My 2002 head unit, manuf by Becker, has an aux input in the rear of the unit. I went to Becker and they provided me with a cable to connect my iPod (charges too). The input is where they ran a line for a 6 CD changer.

Not sure if 2003 head unit is the same. If so, contact becker autosound.

 

It is not the same.
2002 was the last model year to use analog inputs and outputs; 2003 was the introduction of MOST (plastic optical fiber) into all Porsche vehicles.

Funny story, it was supposed to be 2002 and Porsche was NOT supposed to be the first company to field MOST, but things didn't work out as planned, so the 2002 system was quickly assembled and offered.

 

Kevin,

Nearly all amplifiers out there can run stable into higher impedance speakers, usually you run into issues lowering the impedance. It is a fact if you increase impedance from 2 to 4 Ohm on a "perfect" amplifier you halve the wattage (Power=Volts squared / impedance). The perfect amp part comes in on the assumption the "volts" waveform from the amplifier stays the same.

You can readily find after market speakers of 2, 4 and 8 ohms; I think the most common are 4 and 8. You can rewire the existing ones in the sub in series (rather than parallel as they are now) to get 4 Ohms if your after market amp is unstable at 1 Ohm (as I did).

 

Shouldn't we wait for a response from Bose Customer Relations?

Oh, and BTW, ask them what ever happened to the Bose headunit from the Ferrari and Maseratti, the one that was their introduction into headunits, a design that was going to change the way people think about headunits, the one where any reference has been completely removed from the Bose website (and much of the web as well).

 

Dan, Agreed, but in this case back to the original comment made by a poster, the Porsche Bose system
is 2 ohms throughout with what I belive the subs to be at 1 ohm. By adding a 4 ohm driver to a 1 ohm output will cause phasing issues and lower output. That's all I am saying. He would have to parrallel two 2 ohm drivers. I have seen daul voice coil 2 ohm woofers, but in the grand scheme of things 2 ohm drivers are limited in choice.
The only reason I think Bose is saying not to drive 4 and 8 ohm is due to ouput lowering.

I have no idea why Porsche is using Bose, there are a lot better other manufacturers that use the standard 4 ohm that sound a heck of a lot better. I can only assume cost!

I have never been a Bose fan. even when they introduced the home series 901's!

 

My issue with BOSE has always been with the way the systems are voiced. I have had several BOSE systems in Audi and Porsche cars, and they all sounded odd. The mid-bass is much too loud and true low frequencies are non-existent. I am not crazy about the processing of the sound, either. I think the uprated H-K system in my previous MINI was actually pretty well-balanced. I am very biased, however, as I have a fantastic home system with excellent low end into the mid 20Hz range with no sub and tube amplification. The sonic environment in a car is poor at best.

 

The Bose EQ is a love/hate thing, no question.

The 'subwooofer' is just a pair of 5 1/4" drivers in a ported enclosure, driven by a 100W switching amplifier. Not exactly a subwoofer in the normal sense of the word.

But, it is what it is, and people buy it in large enough numbers to make it very profitable for Porsche.

IMHO, the Burmeister system is much better.
Bose lost the Audi A8 system a while back to B&O, who offered a pretty good sounding system.
They also lost the Mercedes S class as well about the same time IIRC.

 

Apropo of nothing, i have B&W speakers and subs in my home theater system and it makes the Bose Acoustimass they replaced sound like a transistor radio. I've always wondered what the B&W auto systems sound like.

 

I am fascinated by this thread, especially in light of your seemingly first hand knowledge of this system design. Upthread I had expressed my wonder at the designers of it, and would not at all be surprised if I had managed to indirectly insult Bose' chief designer him or herself, so i wouldn't necessarily expect a reply, but is there any consensus anywhere that the MOST system introduced in '03 was an "improvement" over the previously analog system? Or was this designed to interface with the PCM, sound quality, be damned?

I only ask because having had both "02 and "03 model years, I'm astounded by the difference in sound quality, on a daily basis, as I often think of replacing the subs or SOMEthing. Not so, my previous car.

If this continues as one of life's little unsolved mysteries, that's ok too.

 

Seemingly firsthand knowledge of the design?

The decision to use MOST was VAG and Daimler, PAG was just along for the ride since their quantities are too low to get Becker's attention for custom designs.
MOST was a follow on to D2B and was an interesting idea applied for all the wrong reasons. Once implemented, given the development time and cost, there was no turning back.
MOST is a high speed (originally 25Mbs) fiber optic link, so it was bandwidth to spare as an audio transport. Electrical MOST abandons the fiber optics and goes with something resembling Ethernet.

The difference lies in the EQ's applied, that's all, followed by speakers. It isn't the electronics.

BTW, if you find someone with real first hand knowledge, let me know.

 

We'll have to call Bose customer service to learn more

 

thanks for that. though it doesn't really answer why my bass frequency response is inferior to the earlier and similar ( but for the wiring ) system pre MOST. but i appreciate the reply. save for the eq; and a loudness feature is an eq, which the MY "03 MOST system lacks. so,.. got it.

deal.

 

I've been following this thread with some interest as I would like to upgrade the system in my car with something better. The previous owner put a mid level Alpine head unit in the car but was pretty sure all the speakers are stock. The car at one point had the factory CD changer which was removed. The car is a standard setup without the Bose package.

I don't want to hijack the thread (should I start a new one?) but what are others using for speakers/amps/head units? An online vendor only points me towards Focals...

Thanks,
Grady

 

2 different DSPs were used, 2 different tunings applied.
If you issued the command to the amplifier to go 'flat', you would find the 2002 sounds an awful lot like the 2003.

 

I believe with audio like many other things is a law of diminishing returns. In-car "Flavors of the month" include Focal, JL and Audison, the highest $ equipment in the business. Not entirely sure in a car environment the audiophile subtleties can be heard.
I'm in the process of upgrading, currently running a Pioneer Z130BT, 2x GM-D9500F, MBQuart in the dash. I haven't worked my way to the the other speakers yet It sounds pretty good but needs some work on the bass end. My goals were to keep the interior looking close to stock, sounding good, adding BT & NAV (Without spending Rolex money).