Jeffrey Tucker

Last week a local car audio shop replaced the stock stereo system in my 1997 993 S. I am not an audio expert, but here were my directives to the installer:

-Replace stock CR-210 head unit with an iPod compatible unit (he recommended Alpine 9886).

-Replace the stock speakers with higher quality speakers (he recommended Planet Audio speakers). The new speakers must fit within the existing speaker holes (i.e., keep it looking stock).

-Install a high quality amp (he recommended PowerBass ASA 700.5) in the front trunk.

-Keep total costs under $2,000.

Well, I picked up the car a few days ago and could not be more disappointed. I love the iPod compatibility, but the entire system sounds horrible. There is absolutely no mid or bass tones. In fact, at even moderately high volumes, the bass notes overwhelm the speakers. To characterize it, I'd say it sounds very "thin". Also, when the engine RPMs rise, the radio buzzes (sounds like poorly placed or poorly insulated wires).

I played around with the amp settings and was able to marginally improve the sound, but it's still horrible--and playing with the bass and treble only made a marginal difference. For reference, I had a similar setup in my old 964 (Pioneer head unit, Kenwood speakers, Kenwood amp) with stock-sized speakers. That system was fantastic and only cost $1,500. I spent $1,700 on the 993 system.

The car is going back on Monday, as I let the installer know I wasn't happy. He thinks I need a different amp, although he wasn't sure if I needed a larger or smaller one. The shop in quesiton is a reputable car stereo shop and is known by the Porsche dealer.

So I can be armed with the right info, can anyone offer their thoughts? Did I select poor components or were they likely installed improperly? Many thanks for the help.

Jeff

black ice

Is there a subwoofer and where is it located? All of planet audio's speakers appear to be 4-ohm so that amp has 50 watts x 4 and 200 watts for a sub. Many say that more power is better, but that should be more than enough to give you great sound at decent volume unless it's a real crappy amp.

Here are some prices I found for a guess of what he installed online.
- amp $160
- front speakers $180 (for the nicest 6.5s on their website, was probably a lower model since these might not fit)
- rear speakers $40
- sub $150
- head unit $300
- total $830
These are online prices so with a dealer markup of maybe 50% and another 10% for taxes we could say the components were $1328. For $400 of labor and for the parts premium, you should expect a lot more. I've never heard these speakers before and had trouble finding reviews of them online so wouldn't poo-poo them without hearing them.

I am curious to see how it sounds when you get it back.

Dave

Rhino

I had a system installed a year ago and could not be happier. I used all Morel speakers and two Alpine amps. I also installed two subwoofers. The cost was more than what you paid but again, it sounds great even at high speeds. I replaced the arm rests and had these made to fit a 6 inch subwoofer on each side. Here are a few pictures of the subwoofer location.

ChristianR

Sorry bro, you bought very cheap/average equipment. Should sound ok, I would bet the system is not tuned properly, I have not met a "car stereo" installer yet that truly knew great sound

Christian

delanobe

If you want to keep it simple and have a good sound you could do the following.

The Alpine unit is very good so that's not the problem.

In front: Focal Utopia 165kp.
Rear: Boston

The "secret" for a good sound is a VERY good front speaker and you must put some kind of isolation behind the speaker in the doors.

I forgot the name of the material but it makes a big difference.

ChristianR

Why would you use speakers from two different manufactures, the tonanlity is totally different between the two you mention

Dynamat makes a nice sound deadner

Christian

delanobe

You are correct but the sound of these 2 match and the rear is just for a little background.

It's almost impossible to have a really good sound in a 911 and a waste of money if you start working with amps and woofers etc...

Dynamat was the name I was looking for and makes a big difference.

David in LA

OT but the leatherwork on your car is outstanding!

Kika

Amp and Front speakers are far from "High Quality"... you get what you pay for.

Even still, it should be tuned to at least sound decent.

travanx

The Focal V2's that came with my car sound amazing with just the alpine 9856 headunit.

I just put in an Audison SRX 3 channel amp under the passenger seat Friday night and the only whine I get is a faint one when the AC is on. I ran all the wires together because I was curious if these quadruple shielded wires would really work or not. Guess the shielding did a pretty good job since its faint. I have no idea how an installer that does this for a living would run wires so sloppily as to add whine to the system though. Its not hard to run wires through the car.

My amp was $600 or 700, Focals are around $300-400, Alpine x100 can be found for around $250, wiring $130. I dunno, it sounds like you got kind of ripped off if you don't think the system sounds very good and the installer did some sloppy install.

allill

Rhino,

please post mre photos of your car! That interior is great, the two tone and that carpet look stunning man. I have thought about adding subs in the same locations as you, but since my car is a cab I have a little less room. You have to bring that car to one of our norcal gtg's.

Jeffrey Tucker

Thanks for all of the feedback, all of which reminds me that I should have consulted the experts on Rennlist BEFORE undertaking this project!

There is no subwoofer, as I didn't want to change the cosmetics of the stock setup.

According to my receipt, the Alpine head unit was $328, the Plante Audio speakers were $234 total, and the PowerBass amp was $385. The rest was labor and misc. parts, like an iPod cable.

From all the comments, it sounds like (1) the Alpine head unit is fine, (2) the speakers and probably the amp are junk, so an upgrade is in order, and (3) the installation was poor and they need to insulate the wires and speakers.

The car goes back to the shop in the morning and I'll post results when I get it back later in the week. I'm curious whether the installer will make any of the same suggestions.

Thanks again for all the feedback!

Jeff

matt777

I'm in the same boat as you. I've got some good 6.5" ADS speakers in the door and the low end is pretty weak. I'm not convinced you're going to get good bottom end without some kind of sub woofers. I looked at some 4x6's for the rear but they are pretty small. I can't imagine them helping out a lot.

black ice

Jeff, if you got that amp model correct, I'd be even more curious why this tool put a 5-channel amp in a car that was never going to have a subwoofer. It doesn't look like it can run in any other configuration.

Dave

travanx

the focals i have hit pretty hard when they were powered off the alpine headunit. obviously they sound better with the new amp. But 5 channel amp and no sub? That is crazy. I am running a 3 channel amp and will only be powering the front components and 2 8" subs.

I dont think you want to insulate the wire. Its probably a combo of a bad run and the wiring might be on the cheaper side. But to fix it, you just run the power wire as far away as you can from the RCA's and speaker wire. Mine I have everything running from the headunit to under the passenger seat all together, which I already has assumed would be a bad idea. But I was more just curious about running it like that.

You should check out what brands the shop carries for speakers and amps, and check them out online. Just because a dealer likes them doesn't me they are a high end place. I had some guy telling me about all these high end shops close to my new job, that basically just sell all the name brand stuff with fake or exaggerated ratings.