Bliyun

Hello everyone, I have decided after hours of research that the factory bose amplifier and CDR23 is gonna go. My CDR23 broke down a couple weeks ago and from then to present, I have learned much about the complications of altering the factory sound system due to certain obstacles (i.e. MOST fiber optics). It seems as though the general consensus is for one to replace the factory amplifier (located in the front trunk near the spare) with an aftermarket alternative, as well as replacing the headunit for an aftermarket one as well. I have done half of this, purchasing a Kenwood KDC-X995 as the replacement headunit, but haven't gone around to purchasing an aftermarket amplifier yet. So far my aims is to go for the Alpine PDX-5, 4-channel + mono rated at 75w x 4 and 300w x 1, as the replacement amp, but the question isn't in what amplifier would I like to get, rather, how I would wire the factory speakers to the amplifer.

I haven't found any additional information on anybody's success stories on proceeding through this route other than completing it, and I would like to ask if anybody has information on the speaker wiring of the MOST boxsters with the rear deck subwoofer.

In fact, I have more than one question, but first here is information on my car.

2003 986 Boxster with Bose Premium Sound (CDR-23 headunit - MOST bus with amplifier)
-Rear Deck speakers (2) with subwoofer

Questions:
-what type of speakers are in the doors? 6 1/2? sub-woofers?
-is the entire sound system considered a 6.1? (2 front dash, 2 doors, 2 rear deck, 1 sub @ rear deck)?
-if so, running a 4/1 channel amplifier would render 2 of the speakers useless, which is O.K., but i need confirmation on whether this assumption is correct at all?
-anybody know more information on the factory subwoofer? DVC? SVC? workable with aftermarket amps?
-wiring diagrams for harness to aftermarket amplifier?
-any known issues?

Many of these questions are unanswered by many who claim to have done such a modification to the sound system. In addition, most of the information that I have gathered is from owners of 996's and 987 caymans, and very little on the 986 Bose setup, making this procedure ever harder to plan out and follow through with.

Any help would be appreciated, I am currently driving without the radio, and I cannot live with another CDR23. Bekker has disappointed me like it has many and I refuse to pay $7-800 on a replacement from Porsche.

Thanks.

sjfehr

My CDR-23 is failing, too, so I feel your pain! Real shame Porsche chose to put such a lousy head unit in these cars; unsurprisingly, there have been quite a few people replacing it. There have been a few very detailed threads with people replacing their CDR-23s here and on Renntech. I can't find the links offhand, but I'm sure you can find them in a google search. It's virtually identical on 2003-4 996 as well.

The Bentley Repair manual has full wiring diagrams of all the systems; I believe it includes MOST, too. As a new owner, you're well served picking up a copy regardless.

dbazos

I had a dead cdr-23 when I bought my 2003 boxster S last year. I removed the stock amp and deck and replaced them using the existing Bose speakers. I ended up using a 4 channel amp for the door and dash speakers, and a 1 channel amp to run the rear sub. Tweeters are feed off a channel from the deck. I guess that I could have used 2 channel amp instead, but using the deck output worked fine. The only important thing to remember is that Bose uses 1-2 Ohm speakers, so I used 2 Ohm amps. It may not be an exact match for the speakers, but its better than using 4 Ohm amps and burning something out. The system has 550 watts and sounds great, and has had no issues for the last 8 months. I had Best Buy do the install and they had no problems. The deck I used was the JVC KD-R820BT which gave me bluetooth handsfree, ipod integration, and even lets me stream running apps from my iphone. I have no complaints about this upgrade.

bjsbuds

These are all my exact same questions and after researching for two days I haven't received answers yet either. Various forums' members indicate this has been discuss so many times, but I can't find any specific answers to help me in replacing my 2003 986 S with CDR23/Bose/Rear Deck/MOST system just like you have. Were you able to obtain the answers?

I am trying to figure out what type of speakers for the doors I should be replacing , along with my head unit and amplifier. The only thing I have narrowed down is that I want to order 4" Focals for the dash and modify the brackets. I want to do as little rewiring as possible, but don't mind having to modify the existing brackets.

Anything you can share is appreciated.

SpawnyWhippet

I am trying to re-install a factory CDR23 and Bose amp in my 2004 C4S cabrio that had Bose from new. The previous owner installed an aftermarket Kenwood headunit (and Alpine amp) which has all kinds of flashing light displays and complex menus, which looks awful.


I have the factory mostly hooked back up except for the following:

1. My CDR23 powers up but I get an error 'Protect'. Does the radio need to be coded to the car, and if so, can this be done with Durametric Pro, or only PIWIS/PST2?

2. Cannot locate the amplifier end of the fiber cable, where does this emerge from the bulkhead?

3. All the speaker wires on the old Bose amp connector have been cut and used to connect to the output of a replacement Alpine amp. I guess this means the Bose 2 ohm speakers have also been replaced with aftermarket? Is it better to retain the Alpine amp instead of replacing the speakers?

4. If I do retain the Alpine amp, will the CDR23 connect to the Alpine amp via the CDR23 speaker outputs, or have these been disabled so it drives only the fiber output? If disabled, is it possible to re-enable via Durametric or PIWIS?

5. If I go ahead and re-install Bose speakers, how many speakers are needed? Does the 04 C4S cabrio only have door speakers or others elsewhere?

JayG

IIRC, the CDR23 is coded to the immobilizer. I don't think a durametric can do that coding, only a PIWIS or PST2