Upgrading Factory Amplifier

[skins]

Question for you DIY'ers out there... I upgraded my dash and door factory speakers w/ new Alpines. They sound worse than the crappy Nokias that came out. Problem being that weak Nokia 4x40 factory amp. That being said, I am looking to upgrade it to a Blaupunkt THA plug & play amp. You can buy that amp (4 channel) plus a wiring harness from Crutchfield so that you don't have to run any new wires nor splice any existing wires. You just plug that wiring harness into the back of the Becker factory radio, then plug the harness you just unhooked from the back of the radio and plug it into the other end of the new harness, then hook remaining plugs into the amp. And you're done. My question is, where is the best place to mount the new amp? Under a seat? In the spot where the factory amp is located? That seems to make the most sense, but how do you get the wiring harness through the fire wall and into the front trunk area to hook into the amp? Any advice or previous experience on the board? Appreciate the help. BTW, this is going into a 99 Boxster... :cheers:

[boxs2000]

Question for you DIY'ers out there... I upgraded my dash and door factory speakers w/ new Alpines. They sound worse than the crappy Nokias that came out. Problem being that weak Nokia 4x40 factory amp. That being said, I am looking to upgrade it to a Blaupunkt THA plug & play amp. You can buy that amp (4 channel) plus a wiring harness from Crutchfield so that you don't have to run any new wires nor splice any existing wires. You just plug that wiring harness into the back of the Becker factory radio, then plug the harness you just unhooked from the back of the radio and plug it into the other end of the new harness, then hook remaining plugs into the amp. And you're done. My question is, where is the best place to mount the new amp? Under a seat? In the spot where the factory amp is located? That seems to make the most sense, but how do you get the wiring harness through the fire wall and into the front trunk area to hook into the amp? Any advice or previous experience on the board? Appreciate the help. BTW, this is going into a 99 Boxster... :cheers:

The door speakers probably don't sound well because the factory speakers are sub-woofers and it sounds like you put in full range speakers as a result, the signal that is being sent to those speakers by the factory amp is all low frequencies hence the bad sound. If you really want to improve your sound, put the stock door woofers back in, keep the Alpine dash speakers, add in the rear speaker kit and replace the deck/head unit. The source of the crap sound is the head unit and the amplifier just makes it louder! This is what I did to my uncles Boxster, I installed a new Pioneer Avic d3 navigation head unit, kept the factory speakers and amp, added the rear fill speakers and it sounds great! He wanted more bass so I installed an 8" foot well sub with rockford fosgate amp to power the sub only and it sounds awesome. I wish I would have just done that instead of gutting out my whole system and installing a full new system,2 alpine amps, mb quart speakers.

[skins]

Question for you DIY'ers out there... I upgraded my dash and door factory speakers w/ new Alpines. They sound worse than the crappy Nokias that came out. Problem being that weak Nokia 4x40 factory amp. That being said, I am looking to upgrade it to a Blaupunkt THA plug & play amp. You can buy that amp (4 channel) plus a wiring harness from Crutchfield so that you don't have to run any new wires nor splice any existing wires. You just plug that wiring harness into the back of the Becker factory radio, then plug the harness you just unhooked from the back of the radio and plug it into the other end of the new harness, then hook remaining plugs into the amp. And you're done. My question is, where is the best place to mount the new amp? Under a seat? In the spot where the factory amp is located? That seems to make the most sense, but how do you get the wiring harness through the fire wall and into the front trunk area to hook into the amp? Any advice or previous experience on the board? Appreciate the help. BTW, this is going into a 99 Boxster... :cheers:

The door speakers probably don't sound well because the factory speakers are sub-woofers and it sounds like you put in full range speakers as a result, the signal that is being sent to those speakers by the factory amp is all low frequencies hence the bad sound. If you really want to improve your sound, put the stock door woofers back in, keep the Alpine dash speakers, add in the rear speaker kit and replace the deck/head unit. The source of the crap sound is the head unit and the amplifier just makes it louder! This is what I did to my uncles Boxster, I installed a new Pioneer Avic d3 navigation head unit, kept the factory speakers and amp, added the rear fill speakers and it sounds great! He wanted more bass so I installed an 8" foot well sub with rockford fosgate amp to power the sub only and it sounds awesome. I wish I would have just done that instead of gutting out my whole system and installing a full new system,2 alpine amps, mb quart speakers.

I would rather keep the stock look instead of replacing the head unit.... I have read where that Nokia factory amp is really lame and underpowered. Wouldn't you think that adding an aftermarket amp to run all four new full range Alpines would greatly improve the sound? I think it would, I'm just trying to figure out where to put the amp and how to get the harness through the firewall if I put it in the front trunk location.

[matthewjamesdunn]

Yes, I too replacedmy dash and door speakers with Infinity Kappas. I've had them in other vehicles and they sound great. The dashes in my '97 sound really good now but the doors are still underpowered. The 6.5's can handle 75 watts RMS but the stock amp only puts out 40 watts. Not to mention the doors are two-way so I totally lose the high end because of the crossover built into the amp. I now want to put in a quality 4-channel amp that puts out 75-100 watts RMS per channel but the problem, like you mentioned, is wiring the thing from the trunk into the dash. On top of that, my HU is an aftermarket Eclipse that the previous owner put in, but the wiring he did was totally half a#*. There's been so many posts on sound systems upgrades for the box, and to each his own, but I feel like I opened pandora's box by getting involved with this.

matt

[gandrade1]

Question for you DIY'ers out there... I upgraded my dash and door factory speakers w/ new Alpines. They sound worse than the crappy Nokias that came out. Problem being that weak Nokia 4x40 factory amp. That being said, I am looking to upgrade it to a Blaupunkt THA plug & play amp. You can buy that amp (4 channel) plus a wiring harness from Crutchfield so that you don't have to run any new wires nor splice any existing wires. You just plug that wiring harness into the back of the Becker factory radio, then plug the harness you just unhooked from the back of the radio and plug it into the other end of the new harness, then hook remaining plugs into the amp. And you're done. My question is, where is the best place to mount the new amp? Under a seat? In the spot where the factory amp is located? That seems to make the most sense, but how do you get the wiring harness through the fire wall and into the front trunk area to hook into the amp? Any advice or previous experience on the board? Appreciate the help. BTW, this is going into a 99 Boxster... :cheers:

Is this the AMP you are talking about Blaupunkt THA475? The specs seem to be sufficient, while much superior to the HAES OEM amp's.

I would try to mount it in the trunk (original location) to avoid the mess of having to hide the wires in the cabin, find a good location (underneath the passenger's seat, maybe?). I would follow the existing wires to see how they go from the cabin to the trunk and try to route the wires through there....

I want to do the same conversion in the near future (for the summer)....So keep us posted.

Best of luck,

Gus

[skins]

Question for you DIY'ers out there... I upgraded my dash and door factory speakers w/ new Alpines. They sound worse than the crappy Nokias that came out. Problem being that weak Nokia 4x40 factory amp. That being said, I am looking to upgrade it to a Blaupunkt THA plug & play amp. You can buy that amp (4 channel) plus a wiring harness from Crutchfield so that you don't have to run any new wires nor splice any existing wires. You just plug that wiring harness into the back of the Becker factory radio, then plug the harness you just unhooked from the back of the radio and plug it into the other end of the new harness, then hook remaining plugs into the amp. And you're done. My question is, where is the best place to mount the new amp? Under a seat? In the spot where the factory amp is located? That seems to make the most sense, but how do you get the wiring harness through the fire wall and into the front trunk area to hook into the amp? Any advice or previous experience on the board? Appreciate the help. BTW, this is going into a 99 Boxster... :cheers:

Is this the AMP you are talking about Blaupunkt THA475? The specs seem to be sufficient, while much superior to the HAES OEM amp's.

I would try to mount it in the trunk (original location) to avoid the mess of having to hide the wires in the cabin, find a good location (underneath the passenger's seat, maybe?). I would follow the existing wires to see how they go from the cabin to the trunk and try to route the wires through there....

I want to do the same conversion in the near future (for the summer)....So keep us posted.

Best of luck,

Gus

Hi Gus- No that's not the one.... The one I'm considering is the THA-475PNP. The model you linked is the THA-475 but it's not the newer plug and play (PNP) model. The PNP is much smaller and the wiring harness you can buy with it from Crutchfield makes installing it a 2 minute job minus running the wiring harness extenstion to your mounting location. I thought about mounting under or behind one of the seats. It looks like it's small enough to do.... That one you linked is way too big to fit in the factory location. If you look at the specs, if you tried to mount it in the factory location, you would have to adjust or make another mounting bracket, plus the height of that amp would not allow the hood to close completely... I measured and the max mounting height (if you mount sideways like the factory amp) is about 7 1/2 inches. Link to the PNP is below.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...475P&tp=115

[juniinc]

maybe it's just me but I wouldn't go with Blaupuntk. they never really earned the name in that category.

For $320 I think can get a much better performance amp with very low distortion rating & mosfet power source,

so it can perform maxumum when its like 120F under the hood. How about power from the GODS? HAHA

[gandrade1]

Hi Gus- No that's not the one.... The one I'm considering is the THA-475PNP. The model you linked is the THA-475 but it's not the newer plug and play (PNP) model. The PNP is much smaller and the wiring harness you can buy with it from Crutchfield makes installing it a 2 minute job minus running the wiring harness extenstion to your mounting location. I thought about mounting under or behind one of the seats. It looks like it's small enough to do.... That one you linked is way too big to fit in the factory location. If you look at the specs, if you tried to mount it in the factory location, you would have to adjust or make another mounting bracket, plus the height of that amp would not allow the hood to close completely... I measured and the max mounting height (if you mount sideways like the factory amp) is about 7 1/2 inches. Link to the PNP is below.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...475P&tp=115

Sorry...

You are 100% right and the unit you are looking at looks great, but a little pricey for the brand.

Best,

Gus

[perryinva]

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

[skins]

Hi Gus- No that's not the one.... The one I'm considering is the THA-475PNP. The model you linked is the THA-475 but it's not the newer plug and play (PNP) model. The PNP is much smaller and the wiring harness you can buy with it from Crutchfield makes installing it a 2 minute job minus running the wiring harness extenstion to your mounting location. I thought about mounting under or behind one of the seats. It looks like it's small enough to do.... That one you linked is way too big to fit in the factory location. If you look at the specs, if you tried to mount it in the factory location, you would have to adjust or make another mounting bracket, plus the height of that amp would not allow the hood to close completely... I measured and the max mounting height (if you mount sideways like the factory amp) is about 7 1/2 inches. Link to the PNP is below.

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...475P&tp=115

Sorry...

You are 100% right and the unit you are looking at looks great, but a little pricey for the brand.

Best,

Gus

Gus- You can buy it cheaper off Ebay... Brand new... And dude even throws in a free pair of tweeters... Then you can buy the PNP harness from Crutchfield and also the extension harness depending on where you're going to mount the amp. The PNP harness is only 1 foot long so if you need more than that (which you most likely will) you need to get the extension, which Crutchfield has also.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BLAUPUNKT-THA475PNP-4-...1QQcmdZViewItem

[skins]

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

Here's the link to the PNP harness for the THA 475 PNP amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...015&tp=6348

And here's the extension to run the wiring to the front or rear trunk area...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...amp;i=023THA25M

These two harnesses and one of the THApnp Blaupunkt amps are all you need... No wiring, no splicing, no running new wires... Everything just plugs into existing wiring from your factory head unit, usually the Becker CDR220.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how you run the extension harness through the firewall... Anybody know??? Also, you may be able to mount this amp in behind or under one of the seats.

[gandrade1]

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

Here's the link to the PNP harness for the THA 475 PNP amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...015&tp=6348

And here's the extension to run the wiring to the front or rear trunk area...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...amp;i=023THA25M

These two harnesses and one of the THApnp Blaupunkt amps are all you need... No wiring, no splicing, no running new wires... Everything just plugs into existing wiring from your factory head unit, usually the Becker CDR220.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how you run the extension harness through the firewall... Anybody know??? Also, you may be able to mount this amp in behind or under one of the seats.

Man... now the amp looks even better...

I will probably pursue this in the near future, since I have already replaced the dash and door speakers and installed a rear speaker kit (which I fabricated). Right now I have gone a little over my budget on mods and I am doing the B&M short shifter install next.

One very....simplistic (maybe stupid) question...from someone who understands very little about audio - Anyway you can just place this amp in the OEM place and simply plug the OEM connectors/wires that come from the cabin (Becker) into the new amp? You currently have the 4X40 HAES, don't you?

Just wondering...

If you document your DIY it will be a great help for future attempts, like I intend to do.

Best of luck,

Gus

Edited April 1, 2008 by gandrade1

[skins]

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

Here's the link to the PNP harness for the THA 475 PNP amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...015&tp=6348

And here's the extension to run the wiring to the front or rear trunk area...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...amp;i=023THA25M

These two harnesses and one of the THApnp Blaupunkt amps are all you need... No wiring, no splicing, no running new wires... Everything just plugs into existing wiring from your factory head unit, usually the Becker CDR220.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how you run the extension harness through the firewall... Anybody know??? Also, you may be able to mount this amp in behind or under one of the seats.

Man... now the amp looks even better...

I will probably pursue this in the near future, since I have already replaced the dash and door speakers and installed a rear speaker kit (which I fabricated). Right now I have gone a little over my budget on mods and I am doing the B&M short shifter install next.

One very....simplistic (maybe stupid) question...from someone who understands very little about audio - Anyway you can just place this amp in the OEM place and simply plug the OEM connectors/wires that come from the cabin (Becker) into the new amp? You currently have the 4X40 HAES, don't you?

Just wondering...

If you document your DIY it will be a great help for future attempts, like I intend to do.

Best of luck,

Gus

Yes, I have that sorry Nokia 4x40 amp. This amp should fit right into the OEM location in the front trunk with a small modification to the existing bracket that holds it in place. Once you get in there, it may not need to be modified at all... As far as the plugs, here's what you do.

1. Put the keys into the left and right slots on the head unit to unlock the radio and pull it out.

2. Unhook the existing harness that's plugged into the back of the Becker.

3. Then, plug the $9.99 Crutchfield harness into the back of the Becker where you just unplugged the factory one.

4. Then take the factory harness and plug it into the other end of the $9.99 Crutchfield harness

5. Then hook the plugs from the extension harness into the other plugs on the $9.99 Crutchfield harness, then plug all the remaining ones on the other end into the new amp.

That's really all there is to it.... I've just got to find out how to get through that **** firewall with the extension harness so I can plug it into the amp. Once I get around to doing it, I'll take pics and post a DIY.

[skins]

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

Here's the link to the PNP harness for the THA 475 PNP amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...015&tp=6348

And here's the extension to run the wiring to the front or rear trunk area...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...amp;i=023THA25M

These two harnesses and one of the THApnp Blaupunkt amps are all you need... No wiring, no splicing, no running new wires... Everything just plugs into existing wiring from your factory head unit, usually the Becker CDR220.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how you run the extension harness through the firewall... Anybody know??? Also, you may be able to mount this amp in behind or under one of the seats.

Man... now the amp looks even better...

I will probably pursue this in the near future, since I have already replaced the dash and door speakers and installed a rear speaker kit (which I fabricated). Right now I have gone a little over my budget on mods and I am doing the B&M short shifter install next.

One very....simplistic (maybe stupid) question...from someone who understands very little about audio - Anyway you can just place this amp in the OEM place and simply plug the OEM connectors/wires that come from the cabin (Becker) into the new amp? You currently have the 4X40 HAES, don't you?

Just wondering...

If you document your DIY it will be a great help for future attempts, like I intend to do.

Best of luck,

Gus

Yes, I have that sorry Nokia 4x40 amp. This amp should fit right into the OEM location in the front trunk with a small modification to the existing bracket that holds it in place. Once you get in there, it may not need to be modified at all... As far as the plugs, here's what you do.

1. Put the keys into the left and right slots on the head unit to unlock the radio and pull it out.

2. Unhook the existing harness that's plugged into the back of the Becker.

3. Then, plug the $9.99 Crutchfield harness into the back of the Becker where you just unplugged the factory one.

4. Then take the factory harness and plug it into the other end of the $9.99 Crutchfield harness

5. Then hook the plugs from the extension harness into the other plugs on the $9.99 Crutchfield harness, then plug all the remaining ones on the other end into the new amp.

That's really all there is to it.... I've just got to find out how to get through that **** firewall with the extension harness so I can plug it into the amp. Once I get around to doing it, I'll take pics and post a DIY.

OK.. I've ordered the Blaupunkt THA475pnp amp. Got it for $249 online at OnlineStereos.com (Best Deal out there) Ordered the T-Harness (that's compatible with the Boxsters) and the harness extension from Crutchfield. T- Harness is 9.99 and extension is 54.99 but you need both to mount the 475 in the factory location. The T-harness is on backorder so it may be a few weeks before I receive it. When I do, I'll take pics during the install and post on here for anyone who is thinking of upgrading their sorry factory amp. :cheers:

[windbar]

What would you guys think of this solution for a stereo upgrade (Im really on a budget since there's so much other stuff I need/want to do):

1) Im replacing the factory head unit with an Alpine iDA-X200 - 16 watts RMS/45 peak x 4 channels

2.) Replace dash speakers with the 4" Infinity Kappa 42.7i speakers that people seem to love and I know can fit

3.) build the door baffle and replace the "woofers" with the Infinity Kappa 63.71, 6.5" 3 way speakers

4.) the head unit will be used to power all the speakers

the fancy option, which Id LIKE to do, but would more than double my cost and require way more time, would be to:

steps 1-3 from above

4) install the rear speaker kit

5) buy a 2 channel Blaupunkt THA275 (75 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms (120 watts RMS x 2 at 2 ohms - its on sale for 59.99 at Crutchfield)

6) have the head unit power the dash and rear speaker kit & have the amp power the Infinity 3 ways

Im thinking that option 1 would be more than sufficient, but I keep hearing from everyone that the rear speaker kit makes such a difference, that I just dont know.

Keep in mind that I dont even have the car yet (it arrives in a week and a half - a used 99), so I have no extensive experience with how crappy the system is (which is why I value all of your experience with the car); I just know it sucks from riding in it a few times. Also, Im only using this as my screw around summer car (Im in Chicago), so I will probably only drive it ~7 months a year.

Any opinions/help is appreciated.

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

Here's the link to the PNP harness for the THA 475 PNP amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...015&tp=6348

And here's the extension to run the wiring to the front or rear trunk area...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...amp;i=023THA25M

These two harnesses and one of the THApnp Blaupunkt amps are all you need... No wiring, no splicing, no running new wires... Everything just plugs into existing wiring from your factory head unit, usually the Becker CDR220.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how you run the extension harness through the firewall... Anybody know??? Also, you may be able to mount this amp in behind or under one of the seats.

Man... now the amp looks even better...

I will probably pursue this in the near future, since I have already replaced the dash and door speakers and installed a rear speaker kit (which I fabricated). Right now I have gone a little over my budget on mods and I am doing the B&M short shifter install next.

One very....simplistic (maybe stupid) question...from someone who understands very little about audio - Anyway you can just place this amp in the OEM place and simply plug the OEM connectors/wires that come from the cabin (Becker) into the new amp? You currently have the 4X40 HAES, don't you?

Just wondering...

If you document your DIY it will be a great help for future attempts, like I intend to do.

Best of luck,

Gus

Yes, I have that sorry Nokia 4x40 amp. This amp should fit right into the OEM location in the front trunk with a small modification to the existing bracket that holds it in place. Once you get in there, it may not need to be modified at all... As far as the plugs, here's what you do.

1. Put the keys into the left and right slots on the head unit to unlock the radio and pull it out.

2. Unhook the existing harness that's plugged into the back of the Becker.

3. Then, plug the $9.99 Crutchfield harness into the back of the Becker where you just unplugged the factory one.

4. Then take the factory harness and plug it into the other end of the $9.99 Crutchfield harness

5. Then hook the plugs from the extension harness into the other plugs on the $9.99 Crutchfield harness, then plug all the remaining ones on the other end into the new amp.

That's really all there is to it.... I've just got to find out how to get through that **** firewall with the extension harness so I can plug it into the amp. Once I get around to doing it, I'll take pics and post a DIY.

OK.. I've ordered the Blaupunkt THA475pnp amp. Got it for $249 online at OnlineStereos.com (Best Deal out there) Ordered the T-Harness (that's compatible with the Boxsters) and the harness extension from Crutchfield. T- Harness is 9.99 and extension is 54.99 but you need both to mount the 475 in the factory location. The T-harness is on backorder so it may be a few weeks before I receive it. When I do, I'll take pics during the install and post on here for anyone who is thinking of upgrading their sorry factory amp. :cheers:

[Roadster 986]

Having just installed the PNP rear speaker kit, my guess is you would be disappointed with option 1. And as for your description of option 2, the rear speakers would still be disappointing. In my Boxster, to hear the rears at speed powered by the CDR220 head unit the fader needs to be set so much to the rear that the front and door speakers are barely audible.

I was looking at that same Blaupunkt THA275 amp from Crutchfield, and plan on using it for the rear speakers, leaving the stock front and door speakers powered off the head unit. I’d even recommend going that route first, before replacing the dash and door speakers. Live with it a while, and see what you really want to hear… for me it really is that sweet note only the Boxster can produce--at about 6,000 RPM--but, sometimes rock & roll is a nice touch!

Im thinking that option 1 would be more than sufficient, but I keep hearing from everyone that the rear speaker kit makes such a difference, that I just dont know.

[perryinva]

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

Here's the link to the PNP harness for the THA 475 PNP amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...015&tp=6348

And here's the extension to run the wiring to the front or rear trunk area...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...amp;i=023THA25M

These two harnesses and one of the THApnp Blaupunkt amps are all you need... No wiring, no splicing, no running new wires... Everything just plugs into existing wiring from your factory head unit, usually the Becker CDR220.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how you run the extension harness through the firewall... Anybody know??? Also, you may be able to mount this amp in behind or under one of the seats.

Man... now the amp looks even better...

I will probably pursue this in the near future, since I have already replaced the dash and door speakers and installed a rear speaker kit (which I fabricated). Right now I have gone a little over my budget on mods and I am doing the B&M short shifter install next.

One very....simplistic (maybe stupid) question...from someone who understands very little about audio - Anyway you can just place this amp in the OEM place and simply plug the OEM connectors/wires that come from the cabin (Becker) into the new amp? You currently have the 4X40 HAES, don't you?

Just wondering...

If you document your DIY it will be a great help for future attempts, like I intend to do.

Best of luck,

Gus

Yes, I have that sorry Nokia 4x40 amp. This amp should fit right into the OEM location in the front trunk with a small modification to the existing bracket that holds it in place. Once you get in there, it may not need to be modified at all... As far as the plugs, here's what you do.

1. Put the keys into the left and right slots on the head unit to unlock the radio and pull it out.

2. Unhook the existing harness that's plugged into the back of the Becker.

3. Then, plug the $9.99 Crutchfield harness into the back of the Becker where you just unplugged the factory one.

4. Then take the factory harness and plug it into the other end of the $9.99 Crutchfield harness

5. Then hook the plugs from the extension harness into the other plugs on the $9.99 Crutchfield harness, then plug all the remaining ones on the other end into the new amp.

That's really all there is to it.... I've just got to find out how to get through that **** firewall with the extension harness so I can plug it into the amp. Once I get around to doing it, I'll take pics and post a DIY.

OK.. I've ordered the Blaupunkt THA475pnp amp. Got it for $249 online at OnlineStereos.com (Best Deal out there) Ordered the T-Harness (that's compatible with the Boxsters) and the harness extension from Crutchfield. T- Harness is 9.99 and extension is 54.99 but you need both to mount the 475 in the factory location. The T-harness is on backorder so it may be a few weeks before I receive it. When I do, I'll take pics during the install and post on here for anyone who is thinking of upgrading their sorry factory amp. :cheers:

Well, have you installed the amp yet...dying to know how it went...

[skins]

Ilike the idea, but I don't see where they make a PnP cable for any Porsche....

Here's the link to the PNP harness for the THA 475 PNP amp

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...015&tp=6348

And here's the extension to run the wiring to the front or rear trunk area...

http://www.crutchfield.com/App/Product/Ite...amp;i=023THA25M

These two harnesses and one of the THApnp Blaupunkt amps are all you need... No wiring, no splicing, no running new wires... Everything just plugs into existing wiring from your factory head unit, usually the Becker CDR220.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how you run the extension harness through the firewall... Anybody know??? Also, you may be able to mount this amp in behind or under one of the seats.

Man... now the amp looks even better...

I will probably pursue this in the near future, since I have already replaced the dash and door speakers and installed a rear speaker kit (which I fabricated). Right now I have gone a little over my budget on mods and I am doing the B&M short shifter install next.

One very....simplistic (maybe stupid) question...from someone who understands very little about audio - Anyway you can just place this amp in the OEM place and simply plug the OEM connectors/wires that come from the cabin (Becker) into the new amp? You currently have the 4X40 HAES, don't you?

Just wondering...

If you document your DIY it will be a great help for future attempts, like I intend to do.

Best of luck,

Gus

Yes, I have that sorry Nokia 4x40 amp. This amp should fit right into the OEM location in the front trunk with a small modification to the existing bracket that holds it in place. Once you get in there, it may not need to be modified at all... As far as the plugs, here's what you do.

1. Put the keys into the left and right slots on the head unit to unlock the radio and pull it out.

2. Unhook the existing harness that's plugged into the back of the Becker.

3. Then, plug the $9.99 Crutchfield harness into the back of the Becker where you just unplugged the factory one.

4. Then take the factory harness and plug it into the other end of the $9.99 Crutchfield harness

5. Then hook the plugs from the extension harness into the other plugs on the $9.99 Crutchfield harness, then plug all the remaining ones on the other end into the new amp.

That's really all there is to it.... I've just got to find out how to get through that **** firewall with the extension harness so I can plug it into the amp. Once I get around to doing it, I'll take pics and post a DIY.

OK.. I've ordered the Blaupunkt THA475pnp amp. Got it for $249 online at OnlineStereos.com (Best Deal out there) Ordered the T-Harness (that's compatible with the Boxsters) and the harness extension from Crutchfield. T- Harness is 9.99 and extension is 54.99 but you need both to mount the 475 in the factory location. The T-harness is on backorder so it may be a few weeks before I receive it. When I do, I'll take pics during the install and post on here for anyone who is thinking of upgrading their sorry factory amp. :cheers:

Well, have you installed the amp yet...dying to know how it went...

Actually, no... After some discussion with the tech guys at Crutchfield, they told me that Blaupunkt amp had way too much power and would blow those Alpines I already installed in the dash and doors. So I sent it back. Now, I'm going to order the four channel Alpine amp (F250) which pushes 40 watts by 4 channels, plenty enough to drive the 4" dash and 5 1/4" door speakers. So, it's still a work in progress.... Will take pics and document the install when I get around to it... :cheers:

Edited May 9, 2008 by skins