K996

My questions:
1- is an amplifier this big really needed?
2- what is the major advantage in 6v versus 4v?
3- does the pricing sound about right?
4- can this be done without punching holes througout the car?
5- anything else I should be concerned about here?

I'm not particularly demanding and the current hi-fi system is almost acceptable to me from a sound quality standpoint.

But I can't live without my XM so I'm looking for a replacement system for the car.
There's a local installer I've talked to (Car Tunes in Largo) and since I'm not really 'up' on car audio I'm looking for a second opinion from some of you guys that are.

I currently have the CDR-220 HiFi option with 6 speaker locations and an amplifier.

My minimum requirements:
XM+MP3 head unit
sub enclosure on rear deck (for tighter bass than stock)

Concerns: The shop is low on inventory right now and they deal primarily in the Pioneer/Premiere line but they'll install whatever I want. I'm not that crazy about the design of the Pioneer Premiere equipment since the units have those OEL 'fast and furious' type displays. I'd rather have the unit blend a little better with at least orange illumination....but most of the stuff out there now is very flashy and gimmicky.

Anyway the Premiere line doesn't do this and the Alpine units with variable color don't seem to have 6v pre-out. The shop owner seemed to think this was pretty important. Is this a big deal and what is the advantage of 6v pre-out over the more common 4v?

The biggest suggestion they made that really surprised me was to get rid of the stock amplifier and go with what I consider a massive Autotek 5 channel amplifier, I think it was 500 watts and was the 6v variety. This thing was enormous (maybe 11" x 15"?) and would not fit in the stock amp location, thus needing to be mounted in a 'false floor' in the bottom of the trunk.

They will also build a subwoofer enclosure for shelf behind the rear seats with either one or two 8" subs in it.

Put in a cross-over to isolate the midrange and treble to the current 6 speakers (treble to front and rear, midrange to doors) and route all bass to the subwoofer.

Cost was estimated at between $1100 and $1400 depending on time required and specific options but would definitely include amp, head unit, subwoofer+enclosure, installation and required cabling to isolate everything from the existing wiring harness. This was in my price range and seems like a decent deal to me.

Also if anyone has any pictures of their in-dash unit (non video screen) please send me a snapshot or post inline as I'd like to take a look at it.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Keith

MLA911

I have a few pics of what I have done, just click below.

Mike

Sloth

You may want to do a search as this has all been covered here many times before.

I might suggest that you look for a shop that sells the brands that you want and will do the install too. Makes life a lot easier if you should have any problems or warranty needs. Whatever you end up doing, make sure the shop has the experience to work on your Pcar. Where in FL are you located???

Try this thread

threeOh

I'm certainly no expert your Becker radio (pre MOST) but I believe a cheap (<$20) harness is available from Becker to enable aux in. If you can live with the existing system this may be a place to start.

If you want to follow it up with a sub, there are amps out there that tap off speaker leads. These used to be looked down upon by installers (too simple to charge for) but they are gaining acceptance in high-end audio as a preferred way to drive a sub.

threeOh

Forgot to coment on the pre out. I don't know what input level the 220 amp requires but its pretty much a non-issue. Our BMW's have a 5v output from the head unit and to reduce battery consumption on an iPod (keep the iPod's volume setting low) I stepped up the output from the iPod using an AudioControl Overdrive. Not cheap ($120) but is a quality and well thought out product versus some other approaches I looked at.

If the interface for Becker's harness is under the dash (probably) you may want to pass on this and see if the sat tuner puts out sufficient line voltage.

If I recall correctly, my Mom's XM tuner has multiple output voltage settings in the menu. Don't get carried away here as you might overdrive the amp and hear a bit of distortion. Since you can adjust it in the menu its simple to change settings.

If you want MP3 and want to avoid wiring for power, go with the step up amp. We get between 8 and 10 hours of life off the iPod. The predominent variable is backlighting at night and shuffle mode use. During daylight driving/no shuffle mode it would not surprize me if I could get 12 hours of run time.

K996

Hey Mike,
your setup is essentially exactly what I'm looking at doing. Are you happy with the sound, and how much did it cost?

After going to a couple of different shops it looks like I'll have to deal with the 'bling-bling' faceplate and goofy colours...sign o' the times I guess.

Hey Sloth,
I'm in the Clearwater/St.Petersburg area (Largo actually)....you're probably right about sticking with the brand the shop mainly deals with.

It's just that I already have the Alpine XM tuner box out of my old car and wanted to re-use it if possible and save a few bucks. Guess there's always eBay though.
I know this shop has been around for a while (they had a Boxster in last week so they're familiar with Porsches but if anyone has specific recommendations on other shops I'm open to looking around. I'm not planning on having this done at a big-box store (Circuit city, sound advice, best buy, etc.) as I've not been impressed with their attention to detail.

So what's the deal with the higher-voltage output? Is it a gimmick or does it make a difference?

Thanks,
Keith

deputydog95

Keith, I'm in Dunedin. I'm also in the process of swapping some audio equipment out in my new, or at least new to me 996 cab. Might I suggest the alpine 7998 din and a half head unit. I have one in my closet that I'm dying to get in the new car. Very sweet piece and it will accept the xm tuner. As far as install, I have a friend in Orlando who owns several audio shops. He's been doing very high end cars for a long time now. I can hook you up with him if you like. It's a bit of a drive, but well worth it. Probably one of the best shops in FL. here's a link to the site:
http://www.ultaudio.com

Sloth

Hey Keith,

Surely there are some good shops in the St. Pete/ Clearwater area. So long as you feel comfortable. I had Audio Connection in Ft. Myers do my install. They did my C2, and a have worked on several other 996's, a GT2, and a few Boxsters. If you feel like going for a drive I would highly recomend them. You can reach them at 239.561.8662.

Here is a link to my C2 stereo page, its a bit hokey but it has some pix...
http://www.cardomain.com/member_page...=Porsche%20911

deputydog95

Not really. There aren't a whole lot of serious installers out this way. Nobody I would trust my car with. Ult Audio has done a ton of celebrity vehicles and has had cars featured in Car Audio Magazine. I can't speak for south FL, but they are the best that I've seen in central FL. I've known the owner personally (he used to be a neighbor) for about ten years and he takes a lot of pride in his work.

Sloth

Should not make to much of a difference. 4v would work fine, but I would go for the 6v. I think of it like this... to get the same sound output, you would have to run the amps at a higher gain level with the lower voltage effectively raising the noise floor.

Ken7258

I'm going to buy a Nakamichi CD 400 for my head unit. It's suppose to be one of the best sounding out there and looks like a stock replacement - all black, not a bunch of colored jumping lcd's all over the place.

Ken

loliver

Go to Audio Connection as suggested by Sloth. They have done complete installs on 3 Porsche cars and about 4 other cars for me. They are going to do a install of a Eclipse Nav double din fixed screen unit in my GT2. They will reuse your head unit, no problem.

MLA911

Keith, I have approximately $3,500.00 invested and the sound is great. The only thing I would do different is use Boston Acoustic seperates in the front instead of the MB Quarts. Alpine is the only choice IMHO, especially if you already have the tuner. Good luck!

Mike

Doug H

I would listen to Bostons before buying them or installing them. Bostons are very colorful (colorful in a bad way, not clean or transparent) and my least favorite speakers SQ. The Boston pros are 3 ohms though and will take a lot of power (I have hit my Pros with 300X2 off a McIntosh MCC 602) and that is why they are somewhat liked in competition circles. I have 2 pairs of Pros and 3 pairs of Ralleys laying around I would cut you a great deal on.

Cheap MB Quarts (Discus, Reference or Premium line) have aweful tweeters and must be attenuated at least 4 or 6 dbs to tone them down. The higher level of MB Quart, Q series QM or QSD or the QM 25 tweeters are smoother and sound much better.

I have tried and currently own mostly just sitting around about every high end speaker other than the $ 7,000 Rainbow References and the new Phass speakers. Here is a picture of about % 75 of my speakers that I am not using. Have more unphotographed.




The Dynaudios, made by Morell, are without a doubt the best sounding speaker under $ 1,000. The generic Morells and Rainbow Vanadium are also worth taking a look at in the $ 500 to $ 600 range. The CDT Euros are not bad for a little less.

Head units and voltage:

Nakamichi is good. I have an MB 100 in my boat. The 100 and head units with disc multi disk caddies are delicate and prone to problems which you don't have to worry about with the 400. Nakamichi has 24 bit DAC which is good and 4 volts is fine, but dual 24 converters with 8X oversampling is better. Most head units that advertise over 4 volts are gimicky and sound bad, even the Eclipses. I had the 8 volt Eclipse and it sounded aweful.

Kind of partial to McIntosh and use the McIntosh in my car. McIntosh is only a 4 volt unit, but it has the cleanest and strongest pre-amp signal I have used in car audio.



Here are some pics of my system in my 964. I have since redone my shelfing to fit the third McIntosh under the bonnetand I added an Audiocontrol DQX for crossover and equalization. Great Electronics. I am up to about $ 12,500 on my 964 system . . . but it sounds good and I have quick releases now to get weight out quickly.




I can remove the sub box, the sub amp, and the 4 channel amp for the rear speakers and the rear crossover box in about 3 minutes. Most of these are ona single shelf and this leaves me with only the head unit, the DQX, and a six channelMcIntosh driving my Dynaudio 7 inch, 2.5 inch and scan revelator tweeters. Knocks off about 120 pounds and it actually sounds fine in trimmed down mode.

K996

Holy cow!!!

Man you guys are outta control....day-um!

That's a serious load of audio equipment there DougH! You gotta find some place to put all that stuff.

I sincerely appreciate all the info from you guys on installation shops but I hate to drive the car 2-3 hours away for audio work...my wife thinks I'm crazy enough as it is! lol

After reading your thoughts and seeing some of these pics there's no doubt you guys are considerably more demanding than I am. I'll be the first to tell you I've got a tin-ear and y'all have more in one single component that I want to put in the whole system.

I'll probably compromise on the look of the headunit but I just can't handle listening to AM/FM anymore it's just sooo bad.

Maybe I'll see some of you guys around at central Florida events....hopefully I'll have a new soundsystem by then

Thanks again for the advice and suggestions,
Keith