kflory

I am seriously considering upgrading the stereo/consumer electronics (for lack of a better term) to make it more functional and safer when driving. Since I am new to the board I will be a bit long winded here, so to make a short story long...

Current setup:
- The car: 1996 993 TT
- The stereo: Stock Becker CR-210, with Nokia "hi-fi" option, changer (currently stuck using cassette adaptor for iPod)
- The phone: Stock Fujitsu phone in center console (analog, so have't used in years)

Interior shots:
https://rennlist.com/forums/members/...ior-shots.html

Some background:
- Bought to order new in 1996 and have kept it stock from day one, drove the hell out of it, breaking in nicely I must say approaching 140K. Intend to keep the rest of my life (my kids can sell it when I die )
- When I was a kid, my first "real" job (w/taxes) was installing car stereo, and while a very long time ago (30+ years), at one time I was part of a team doing very high end installations on referral for Ferrari of Los Gatos, so not entirely a rookie, but surely no match for these guys that are doing this for a living now.
- I currently work on software for head units like Audi (and Porsche, VW, etc.), Tesla, and BMW and everyone keeps telling me to get a new car. But as we all know here, there is no substitute.

With that said, I had been thinking about pimping my ride (I say that in the most conservative sense).

Part I of my "Pimp my 993" project was to get it repainted (no chips), replace the front windshield (no pits), and put on new wheels (BBS RS GT black w/TPMS). Done and looks and feels show room new. Just unbelievable.

Part II of my "Pimp my 993" project is to update my 993 stereo/"consumer electronics" to something bit more technologically functional. I also want to upgrade the audio, but also a believer that it will never match my home audio system and there is a limited return on investment, after all, it will mostly be compressed music anyway, CD at best, but an upgrade in this area would be nice (and like wise not a fan of the 1996 DSP sound)

I have been going through many threads and have found a wealth of information, however there are several details that are not entirely clear, so thought I would share my plans here and see if folks that have experience in the various areas sanity check my assumptions/understanding and hopefully prevent me from going down any rat holes.

Objectives:
- Add hands free Bt, iPod, Nav, Android (Nav, Torqe w/Bt ODBII, data limited, but works pretty well...)
- Upgrade speakers to Infinity Kappa (don't ask, goes a long way back, stereo/ht is all build around my Kappa 7.1s)

Requirements:
- Everything must be reversible to return its original stock form
- Drill no holes, will fabricate adapters if needed (will cross that when I get there)
- Cut no wires, will create custom end to end harness/wiring if need

Strategy:
- Replace head unit to include:
--- Bt (any phone integration
--- iPod/iPhone integration
--- Analog aux in
--- HD Radio
--- Maintain a CD drive
- Replace amp including active crossover to enable bi-amping of front speakers
- Replace speakers
- Maintain option to add a sub

My plan:

Remove Fujistu phone from center console
- Will use space for a Android tablet for Google Maps/Nav (will fabricate a face plate here to make this clean)

Replace Head Unit with a Alpine CDE-HD149BT
- http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/cde-hd149bt/
- Already ordered the removal tool for the stock head unit
- Re-use existing stock microphone on the dash for the phone
- Will run wires under the carpet to the new amp and presumably use the harness below to wire head unit into factor wiring: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_1207017...77#details-tab
- Will use HU main amp to drive rear speakers or potentially "power pack"
- Would prefer something more traditional looking, but all those options were technically limited.

Replace DSP/Amp under seat with a Alpine PDX-V9
- http://www.alpine-usa.com/product/view/pdx-v9/default
- Run power directly to battery or fuse box, pick up ground locally (seat bolt?)
- Will use 4 channels to bi-amp the front speakers (will use amp crossover)
- Will keep 1 channel for potential sub upgrade (more on that later)
- Read a reference where someone had replaced the DSP/Amp with a PDX-F4 which is just a 1/8" shorter height so hopefully no issues here
- I don't see any red flags here, but wiring to speakers is TBD until I get this all exposed and see what of the stock wiring I can cleaning tap into without cutting into it vs. re-harnessing

Replace front Speakers with Infinity Kappa Perfect 5.1
- http://us.infinitysystems.com/produc...perfect51.html
- Would prefer 6.1 if they would fit, but seems not with keeping the "bubble", would like feedback here
- Replace tweater in door keeping stock grill
- Replace Woofer with 5.25 keeping stock grill
- Close off 3" (open to suggestions here)
- I will try and re-use the stock wiring here if I can do so wo/cutting,
otherwise I will wire directly to the amp
- I don't see any red flags here, but does look like it will take some craftsmanship/engineering to make a clean fit.

Replace Rear Speakers with Infinity Kappa 462.11 cfp
- http://us.infinitysystems.com/produc...-46211cfp.html
- Replace factor 4x6 keeping stock grill
- I will try and re-use the stock wiring here if I can do so wo/cutting, otherwise I will wire directly to the amp
- Again, I don't see any red flags here, but also have not seen confirmation that anyone has done this before. Anyone with experience that could chime in here would be appriciated.

Sub woofer option dual Infinity Reference 860w in parallel (2 ohms to amp)
- http://us.infinitysystems.com/produc...7/ref860w.html
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/porsche964sub.htm
- Need to confirm the driver will fit the enclosure

Any feedback, suggestions, warnings welcome.

Reference threads and links (for anyone else to stumble on this thread in the future):

DIY - Replacing Nokia Factory Amp (Hifi Option)
- https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...fi-option.html
Amp under the passenger seat - Measurement and some options
- https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...e-options.html
Best option today for HiFi speaker upgrade
- https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...r-upgrade.html
OEM Speaker Replacement
- https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...acement-2.html
Door Speaker Installation - 6.5" Polk Audio - Many Pics
- https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...many-pics.html
993 Faq:
- http://www.993faq.com/index.php/category/stereo/
Removing the door panel on a 993:
- http://p-car.com/diy/ard/
Removing the seat (shows driver side for OBC, but good reference for passenger seat):
- http://p-car.com/diy/chip/chip.htm
Car Audio Innovations (Rod, I hope you are one to comment here, but will likely give you a call if not)
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/
Schematic:
- http://pcarworkshop.com/images/5/52/...iSchematic.jpg

kflory

Closing this thread. Please see/respond to follow up thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-vacation.html