring for the BOSE amplified 991.1 911's. I bought my harness from this EBAY vendor. This is the harness under the passenger seat that connects to the OEM Bose Amplifier and gives you direct access to the wiring in the door speakers.
~$44
I also sound deadened my car using Sound Barrier from Parts Express, the 25ft roll is PLENTY for both doors. TONS of options here like soundskins etc, but this seems like reasonably quality product at a reasonable price, and it's working great in my car, really improved the rattles and mid bass.
~$45
+another $75 in misc wiring etc
--------------
My build came out to about $2,464
I also have an 8" powered JL box in my parcel shelf which adds the perfect low end (NOT RAPPER BASS) which are about $400, but i had this in car for a few years and didn't include this in the above build cost as the system sounds GREAT without the sub.
So if you have time and like to tinker in your car, you can easily get a nice sounding system with excellent equipment for under $3,000, especially if you are ok with hunting on ebay and have time to installing this stuff. Sooo the drawback of going this route versus having a shop build you a complete kit is you need A LOT OF TIME. I probably spent 30-40 hours between all the research, shopping, installing, making mistakes, fixing the mistakes and TUNING. the DSP tuning alone took me several hours as I have never RTA'd a car until this month, but this is an entirely different subject. I also spent a ton of time searching for wiring diagrams and DIY's on taking things apart like door panels etc.
I enjoy this type of DIY stuff so this was fun for me, but for people who just like to plug and play, this is NOT FOR YOU.
Happy to help anyone who is interested in building something like this, just PM me.
BUT if you are ok with losing your hands free you can piece together some great components at very fair prices. After about 1 month of shopping, researching and finding great deals on second hand equipment I assembled a fantastic system for around $2,400.
for the Tweeters I did the Musicar Dynaudio tweeters, the best tweeter upgrade on the market. If you want to go cheaper you can get these tweeter mounts printed and build your own.
3D Printing plans for tweeter mount
~$700 NEW
for the mid I went with Morel MW4 Hybrid Speakers - AWESOME SOUNDING Speaker and about 1/3 the cost of the Dynaudio Esotar 4". It's too bad Dynaudio doesn't make a 4" in their Esotec line.
These Morel speakers fit PERFECTLY in the 4" opening in our cars without the need for adapters. You can just put down some speaker gasket and the speaker just pushes right in with little mounting ears you can align to the factory attachments!
~$400 NEW
for the door woofer I found a great used set of Dynaudio MW8's on the forums
~$550, but closer to about $1,000 new
Amplification - Mosconi 160.4
Can be found used for about
~$350
Yes this is a 4 channel AMP, but our BOSE cars have the mid and tweeter wired in line, so I just used that wiring. I do have set of passive 3500hz Crossovers I got from Parts Express I may wire inline with my 4"s but the SQ doesn't seem degraded without it.
I would have loved to go full 6 channel, but this was a way to save quite a bit of money and get comparable Sound Quality.
If you have BOSE you will need a MOST to RCA converter, Mobridge and Audison both make them, but they are $400+ and hard to find in stock, so I got one of these from a Russian Company called Trioma and it works GREAT. This adapter takes the fiberoptic cable and converts the digital signals which include music, Parking sensors etc and converts them to 2V analog signal for your amplifiers and/or DSP.
~$150
Finally I did a DSP, there are many options here, and Mosconi offers them built in to their amps, which I think is the best route, but I like to tinker so an iOS app to adjust my DSP is a must and I had size constraints, so I ended up going with the Dayton Audio DSP, it's relatively inexpensive, sounds great and small. Helix, Rockford Fosgate, Focal, JL etc all have great options too. If I upgrade here I may go with the Audiocontrol as their software looks the most polished and Mac Compatible.
-The DSP made HUGE improvements, the Crossovers, Time Alignment and EQ's make HUGE improvements. It can make stock speakers sound acceptable. This is a MUST have when removing the OEM amplifier which has a DSP built in, but obviously non adjustable.
~$150
If you don't like to cut wiring harnesses, which I HATE you can use this kit to build your own harness that plugs into the BOSE harness! You just need a wiring diagram which can be downloaded here. At the bottom it describes the wiring for the BOSE amplified 991.1 911's. I bought my harness from this EBAY vendor. This is the harness under the passenger seat that connects to the OEM Bose Amplifier and gives you direct access to the wiring in the door speakers.
~$44
I also sound deadened my car using Sound Barrier from Parts Express, the 25ft roll is PLENTY for both doors. TONS of options here like soundskins etc, but this seems like reasonably quality product at a reasonable price, and it's working great in my car, really improved the rattles and mid bass.
~$45
+another $75 in misc wiring etc
--------------
My build came out to about $2,464
I also have an 8" powered JL box in my parcel shelf which adds the perfect low end (NOT RAPPER BASS) which are about $400, but i had this in car for a few years and didn't include this in the above build cost as the system sounds GREAT without the sub.
So if you have time and like to tinker in your car, you can easily get a nice sounding system with excellent equipment for under $3,000, especially if you are ok with hunting on ebay and have time to installing this stuff. Sooo the drawback of going this route versus having a shop build you a complete kit is you need A LOT OF TIME. I probably spent 30-40 hours between all the research, shopping, installing, making mistakes, fixing the mistakes and TUNING. the DSP tuning alone took me several hours as I have never RTA'd a car until this month, but this is an entirely different subject. I also spent a ton of time searching for wiring diagrams and DIY's on taking things apart like door panels etc.
I enjoy this type of DIY stuff so this was fun for me, but for people who just like to plug and play, this is NOT FOR YOU.
Happy to help anyone who is interested in building something like this, just PM me.
What version of PCM are you using in your car? Is your car a 991.2?
07-09-2019 | 03:54 PM
#7
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,043
Likes: 1,041
From: Los Angeles
Taking off the doors is pretty easy, I can tear a door off in less than 5 minutes. But laying out all the sound damping is sort of a pain, but I created a stencil of my door using clear tape stuff you use to protect your carpets. I laid it over the door, traced it with a sharpie and used that as a stencil to cut out the piece I needed for the inner door.
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07-09-2019 | 03:59 PM
#8
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,043
Likes: 1,041
From: Los Angeles
Or if you are ok with a class D amp this one is an amazing option as it's TINY and I have heard great things about it. Happy to help you build a harness if you decide to go this route. We should go on a drive once you get your Tractives installed!
07-09-2019 | 04:25 PM
#10
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,043
Likes: 1,041
From: Los Angeles
07-09-2019 | 09:04 PM
#11
Pro
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 553
Likes: 163
From: Houston, TX
That tweeter adapter is the one I designed. There is also an adapter for the 4" mid in the front & the rear.
I'm not sure why you say the Bose amp handles the handsfree stuff... that's all part of the PCM. My car had SPP and I pulled the ASK amp & all the speakers.
I did a build thread here: https://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...1-carrera.html
I didn't bother posting it on Rennlist because there didn't seem to be much interest, judging on other threads.
Cliffs notes version:
I used the Dynaudio MD-102 tweeters, Esotar 430 mids & MW-172 woofers for the front stage.
I put DA RS-100p in the rear for rear fill; they're pretty much useless and muted after playing with it.
I used a Helix V Eight DSP amp to drive everything, installed under the passenger seat. I made my own wiring harnesses out of an old broken amp I found - just cut out the connectors & repurpose them.
I had Mobile Toys in College Station build & install a box with an Illusion Audio L10 in the rear, powered by a Mosconi D2 500.1 under the driver's seat.
It was a fun project but far from cheap - maybe $5g, half of that in the subwoofer setup.
I'm not sure why you say the Bose amp handles the handsfree stuff... that's all part of the PCM. My car had SPP and I pulled the ASK amp & all the speakers.
I did a build thread here: https://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...1-carrera.html
I didn't bother posting it on Rennlist because there didn't seem to be much interest, judging on other threads.
Cliffs notes version:
I used the Dynaudio MD-102 tweeters, Esotar 430 mids & MW-172 woofers for the front stage.
I put DA RS-100p in the rear for rear fill; they're pretty much useless and muted after playing with it.
I used a Helix V Eight DSP amp to drive everything, installed under the passenger seat. I made my own wiring harnesses out of an old broken amp I found - just cut out the connectors & repurpose them.
I had Mobile Toys in College Station build & install a box with an Illusion Audio L10 in the rear, powered by a Mosconi D2 500.1 under the driver's seat.
It was a fun project but far from cheap - maybe $5g, half of that in the subwoofer setup.
07-10-2019 | 07:00 AM
#12
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,043
Likes: 1,041
From: Los Angeles
In Bose And Burmester cars all audio signals (PDC sensor beeps, and music and I would guess the hands free) travel through the MOST network (digital) and there is some digital to analog signal converter in the BOSE amps. I think that’s why Musicar offers kit for Base radio options as those PCM’s are programmed from the factory with analog outs versus MOST/Digital Out, hence you don’t need a MOST adapter. When I spoke with The musicar folks they said I would lose the hands free in BOSE cars if I remove the Bose amp which was verified once I removed my BOSE amp.
-that’s why I said that
-that’s why I said that
07-10-2019 | 02:24 PM
#13
Pro
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 553
Likes: 163
From: Houston, TX
In Bose And Burmester cars all audio signals (PDC sensor beeps, and music and I would guess the hands free) travel through the MOST network (digital) and there is some digital to analog signal converter in the BOSE amps. I think that’s why Musicar offers kit for Base radio options as those PCM’s are programmed from the factory with analog outs versus MOST/Digital Out, hence you don’t need a MOST adapter. When I spoke with The musicar folks they said I would lose the hands free in BOSE cars if I remove the Bose amp which was verified once I removed my BOSE amp.
-that’s why I said that
-that’s why I said that
You lose “hands free” Bluetooth in a Bose car if you use a MOST adapter and a different amp? I assume you mean Bluetooth when you say handsfree....
07-10-2019 | 03:20 PM
#14
Thread Starter
Rennlist Member
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 3,043
Likes: 1,041
From: Los Angeles
Yes you do lose the handsfree telephone functionality, which is unfortunate because porsche has invested quite a bit in the various mics in the car for their handsfree system.