bamaboy473

What I want is the OEM radio/NAV that came with the car I just bought. A Seller has one that did not come with BOSE system. I am not able to hear much anyway, so I just want buttons to push and audio quality isn't a factor.

The question is..........will an OEM 997 head unit work fine in a 997 that had BOSE installed?

fpajonk

"I just want buttons to push and audio quality isn't a factor."

How about installing a fidget spinner?

bamaboy473

Some of us are not in tune with touch-screen and a million menus, so if we see a button that says, "FM", we can get right to the music we want. I know, my sons are horrified at my lack of sophistication.

Bruce In Philly

What year... and, just to be sure, you have the word "Bose" on the door. Correct?

Peace
Bruce in Philly

bamaboy473

What I have is a 2006 with Bose, and what he is selling does not come from a Bose car. I am waaaay old-school, so sound from and FM station or from AC/DC are 99% of what I want; the other being bluetooth if I can talk on the phone via the radio.

Will the older unit work if my car is Bose and the old unit wasn't?

3rdpedal

It isn’t about the sound. The radio head unit should be the same. The Bose adds the subwoofer and speaker setup. The biggest factors to compatibility is whether the rear connections on the non-Bose unit can plug directly into your speaker setup, and whether you have steering wheel audio controls as that is another aspect of the wiring. Ideally of course you want a head unit that matches your speaker and steering wheel setup but honestly I don’t know if that guy’s unit is or is not plug and play. But I can tell you that there shouldn’t be anything in the head unit that is different from a sound performance standpoint for a Bose v non-Bose system.

bamaboy473

Thanks for the information. I guess the good news is that there aren't any steering wheel controls, so wiring might be easier. Funny that when somebody's hearing goes, all of those speakers just make sound, and direction isn't a factor, so I will give it a try. My current radio doesn't play CDs and doesn't interact with the changer in the trunk, so anything is an upgrade at this point.

Petza914

I'm not sure about this. The Bose system uses fiber optic connections from the PCM to the Bose Amp and I don't think the non-Bose PCM does and just uses regular wire connections to the non--Bose Amp. The Bose system uses regular wires to the rear subwoofer setup and then the amp for the Sub box is actually integrated into it.

To be safe, I would buy a PCM from a Bose car.

BTW, that won't give you bluetooth functionality for calls or music. That wasn't introduced until PCM 3.1 in 2009 and that was just for calls only and is a completely different system. For BT on PCM 2.1 you'll need to add a Dension kit or something else that integrates into the fiber optic network.

Bruce In Philly

I agree with Petza.... another issue is what was done to the wiring when the original system was removed? Wires cut? Spliced? Rerouted? What about the original amplifier? Still there?

I recommend having a stereo after-market installer look at the existing infrastructure... then purchase an OEM Bose system (997.1) head unit and amplifier (from eBay or wherever)... whatever is needed, and have the aftermarket installer do the re-install work. You then may have to take the car to the dealer to have them configure the unit to work with the car and turn on/off any options... this to match the unit with the car.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

bamaboy473

Yes, Bruce, that is the plan. As noted, I'm the last guy to be messing with a car radio!

Optionman1

@bamaboy473 If you can hear the radio you aren't driving fast enough!!

bamaboy473

If it's any consolation, it's AC/DC on full volume, top down!

Optionman1

Glad you found the widebody you were looking for, enjoy

bamaboy473

Thanks, it was a fluke out of SC and I bought it sight unseen just because the dealer was very honest and matter-of-fact. If you hadn't been around to look at those other two, I might be crying the blues right now, so thanks again

Interiors has already been re-done, and doing brakes/painting calipers is what remains. Oh, and the radio, of course.

frybear

FWIW, (a) I might have a Bose headunit next week, supposedly putting in a new head unit on 9/15 and (b) my car came with one of those FM modulators. Works shockingly well - I can play spotify and sirius XM from my phone to the current unit and the sound is great. I have not tried the phone feature yet though to be honest but the phone does ring through the current head unit, I just haven't tried answering it yet...