[Legend73]

Hello all,
I recently got a 2005 Boxster S and I want to update the head with a touchscreen unit. The car has the Bose option. There are a lot of options out there and the more I look, the more overwhelmed I get. Thanks for the help!!

 

[deilenberger]

It is pretty much a nightmare trying to pick one. I think first you want to decide what features on the head-unit are "must haves" - mine were Bluetoof, USB, iPod input, SSD card input, CD/DVD player, and Satellite Radio. Pretty much the full boat sort of thing, but I want lots of choices since I'm fickle when it comes to what I listen to. I also wanted a volume KNOB. Touchscreen is fine for most things except adjusting volume. With the knob it's amazing how much I actually do adjust it, I doubt if I go more than 10 minutes without tweaking the volume. It's easy to do without looking and being distracted with a knob... trying to do it on a touch-screen requires looking at the screen so you're instantly distracted.

I'd spend some time with Crutchfield. They have compatibility guides and pre-made wiring harnesses that make a swap fairly easy. Since you have the Bose option, there is one issue - you have a fiber loop audio interface going to the amp, and without an adaptor from fiber to wire it just isn't going to work, and the adaptors are rather pricey.

BTW - when you have a chance - please visit New Member Introductions and introduce yourself and brag a bit about your car - some photos would be nice.

Please update this when you do decide and let us know what you get and how it works out..

 

[George_L]

+1 on Don’s Crutchfield recommendation. I have found their product documentation and customer support to be excellent. Call them, explain what is important to you and I suspect they’ll have some ideas that will work.

 

[Legend73]

Thanks for responding and your input. Very helpful. Crutchfield is great!

 

[schwinn]

"Bluetoof" - love it!

My car came with a Pioneer EX501, which I actually like pretty well. It's not perfect (I hate that there's no volume KNOB) but it works well otherwise. The only concern I have is that there appear to be a lot of direct-wires to the speakers (copper)... so I'm not sure what they REALLY did back there. For now, I'm leaving it alone as it works well enough, but I would certainly think the optical-adapter route is the better way to go... I may try restoring mine to that setup, assuming the PO didn't remove the amps and such.

The only complaint I have is that because I'm not using the BOSE amps, the equalization is lost, so the speakers love to distort easily. It's one of the many reasons I hate blows-speakers. So, the EQ had to be set to "voice" to boost the mids while reducing the lows, as the speakers would distort VERY easily otherwise. Using the optical adapter should preserve the factory EQ and prevent this from happening, I imagine.

I'm thinking I need to replace the speakers with better ones, as blows-speakers don't work well without their custom amps and EQs.

 

[deilenberger]

I'm thinking I need to replace the speakers with better ones, as blows-speakers don't work well without their custom amps and EQs.

Have you checked the existing speakers for rotted rubber surrounds? Apparently, in some climates, this happens sooner rather than later (probably hotter climates) - but all speakers with the foam surrounds are bound to have this issue. I've repaired lots of high-end speakers with the issue, but I question if there are kits available for the oddball size car speakers tend to be.

 

[George_L]

Again, +1 to Don’s comment about deteriorating speaker surrounds. Mine were a sticky mess of disintegrating foam. I did not repair them, as Crutchfield had a relatively inexpensive replacement recommendation. Pretty simple swap and they sound okay to me. That said, I have modest expectations/needs for audio in a sports car.

 

[deilenberger]

Again, +1 to Don’s comment about deteriorating speaker surrounds. Mine were a sticky mess of disintegrating foam. I did not repair them, as Crutchfield had a relatively inexpensive replacement recommendation. Pretty simple swap and they sound okay to me. That said, I have modest expectations/needs for audio in a sports car.

I was looking on Suncoast's website under audio for the 987 series, and for the ASK audio system, replacement drop-in woofers are only around $47/each. At that price and with the ease of replacing them, that's the route I'd be taking if there was a foam problem on mine.

Here is the link: Audio & Radio - seems the prices are very reasonable for genuine Porsche parts...

 

[glen1035]

Hi
Consider the range of car systems made by Erisin. Fitted one in mt 2010 car that had sound plus amp system. Always bit of a faff but looks proper as it looks like the original one knob each side. Sorry for bad qual image.