Frino

Bought the Dension 500S to enable my 06 997S (with Bose) to communicate with my iPhone 4S. I can now send and receive hands free phone calls through the PCM and get streaming music from my iTunes and/or Pandora. In addition, the Dension has enabled me to migrate from a FM modulated XM set up to fully digital reception.

I purchased the device from Eric at Bumperplugs, who couldn't have been more professional and responsive. Had a professional installer (who was familiar with Dension products) put the device in the 911 without any issues. Then had my P-Dealer re-code my PCM to "see" a six CD changer rather than the single CD that came with the car.

After a day or so of phone calls with Eric and my own trial and error, I finally got the Dension to work properly. Sound quallilty through my Bose is excellent although it is a notch or two below what I hear when playing a CD.

The documentation that came with the device generally sucked and, absent Eric's guidance, it would have probably taken me at least several more days to figure everything out.

While this was far from a plug and play experience, I highly recommend the 500S for those who want to update their 05-08 997 with BT phone and music streaming capabilities.

dw.metro

I have the 2010 version and everyone I talk to via bluetooth can't hear me properly. Everyone complains that I sound like I'm far away. Has this finally been resolved with the new version?

DYKWIA

I am thinking about fitting one of these to my 997. I'm curious to know if you had to install the supplied microphone or if you were able to use the existing Porsche microphone? If you had to install the Dension mic, where did you put it? Is it fairly discrete?

Eric - Plug Guy

Glad to hear everything is working well now.

dw...you mean the older BTA units? They are adjustable if they are later models. Email me.

DY....use the Dension supplied mic. The gauge of wire used on the factory mic is very thin, and splicing is not recommended. Better location for the mic is above you, not at the column - so rearview mirror/dome area is what we always suggest.

eric@bumperplugs.com

Rhody

I plan to do the install of the Dension 500S this weekend, or possibly next week. After a few days of testing i'll let everyone know how it's working. I bought mine from Eric at Bumperplugs too and he has proactively sent me documentation, which was nice.

fastm3

I'd only buy one of these if I could go down to NC and have Eric install it for me himself!

Money Pit 951

I also have the 500S gateway and have been having a mixed time with it. I did not purchase it from Eric, found a local guy who was selling it for less, so my comments should not be taken at him and have no reflection of him or his company. I'm just talking about the Dension unit

Install - I don't have a CD changer, so installing the unit behind the head unit was easy and straight forward. I decided to install the remote input/USB part in the glove box so I pulled out the glove box unit to install it cleanly. Power came from the unswitched lighter in the pass foot well. Overall, maybe 1.5 hours to install and very straight forward. Just make sure you have the fiber loop all pointing in the same direction and you shouldn't have a problem.

Programming - Took it to the dealer to enable the CD changer and phone. The music functions seemed to work for the three weeks before I got to the dealer but the phone was hit and miss. Factor that into the cost unless you have a good relationship with your dealer, I suspect they'll charge you.

Overall - The music aspect of the unit works perfectly. Sound is clean and leaps better then anything FM tuner based. The interface to get to playlists and sort by artist are strange and clunky from the radio uniy. If you can do it from the ipod while driving it's much easier. I haven't figured out a way to create playlists on the USB storage yet and I'm not sure it's possible.

My biggest problem is with the phone functions - dialing from the car results in calls that can't connect because the number get garbled between the gateway and the phone. I've tried three different phones and all have the same problems so I'm fairly sure it's a Dension problem. I've traded maybe 20 Emails with Dension about this and it seems they don't have a fix. They've told me the core firmware for this system is a carry over from the old gateway and there are known problems with it. I've now tried two versions of test firmware and it's still buggy at best. Dension support is clearly overseas and I'm getting bounced around and response is slow.

Overall, it's been a good unit for music but if you're looking for phone functions like me, wait it out until they get their stuff together.

DYKWIA

Eric, do you have a picture of the Dension mic installed in that area? I'm pretty fussy about the interior of my car and it would bug the hell out of me if it was really noticeable.

B-Line

Putting mine in tomorrow.

DYKWIA

Really keen to see that mic fitted. Anyone got a photo? I'm guessing it can be fitted to one of the removable domes in the O/H console near the rear view mirror, but can it be discretely mounted so it's not particularly obvious?

Frino

Here's a (better) picture of the mic install.

SRT88

Could you please turn off the lamp on the roof? This way will be better because the light will not come directly into the camera lens.
All the Best

Musclehedz101

i have an 997.1 with Dension + BT and don't use hands free anymore due to too many callers on other end complaining about "echo". I tried adjusting via phone settings (BB not iphone) and mic position but no go...

I have iPhone5 on order so maybe will try again with new iPhone.

DYKWIA

Wow. That's REALLY obvious... Not liking that at all.

Rhody

I finally got around to installing my Dension 500s and getting the local dealership to program the PCM. A special thank you for Eric from Bumper Plugs for tech support. The Dension docs are terrible, but Eric was responsive and helpful. So far so good. All of the different audio connections work: bluetooth (super convenient), USB, apple cable, aux. And the bluetooth iphone intergration works nicely too. My callers say there's some echo on the line periodically.

The physical install was pretty straight forward too... lots of room behind the PCM for wire management and the Dension unit. I ran the connections to the glove box. The mic i placed by the rear view mirror running the wire across the top, tucked in the a-pillar, tucked in the seam between the a-pillar and the dash, within the door weatherstripping and under the dash to the back of the PCM.