BigTex

I just had a local shop install a Pioneer AVH-2300NEX in my 997.1 with a Bose system. He claims the output in the head unit is more impressive than the Bose amp that came in the car, so he just bypassed the amp and removed it -- the speakers are powered directly from the new head unit. That said, they really sound awful -- the top end is shrill to the point of hurting my ears and the low-mid range is just missing. I always set my equalizers flat, as I feel like that's cheating -- and in this case, I know the speakers are capable of a lot more on the same source CDs. Has anyone had a real audio pro set up a similar Pioneer head unit on Bose speakers who would be willing to share with me the crossover settings, etc.?

For what it's worth, the capabilities are pretty impressive, and I don't miss anything I gave up in the stock head unit. Still working out the configuration settings, and once the sound gets sorted, I'll be a very happy camper.

Thanks in advance,

Noah

Kevinmacd

12v Nick

Kevinmacd is spot on here. Your installer made a poor choice in connecting the speakers directly to the radio output. What I usually propose for a "budget-conscience" replacement is to use a 4-channel amplifier to power the front stage and driver the rear speakers off the output of the new radio. You don't need to retain the center channel, and retaining the subwoofer is debatable – We actually get better bass response by powering the 8" woofers in the door with a good amplifier and tuning it in the radio EQ.

Your front speakers consist of an 8" woofer at the base of the door, a 4" midrange in the middle of the door, and a small tweeter on either side of the dash. The woofers have their own amplifier channel and the midrange/tweeter share a channel together. That's why you only need a 4-channel amplifier to power that section. You do need to make sure the amp you use has the proper filters since you should only play the 8" woofers up to 300-400hz and the midrange shouldn't play below that. We're actually getting into a project in a 997 soon using this method, and the amplifier we chose is the JL Audio MX280/4 for budget reasons. If you have a little more coin to spend and you want better sound quality, the KS125.4 Mini from ARC Audio is also an awesome candidate.

If you need some help working through the upgrade and getting everything set up right just shoot me an email and I can guide you through the right steps.

Nick

nick.akin@musicarnw.com

BigTex

Thanks so much, folks, this is great info and much appreciated. They were able to resolve things yesterday.

Take care,

Noah