993 stereo and phone upgrade - what I did on my summer vacation
09-06-2013, 05:16 AM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
993 stereo and phone upgrade - what I did on my summer vacation
This is a follow up post to my earlier post "993 stereo and phone upgrade - seeking feasibility review". While still not completely done, I wanted to write this up why it is still fresh in my mind and share my experiences.
Disclaimer: This information is provided to the best of my knowledge, however I can take no responsibility, property or personal. Use at your own risk.
I thought about this comment regarding compressed music and it dawned on me since in the cases where I have better options, I never listen to compressed music (e.g. home stereo) and the other locations have always been either through the analog out of the iPod (sometimes going through a cassette adapter) or PC audio, so I actually did some A/B comparison using the DACs in my home audio CD player. You can definitely hear the compression artifacts particularly with more complex material, but the audio is much better that I had given it credit for (and pays off going through the Alpine head unit).
And...
- Upgrade sound quality (missed this bullet in the original post, but was one of the key objectives).
Android tablet integration/mounting still pending, but check on the rest of the objectives and very happy with the improvements with the progress to date and ready to take on the Android/tablet integration next.
Check, with the following minor exceptions:
- Had to cut/modify a flange on the Central Locking System control unit
- Had to cut 2 factory tie wraps (which I don't really count, but included here for completeness)
The following "factory" items were purchased to be sacrificed achieve this:
- OE amp ($50+shipping) to get the connector from to tap into the factory wiring harness for the speakers.
- Window switch from the Porsche dealership ($59) to cut 4 pins out to use for the front speaker connections.
- OE Rear speakers from a Porsche dismantler ($100) to make "factory" looking grills.
The following adapters were fabricated:
- Aluminum base plate to mount the amp to
- Panels to mount front speakers (woofers) and cross over to
- Speaker grills for rear speakers
The following harnesses were made to tap into the factory wiring:
- Head unit
- Amplifier
- Front speakers
- Rear speakers
Check, with the exception that I abandoned the bi-amping due to the limited slope of the crossovers in the amp (12db/oct) and recommendation in the Infinity owners manual not to do so.
Still pending, but next up.
Check, with the exception that rear channel speakers are driven by the amp and not head unit (since I did not bi-amp the front).
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Alpine CDE-HD149BT Head Unit for details.
Check with the following exceptions:
- Did not bi-amp the front
- Not sure where I got the PDX-F4 is 1/8" shorter as cannot substantiate that, and...
- 1/8" is a big deal
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Alpine PDX-V9 Amplifier for details.
Check, with the exception that I went with the 6.1, no problem and glad I did.
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Infinity Kappa 6.1 Front Speakers for details.
Check (did re-use the stock wiring, no cutting, splicing, etc. required, but did need to make some special adapters).
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Infinity Kappa 642.11cfp Rear Speakers for details.
Check, still open and 500W in waiting and ready to go if I decide to do so.
Overall I am extremely happy with the results of the upgrades, from the sound quality, iPod integration, Bt integration, and can't want to get to the Android integration next.
And the power is great! Plenty of power/volume with the windows down, sun roof open, and cruising down the freeway with plenty of headroom.
I did find the Infinity Kappa 6.1 (tweeters) very bright based on their placement in the cabin. I took a SPL measurement, and saw what I through I heard (as I thought is was ~5K), so I used the parametric EQ in the head unit to bring it down a bit (-7, Q=3 @ 4K). I am typically not a big fan of EQ, but this made a big improvement and sounds great now.
In Hindsight:
- Eject the CD carriage before you remove the head unit (I spent a couple hours taking it apart to do so manually (even applying power was not enough as I had expected).
- WD40 the seat bolts a few days ahead of time. May help if it has time to seep in (you can spay it in the slot where the nuts slide below the seat rail).
- If I would have thought it about it earlier, I would have/should have added foam as a third/top ply for the speaker adapters for the door panel (something I can always do in the future and replace the poly fill, but unlikely)
Tools:
Of course need basic mechanic tool set, screw drivers, wire cutters, strippers, crimpers, soldering iron, Dremel, drill, jigsaw, etc. Table saw was incredibly handy as well, but could be managed without.
Special mention:
- Blue painter tape. Wasn't on my list, but came to mind to protect the amp, but used used quite a bit and highly recommended to have some handy.
- Digital camera. Not only useful for documenting, but was a great tool to look where I could not get my head, like under the dash.
...and did acquire the following additional tools along the way:
- Dremel re-enforced cutting tools. These new re-enforced tools are incredible. I was amazed how robust these are. I used them for cutting/slotting the seat bolts, to cutting the pins out of the window switch, to making the speaker grills for the rear.
- Air hammer. I lost a day trying to get the front seat bolts out. Perhaps I could have kept at it with the Dremel (it had no problem cutting), but I am blind in one eye (and can't see out the other), so my depth perception in low light areas is questionable and was very difficult to work/maneuver in tight work space while trying to make sure you don't cut into the seat rail and was not comfortable swinging a heavier hammer around the dash. With the air hammer, bada bing, bada bang, they were out in seconds (and only used about ~1/2 the psi for the air hammer).
- 5" hole saw (manual says the industry standard 5 1/4", but 5" was no issue, and nobody (local) carries 5 1/4".
- Router (and bit) for the front speaker panels to allow me to route the wires internally and not have to have them press against the vinyl on the door panel (but probably not a big deal for most).
- Torx #6 to remove the tweeter from the rear factory speaker grills.
Thanks!
To everyone both on rennlist.com and elsewhere for all the great post that helped along the way. I hope others find this post useful in the future should they try and do something similar.
And ....
Car Audio Innovations - Porsche Installation Tips:
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/tips/ptips9.htm
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/tips/ptips8.htm
Disclaimer: This information is provided to the best of my knowledge, however I can take no responsibility, property or personal. Use at your own risk.
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 adapter 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)
Current setup:
- The car: 1996 993 TT
- The stereo: Stock Becker CR-210, with Nokia "hi-fi" option, changer (currently stuck using cassette adapter 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)
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)
- Upgrade sound quality (missed this bullet in the original post, but was one of the key objectives).
Android tablet integration/mounting still pending, but check on the rest of the objectives and very happy with the improvements with the progress to date and ready to take on the Android/tablet integration next.
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
- 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
- Had to cut/modify a flange on the Central Locking System control unit
- Had to cut 2 factory tie wraps (which I don't really count, but included here for completeness)
The following "factory" items were purchased to be sacrificed achieve this:
- OE amp ($50+shipping) to get the connector from to tap into the factory wiring harness for the speakers.
- Window switch from the Porsche dealership ($59) to cut 4 pins out to use for the front speaker connections.
- OE Rear speakers from a Porsche dismantler ($100) to make "factory" looking grills.
The following adapters were fabricated:
- Aluminum base plate to mount the amp to
- Panels to mount front speakers (woofers) and cross over to
- Speaker grills for rear speakers
The following harnesses were made to tap into the factory wiring:
- Head unit
- Amplifier
- Front speakers
- Rear speakers
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
- 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 Fujitsu 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)
Remove Fujitsu 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 techncially limited.
- 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 techncially limited.
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Alpine CDE-HD149BT Head Unit for details.
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
- 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
- Did not bi-amp the front
- Not sure where I got the PDX-F4 is 1/8" shorter as cannot substantiate that, and...
- 1/8" is a big deal
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Alpine PDX-V9 Amplifier for details.
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 tweeter 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.
- 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 tweeter 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.
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Infinity Kappa 6.1 Front Speakers for details.
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 appreciated.
- 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 appreciated.
See 993 stereo and phone upgrade - Infinity Kappa 642.11cfp Rear Speakers for details.
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
- 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.
And the power is great! Plenty of power/volume with the windows down, sun roof open, and cruising down the freeway with plenty of headroom.
I did find the Infinity Kappa 6.1 (tweeters) very bright based on their placement in the cabin. I took a SPL measurement, and saw what I through I heard (as I thought is was ~5K), so I used the parametric EQ in the head unit to bring it down a bit (-7, Q=3 @ 4K). I am typically not a big fan of EQ, but this made a big improvement and sounds great now.
In Hindsight:
- Eject the CD carriage before you remove the head unit (I spent a couple hours taking it apart to do so manually (even applying power was not enough as I had expected).
- WD40 the seat bolts a few days ahead of time. May help if it has time to seep in (you can spay it in the slot where the nuts slide below the seat rail).
- If I would have thought it about it earlier, I would have/should have added foam as a third/top ply for the speaker adapters for the door panel (something I can always do in the future and replace the poly fill, but unlikely
) Tools:
Of course need basic mechanic tool set, screw drivers, wire cutters, strippers, crimpers, soldering iron, Dremel, drill, jigsaw, etc. Table saw was incredibly handy as well, but could be managed without.
Special mention:
- Blue painter tape. Wasn't on my list, but came to mind to protect the amp, but used used quite a bit and highly recommended to have some handy.
- Digital camera. Not only useful for documenting, but was a great tool to look where I could not get my head, like under the dash.
...and did acquire the following additional tools along the way:
- Dremel re-enforced cutting tools. These new re-enforced tools are incredible. I was amazed how robust these are. I used them for cutting/slotting the seat bolts, to cutting the pins out of the window switch, to making the speaker grills for the rear.
- Air hammer. I lost a day trying to get the front seat bolts out. Perhaps I could have kept at it with the Dremel (it had no problem cutting), but I am blind in one eye (and can't see out the other), so my depth perception in low light areas is questionable and was very difficult to work/maneuver in tight work space while trying to make sure you don't cut into the seat rail and was not comfortable swinging a heavier hammer around the dash. With the air hammer, bada bing, bada bang, they were out in seconds (and only used about ~1/2 the psi for the air hammer).
- 5" hole saw (manual says the industry standard 5 1/4", but 5" was no issue, and nobody (local) carries 5 1/4".
- Router (and bit) for the front speaker panels to allow me to route the wires internally and not have to have them press against the vinyl on the door panel (but probably not a big deal for most).
- Torx #6 to remove the tweeter from the rear factory speaker grills.
Thanks!
To everyone both on rennlist.com and elsewhere for all the great post that helped along the way. I hope others find this post useful in the future should they try and do something similar.
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
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/
Schematic:
- http://pcarworkshop.com/images/5/52/...iSchematic.jpg
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
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/
Schematic:
- http://pcarworkshop.com/images/5/52/...iSchematic.jpg
Car Audio Innovations - Porsche Installation Tips:
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/tips/ptips9.htm
- http://www.caraudioinnovations.com/tips/ptips8.htm
Last edited by kflory; 09-22-2013 at 01:57 PM. Reason: Fixed broken links
09-06-2013, 11:22 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
09-06-2013, 04:07 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thanks guys!
I still need to do the caption write ups for the front and rear speaker photo albums, but will do that soon.
That is an aftermarket TPMS (Orange).
Thats also on my radar to integrate depending on what I do with the center console. If I make a custom face/panel, which is likely, then I'll integrate that too.
I still need to do the caption write ups for the front and rear speaker photo albums, but will do that soon.
What is the thingy plugged into the cigarette lighter?
Thats also on my radar to integrate depending on what I do with the center console. If I make a custom face/panel, which is likely, then I'll integrate that too.
09-07-2013, 04:33 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
Nice Clean Installation!
Maybe a dumb question, but can you feel the heat from the amp, while seating on the passenger seat?
I have no idea how hot these amps get.
I was also looking at these Alpine PDX amps, and I was hesitating between mounting one at the factory CD changer location, or under the passenger seat...
Maybe a dumb question, but can you feel the heat from the amp, while seating on the passenger seat?
I have no idea how hot these amps get.
I was also looking at these Alpine PDX amps, and I was hesitating between mounting one at the factory CD changer location, or under the passenger seat...
Trending Topics
09-07-2013, 04:56 PM
#8
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
09-07-2013, 05:13 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Thanks!
I can't say I have check it, but I would really doubt it (I would be concerned if so). There is a pretty good amount of clearance between the amp and the foam for the bottom of the seat, maybe ~2" or so.
I was a bit surprised initially, but monitored it for a week or so while I drove it around with the front seat still out (while I still working on the installing the speakers) and did find it get surprisingly hot, but realized some of that was due to the amp sitting in direct sunlight at the time.
But if I am playing it loudly, the amp does get very warm, almost hot to the touch.
However, note that I am not driving the sub (500W) and not sure how that contribute the the power/heat.
I liked the idea of using the stock locations, and wanted to re-use the stock wiring (not that you could still not do that), but putting it under the seat is definitely requires careful placement and measuring to make sure you clear the seat mechanism underneath.
Where the changer is definitely would be much more accessible, but not sure about routing all of the cables up and back.
Maybe a dumb question, but can you feel the heat from the amp, while seating on the passenger seat?
I have no idea how hot these amps get.
But if I am playing it loudly, the amp does get very warm, almost hot to the touch.
However, note that I am not driving the sub (500W) and not sure how that contribute the the power/heat.
I was also looking at these Alpine PDX amps, and I was hesitating between mounting one at the factory CD changer location, or under the passenger seat...
Where the changer is definitely would be much more accessible, but not sure about routing all of the cables up and back.
09-07-2013, 05:29 PM
#10
Rennlist Member
Holy shizzle. Nice write-up. Way more advanced than I would ever want/need, but obviously if you are seeking a top-flight approach to improving your audio system, this is a terrific guide. Looks like a quality install. How about more pics of your ride? Would like to see the result of "Pimp My 993 Part I."
09-07-2013, 06:54 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Holy shizzle. Nice write-up. Way more advanced than I would ever want/need, but obviously if you are seeking a top-flight approach to improving your audio system, this is a terrific guide. Looks like a quality install. How about more pics of your ride? Would like to see the result of "Pimp My 993 Part I."
That is like asking someone about picture of their kids, I could go on and on
I do have a few pictures here under My 993 TT, but this is my favorite of the three:
09-07-2013, 08:58 PM
#12
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What,,,,, no active speaker/amplifier circuit?
OP - Many thanks - a wealth of information.
I share in the approach, Do No Harm, to the vehicle's wiring.
Question: What was your rational for keeping a passive speaker-amplifier arrangement, as opposed to an active one ? Lemme guess - a multi-channel amplifier size and/or lack of interior location?
Great post! One I'll read many times. Thanks!
I share in the approach, Do No Harm, to the vehicle's wiring.
Question: What was your rational for keeping a passive speaker-amplifier arrangement, as opposed to an active one ? Lemme guess - a multi-channel amplifier size and/or lack of interior location?
Great post! One I'll read many times. Thanks!
09-07-2013, 09:18 PM
#13
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
The PDX internal crossovers as it turned out only had a -12db slope, which I did not feel was adequate (was expecting -18db or -24db) and the Infinity owners manual also suggested against bi-amping siting the tuning of the passive crossover with the drivers.
Otherwise I would have used the head unit to drive the rear speakers (or potentially other options), but once I realized that I would have to go to external active crossover, etc. I punted, due to space constraints. But the 100W drives the speakers nicely, and the rears I think ended up benefiting from the extra power as well (so would have had to go the other options route and the space would gotten out of control).
Otherwise I would have used the head unit to drive the rear speakers (or potentially other options), but once I realized that I would have to go to external active crossover, etc. I punted, due to space constraints. But the 100W drives the speakers nicely, and the rears I think ended up benefiting from the extra power as well (so would have had to go the other options route and the space would gotten out of control).
09-07-2013, 09:39 PM
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Thanks - Yes, the lack of amplifier space get's out of control before the start of the project. Agreed, 12db slope wouldn't work well. The head unit I'm using is very flexible having a 6db to 48db slope range.
Its a pleasant change listening to quality HiFi (car) tunes as opposed to the original stereo,,, isn't it!
I too ordered the 993 new waiting the 5 months for its delivery. The optional HiFi speaker/ CD radio/ changer was immediately a big disappointment. And like you, me and the other 993 owners we lived with the lackluster, no dynamics Porsche HiFi. Until now!
Its a pleasant change listening to quality HiFi (car) tunes as opposed to the original stereo,,, isn't it!
I too ordered the 993 new waiting the 5 months for its delivery. The optional HiFi speaker/ CD radio/ changer was immediately a big disappointment. And like you, me and the other 993 owners we lived with the lackluster, no dynamics Porsche HiFi. Until now!