gokkav

Hi all,

I have been offered a substantial discount on a 2012 Cayenne. It is very nicely specced except the audio. It has the base CDR31 (not even PCM).

Is there ANY aftermarket solution which I can resort to later on? Or will I be stuck with the base system forever, if I buy this car?

Any input will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

mudman2

No, get one with a decent system. Much harder to replace later

gokkav

Thanks Mudman. Is it just costly, or technically very difficult/risky to connect a new amp and replace the speakers?

mudman2

Abit of both, if your determined I am sure you can do it but it will be expensive

gnat

While its probably not something someone with no car audio experience will find "easy", I would be shocked if the Cayenne's system is difficult to upgrade. There are far worse cars to try to work with and at the core Porsche is still using standard components unlike BMW and Volvo.

If you want to do it and don't have a good understanding of car electronics and stereos, find a good audio shop that has experience dealing with these more integrated systems (e.g. stay far away from the likes of BestBuy and similar places). A good shop will listen to what you want and spend the time explaining how it all works and what the various numbers and ratings really mean. One indicator I've found is if they try to sell you on replacing all your speakers or if they explain to you what filler is and why the rear speakers don't have to be upgraded (unless you want to or regularly have people in the back listening to the stereo).

These days most gear companies are starting to move away from actual head units since they are becoming obsolete. Now they are starting to offer units that plug in between the MFG's head and wiring harness that clean up the audio signal, send it off to amps, and then send the final product to the speakers. As well as still appearing stock, these systems typically let you retain your steering controls and other functions as well.

Without knowing the exact specifics, I would expect to meet or beat the BOSE upgrade cost and end up with a better performing system. Hopefully, however, my car audio days are behind me, otherwise the wife is going to kick my *** if I start drilling holes and running wires again...

steve_Cayenne

Interestingly in Japan, every 2011+ Cayenne has the Porsche system swapped out for a Clarion unit at point of sale, which from the looks of it would upgrade the CDR to even better than PCM (but I imagine it is not without its flaw) ... more info in this thread if you missed it:

https://rennlist.com/forums/porsche-...up-camera.html

My car audio days are long gone as well, but if it is just more powerful audio that you are after, a good shop I imagine would be able to swap out some key speakers for better clarity, intercept the speaker outs - and run them through an appropriate amp, and put a sub perhaps in place of the spare tire. Car could still look stock.

I also have the CDR ... radio sound quality sucks, MP3 and aux-in from digital source decent, can even put out some passable bass. All in all, works for causal listening. Would be nice to have stereo bluetooth audio in, with control integration and cover-art however!

Some reviews even say the BOSE is not THAT much better ... need to move to the Burmester for serious sound! I have not personally listened to the Burmester, too rich for my blood!

gokkav

gnat & steve, thank you both very much. That's also what I thought: intercept the signal at the point where it leaves the CDR, enhance it, and send to the newly replaced speakers. Should be doable. A possible issue might be where to place the additional amp and finding good speakers which will fit the spaces of the original ones.. but a good audio shop should be able to deal with these.

I currently have BOSE on my Panamera and I don't think it's really high-end. But I suspect anything described as "crappier" by many people will only be good for listening to the news radio.

Do you know if this kind of aftermarket upgrade will void the warranty?

gnat

When we bought her 996 some older Porsche owners told us to not waste money in an upgraded stereo because all Porsche radios suck. We didn't listen and went with the top option at the time (like 7k iirc). They were right and we ended up having it replaced a few years later (much better system and for under $1500 to boot).

So this time I listened and didn't go with the upgrades (just PCM for the iPod interface) and if it really gets to me I know how to pull panels and run cable.

If you are in the US (sorry on my phone so I can't see), it depends. Elsewhere I have no idea about the potential implications.

In the US it would only void the warranty on the parts modified or that can be shown to be impacted by the modification. So if you hack up your wiring harness to get a new system in and then complain about electrical problems, you could be screwed. Most people, however, don't realize the onus is on the dealer/MFG to prove the modification is at fault rather than yours to prove its not.

So as long as you use harness adapters that just let you reconnect the factory parts, you should be good.

gokkav

that was very helpful. thanks a lot.

gnat

So I picked mine up today (base audio with PCM) and once I turned "loudness" off I was pretty happy with the range it produces. Of course it could be better, but once I get the treble and base tweaked just right I don't think I'll have an itch to replace/upgrade it any time soon.

My $0.02 would be to live with the system as is for a bit to see if it works for you or not.

TGED

Once you upgraded to PCM, it is not base system anymore. For the current Cayenne, you get 235 watts instead of 100 watts, 11 speakers instead of 10, 7-ch amp instead of 4, larger woofers on front doors. And it doesn't sound bad at all.

TGED

Forgot to mention you need to get PCM in order to get a USB input, and to me, having an USB is a must.

gnat

Yeap that's the only reason I got it. I thought the specs you listed were for the Bose system. Either way, to me as some that appreciates good audio, I'm happy I didn't spend the extra money for the upgrade.

TGED

Bose is 585-watt, including a 200-watt subwoofer, with 2 extra surround speakers at the rear. On my Panamera I have the Bose but on our newly ordered Cayenne, we left out the Bose because the upgraded PCM audio is very acceptable with very strong bass despite the lack of a subwoofer.