SARGEPUG

I have the Bose premium system in the car and you feel the bass in your back and actually moving your hair! Also awesome across throught the entire sound range. Best stock system I have ever came across, it really needs nothing more.

hlee1169

Agree that the 997.2 Bose is better than the 997.1 Bose. My previous 07 has muddy mid and high, and exaggerated low. 997.2 Bose is actually more musical with good mid kick. But I think the Mark Levinson in my wife's Lexus still sounds better, IMHO.

Dave07997S

I wonder for those of you who had a E46 M3 with the HK did you hear the sound systems in the E9X bimmers..a huge improvement. The Logic 7 sound system is light years ahead of the E46 HK systems and a definite improvement over the 997.1 Bose I have in my car now.

Dave

ross74

Guys,

My view re BOSE quality: I think FOR THE PRICE it sounds good. I am sure a Bang and Olufsen system would be better but would also cost twice.
I have been involved with car development in the past and have actually worked with BOSE as they used to do our opt sound systems as well and they are a good company. The problem is a car area, any car area is not the components but mostly the location, enclosure of the speakers and general characteristics of the cabin.
The 997.2 has very thin door panels and no deep speaker will be able to operate properly. Remember i replaced the original speakers which are really cheap and nasty with the BOSE ones so i am not surprised they sound better. In terms of the amplification and auto-equalization issues, speakers are speakers - passive - they will play whatever signal they get so whatever active equalization happens with the BOSE amp will not be happening with my configuration - and maybe thats a good thing. Whether the amp or the speakers will have a problem because of impedance specs i cant say really, time will tell, but if the amp starts clipping or overheats i would hope it would shut down or burn its fuse before anything else..we will see i guess.

by the way, having a Bang&Olufsen at home and having installed various high end systems in my previous cars I would say the worst thing that one often encounters with premioum car sound systems is the harshness of the mid-treble, that area around 4-8kHz that hits the highly reflective glass areas and makes you want to reduce the volume..and the BOSE system is very good in that respect, quite rounded sound but clear enough for me at least..

medtech

Cool! Good to know. Thanks!

rmccarthy1234

The bose system in my 09 is the best audio system I have ever heard in a porsche coupled with the new head/nav unit that does blue tooth, 6 cd, USB, i pod and xm. For the money its a decent deal since it so well integrated. In the past, I would spend 9 to 10k per car audio system and while the sound perfomance was the far better, the integration was always lacking. Porsche did a great job with this package in 09. Definitely worth purchasing!

enduro963

Now that the OP brought up the subject, what am I to do if I am an 997.1 owner with a normal stock head unit? It sounds like crap. Help!

ross74

To answer previous remark, I asked my installer and he confirmed that impedances and loads were measured before he installed the BOSE speakers on the std amp and they were fine.

Re: 997.1 I dont know. It depends on what is the std system amp on that car. Is it the same as the one on the 997.2 std config? If yes, and if the sizes and locations of the 997.1 speakers are the same then you could try what I did, that is purchase the 9 (3 on dashboard, 2 per door and 2 rear) 997.2 BOSE speakers as parts and install them. But you absolutely need to clarify what kind of amp your car has. If its not an seperate amp (I think its under the passenger seat) as on 997.2 but just the small amp within the PCM unit then that wont work.
In that case you would need to start by upgrading the amp and that is not straighht forward as the PCM unit does not have a dedicated exit for that.

utkinpol

What do you mean about amps? There are only 2 possible options on 997.1 - standard amp or a Bose amp. Bose one sits on optical ring and standard one is in the trunk.

Did you car have Bose option?

texas911

There are always Bose detractors, usually the ones that need to prove their "audiophile"-ness, but in the 997, it sounds great for a stock system. Plenty of bass and treble. Is it the best system? No, but its not the junk the detractors make it seem.

Sadiq

I would consider myself a Bose detractor - I think most of us detractors acknowledge that the system sounds "OK." There is definitely decent bass response. Personally, I find the highs to be very harsh, and I have really bad hearing - I can only imagine how harsh they would be for someone who can hear pretty well. The Bose system is significantly better than other stock systems I've heard, and is better than HK systems in E36 M3s... but the point is that it shouldn't be called "premium" audio. It's not premium. It is at best, an above average stock sound system.

Condor

I, too, am in the detractor camp. Bose is a consumer brand for the middle of the market. But that's not really the point. Cars in general are a terrible place to try to replicate sound properly. 911's are beyond terrible in this regard. But that's not really the point of a 911.

The Bose is fine for what it is. I can hear it. It's a bit muddled. But when I want to HEAR music, it's at home. Through my McIntosh amps and B&W loudspeakers... from vinyl.

vman4639

B&O is style over substance. I agree 'friends don't let friends buy Bose' - but to me that really applies to home audio (where I am a bit of an Audiophile). But in a car - Bose is fine. Audiophile in a car is an oxymoron anyway. Kind of like putting a washing machine and strong fan in my listening room ;->

ds2k1

Totally agree with you. My expectations for sound quality in a Carrera are only so high. The Bose does an excellent job meeting my expectations of good sound quality in a high performance sports car. At home, I care a lot more because I can make it as good as I want. I don't have that same luxury in the cockpit of a Carrera. Now if this was a $100K Lexus, I would certainly expect more, but it's not that kind of a car.

Alan C.

I wasn't too happy that my 09 CS came with Bose but decided I wouldn't fight it. As it turns out it isn't bad at all. I did stuff the woofer which took about 30 minutes and it is a bit better sounding with this small mod.

The best sound mod was the new FVD cat back export system