BucketList

If I was to swap the head unit, I would get one that does everything and pair it with an audison bit Ten or the new Zapco audio processor (nice specs) and a new amp and speakers (or a combo amp/proc). Basically if you are going there, go all the way. Having said that, it would be like having a super nice stereo in a noisy NYC apartment near the subway... It would sound great if you could actually hear it... Our cars are so noisy (mostly road noise) that you can't hear anything at low volume at all. A nice system would be wasted. I had decked out an '06 TSX with sound deadening in the doors, trunk and floor and installed a bit ten and 5 channel Soundstream Reference amp with a sub I built myself using WinISD for the design. It sounded so good, I fell in love with Car audio again. I sold it to my daughter and now I am without tunes, but no commuting right now, so no real big need. At some point I will get another commuter (GTI?) so as not to run up the miles on the 911 and I will do the same thing with even better components. I will probably use the Zapco processor and their Z-150.4AP or the 6 channel amps and custom sub with a JL Audio W6 series driver which I already have. Head unit will depend on how good the OEM one is and whether PAC has an adapter for it. Pacific Audio Products is a great company. They make adapters for OEM audio that will allow for plug n play additions of external amps, etc.. Some wiring is always required but I can do that no problem.

Bruce In Philly

You are asking some big questions here. To put it simply, if you were to replace the head unit, then my recommendation is to replace the amplifier too. Tons of reasons why.... those adapters are... well, for our PCM system, they are problematic at best. I replaced everything only to have the installer replace everything back because they could not get the alternator whine out of it. It was a nightmare. Others say they had no problems.... my experience is something very different. Regarding those adapters.... you loose control over front and rear channels and you loose the middle speaker in the dash. Assuming they do no detriment to the sound ... but they will.

If you do decide to ditch the electronics, keep the speakers... the speakers are actually pretty darn good so save yourself the money. You will have way improved sound by just changing out the electronics. But make sure the installer will swap everything back out and refund your money if they can't get the whine out.... oh and those whine filters kill the sound quality so no whine filters in that agreement.

Peace

Wayne Smith

Just for humor, since Pam likes to listen to the news and my FM reception has always sucked, I opted to install a retro satellite radio unit that plugs into the aux port. This was preparatory to planned post retirement travel that we were planning on for this year (best laid plans so to speak).

Well, I get more ignition hiss than actual sound from the unit. It's like the noise you would get if you were missing the source connection. But once the water temperature gauge goes off the full cold indication all is good. Go figure.

Bruce In Philly

Oh... oh.....

PCM got stuck on "Loading Maps..." Everything else worked fine, satellite, FM, DVD... etc.. I turned the unit on and off a ton.... nothing. I drove for almost two hours today with no luck. Home, I pulled the fuse... vacuumed the thing out.... put the fuses back in and it fired up no problem. ARGH!!! One thing I did not try is just restarting the car... I opted to shut down the car and pull the fuse.

On the other hand, I have not had the unit cut out at all and I have been doing a lot of driving.

Cripes.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

kellen

I found the same thing on another car. I just used the satellite app on my phone and then bluetoothed that into the stereo.

BHMav8r

Those of you who have replaced the head unit - do you miss any of the old controls, or are their any besides gas mileage etc?

doclouie

I did not want to lose my factory PCM, but I also wanted Apple CarPlay and those features so I installed a secondary circuit board in the PCM to get CarPlay and a backup camera etc. I love it. All the newest features with the original PCM. Not sure if your car is a .1 or .2, but I believe it is only for the .2 or PCM 3.0.

BHMav8r

Mine is a 997.1 '05

997Ferg

Hello everyone, I’ve been following this thread for a while. My 997.2 Turbo has the same issues. Randomly the audio will stop outputting. Usually it takes a restart of the car and/or turning the radio off for 20 min for it to start working again.

Last time it happened it was pretty cold outside and it only started working after it seemed to warm up in the cabin of the car. Such an odd issue! Did we determine if it’s an amp or PCM issue?

Thanks,
Cory

BHMav8r

Sounds like mine.

Bruce In Philly

Nothing definitive. IMO, it is all in the amp under the passenger seat (997.2 only). The head unit in your dash sends a single, complex digital signal to the amp under the seat. In that amp there is a digital sound processing section that splits out the channel signals including the woofer channel. That woofer channel is derived in digital processing chips in the amp, then sent to the sub woofer amp in the back of the car. Since the woofer is getting its signal, the head unit in the dash must be sending a good signal to the amp. In the amp, the digital signal is split out as I just noted, and converted to analog and then passed inside the amp to an amplifier section that powers the cabin speakers (sans sub woofer). Since the digital stuff appears to be working, I suspect the analog amplifier section in the amplifier unit is the issue. But that is just my opinion. And usually..... I am non thin ice here.... when an analog amp fails, a common reason is the capacitors fail. So I have been eyeing replacing them as it is a fairly simple soldering job..... maybe this summer I will tackle it.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

BHMav8r

Removing the amp sounds easy enough - is there a good repair vendor to send it to?

Also I've heard it both ways - if the sub works its the head unit; if the sub doesnt work, its the amp?

All intermittently of course and temperature dependent (maybe).

Bruce In Philly

I am unfamiliar with the PCM 2 in the 997.1. It is a different animal as the PCM 3 in the 997.2 is a complex digital processing system.... it can decode DVD A 5.1 surround... all of this is done in the digital processing chips inside the amp under the passenger seat. This is where the sub-woofer's signal is derived/decoded.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

Bruce In Philly

Try Becker Sound in NJ. Becker is the German maker of these electronics. I got a quote from them once and they are expensive... they won't give information about what a problem may be.... but, they are the repair source. I never used them.

https://www.beckerautosound.com/

Peace
Bruce in Philly

BucketList

The opposite. If the sub works, the head unit is sending signal so the amp is suspect. If there is no sound at all, then maybe head unit.