phoneyman

I desperately want to change my stereo setup away from the CDR210. I really want to be able to stream music from my phone and possibly have bluetooth calling. I've been looking at new headunits but am unsure what will work with the 993 (H/U, wiring harness, speakers, etc.)

So show me what you guys have done. Is it worth just upgrading the headunit, or going DSP with great speakers and amp, or any combination. Its getting real hard to do speaker phone with the great sound of the engine, and I would love to stream Pandora and other services with good quality.

TIA

ashirji

We can speak live if you wish. I have a kenwood deck that plugs into my iPhone and is also Bluetooth compatable, with a mic built in just above the rear view mirror. I also have Hertz HSK 165s in the doors, a hertz sub and a Hertz HDP4 amp all completely hidden. Sound is crisp and clear, even at hair raising volume, plus I can stream Pandora, or use my I tunes, and also take hands free calls. The downside is that the head unit does not look like the 210, but the upgrade in overall function and performance is well worth the trade off in my opinion. If you wish to discuss my setup further, please PM me.
Regards,
aly

phoneyman

PM sent, thanks Aly

rlme36

Second the above. Just put in kenwood exelon and the hertz 165xl and same hertz amp sound is good and clear, but if you are on the go pedal exhaust will drown out unless you have it fairly loud

schroed911

I put the mic on the steering column. I first tried above the mirror but picked up too much noise. The mic looks better - less visible there as well.

Kika

Any single DIN sized headunit will fit without significant modification.

thus my advice is choose the Head Unit that has the features you want. Any of today's current technology will be light years ahead of the CDR-210.

I would recommend a quality amplifier combined with a set of component speakers/separates.

Personally I have a Lunar amplifier, 2x125, designed for sound quality, but is also under rated on power, very clean, hand built amplifier, right here in the USA. I also like the higher end Audison amps, the ones made in Italy, not the lower lines that are made in China. When selecting an amplifier, make sure you look at THD as well as power.

for middle of the road/good quality, Sony, Alpine, Kenwood etc... all have decent stuff. I have never had any issues with Alpine equipment.

Speakers: A lot is subjective, as everyone hears things a bit differently, and they will sound different in the car than in the show room, so it is difficult to really tell what the final product will sound like. I suggest taking a CD or iPod with your favorite tracks to a quality Car Audio shop and demo speakers.
You will at least be able to compare between speakers. The higher end speakers WILL sound better. In a 993, I would recommend a set of 6.5" separates with good crossover. Personally I have the Oz Audio Matrix Elite 6.5 separates (only speakers to ever get a perfect sound quality score in competition) However, they are no longer made..

In the past, I had Boston Acoustics Pro Separates in my 911 SC. The BA speakers have a very nice tone that I like. I was leaning towards Hertz speakers before I found the Oz speakers. Focal is a very popular speaker, especially among the 911 Rennlist base, due in large part to Rid Birch at Audio Innovations. Like all other manufacturers, Focal has several lines of equipment. I have never heard their high end line personally, but I have seen the price lists for them...and wow, for that kind of money, they should massage your back too!

My installation is documented in the 993 archives, search on posts by me, with key words: Lunar, Oz Audio.

Do NOT underestimate the quality of a good installation. Good grounding of the equipment is necessary to reduce/eliminate alternator whine, particularly in high power systems (100W or more)

Like suspension systems, sound systems can be layered:

Level 1: Head unit + speakers, will sound better than stock, and is cheap.
Level 2: above + separate amplifier: High end speakers need more power to sound good
Level 3: above + subwoofer: low end frequencies will really fill out the sound, subwoofers need a lot of power however.
Level 4: Above + DSP

Also, like anything else, there are levels of quality in equipment
Level 0: Swap meet crap, this is the cheap-o no brand name headunits you will see for $10 at a swap meet: avoid at all costs, this is the stuff you put in a dune buggy and replace every 6 months
Level 1: low end brand name: Every major manufacturer has its entry level equipment, including Sony, JVC, Kenwood, Alpine etc
Level 2 The majors will also have middle ground stuff
Level 3 And their high end lines
Level 4 Premium Brands: i.e. Macintosh...

Decide how important sound quality is to you, how much money do you want to spend and go from there.

Personally, for a 911 I recommend a Headunit, 2 channel amp driving door separates with rear speakers drive from HU power. A good 6.5" set of separates can have a decent amount of low frequencies, without sacrificing the space that a subwoofer needs. An alternative from that is to go with a 4 channel amp, bridge 2 channels to power a mono subwoofer and use 2 channels for the front speakers.

I used the second system described above in my 911SC with an Alpine Head unit, Precision Power 250W amp, Boston Acoustics separates in the doors, and BA 4x6s in the rear deck and a JL audio subwoofer.

Things NOT to do:
do not have your system installed at Best Buy, either go to a quality car audio shop, or DIY.

It is actually pretty easy to install an audio system, it just takes time to do a good job. From Saratoga, Rod Birch is not to bad of a drive over to Sacramento. Rod is one of 2 installers I would recommend. The other is Jamie Rawlings.

Good Luck!

phoneyman

Great post Kika, that answers most of my questions. I will search the archives for your posts.

Where do you guys put your sub/amp(s)?

Kika

My amp sits in the trunk, on a round piece of plywood that drops into the spare. It was mounted with sufficient slack in the cables so it can be lifted out if I need the spare. The stock Hi-Fi location is under the passenger seat, although height is limited, so some amps will not fit. Audison makes some slim amps that I am pretty sure will fit.

Popular sub mount is to use the Rod Birch 911 box, that fits behind the seats in the passenger footwells.

There are other rennlisters (one box was for sale recently, that was a custom box that fit into the rear seat behind the driver. Another, more extensive custom job mounted subs into the side panels adjacent to the rear seats. (lots of pictures of that install, which was done very well)

I don't know if Bill still sells these, although Jamie had a box full of these a while back: http://www.billjehle.com/PORSCHE/index.html

I think Jamie's email is PORSCHETUNES@aol.com, but it has been years since I have spoken with him. Personally, I am not a fan of the sub in the front, passenger footwell, that space is just too valuable to me.

I would recommend Rod Birch's sub enclosures. You might want to also look at enclosures that fit underneath the driver and passenger seats, I know Pioneer was manufacturing a slim subwoofer for that application.

Jonttt

Its such a shame you can't fit the later Becker Cascade units on your side of the pond.....

BigMikeATL

Previous owner installed the 5 channel Kicker Amp (ZX700.5), Boston Acoustic component speakers (front and back), and a JL Audio 10" sub behind each seat. I installed the Kenwood KDC-BT952HD head unit which seems to be popular around here.

It is VERY clear and can be very loud. I can hear just fine blasting 90mph down the highway with the top down.

ashirji

I have a Rod Birch box for my sub (I purchased from a RLer) and my amp is mounted under my right seat.. I did not do the install but had a shop that our local PCA chapter recommended. It was fairly extensive- thay removed the carpets, and door panels and ran wires through the car. I am very pleased with the result.

phoneyman

I bought a Kenwood Excelon KDC-X997, which seems to have mixed reviews on here. Overall, I just want to stream audio and be able to answer calls that are not piped through speakerphone on my handset. I will see how everything goes and decide on a H/U after this install. As for upgraded speakers, amps, subs, thanks for all the input. This will surely help when I upgrade the rest of the sound system after the H/U and amp. Thanks guys!

XavierLaFlamme

Pre-amp into stock Nokia amp. For now.
-- Michael

vern1

i have my sub in the passenger footwell positioned at an angle. Does take up a bit of room but passengers still have the full depth on the right side. Besides I dont spend a lot of time on that side of the car

Kika

Solution: Date short women or at least ones with small feet.