modifier

When I ordered my GTS I decided I didn't need to spend the extra thousands on an upgraded sound system. One would think spending well over $100,000 on a car should get you a good system without the extras.

I looked at the specs of the system that came with the PCM and it appeared to be very similar to the Bose upgrade. Seems like I was told at one point that Bose made the stock speakers anyhow. I'm not an audiophile and I listen to NPR 99% of the time. I only really go to music if there is no talk.

What I have noticed is if a woman is speaking, and her voice is just high enough, at least 1 speaker sounds like it has a broken cone, or the wires are not fully connected. Kind of a buzzing noise similar to but more raspy then hearing a teacher talk in a Peanuts cartoon. Also if the man's voice it low the base it booming. I do not have loudness enabled and I have resorting to turning the base all the way down and the treble down 2 clicks from neutral. But it still sounds like crap. Turning things up just makes it worse.

I took it to the dealer with this problem, they hooked their "sound generator" up to it but could find nothing wrong and could not reproduce the speaker buzzing. The buzz only happens randomly with certain voices and no one is ever in the car with me at the time to verify which speaker it is coming from, but I think it is the upper speaker in the rear passenger door.

I think the PCM option upgrades the head unit but not the speakers. Still I have heard better stock systems in $30k cars.

Seems like a slap in the face from Porsche to provide such crap and the service manager said that speakers could not be upgraded after the fact.

I remember when I got my $40k 2000 Audi S4 with the Bose system lot's of people commented on how that sounded better then anything they had heard. They won't be saying the same about this POS.

I'm not asking for studio clarity, just acceptable performance.

philg3

If you want acceptable performance, you need the BOSE, but the BOSE is just that -- acceptable, nothing more.

sechsgang

Ya, it kinda sucks and its the weak point on the cars for sure. I've learned now that there are two options that really cost a load of money but end up providing a lot of enjoyment on a car I plan on having for a while...those being PCCBs...and the highest sound system available (burmester or b and o or whatever). Meanwhile, I have bose in my GTS an its OK...but legit just barely.

Dan87951

Order up some replacement Focal's and be done with it. I would even order a replacement subwoofer. I bet the difference is night and day even compared to the "bose" upgrade. If Focal's are too pricey look at Infinity, JBL, or JL audio lots of bang for the buck. This is coming from a audiophile that has Mcintosh and B&W Diamonds in his home.

Porsche charges extra for everything. To be honest, I'm surprised the wheels and floor mats are not extra! lol

gnat

Sucks that they don't seem to be doing anything for you, but what you describe is not normal for the PCM system. I have it and consider myself a moderate audiophile. It does leave a lot to be desired, but it's really not horrible.

What I would suggest is that you find something that does it consistently that you can play through CD/USB/AUX so you can take it in and show them.

You mentioned the Loudness option being off. That indeed turns the system into a pile of garbage (being on that is). Not sure how it got out the door with that "feature" "working" the way that it does.

It adds at least one, but I believe more, speakers and an amplifier that the base system doesn't have.

When we bought our 996 people told us not to waste money on any stereo upgrade from Porsche. They all suck and are way over priced. We didn't listen and got the top end system of the time. It was garbage and I ultimately had it redone for a fraction of the price with more feature and a far superior sound.

This time I planned to just go right to having a custom system built for it and didn't waste my money on the BOSE or Burm systems. As mentioned above, it's not great but it does well enough that I have found better places to spend the money.

DWPC

+1
Porsche seems literally tone deaf when it comes to entertainment systems. I've had new Cayenne and Panamera loaners and the sound hasn't improved over the grim Bose junk in my 06 CTT. If I were buying a new Porsche of any model I'd not spend a penny on phone/entertainment options and take it directly to a quality aftermarket shop for a decent upgrade; e.g. Pioneer + Focals, that I could enjoy for years. You were very wise and lucky not to order Bose...they use screwy proprietary speaker impedances and matching aftermarket speakers to the amp may be hard.

(tubed Conrad Johnson, a CI DAC, and Vandersteen 3As in the living room)

BlazinPond

After hearing all the complaining on Porsche forums re: how poor the Bose sound system is, i was expecting a pretty crappy system.

The newer (2011+) Bose Surround system in the Cayenne is pretty darn good if you ask me. I'm far from an audiophile, but i've upgraded my vehicle sound systems ever since i bought my first car at the age of 16. Prior to my CTT, i had a higher end "Dynaudio" Confidence Surround system in my Touareg 'Executive' model for comparison.

mudman2

you lot are funny

its a noisy truck

996 has an engine 6 inches from your ears

bigbuzuki

.....or they've got really good ears......

gnat

Can't speak to the older models, but the 958 is exceptionally quiet for its size. I had to put a bit over 200 sq ft of sound deadener in my old Escape to get it remotely as quiet and acoustically non-horrible.

I love the sound of her 996's engine when its revving high, but for normal driving it gets boring after awhile

TGED

Here are the improvements you get when you upgrade the system from base to PCM, one extra speaker which is the front center, 235w from 100w, 7-channel amp instead of 4-channel, large woofers on front doors, but the PCM does not give you a subwoofer, you need to get Bose to get it.

grohgreg

Having lived with the horrid base sound system for 17,000 miles in my 2011 Touareg, believe me - the Bose option in my 2013 Cayenne is well worth the money.

//greg//

dryadsdad

OP

Suggest that you see if you can dupe the buzzing with a C D. If so, you can dupe it for the dealer. If not, the issue is most likely the receiver. Either way, you've given the dealer a better shot at resolution.

philg3

Agreed. The Bose option is worth getting, even though it's over priced for the performance improvement. I have two 958's one with the PCM / no Bose, and one with the Bose. I'd give the no Bose sound a 3 out of 10, and the Bose a 5 out of 10.

Some of you have expertise to upgrade with after market products. I'd rather not do that, particularly as I recall the 955's used a proprietary bus -- MOST, and I wouldn't want to open that can of worms. Although, I suppose you could swap out the speakers with minimal risk as long as you matched up the impedance, size, and power handling specs.

Odd things can happen when messing with systems. The other day, the NAV stopped working on the 2012 958, because the flash drive for audio wasn't plugged in properly. Happened after the vehicle was serviced at dealer (brake flush / new spark plugs) -- nothing monumental, but weird things happen, and I'm not as adventuresome as some of you.

fast_freddy

For $1500 you can "upspec" your system to something quite nice at a quality AV store, meaning not BestBuy.