saltydawg

Thank you for your outstanding review and assessment of the Bose system. I absolutely hate Bose products. The cost of their speakers is astronomical if you evaluate what you are getting. Bose speakers are comparable to speakers you can purchase at 1/10 of the price.

I was likely going to get the Bose audio in a new 997.2 just for resale concerns. Hard to justify a $100,000 car without "upgraded" audio when it comes to selling the car at a later time. I hated the idea of having to see the Bose name advertised inside my high end car however. The idea of swapping out the base speakers may solve the resale concerns. You can then claim a true upgraded audio rather than Bose garbage. The trick is upgrading the audio without creating an unsightly mess. Should be relatively easy with a little research.

Outstanding review!

Minok

I may be naive here, but I highly doubt someone who likes your car in the aftermarket is not going to buy it because it just has the factory audio in it. If that is the determining factor then either 1) the buyer isn't someone I'd want to sell my ride to anyway, or 2) there must be plenty of my configuration out there. I took care of #2 by buying a Speed Yellow Targa 4.

DCP

I thought I would share my thoughts when I bought a used 996 a few years ago with the stock audio system. If you are buying a used Porsche, there are a lot of cars to choose from out there. I had a bit of a hard time pulling the trigger on the one I bought, even though it was the right choice in bunch of other ways, because it had the base sound system. I called several car audio places only to be told that I needed replace the entire system because of the MOST bus, and that upgrading speakers wasn't an option. The dealer helped be locate a shop which knew how to upgrade the speakers alone and made them fit behind the stock grills, and I bought the car.

The point is that between comparable cars, it can make a difference.

In the end, with the better speakers, my stereo sounds pretty good in the mids and highs, but it lacks bass. Not a surprise with the speaker size. I wish I could find a simple solution to add some bass without spending a fortune. Every time I have spoken to a audio shop about it, they immediately launch into some subwoofer system which is not only expensive, but complete overkill.

ADias

I agree w/ the OP. The base sound system is fine. Less weight, more back-shelf space, and no extra cost. Win-win.

GreggT

Porsche does claim improved Bose system on the 997.2, but I personally have not heard it .... anyone?
Two additional thoughts:
1.) What would be the guess as to whether the cab system any better or worse, than coupe .... I'm assuming the woofer on the cab will continue to be in the passenger side kick panel ... whether this is an up or downside, not sure.
2) For someone with Bose ... what changes could be engaged to help the low end have a better edge?

mdrums .... I have some of your background, been out of it for years, however my stint left me with hearing loss for much above 2500 or 3000. The advice I always give to anyone in the biz is ... watch you ears ... you can't get it back.

Rich.

Have any of you had a chance to compare the new 5.1 Bose system in the 2009s vs. the 2005-2008 bose system? I will agree that Bose isnt perfect, but I cannot stand to listen to music with the standard system. This is coming from an ex music ed major btw. The mid range is totally lost without bose, guitars, horns, etc seem dull and one dimensional in comparison to the Bose mid range. I could be alone on this one though. for taking the time to write this up. You seem to know your business very well.

texas911

Question to the OP, did you run the spectrum analyzer while you were driving? Or while you where parked. Because I'm sure the Bose tries to equalize the sound to compensate for the road noise frequency of the 997.

George from MD

I consider myself an audiophile even though my ears are declining rapidly. I was surprised at how poor the Bose sounded when I picked up the car. To me the sound isn't natural or realistic- it's overboosted in the upper lows and the upper end just falls off- there isn't the crispness one would expect for the price. The mids are just plain weird- especially noticable on female voices like an Allison Krauss or Sarah McLachlen. The upgraded system in our new BMW simply blows away the Bose- and sounds as "real" as my in house system costing tens of thousands.

I can't imagine that any improvements were really made to the 997.2- it's still a Bose. Porsche should find a manufacturer as qualified to design and build sound systems as they are with cars. An option price like that should buy you something from McIntosh, Clearaudio, Dynaudio or Krell (just to name a few)- not the crap you find in the local Sam's Club or Best Buy.

DanJK

The new Bang and Olufsen system for Audi is spectacular. But for around 6k, it should, in the same way the Bose Porsche should be, but isn't.

As audiophiles know, B&O can be a lot of show and less go, but the Audi system is stunning to look at and to hear. I think McIntosh would be a really interesting partnership with Porsche. I think Levinson did a Lexus system once? Dynaudio would be a great choice for pure quality, but doesn't have the name of some of the others. Revel maybe too?

texas911

Its comical that this is the reason "audiophiles" hate Bose so much. Its like you have to hate Bose to be a member of the club audiophile.

Michael-Dallas

I'm a deaf **** and not an audiophile. Do any of you audiophiles have any tuning setting recommendations (bass/treble/bal/fader) to share w/ us that have the BOSE stereo (996 flavor, preferably)?

Thanks,

///Michael

DanJK

I don't particularly care where they sell it. I trust my ears.

mdrums

I have heard the 09 Bose and it is much the same in colored sound like the 09-08 Bose.
I protect my ears when attending concerts and playing my drums and have been since around 1988. I have had hearing tests done and the frequency responce graphed out on my hearing. I have lost some high end and that is typical at my age, 43. I still hear really well and my wife highend has not been harmed so I bounce questions off her about sound as she has been around me a long time and has learned.

adfsouth

Mike, thanks for the review and congrats on the new ride!! Please post some pics....I'd love to see what she looks like ...

mdrums

Actually I like the Bose headphones I use for my iPod while on the plane! However I am told there are now other brands out on the market that sound better bt I have not auditioned them yet.