Aftermarket Sound Systems
11-13-2011, 10:10 PM
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Aftermarket Sound Systems
I am not thrilled with the sound of the Bose syatem in my '05 CTT. The speakers cannot handle bass and ,well, it just doesn't have the punch I enjoy. Also, I need my iPod hooked up.
I went to my fairly high-end car stereo shop and he told me it would run me around $500 just to integrate the iPod and bluetooth for phone. So I checked out the top of the line AlpineINAW910 ($1,200). It's a clean screen and I really like it but I think I will end up giving up the trip function, which I like.
We then discussed adding Hertz or Audison amps/speakers.
I would appreciate any aftermarket installs, with pix, any of you have had done to their Pigs.
I went to my fairly high-end car stereo shop and he told me it would run me around $500 just to integrate the iPod and bluetooth for phone. So I checked out the top of the line AlpineINAW910 ($1,200). It's a clean screen and I really like it but I think I will end up giving up the trip function, which I like.
We then discussed adding Hertz or Audison amps/speakers.
I would appreciate any aftermarket installs, with pix, any of you have had done to their Pigs.
11-13-2011, 10:55 PM
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I will take pix later, but here is what I did:
First, you may want to get alternate opinions than your stereo shop, because our cars use a fiber optic MOST system... so none of the aftermarket options will work directly with our car & speaker system.
That said, you have two options... upgrade your head-unit and remove all your speakers to swap out for conventional system (losing the rich depth of your BOSE sound processing and distribution to the OEM speakers)...
Or, get the fiber optic to analog converter. In my understanding, it works with only one or two aftermarket vendors.
I used this set-up in my Cayenne Turbo and loved it (Though I just removed it two days ago after only 1.5 months of use, as I upgraded to a newer model year with the PCM 3.0). I think I am going to sell my system to try and recoup some of the THOUSANDS of dollars it cost.
I went with the Kenwood Excelon DNX9980HD. It has great navigation, traffic info, speach recognition, bluetooth/phone clarity, DVD playback, iPod playback, USB audio/video playback (which is great if you want to watch movies from a USB thumb drive), back-up camera with multiple view modes (Kenwood CMOS-300), SiriusXM tuner, steering wheel controls, AV inputs (I never used, but you can put video game systems, blu-ray players, etc into your car). The touch screen is great, and the faceplate is angle selectable. You can put any background wallpapers on it, switch the color schemes (hundreds of color options for both the display and buttons independently).
At any rate, I LOVED the added functionality while maintaining the phenomenal BOSE sound distribution. I am just unsure that I want to rip out my new PCM 3.0 and put this one in because my dealer may try to pull some warranty related issues. It pains me to put all that money into my car, only to have removed it so soon after I installed it.
Anyway, I hope the info helps. I think the converter from fiber optic to analog runs about $700... the headunit was expensive, and all the modules aformentioned add up quickly and unexpectedly expensive. When I first agreed to the stereo, I saw all the features on the box and erroneously assumed it was inclusive not itemized individual pricing. I was shocked when I saw the bill, and felt almost like I was cheated because the installer should have made that point clear prior to purchase.
First, you may want to get alternate opinions than your stereo shop, because our cars use a fiber optic MOST system... so none of the aftermarket options will work directly with our car & speaker system.
That said, you have two options... upgrade your head-unit and remove all your speakers to swap out for conventional system (losing the rich depth of your BOSE sound processing and distribution to the OEM speakers)...
Or, get the fiber optic to analog converter. In my understanding, it works with only one or two aftermarket vendors.
I used this set-up in my Cayenne Turbo and loved it (Though I just removed it two days ago after only 1.5 months of use, as I upgraded to a newer model year with the PCM 3.0). I think I am going to sell my system to try and recoup some of the THOUSANDS of dollars it cost.
I went with the Kenwood Excelon DNX9980HD. It has great navigation, traffic info, speach recognition, bluetooth/phone clarity, DVD playback, iPod playback, USB audio/video playback (which is great if you want to watch movies from a USB thumb drive), back-up camera with multiple view modes (Kenwood CMOS-300), SiriusXM tuner, steering wheel controls, AV inputs (I never used, but you can put video game systems, blu-ray players, etc into your car). The touch screen is great, and the faceplate is angle selectable. You can put any background wallpapers on it, switch the color schemes (hundreds of color options for both the display and buttons independently).
At any rate, I LOVED the added functionality while maintaining the phenomenal BOSE sound distribution. I am just unsure that I want to rip out my new PCM 3.0 and put this one in because my dealer may try to pull some warranty related issues. It pains me to put all that money into my car, only to have removed it so soon after I installed it.
Anyway, I hope the info helps. I think the converter from fiber optic to analog runs about $700... the headunit was expensive, and all the modules aformentioned add up quickly and unexpectedly expensive. When I first agreed to the stereo, I saw all the features on the box and erroneously assumed it was inclusive not itemized individual pricing. I was shocked when I saw the bill, and felt almost like I was cheated because the installer should have made that point clear prior to purchase.
11-14-2011, 01:36 PM
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I will see what I can dig up... but both of the reputable shops for high-end audio mentioned it... best buy had no clue how to get the head unit to operate without replacing all the speakers and losing the sound processing of the MOST system in the back.
I will say... this was the single most enjoyable change / upgrade to my CTT. The car was finally *modernized* with all the latest gagetry and technology. You even have the option to play internet radio (pandora, etc) through your phone. And it can play from 2 different ipods connected at the same time (obviously, it only plays one or the other... but if you have an iPod & iPhone you can switch between the two sources).
I will say... this was the single most enjoyable change / upgrade to my CTT. The car was finally *modernized* with all the latest gagetry and technology. You even have the option to play internet radio (pandora, etc) through your phone. And it can play from 2 different ipods connected at the same time (obviously, it only plays one or the other... but if you have an iPod & iPhone you can switch between the two sources).
11-14-2011, 02:24 PM
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11-14-2011, 03:15 PM
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I am not sure I believe everything on it ... seems like a bit too much marketing talk.
11-14-2011, 03:21 PM
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If you removed the system from your previous Cayenne, do you still have the optical converter or did it stay with the old Cayenne?
Which stereo installer did the work for you?
Did he leave all the Bose speakers and amplifier in the car and just install the headunit and this converter module?
What happened to the steering wheel controls?
Which stereo installer did the work for you?
Did he leave all the Bose speakers and amplifier in the car and just install the headunit and this converter module?
What happened to the steering wheel controls?
11-14-2011, 03:32 PM
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I am just finishing an install on my Cayenne using the Nav-Tv MOST-Head Unit Replacment adapter, The MOST -Hur works great, tech support was awesome (I switched the CAN-Bus wires, they figured it out over the phone in minutes). I went with the Kenwood DNX-6980, sounds great, every feature (BT, Nav, Ipod, Sirius, Pandora, DVD) even the steering wheel controls work without a special adapter. Now if I can figure out the reverse camera wiring, went with a camera thats intergrated with the license plate light off of Amazon, directions are a little lacking.
11-14-2011, 06:10 PM
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If you removed the system from your previous Cayenne, do you still have the optical converter or did it stay with the old Cayenne?
Which stereo installer did the work for you?
Did he leave all the Bose speakers and amplifier in the car and just install the headunit and this converter module?
What happened to the steering wheel controls?
Which stereo installer did the work for you?
Did he leave all the Bose speakers and amplifier in the car and just install the headunit and this converter module?
What happened to the steering wheel controls?
The installers who mentioned this were Auto Audio & Euro Car.
They left all the Bose Speakers intact, and the sound was even better than the factory system because the head-unit had many more levels of adjustment and dolby settings.
The steering wheel controls worked perfectly. In fact, when I hit the "MAN" button on the steering wheel, it would toggle between presets and manual tuning (which I am not sure if that is how the original OEM stereo worked, but love that option).
11-15-2011, 02:19 AM
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The Alpine I was looking at has pretty much the same features as the Kenwood. Including steering wheel functions. I just happen to be an Alpine guy. But I figure if I have to come up with $500-700 for just an iPod hookup, I may as well modernise this puppy.
We also talked of going with Hertz/Audison amp and speakers (woofer and tweets)in the front only and leave the rest of the bose speakers intact. The Hertz are insanely clean and deep, but spendy. A grand for one pair with one amp.
BTW, I would NEVER take my Cayenne to a BestBuy or Car Toys outfit!
We also talked of going with Hertz/Audison amp and speakers (woofer and tweets)in the front only and leave the rest of the bose speakers intact. The Hertz are insanely clean and deep, but spendy. A grand for one pair with one amp.
BTW, I would NEVER take my Cayenne to a BestBuy or Car Toys outfit!