9934USC

I bought a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X996 CD Receiver from Crutchfield. Their installation instructions seem straight forward, Context the power and bypass the speaker wires at the nokia amp.



Is it that simple?

I've read many post about adding a aftermarket amp and replacing speakers, but I just don't want to get into all that. Just looking to add phone and ipod to my car for around $300.

e9stibi

it is not that simple. the speakers have 8 ohm impedance and tapping into the speaker wires will be a PITA because you need to rout cables from the dash to under the passenger seat. in addition the Nokia am has active cross overs which gives you output to 3 channels at each side. here are your options:

1. keep using the Nokia and speakers. this is the least intrusive version. you just need a proper adapter that connects the factory harness that goes to the amp with your Kenwood unit which will most likely have RCA plugs to control an external amp. in addition you need to make sure that the adaptor has a provision to turn on and off the Nokia amp

2. remove Nokia amp and hi-fi system and install a passive 2 way speaker system. quite intrusive but quality might be a little bit better using the among of the new radio to directly connect it to the new speakers

3. option 2 plus new amp. this will give you the best sound but it is intrusive.

I picked option 3 and you will find more details here

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...fi-option.html

e9stibi

just an add to the adapter for option 1. you need one that goes into plug C of the wiring harness (female) and has 2 RCA plugs (male) and a loose cable for 12v amp control. the male RCA plugs go straight into the Kenwood radio and the loose 12 v needs to be connected to the corresponding cable of the radio to control an amp.

just another caution. make sure that you connect the wire to the new radio that provides the switched 12 v to the antenna amplifier. this is often missed had people complain about poor reception ....

x50type

e9stibi

Do you know where i can get a male 24 pin connector to bye pass the Nokia amp and hook up to the exisitng speaker cable?

e9stibi

here is plug c. you are interested in the yellow portion that has all the signals to control and drive the Nokia amp



you need this adaptor!

www.discountcarstereo.com/ARH-ISO.html

I just checked the Kenwood radio spec and you have RCA outputs to drive 3 2-Chanel amps. Than it should be plug and play and you just hook up the 4 channels of the Nokia amp via the adapter.

e9stibi

From someone that tossed the Nokia amp or from a junkyard like Oklahoma parts.

M. Schneider

There's a factory wiring schematic of the HiFi system for our 993s floating around the Rennlist, do a search.
The door enclosure house's 2 speakers, the larger 5.25" (130mm) 4ohm speaker is wired directly to the under seat Nokia amp; its feed is low frequencies from about 300hz down, basically acting as a subwoofer. The smaller speaker is a 3" full range 6ohm speaker directly wired to the under seat Nokia amp, the door mounted tweeter pod piggy backs off this broad banded channel with a capacitor inline to protect the tweeter. This 3" full range speaker is often thought of being a mid-range speaker; It is not.

Look into the 993 HiFi wiring schematic .... it tells no lies. I'd suggest to see a local Radio HiFi shop once armed with a copy of the HiFi schematic. They'll assist ya.

As an aside, the 993 HiFi Option's (#490).. "transmission line/bass reflex enclosure" .. has a tuned port facing downward towards the door sills. That said with proper EQ, a modern 130mm speaker, and usable power, this arrangment performs very well. Modern DSP Equalization is key. EQ, EQ, EQ !

9934USC

Good information! Thanks

x50type

e9stibi

i have a non-working Nokia amp - how does that help to connect to this?

x50type

This is the connector i am looking for..

d ward

Open up the broken nokia amp, unsolder the male plug and discarded the amp, solder and heat shrink your cables on to the main plug, problem solved.
Using a male plug from a broken nokia amp is probably the only way to get one of those plugs a lot of these plugs / connectors are impossible to buy off the shelf

e9stibi

That is exactly what I did with a broken donor amp. I wanted to keep the original amp but I do not see a reason to go back to stock. My system looks stock but sounds significantly better.

9934USC

Just paid a visit to Ron Birch who told me that the easiest way to go was with a custom harness (which he would wire up for $45). I would still use the Nokia amp and factory speakers.

ToreB

I've done a couple of Nokia deletes, taking into use the internal amplifier in the new head unit instead. Sound quality was way better. It took half an hour to connect four speaker wires from the head unit down to the nokia connector under the seat. I routed the wires under the centre console, very easy.
Cheers,
Tore

x50type

Tore

So did you solder the new head unit wires to the Nokia amp male multi-pin plug, after pulling the plug out of the amp - as suggested by d ward?