laalves

Michael, If you become a contributing member, you may ask Loren for the wiring diagram for your specific case. That's what I did!

This kit is not applicable to Bose 996s nor for PCM 996s. My TT had both. When I received these guy's kit I noticed that :( I used only the antenna adapter and used only the top strip of the surround.

Hi, That's because the Bose amp takes speaker level inputs, instead of the more common way, i.e., line level inputs. If you want to install a new head unit, you can either use the Bose amp by feeding it with speaker level outs of the new head unit (easier way) or remove the Bose amp and feed the speakers directly with your new head unit. I opted by replacing everything and installed a Clarion 2-DIN head unit, two Alpine amplifiers and replaced all Bose speakers with Focals of similar sized ones, keeping the OEM look. You can check my install in the 996TT DIY section.

Hi, Thanks for your kind words. Regarding 2-way vs 3-way speakers, I used Focals 2 way because I wanted to keep the original look of the car. I would have been happier with the sound of 16 inch 3-way speakers, but I decided to compromise with looks.

Thanks! None noted. Do bear in mind these are high efficiency digital amps thus they don't dissipate much heat. After, say, an hours drive at medium/high volume, they get a tad warm to the touch. They have never triggered their thermal protection.

So, while at the dealer to check the coolant consumption as reported in another thread, I had them check this too: new secondary air valve will be installed, under warranty.

Right, after noticing it was dropping in level again and after actually noticing some fluid drip puddling under the front left radiator, I took the car to the dealership. New set of radiators are getting installed due to corrosion, under warranty. Excellent! This must be due to my car's previous life in Germany in salt laden winter roads. No more of that in its current life, so they should be good for more than the next 7 years.

Went to a Porsche Driving Experience promoted by the local Porsche Driving School. Tracked a buch of 911s with PDK and Caymans. Amazing thing the PDK, even driving in full auto mode around the track. I must say what I enjoyed more was the 480 Turbo (I have a 996 420), what a fantastic machine. If I had the guts to pay for a new set of tires, I'd love to track mine and check it out. Still it is better to track somebody elses's money :D

Congratulations on a fantastic handywork and a great result!

Checking mine (which I removed), the top unit is the music part and is labelled Becker indeed. The lower unit (each is 1-DIN size) is labelled Siemens, as is the nav computer. I don't know who acted as the integrator: Becker, Siemens or Porsche itself.

Only one I know of: http://www.solisto.de/index.php?page=home〈=en

The slot is for a SIM card when the phone module option is installed. I think it was not available in the US. As for the iPod kit, there is no simple solution, except one from Solisto, I think, that will connect to the PCM via the CD-Changer interface. This will disable the CD-Changer and is quite limited in functionality.

I have a PCM head unit for sale, but I'm in Portugal, may be prohibitive due to freight, customs, etc. Luis

Right, after the first measurement and EQ run were done, I got to play with the thing again after the bass drivers installation modification described previously. The following three pdf files represent different situations: The first: Porsche_Audissey_1.pdf Before bass drivers installation modification, but no amplifier gain correction (all channels at 12 o'clock). The second: Porsche_Audissey_2.pdf After bass driver installation modification, but no amplifier gain correction (all channels at 12 o'clock). The third: Porsche_Audissey_3.pdf With amplifier gain correction. What I did was, by ear, match speaker levels using amplifier gain settings, then run the EQ process. The difference is dramatic in terms of SQ. This has been a learning process, and I thouroughly recommend closely following the instructions ( :P ), i.e., roughly equalise amp gain, AND using a PC, do not use the PXE-H650 standalone process, there's a handful of additional important options when using a PC. It is visible on the first file of this post that when the drivers were installed in unsealed boxes, there was significant bass rollof in all channels. This severe rollof disappeared from the front channels and from the subwoofer in the second file. It is still present in the rear channels due to them not having subs associated, just the fronts and rear bassbox, which is alright because I crossed them over at 120Hz to the the bassbox. I did the same with the fronts at 80Hz. Notice that trimming of all channels was large, going from +7dB in the RB speaker to -7dB in the sub, which were right at the maximum ability of the PXE-H650. So, the following step was to match channel gain, which I did and the results are visible in the third file. Notice how much better the door subs blend with the dash speakers, in the LF and RF graphs, even before correction. Also note the much flatter sub response. You may find strange that the high frequencies are rolled off in the "after" graphs, in all channels. That is my doing, since the place the tweeters are located makes them scream at my ears. Rolling them off like I did, makes the system sound pleasant, smooth and untiring. Also, the bass boost in all channels is also my doing, I did that to compensate for road and engine noise. After the whole deal, I can NOW say I'm finally happy with the way the system sounds! It is VERY good for a car system. Still no match for my home system, but I fully expected that.

Congratulations! Just last March I was in the same position as you were today, big smile, driving away from a Porsche dealer in my beautiful 996TT! It's now September and the smile only keeps getting wider everyday! Have fun!

Well, after living with the system, I felt that my bass was not good, muddy, out of focus and not as powerful as I would like it to be. This meant I had to modfy the my sub drivers were installed: I wanted to keep absolutely OEM look, so I didn't install the subs as Focal intended, i.e., in a sealed box. Now I had to seal the boxes. So I simply installed styrofoam very tight plugs in the door bass reflex ports sub boxes, effectively sealing them, and had to heavily modify the rear bass box: remove the woofers from their floor firing position and install them in a "up" firing position, while sealing the bass ports. Inside view of the modded bass box Completed bass box, no grilles installed Zoom of one of the drivers Completed bass box, with grilles installed. This is how I have them in the car, it is still decently OEM looking. Zoom of the same. I will add a pic of the box installed in the car. Guess what? After redoing the eq, the SQ is every bit as I wanted it to be! Some tweaking is still possible (will play a little with the head unit volume settings into the PXE-H650 and amplifier gains), but it is now very good!

Hi, You should try and get a 3-way kit from any manufacturer with a 3 way crossover. Most of the 3-way kits I've seen come with 6.25", which may be too big to fit. Alternatively, use a 2-way kit with a 5.25" mid bass driver and a tweeter and use the in dash receptacle just for the tweeter. I used two Alpine PDX4.150, totalling 8 channels. I bridged two of them for the sub and used the other 6 for everything else: two for the rears and four for the fronts. What you should NOT ever do is wire different sized speakers in parallel. The results are guaranteed to be absolutely horrible: different sized speakers will have completely different frequency responses, in some frequencies you will have unnatural boosts, in others sound will seem to disappear into a hole. Do not do that, your amps will not complain, but your ears will. Check my install in the 996TT DIY section of this site. Have fun!

Right, after installing the Clarion nav/mm unit, I decided to go on to the next step, replacing everything else. Being an hifi buff, and using room eq correction at home (using TAG McLaren AV32R DP and REW software), I had to have the same at my car. So, after loads of research, I came up with the following BOM: 4 x Focal 13WS - 130mm subwoofers): two went to the doors to replace the 11.6 cm Bose, two to the rear bassbox to replace the same size Bose units; 4 x Focal 100KP - 100mm cm mid driver and 52mm tweeters) to replace the indash and side-rear same sized Bose; 2 x Alpine PDX4.150 amplifiers - Small size was one of the choice factors, since I didn't really want to fill up the small trunk with amps. I needed eight channels, 2 of them being bridged. Because of the Focal speakers, I considered the Focal 4.75 amps, but these were A/B amps with low efficiency and too large. Same problems with my first choice amps, McIntoshes: these A class monsters would drain my battery in a matter of minutes with the engine off, and use most of the trunk!; 1 x Alpine PXE-H650 processor - the heart of the system: crossovers, time alignment and room correction equalizer. Lots of cables, connectors, tie wraps and other supplies. Bottom of rear bassbox, already with Focal 13WS units installed Zoom of the same Interior of the bassbox Zoom of one the Focal 13WS. These were wired in parallel, for a combined impedance of 2 ohm Rear speakers being modified. HAd to cut a lot of plastic to make these fit. Still missing is the toilet paper (!!!) fill, combined with epoxy glue to fill the still visible gaps General view of the system in the trunk PXE-H650 processor, installed using the CD-changer bracket Same thing Same thing Left amp, channels 3 and 4 are used for the in dash speakers, channels 1 and 2 for the door subs Right amp, channels 3 and 4 are used for the rear speakers, channels 1 and 2 bridged for the bassbox Only modification visible inside, the IR sensor for the PXE-H650 remote. The single largest part of the work was rewiring the speakers: had to remove most of the trim and carpet of the interior of the car. I used leftovers from several generations of my home theater setups. For the bassbox, I used TAG McLaren F3-SPK cable, all the rest being Bandridge Flex Speaker cable, 1.5mm2 and 2.5mm2. For the rear speakers, I used 2.5mm2 due to the longer lengths required, for the in dash, 1.5mm2. To connect the crossovers to the drivers/tweeters, I used the biwire version of the Bandridge Flex 1.5mm2 cable. Unfortunately, I was unable to rewire the door woofers, I didn't have the required supplies available required to redo the inner door insulation, if I went on with that bit. I rewired them only from the firewall onwards. This increased resistance a bit, but most likely not noticeable. file____C__Program_20Files_...pdf After folowing the calibration procedure using the supplied software, these are my results, using a choice of target equalisation curve To pass cables, I used the service grommet in the left footwell (drilled holes in it and then sealed it with silicone), plus two other rubber grommets (to pass cables from the battery "wet" area to the trunk itself), which I also drilled in the available areas around the cable bundles already there. In all, a full weekend, plus a week of evenings work, added by a bit of money, and that's the result: an extremely good sounding system, way, way better than the original stuff (never liked a single Bose system ever...).

Interesting. In my 2002 TT, it is not! The wiring goes from the Bose amp to somewhere. I suspect it is under the bass box in the back. BTW, I just finished replacing the whole system with aftermarket stuff. Will post shortly my mods in the TT DIY forum.

Hi, Glad you could solve your issues. You mean Clarion will release a frame for the 996 in November? That is great! Who is your dealer?

Ah! You found the Bose sub amp? Where is it located? I haven't been able to find it yet to remove it also, I just bypassed it. I would like to remove it also to sell it. Thanks in advance, Luís

Hi, 1 - The Porsche GPS antenna is connected to the back of the nav computer, not to the PCM main unit. You need to remove it also. 2 - The actual microphone is behind the round grill on the left of the instrument cluster. As for schematics, I'll PM you; 3 - The CD changer is hooked to the PCM main unit. See the PM I'll send you. Have fun! Luis

Hi again, I think you won't regret it! Use it in combination with an iPhone 3G and you'll beeven happier. Trillieunaire is a forum member who devised the kit on ebay (the one in my link) and his brother sells it for him. Again, if your car does not have PCM, it is very useful. If you're replacing your PCM1, then you don't really need that: you will need, however, a radio antenna adapter (DIN to ISO) and the "Clarion 2DBKT Universal 2-Din Mounting Sleeve" Any doubts, just ask; send me a PM. BTW, I actually bought this from a German online dealer: www.caraudio-versand.de, who I recommend thouroughly. They even offered me a very nice discount and threw in the Clarion 2-DINkit I referred free of charge.

Hi, When I was planning EXACTLY the same thing, I bought this: http://cgi.ebay.com/97-04-Porsche-996-Boxs...1QQcmdZViewItem. However, I found out that this is not very good for a car with PCM, it's much easier to use the existing parts already in the dash. If you have a car with the normal Becker fit, then this is the way to go. BTW, I dropped this idea and went Clarion when I found this: www.avic411.com, and learned about all the troubles that plagued the F series. Some of the problems were reportedly solved with Firmware update 1 (No 2 may be just lurking over the horizon, no one really knows) I never looked back, the Clarion MAX983HD (N/A in the US) is fantastic in all respects, and I keep reading terribly disapointing reports in that site, even after the firmware update.... I have posted a couple of nothes in the DIY section.

You know what? The Clarion wire bundle has ACC power reversed with IGN power, exactly as VAG/Porsche cars.... When I installed this unit, I reversed these wires, because I assumed the Clarion bundle were as anyother radio I had installed previously, i.e., ISO compliant. Not. So, I just reversed the wires again and all is well!