nile13

I'm being offered a CDR-210. Will it be a direct replacement for CR-1 radio in my 95? What about the harness? Will it connect to an aftermarket amp?

Is it worth installing? Or should I go with an aftermarket unit?

geolab

The harness is the same.

For a better upgrade, check the becker traffic pro 7800 series. It has a gps too (in europe at least)
It comes as a porsche orig. mounting. To have it with the porsche logo on the unit, you have to pay the dealer price, or bay maybe.

nile13

Geolab, thanks!

I'm not really interested in a TrafficPro, just want an in-dash CD player and am looking to put a decent amp and speakers in later on.

What confuses me is that I've done some searching and some people claim the swap to be plug and play some talk about missing illumination wire, some describe a completely different wiring.

I'm confused.

geolab

It is plug and go. But since the square female plugs in the car accept only german units, people tend to cut of the wirring to instal a Jap brand.
And when they want to sell the car and put back the original unit, thats where the missing illumination and different wiring starts.
My setup is traffic pro, infinity perfect front, infinity kappa rear, nakamichi amp, tiny sub under passenger seat and sounds pretty good. It has the RCA (ipod) connect as well.

David in LA

Can you provide details on the subwoofer under the passenger seat?? Thanks!

geolab

yes, but I need to know your feedback on the door handle DIY that I spent over an hour meticulously writing,

Sub is a Blaupunkt, reference, I have to look.

Garth S

Geolab,
I went back to review your DIY: excellent procedure - I can hardly wait until mine breaks ( not) Seriously, ce bien fait!

AM993

Bonjour Geolab, please tell us more on the Blaupunkt sub (model and photos once installed would be great). I am getting tired of the crapy Nokia sound and ready to throw away the lot in favor of a better sounding system. You mentioned that your set-up sounds pretty good. How good is that, say compared to a factory installed radio/speaker combo in a regular French mid-size car (Peugeot 407, Renault Laguna,...)? Do you get more, or less bass? How about clarity? Any resonance issue? Merci d'avance.

geolab

One great advantage for a great HiFi setup we have in a 993 is the small cockpit or cabin.
I have thoroughly searched for a great setup and tried different configs.
I needed to preserve the original aspect of the car. So I fetched in the Porsche Tequipment catalog.
I settled for the Becker Traffic Pro High Speed 7820 (was $2000 new, $450 now in some clearance stores) . Not the most powerfull in the market, but one of the clearest sounds due to its ultra-low THD (distortion).
Best is that it comes with a built-in GPS and Aux connect for Ipod or my Nokia N91 (mp3)
With the clear sound, I installed a Nakamichi amp PA504 50watts RMS x 4. Also one of the lowest THD amp on the market. (was $1600 new, +/- $200 ebay)
In the cabin, I replaced the carton nokias with infinity perfect up-front, and Kappa in the back. Cosmetically, you cannot see the difference from the original install.
For the sub, the blaupunkt odsb 5000 is one of the slimmest ACTIVE-built-in Amp sub on the market. It pumps 100 watts, and cost $100. It slips right under the passenger seat, and you forget it. 30 x 21 x 8 cms . . .
By the way, I have the full electric heated seats, with dorsal-lumbar cntrls, and it fits easily underneath, without obstructing the rear passenger foot-well.
As said, due to the small cabin, the maximum I pump the subwoofer to, is position 3 out of 10. But you cannot have an excellent sound without one.

The sound is heavenly WOW.

The bose system in my one week old 997 S sounds like an old radio compared.

Just slide the Seal IV cd in the unit (for sound quality- no affiliation )

and you will gasp for a while . . . . I did .

Voila

AM993

Merci Geolab. I am going to try your set-up. Salut!

99firehawk

the problem with the cr/cdr radios in older cars is that the dispaly isnt usually at the right angle making it hard to read and unreadlabe in sunlight

polver

I have been living without the illumination ever since I installed the CDR-210 in my 95. Car originally had CR-1. PO put in a new head unit. He used a wire tap to get illumination/dimmer to the unit. Pretty sure no original wires were cut. An adaptor was used. BUT, if someone has some clever advice how to recover illumination on my CDR-210, I would be MOST appreciative.

99firehawk

is the ilumintaion ok at other angles?

texas911

Its not the angle. You need to tap a power line for the radio.

David in LA

You DIY is excellent and well thought out...should be posted on p-car.com for future reference I have not had a chance to work on my car yet but will provide more once I do this. Thanks again