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I have the base system chosen on my T because I wasn’t sure the Bose is worth $1600 and part of me hoped $1600 would be better spent on a set of speakers but now I’m thinking it might not be enough and I’m not willing to spend a lot on stereo stuff unless it was a nice as the one I had in my old stinger. That one sounded like a nice set of head phones.
I have until next month to lock in the build so I hope this thread gets filled with a ton more information.
if @12v Nick comes up with a system get that and your base stereo. I had the Bose and replaced it with a Musicar stage 3 system and couldn’t be more satisfied. All that is predicated on if you listen to a lot of music and want great sound quality. Haven’t regretted the purchase one bit.
I have the base system chosen on my T because I wasn’t sure the Bose is worth $1600 and part of me hoped $1600 would be better spent on a set of speakers but now I’m thinking it might not be enough and I’m not willing to spend a lot on stereo stuff unless it was a nice as the one I had in my old stinger. That one sounded like a nice set of head phones.
I have until next month to lock in the build so I hope this thread gets filled with a ton more information.
No offense to anyone, but you don’t want to mess with aftermarket audio if you can help it. Modern cars are too complex with their multifunctional wiring harnesses.
Are you going to be able to put together a “package” system that can be installed to replace this base system?
Thanks
Soon... Soon.
Originally Posted by VarTheVar
@12v Nick I found when I moved the fader all the way to the rear, those speakers were actually contributing a really bad sound, like it was coming through a telephone, and it sounds like there's a massive delay. I move the fader all the way forward for daily use which is obviously a pathetic fix.
Have you tried to isolate the rear speakers to hear what they sound like? Are the rear speakers even necessary for a 2 seater? If I unplugged them for now so I could move the fader back to the middle, would it damage the amp in the head unit in any way?
Rear speakers certainly aren't necessary to have great sound in a car like this. I also faded forward for the majority of my in0car testing because if this same issue. The rears are midrange speakers trying to play fullrange and they just end up sounding boxy/honky.
No need to unplug them, fading forward has the same effect with zero effort.
Originally Posted by Edward911
What a great analysis! This is more like something I'd expect to find on AVSforum.
Are the Bose and Burmester systems performant at all, or would you expect aftermarket to be superior to them? Put another way, is it worth getting SPP for $0 and spending the equivalent of Bose / Burmester $ on aftermarket?
I've never found Burmester to be worth the investment, but my perspective is skewed since I can fix what I don't like about the sound in my personal cars. If you don't have a top-quality car audio outfit near you and nobody makes a solid DIY kit for the car, I can see where optioning Burmester is a good call.
While I still find the BOSE to be lackluster, it's 100x better than the base stereo and makes upgrading easier should you choose to do so down the road. Aftermarket(when done properly) will always be superior to factory-installed systems.
Originally Posted by 991.1 Guy
One thing I noticed immediately after the flash update of my PCM was the change in the quality of the sound in my base system. The low end was taken away probably in an attempt to keep from having to replace blown speakers and the rattle associated with them. The first thing I tried to do was adjust the base but nope. It won't go any higher than about half of what it was before.
Thanks for sharing — that's a really interesting observation. I went back to a thread from 2020 where folks were saying the base stereo wasn't awesome but it didn't suck. It seems like they changed something and now there's absolutely no life in the system.
Originally Posted by c1pher
This is great but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that you get the base system because you mainly listen to the car, want to save weight or only need speakers for phone calls or other audio alerts. Even the high end system isn’t perfect. I feel like getting a perfect sounding stereo in a car is a somewhat fleeting exercise. Can you spend a lot of money and get something decent? Sure but in the end, you’re in a metal box that’s not designed to be a sound studio. This is why I got the Bose system and just live with it.
You're not wrong — A car is certainly a compromised environment, acoustically speaking. We'll never realistically get perfect sound quality in a 911 and if you're looking for "pin-drop" resolution you'll never be happy.
If you're looking for something that's fun to listen to and doesn't suck, it's absolutely within reach.
Originally Posted by 6172crew
I have the base system chosen on my T because I wasn’t sure the Bose is worth $1600 and part of me hoped $1600 would be better spent on a set of speakers but now I’m thinking it might not be enough and I’m not willing to spend a lot on stereo stuff unless it was a nice as the one I had in my old stinger. That one sounded like a nice set of head phones.
I have until next month to lock in the build so I hope this thread gets filled with a ton more information.
I would definitely try to demo the base stereo in another 992 if you can. I know that sound quality can be widely subjective, but to me, this system isn't worth the $0 they charge for it. I would rather not listen to music at all than attempt to do it with this stereo.
That said, there may or may not be some plug and play upgrades for these base audio systems coming in the near future.
Originally Posted by TK42ONE
if @12v Nick comes up with a system get that and your base stereo. I had the Bose and replaced it with a Musicar stage 3 system and couldn’t be more satisfied. All that is predicated on if you listen to a lot of music and want great sound quality. Haven’t regretted the purchase one bit.
Glad you still love the Stage Three!
Bose will always be easier to upgrade from and installation perspective, but there will be solutions for any of the factory audio platforms.
Originally Posted by Icegrill
No offense to anyone, but you don’t want to mess with aftermarket audio if you can help it. Modern cars are too complex with their multifunctional wiring harnesses.
If you don't know what you're doing, you can cause yourself a lot of headache and trouble.
If you DO know what you're doing, you can get some incredible sound quality from even the most complex of new cars. We've done everything from the newest generation of Ferrari's and even more complex platforms like the new LUCID Air — all successful integrations when they're designed well and installed by professionals.
For Porsche, just wait for a proven plug-n-play system that allows you to retain the factory integrity and get still proven results.
No offense to anyone, but you don’t want to mess with aftermarket audio if you can help it. Modern cars are too complex with their multifunctional wiring harnesses.
Unless it’s a Musicar system for your vehicle
we’ve installed many of their stage 1 and 3 systems, and we’ve been around almost 30 years in the business…I can 100% vouch for their technical and quality for both DIY and professional installers
for those that know me personally, I don’t promote much, but when I see a great product, and people behind it, I support when I can
Originally Posted by 6172crew
I have the base system chosen on my T because I wasn’t sure the Bose is worth $1600 and part of me hoped $1600 would be better spent on a set of speakers but now I’m thinking it might not be enough and I’m not willing to spend a lot on stereo stuff unless it was a nice as the one I had in my old stinger. That one sounded like a nice set of head phones.
I have until next month to lock in the build so I hope this thread gets filled with a ton more information.
If you don’t want to do ANY modification, Bose will be acceptable to most
__________________ Specializing in Porsche/Ferrari since 1995
It sure sounds like Porsche simply put a crappy bare system in our 992's as they expect either a) anybody who cares a little about music spends the extra $1600 for Bose on a120k car or b) really does not care about music and if they could they would have offered the base with no sound system et all.
I can attest the Bose (and better even with any of the musiccar upgrades) fits the bill for most normal music consumer.
I spent some time between last night and this morning documenting the install of some upgraded tweeters and acoustic treatment for the doors. This is something that's, historically, made a good improvement in the Bose and older SPP systems.
Was there an improvement here? Sure.
Was it worth the investment of time and energy? Debatable.
The top end is certainly more resolute and I can pick out the more subtle details in the music. String instruments have more life to them and the female vocals have more air. The sound damping also helped with the texture and impact-fulness in the bass, but not nearly as much as we've experienced in the other platforms — we're still handicapped by the power output.
I got into a bit more listening with this setup and found these settings to be the best for most recordings:
Going to fix the low-power and control issue tonight with a DSP amplifier.
@12v Nick this is exactly why I love this forum and community. Nick, thank you so much for this amazing article. It made my day. It was so interesting to read. Thank you thousand times!
I ran down to my dealership and got to listen to a 992 base stereo that had a blown speaker and I’m going to live with the base on my car. If I had the extra money I’d step into the Bose but I have a ADM and I just can’t justify anymore than I’ve spent. It isn’t a sad story because I’m still getting a T with a manual gearbox and 18 way seats.
Hoping Nick comes up with a budget fix for the base setup and I can upgrade later on if needed.
Very good analysis, so good that I thought I had the base system on my 2023 4GTS because it sounds crappy just like Nick's review. I've tried customizing fader, base and treble, but still not impressive..
I just took a look at my build and it turns out I have the Premium package that includes Bose!
I'll have to give a listen again, but not nearly impressed with the Bose system as I should be...
Very good analysis, so good that I thought I had the base system on my 2023 4GTS because it sounds crappy just like Nick's review. I've tried customizing fader, base and treble, but still not impressive..
I just took a look at my build and it turns out I have the Premium package that includes Bose!
I'll have to give a listen again, but not nearly impressed with the Bose system as I should be...
The Bose is not impressive, but the base stereo is embarrassing. If I had Bose I would just live with it. I wish I had spent the money on Burmester now
Nick,
If you have stopped your door cards from buzzing, it was worth it!
Can you post the model no of the speakers you have used?
The door card buzzing is dramatically reduced, but I'm still fighting with a couple of small rattles. I think they're more a product of the added power amplifier and likely wouldn't be heard with the stock system. Nevertheless, I still want to address them.
As for the speakers, I'm using some custom components built by Morel or Israel. They're variants of the Elate Carbon series.
Originally Posted by Bford100
Very good analysis, so good that I thought I had the base system on my 2023 4GTS because it sounds crappy just like Nick's review. I've tried customizing fader, base and treble, but still not impressive..
I just took a look at my build and it turns out I have the Premium package that includes Bose!
I'll have to give a listen again, but not nearly impressed with the Bose system as I should be...
It's really subjective and it depends entirely on your reference for good sound(and how much you care about music, I suppose).
I know people that say the base stereo is just fine and others that think the Burmester is trash. You're certainly not alone with the Bose system. We actually developed a whole series of plug-n-play upgrades for that platform back at the end of last year. Check out this thread: Musicar Audio Upgrades for BOSE 992
Excellent write up, Nick. I just got finished with a GT3 with the Bose system. While not the base system, the Bose was also absolutely, objectively atrocious. It's honestly mind blowing that they can get away with charging money for it. Have heard the Burmester systems as well and feel the same about those.
09-17-2023, 06:13 PM
