whojoemama

Question: has anybody out there installed an aftermarket stereo system in a 981? the guy who spec'd my car did no nav, no bluetooth, no satellite radio, no backup camera. otherwise car is perfect for me.

Please describe what you put into your car and how it's working out. Also, would you do it again or do you wish you never touched it?

Thanks!

jtedgar

[QUOTE=whojoemama;16560907]Question: has anybody out there installed an aftermarket stereo system in a 981? the guy who spec'd my car did no nav, no bluetooth, no satellite radio, no backup camera. otherwise car is perfect for me.

Please describe what you put into your car and how it's working out. Also, would you do it again or do you wish you never touched it?

I have the TRANSIT BLU HF (Bluetooth and Hands Free calling). It is an FM modulator from iSimple. It works great and leaves the OEM equipment untouched. I use my iPhone for music, navigation, etc. playing through the Bose system. Check it out on YouTube.

various cheeses

I did. I got the base radio in my 981 specifically to tear the whole thing out and redo it, and if your car is a daily driver like mine, then yes I'd say go for it. I personally hate integrated infotainment bull**** in newer cars, and I love the way the 981 has separate screens for separate functions: the gauge cluster for the car, center screen for the music/nav (although I actually just stick my phone up in a holder to get waze in a 3rd separate screen).

I would recommend not going too high-end for the speakers like I did, since the car is noisy, and you'll lose out on some fidelity. I used a small Mosconi amp/dsp combo under the passenger seat where the Bose amp would normally go, a 3-way set of Illusion Audio speakers in the doors along with some sound deadening, and a backup camera. It all looks stock at a glance. I think the base system had 6.5" speakers in the doors originally, but you can fit up to 8" woofers in the doors to get some extra bass (will need custom brackets). Just make sure you watch out for the internal door stop. One of my speakers was oriented where the door stop would knock the leads off when shutting the door. There's a double din kit from Suncoast or somewhere that looks oem, just shove in your head unit of choice. The usb slot in the glovebox is missing in the base radio, but you can just buy the insert from the Porsche parts department for like $3 and wire it up. I did this all back in 2016, so there may be a better amp/DSP option available, just talk to an installer you trust. A subwoofer will get you way more bass than the door speakers, but you'll have to make a compromise on space somewhere.

If I were to do it all again, I'd maybe go with more mid-range speakers, but that's it for the setup. The guy who put my system in did an okay job on the camera and head unit install, but totally dropped the ball afterwards. Blew speakers testing, the aforementioned door stop chop, forgot to tune and time align the DSP (which I paid for). Luckily the speakers were replaced for free, and he did do the time alignment, but the guy still screwed me. I wouldn't even call the tuning a half-assed job, more like a fifth of an *** or even less. Turns out the crossovers were all out of spec, the equalization was only applied to one of the three pairs of speakers. The tuning I got fixed by another guy who I wish I used in the first place. Sounds great now - a properly tuned DSP/EQ is really amazing.

Reborn996

Did an aftermarket install with Pioneer... post below.


https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...=896803&page=1

jtedgar

how much do you want to spend? The TRANSIT BLU HF was $350 installed. Also I have the Soul Power exhaust tips which are louder than OEM. I would spend money on the exhaust versus sound system.

Tamerz

I would love to do this, but from what I understand I'd lose the parking sensors. At least that is what the kit here says: https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/PK9X1BOSE.html

The trade off is not worth it to me. I wish the parking sensors would show up on the cluster display.

rhirshberg

so I have a 2013 981 with Bose system.
imreplaced tweeters with a pair of Hertz tweeters. Got from woofer etc for maybe $150- major major improvement
then since I already had a custom 8” fiberglass enclosure mfg. for my last 986 Boxster…. And it still fits just about perfect in the front passenger footwell, I decided to use that for my new 981- also saddled a 500 watt mono Arc Audio amp… sounds very good but not great as the signal the sub amp gets is just ok… really need to replace head unit or integrate in a good sound processor. Overall it sounds a lot better

i really would like to replace factory radio so I could add a rear camera. That would be a big plus and the sound system would be much better. Then I would add a front amp and separates in the doors.

DaveGee

I just replaced the factory head unit and had a rear camera installed this week. Had it professionally installed actually. I also have Bose.

Unfortunately, picked it up and left town for a week, so additional reviews will have to wait.

DaveGee