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I didn't have to do anything to the clips that came with the set from Sunset. You need to not put them on straight like you feel like you should but rather turn them till they fit right...it has been a few months but I turned them I think 90 degrees so they are sideways on the tabs they go on.
I ordered mine from Sunset too. Luke has it down - knows all the parts required. About $380 speakers, grills and hardware included. Grills fit perfectly. The Lowe's washers will work too but I used the factory stuff because I had them. Really not much trouble filing them and you get a nice tight fit, no rattles.
Have fun and enjoy the much improved sound.
Zonian - what hardware? I thought all that was needed were the speakers and the grills.
Amazing. This is my next project for the new year. Thanks lunarx for trailblazing this and giving us all happy motoring w/ sweet tunes! Merry Christmas!
It's cool so many of you are sharing how the Bose Upgrades went for you.
Perhaps that means I should do the same...
For those of you doing upgrades, I wonder how many have gone past the tweeters and upgraded the Sub [Stage 2] or Sub-Amp [Stage 3]?
I know some have gone far beyond, like Money2536 with his amazing Dynaudio system.
My latest upgrade is not really worth mentioning, but I thought I'd still put it out there, for those looking at ways to further optimize the Bose System.
We can call it Stage 3B.
I was initially so impressed, with just the Sub Amp upgrade, that I never bothered to install the Punch Eq. This is a 45Hz +18db Parametric EQ.
It's actually a dangerous device, for a 5" woofer, but I decided to try it out anyways.
I was hoping it could let me direct more low bass to the sub, as opposed to the door speakers.
It seemed like Linear Mode OFF and/or raising Bass on the PCM added bass to the Door Woofers as much as (if not more than to the sub).
So I put the Punch Eq in and resisted installing it in the Storage Cubby, because that would surely have resulted in demise of my Sub.
Instead I put it behind the fuse door and opted to set-it & forget-it.
I set it to a conservative setting (+6db estimated) and then arrived at the following audio settings:
Bass: -2, Treble: -2, Surround: OFF, Linear: OFF, Fader: +2.
These settings reflect my goals of a clean mid-range sound, with bass and highs that appear, when the content calls for them.
Fading +2, to the front, seems like it added headroom, to the main Bose Amp, by reducing the current drain of the useless rear speakers.
It's only because of the Peq that I can run such low Bass Settings and keep Linear Mode ON.
I'm sure Bass Heads will prefer Linear Mode OFF (which does sound good), but I found it leads to muddiness, when content with a heavy Bass Mix is played.
I just use Volume to regulate bass and occasional tap PCM Bass up or down from a -3 to -1 range.
To me, the system has strong bass now, but it's still not going to be like an aftermarket 8" or 10" enclosure would yield.
Well that's as far as I went, but am still thinking about swapping in the Burmester Door Woofers.
It's possible they could have better mid-bass or they could be no different.
Won't know unless I try...
New to this forum. I just bought a 2013 911 C2S and the one thing I really noticed was how deficient the audio system was, especially when I compare it to the aftermarket custom system I had in my 2005 Boxster S. I'm hesitating going the full aftermarket route this time around as I'm not sure it was worth the $$$. I'm intrigued by the simple improvements shown on this thread. Can anyone comment on how much more improvement there is if you swapped out all the speakers as apposed to just the front tweeters and one sub? Pardon my ignorance but Do you know if the current Bose system amp can handle a swap out to better speakers?
Slightly off-topic but related. From my early and short audiophile days, one of the first lessons I learned was the output is only as good as the input. Garbage in = garbage out. So what is the preferred input source listed from best to worst? My guess would be USB w/ HD audio is best but then how does it rank from there? How good are the DACs in our cars?
Thanks again for the excellent posts. Seems like a big bang for little buck.
I did this a month ago and is great. I put the old clips from the front ones (that are easy to pop off) so I could take off again without the drama if needed. It sounds much better than stock.
Lunarx- I've just ordered everything to follow in your footsteps, tweeters, subwoofer, subamp, punch eq..... looking forward to improving the audio in my car!