paolotvl

When I bought my 2005 Carrera S this past May I was very upset about how lame the Bose system sounds. I did a lot of research on car audio websites and the common response is that the bose system in the 997 is a very low quality one. The speakers used are of the cheapest quality possible. If you were to replace these speakers with equivalent speakers available in the market you'd probably put together the complete set in the 997 (front 3 ways, rear 2 ways and sub) for less than $200. It is not easy to modify the system because of the wiring of the amplificator and for the fact the oem audio system doesn't have pre-outs to hook up different amplifiers. The main flaw of the Bose is in the crossover frequencies of the various speakers and the poor "acoustic pressure" on mid bass frequencies. The main defect of the audio is complete lack of what in hifi is called "presence." Alternatives are not easy and they often require to replace the onbaord computer with an aftermarket one which is something I have a hard time doing. One way to improve it is to put an RCA adapter on the wires going from the source to the amp/subwoofer. this will allow you to replace the oem amplifier/crossover with a nice aftermarket. Then you can replace oem speakers with nicer ones. you are looking at minimum $1500 without installation. If you want to replace the whole system, including the onbaord computer, this is as good as it gets, but it is really invasive: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...-navi-install/
The bad thing is that you "ruin" the factory look of your Porsche, you lose some functionality of the onbaord computer but you get a very nice nav system and complete Bluetooth/hands free compatibility/integration with smartphones and the like. This system will cost you minimum $5,000 installed (a nice nav system is $1200). I still have the Bose system, sooner or later I am going to replace the whole system. I am just waiting to find the courage to do it....

nkelley

Come on, if set correctly it's not that bad!

Menmojo

I prefer to just turn it off and listen to the sweet sound of the machine.
I'll leave the sound system for the Lexus and BMW guys....

BLKonBLKC4S

I ripped my Bose out. I went with the Pioneer Avic 130bt. I bought a bezel from euro motorsports and you can hardly tell it was not stock. I also replaced the speaker with Hertz seperates and added 3x8" in an enclosure behind the rear seats. Then I has an audison 6k. ( six channel amp) installed in the trunk. All the seperates are in the factory locations except the tweaters, which I had installed in the A pillars. The car now sounds like it should. The system sounds incredible and looks pretty stock. Once you listen to a "REAL" system you will never be happy with the Bose crap Porsche installs. Oh yeah IMHO

gasongasoff

PICTURES PLEASE!!!

hpowders

Porsche gets away with murder. $80,000 for a car with a crappy radio and no dimming mirrors.

stiles_s

I wonder if Porsche specifies a max weight for Bose as part of their specs. My guess is they do, which limits what you can achieve. By cheap speakers (in the Bose setup), are we talking about tiny and light magnets, or something else like foam instead of rubber baffles (forget what hte surrounds are called that allow movement)?

gasongasoff

We're talking paper diaphragms, plastic baskets, tiny magnets, and parts bin grade electrolytic capacitor for your tweeter crossover. But with a little active EQ, the system sounds passable.

George from MD

That's what I would call it- passable. I was very disappointed actually. The system in our 2001 X5 sounds better- the 2008 (Logic 7) blows it away. Obviously Porsche wants you to pony up an even more ridiculous amount for the Burmeister. Except on long trips I wouldn't care and can certainly live with it but it makes me wonder if the stock system sounds just as good.

Frontside720

Bose: HORRIBLE!!!

They make great headphones but as far as my system goes, it's brutal!

I put in a Kenwood GPS/NAV/XM/SIRIUS/DVD/Blutooth unit and added an amp to provide a little more power the speakers and it's still ****. I'm not an audiophile but I have never heard a system so ****ty.

I thought of changing the system but I'm not sure it's worth the $$.

So... go the gundo hack and now I just put the top down and enjoy my exhaust.

Still disappointing though.