[foodbiker]

Hey gang,

Just wanted to follow up here with some cool information about replacing and upgrading my busted 987 SPP (Sound Package Plus -- NOT BOSE) speakers in my 2010 Boxster. After 255K miles, the door speakers were toast likely due to heat, humidity, and just plain wear -- as 242K of those miles from the original based Georgia original owner. Plus, as the interior was looking a bit sorry when I bought the car, I wouldn't be surprised if the last owner just blasted the speakers until they tore.

This being said, although I'm a musician -- I'm admittedly not a die-hard audiophile when listening to recordings. Plus, I simply don't have the funds to spend a fortune on this project. I figured that if I could get something that would be close enough to the great BOSE sound in my former 987.1S and my current 981 Outlaw, that would be more than fine with me. I want a full sound with crisp highs and deep lows; it's about fun music on the road while also enjoying the song of the flat-6 engine; I don't need studio monitoring perfection. I also didn't want to spend the time or money on a dedicated amp, subwoofer, and extra wiring. I also don't need a subwoofer powerful enough to loosen ceiling tiles or tooth fillings. Finally, I wanted to do this once and do this right for the life of the car -- especially as the DIY door card removals can apparently be very trying on a 987.

Going back a bit, I already had the crappy ASK amplifier tested, and that wasn't the problem per the original hiss and buzz. So after dropping in an inexpensive (new-in-box) Sony head unit last year with CarPlay (that I bought for $175 on Craig's List last winter), that was a help. Plus, I already did the rear parcel shelf speaker project (4x Kicker speakers) last summer which helped create better audio imaging in the cabin. So, replacement speakers were the next stop on my audio journey as the original OEM speakers were clearly burnt toast.

Anyhow, after tons of searching, a lot of people had various opinions on how to best accomplish this on a budget. A lot of people weighed in with different solutions on the 987 Owners Group (Facebook), and the solutions were dizzying. A key issue at play involves the shallow door depth and finding shallow speakers that would fit. Apparently Audion speakers fit just great and are fantastic, but they are wicked expensive and I don't think they'd perform well when powered by the low wattage ASK amp. Was there anything reasonably affordable, yet simple out there?

Well, a lot of people have replaced their OEM 8" speakers with various inexpensive 6.5" speakers, and re-using the original 8" speaker grill. As I don't have a subwoofer and didn't want to make a monster project of this, I wanted as closest to the 8" I could get.

In short, I've pulled the trigger on Focals. These didn't seem nose-bleed expensive but are apparently a great upgrade from OEM. I figured since I was already doing the replacement, it was time to pay the money to replace the mids by the same manufacturer, and ideally have them match.

So as of writing this (March 2023), here's what I just ordered from WoofersEtc.com this afternoon:

IS200 - Focal 8" 2-Way Component Speaker System with Grills​

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IS200 - Focal 8" 80 Watts RMS Component Speaker System with Grills​

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Focal ISN-4 Shallow 4" 40 Watt RMS Mid Woofers​

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Focal ISN-4 Shallow 4" 40 Watt RMS Mid Woofers​

So, the cool thing is that I reached out to customer service at WoofersEtc.com -- and was able to obtain a promotional discount for me to share with you: At checkout, enter in promotional code Porsche5 -- which will give you an extra 5% off your purchase (as of writing this). That drove the price down to just under $400 (free ground shipping and no sales tax) -- which seemed great for what I was getting. FYI - they didn't give me any special discount for passing this info on, Food Biker / Road Feast promotional consideration, or any of that. This was simply one of those things where they encouraged me to pass on the code, and gestures like a small discount are always worth sharing.

Anyhow, the ASK system (SPP) seems pretty obscure as most of the 987 systems appear to be BOSE. There were no clear wiring diagrams easily available...and it took a while to figure out how to get the rear speakers going last summer (I forget what I tapped into down at the ASK amp). You can read up on the rear speaker project elsewhere -- it's easily found online as many people have done this before. Basically I set up two sets of ~3" Kicker speakers in parallel, which then directly tapped off the ASK amp. This AMP, BTW -- is under the passenger seat on a 987.2 and may be in the frunk on 987.1 models.

Meanwhile, a really cool guy on Facebook (in the aforementioned group) named Lyndon Conrad Bell (Thanks, Lyndon!!!) steered me towards these speakers and already gave me a ton of great advice. He made and posted this amazing ASK diagram, which really helps make sense of things:

So as you can see, The head unit drives the 4" door speakers. Wired in parallel to these are the front L and R channels, which are apparently easily replaced with the tweeters that come with the 8" woofers. I think the passive crossovers from Focal go in between the new tweeters and the new 4" speakers... but I'll have to make sure I ordered the right kit?!?!?

Also, keep in mind that some of the IEN speakers are 2 ohm. But especially if you're changing out your HU (head unit) like I did, they usually handle 4 ohm speakers so it's likely not a problem. I think that with the OEM HU and 4 ohm speakers, you just have to crank the volume up (from what I understand)...

So especially if you add rear speakers, you get a nice audio image in the car. Interestingly, the ASK amp take's the HU signal and drives the two 8" woofers and separates out a single center channel... while the HU drives the rears (if installed), the 4" mods in the doors and the front L/R tweeters in the dash.

Finally, as apparently the door card removal/install is a PITA, hopefully I'll get into each side and will only have to do it once. I already ordered a bunch of extra door clips (I think it was $10 for a bunch as they WILL break), some inexpensive sound deadening material from Amazon and a small roller (apparently makes a difference) and I plan to tighten everything while I'm in there (door squeaks, etc.) Plus, apparently the 4" and the tweeters drop right into place with no mods necessary, but apparently I will have to modify and reuse the baskets of the old 8" OEM speakers. Not sure how that's going to go but we'll see.

Stay tuned for updates!

 

[foodbiker]

Thanks, @newold_m ! I have a feeling (from the kind gent who steered me towards the Focals) that we can just reuse/modify the old grills from the OEM 8" -- but that will be a piece of the puzzle.

Looking at that link you posted, it says the hole is cut for a 5.5" speaker...so I doubt that those would work -- but it says "Standard cutout diameter is 5.5″ but we can change this to whatever you need, just ask." Did you try phoning them as well? Again, a lot of people buy inexpensive 6.5" speakers to drop in there and zip-tie them into the cages -- but I want as much big boom as possible (LOL)!

Apparently the speakers are on their way. I asked a rep at WoofersEtc about the crossover yesterday, and they seemed to confirm that the crossover (capacitor) is already inline with the tweeter, which should make things easy. Apparently we just remove the original tweeter in the dash (front L and R) and those should have the crossover already there. In turn, we just replace the tweeters that come with the 8" (wire them to the 4" in parallel), and we're good to go. Apparently the 4"is a direct fit.

Fingers crossed here!

 

[foodbiker]

I'm definitely going to make the stock grill work, but it's a question of reusing the OEM 8" basket internally -- mounting it inside the basket may be kind of difficult and that's where I'm expecting to be tripped up. Meanwhile, the basket itself should mount just fine. FWIW, I ordered exactly what was in the link above -- so I don't know if it's the "ISU" or not.

 

[foodbiker]

@tiiger -- "non-Bose" refers to either (1) the standard (aka, base) package, or (2) the SPP package (ASK amp), which was the next tier up. These run with just standard wires. The next tier up is Bose, which has a dedicated subwoofer and also utilizes fiber-optic wiring per the HU, etc.

If you check out the above diagram, SPP has the 8" woofers and the 4" midrange in the doors. The tweeters are in the dash. But what I will be doing here, is because the Focal 8" comes with a tweeter, apparently I can just replace the OEM tweeter with that one...as a drop-in replacement (which is wired in parallel with the 4" midrange in the door). Hope all this makes sense.

I think the last time I looked up stuff on Crutchfield, I personally a bit confused per their diagrams...

 

[foodbiker]

Again, I think it'll just be an even swap per the crossovers (I think they're already inline with both the OEM and the Focal tweeters), so hopefully it's a non-issue.

Check some of the threads here - I think a lot of people like the Rockford-Fosgate as an easy an inexpensive solution to mount in the trunk, but YMMV.

Also, FWIW -- don't be surprised if audio places are leery of being paid for their design time and not doing the labor. A lot of places (including mechanics) hope they'll do the work and not just the diagnosis/planning...as they make a little money by marking up the parts, etc.

 

[foodbiker]

It may be difficult for me to see the crossover in the Focal tweeters, but the rep at WoofersEtc. seemed to think they're built-in; I'm pretty confident that the capacitor will be easily seen once I remove the OEM tweeters. Fingers crossed...and as I said...I think the most difficult part will be mounting the Focal 8"s into the OEM basket -- but hopefully that'll be easily sorted. Cheers!

 

[foodbiker]

Challenge flag accepted, @Topdown -- I may be wrong, but pretty much what I understand -- the signal from the HU comes all the way down to the ASK....and then recodes it to spit out the two door woofer and center channel. I was surprised with all this, but that's how it seemed.

What I can confirm for you, and is pertinent here for your question, is that I successfully did the rear parcel speaker project (101 Projects For Your Boxster) with my 987.2 Boxster, by tapping off the wires to my ASK amp underneath my seat; no Cayman ASK amp required. I'm afraid I don't remember which ones they were, but they were pretty easy to figure out and tap off of, once the seat was out of the car. There appeared to be rears on mine at the ASK but they weren't being used -- which was great.

Having done it, I would STRONGLY just suggest that anyone who wants to do it -- just do it the right way and buy the $300 prepackaged kit from Suncoast and be done with it; my trying to modify OEM parts to fit much better Kicker speakers was a PITA and wouldn't have been that much of a cost savings overall. Do a quick search here on P9 per @deilenberger and read his article on that. Trust me -- either spend about $200 in parts and waste a ton of time, or spend $300 and get quickly set up -- complete with the factory connectors.

Finally, I absolutely recommend installing rear speakers in a 986/987 Boxster -- as it gives far better audio imaging. Does it offer a ton of extra volume? Absolutely not. But it makes the car a much fuller experience (like a 5.1 theater) -- for a shallow space that our Boxsters have.

 

[foodbiker]

No, @tiiger -- The link you posted to was an aftermarket radio install kit -- which I personally think is horribly overpriced.

What I was referring to was this:

987/986 Boxster Rear Speaker Kit​

In short, you could build the kit from scratch from the book project

(https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/89-ELEC-Rear_Speakers/89-ELEC-Rear_Speakers.htm)​

Meanwhile, there are far better speakers than the OEM ones, and Euro Motor Speed made up these ready to install kits.

Again, I built mine as a hybrid setup using salvaged parts from a 986 speaker shelf (OEM speakers were all rotted out) and the same four Kicker speakers Euro Motor Speed uses (Four DSC350 speakers) in their kit.

In short, my experiment worked -- but I would absolutely not repeat it. I would have saved a lot of time by just going with the Suncoast kit -- especially as Euro Motor Speed manufactured custom metal mounts that brilliantly hold the larger Kicker speakers and use the actual Porsche connectors. Trying to cut larger holes in the OEM plastic parts was a nightmare and made them wobbly as I had to remove way too much plastic from the OEM plastic panels -- so they barely fit.

 

[foodbiker]

Welcome to P9, @orbit398 - Glad to have you aboard. Make sure to introduce yourself in the new member's section and post pics of your ride.

Thanks for the link to the previous thread, and the ASK Amp diagram. I haven't looked at the diagram extensively yet, but at first glance -- that looks like the actual Porsche wiring diagram -- which would certainly supersede the diagram that the the gent on Facebook sent posted. Cheers.

 

[foodbiker]

That looks kinda neat, @orbit398 -- especially as you have the space back there. You may want to test that out and see how it sounds -- as that's easy enough to do. Just watch for the ohms per the rear vs. what's OEM (I think).

 

[foodbiker]

Will do; the speakers arrive tomorrow. Again, my key thing is figuring out how to somehow reuse the 8" basket and mount the Focals in there without some sort of adapter. Already have the sound deadening material and roller in hand. BTW, some people wind up disconnecting the center tweeter -- but I'm just leaving it alone. I personally wouldn't have bothered upgrading at all -- but I figure it's worth the investment for far better speakers as the OEMs are already blown.

Again, neat idea per the 6.5" -- The good thing is that with SPP, it's pretty straightforward and easy enough to try and see if you like the audio imaging in a test. I bet the sound is pretty great in a Cayman...

 

[foodbiker]

BTW - The speakers arrived a day early. From what I can see behind the backing plates of the Focal tweeters that arrived in the 8" kit, it sure looks like the crossovers (capacitor) are already soldered onto them internally -- which makes sense. So from what I understand, those are a simple and straight swap...as the OEM tweeters similarly have the crossover (capacitor) directly soldered on. No separate crossovers that came with that 8" Focal kit.

As for the 4", they came with separate inline crossovers, which I'm wondering if I'll wind up needing to put them inline with the 8"...and on which side (red/black?). Any thoughts, let me know. I'll have to go back and look at the diagrams when I have time.

 

[foodbiker]

Sounds good. I'll also take a look at the OEM speakers to see if/what might be in place. As I said, I'm pretty confident that I'll find the crossover (capacitor) already soldered onto the OEM tweeter...so that'll be a start.

 

[foodbiker]

🍿

And I think I followed your first post correctly... you're keeping the ASK amp, right? (You mentioned that wasn't contributing to buzz/hiss.)

Was it difficult to connect the new sony headunit to the ASK amp?

Yes, I'm keeping the ASK amp as that seemed fine and was bench tested by a place that specializes on them.

Started on the right door this afternoon. Not as terrible as I thought, but wear protective gloves so you don't get cut, etc. Removed the 4" and 8". Foam was completely gone in the former, and a laughably tiny wisp of it remained in the latter. No wonder the sound was so terrible. Tweeter was a bear to remove (I trashed it in the process), and I'm kicking myself for not wearing gloves during that as I'm realizing I'm bleeding as I write this. LOL!

FYI - To preserve the original wiring harnesses connector, as usual -- I'm going to just use PosiTaps everywhere.

Early assessments:

1) Focal tweeter might need the housing removed to drop in to the slot; unclear as of yet. UPDATE: You can remove the backing fairly easily (small slot in the side), as it's meant to be removed. With that, I think it'll be a drop-in situation. CROSSOVER: You can see the capacitor on the OEM as expected on the positive side, especially once you remove the backing.

2) 8" is the problem child as I had feared. Can't figure out for the life of me how to properly mount it. Just ordered two plastic 1/2" pre-drilled spacers on Amazon, which might hopefully mount to the door and the speaker. Couldn't figure out how in the world to easily re-use the basket of the OEM 8" -- but I could easily see how a 6.5" would easily fit inside without any issue. CROSSOVER: Here's where things get tricky. OEM speaker clearly does NOT have a crossover, but the Focal DOES. Not sure if I should bypass it or not.

3) 4" looks like a straightforward drop-in. CROSSOVER: As there is a capacitor soldered onto the OEM 4" but not the Focal 4", yes -- I will be installing the the included crossover. No instructions in that kit, but I'm fairly confident that it goes on the positive side -- as the inline crossover is on the positive side of the 8" Focal and the tweeter. Reading on the web, it may make no difference given it's a series circuit...but I believe convention has it on the positive side.


BTW - I completely expect to have set off the airbag light per the door removal. But as I have to go back in there anyway with my PIWIS 2, not a big deal.

 

[foodbiker]

@DS3 - Happy to help if I can. I ran into a major issue tonight the dash tweeters are not fitting; a lot of people have been able to easily shuck the earlier versions where they just drop in. These appear very glued together; unclear if I want to potentially sacrifice these (they'd run $100 to replace). We'll see...

@orbit398 - I'll keep you posted per a few pics and the ASK amp wiring coming into the door.

Stay tuned.

 

[foodbiker]

To try and answer your questions, @DS3 --

1) Tweeters are the ones that came with with the IS-200. In their current housing, unlike previous Focal models, they don't seem to be easily removed from their housings. They're slightly too big to fit into the corners as-is. Unclear if I want to take a chance destroying the plastic (and potentially destroying them) to make them fit.

2) Removing the OEM tweeter was very difficult as expected, but doable. I wound up destroying the OEM one in the process (no big deal) but wear gloves when you do it. Despite the fact that there are two metal clips that hold it into place in the dash, they didn't easily pop out as I had hoped.

Hope that clarifies things!

 

[foodbiker]

@tiiger - Yes I'm pretty sure that was the exact harness adapter I used, which went in the back of the Sony HU.

 

[foodbiker]

That makes sense, @schwinn -- especially as it is there to block frequencies. It was more of a question of just potentially bypassing it as opposed to removing -- given it was very strange not to see any crossover on the OEM 8".

Also very strange to see the OEM negative wire (stripe on it) from the wiring harness to affix to the crossover on the 4". However, I'll place it on the positive side during reinstallation.

Will keep you posted on the Focal 8" and it's crossover...

Pressing concerns are (1) the Focal tweeter disassembly and (2) modifying the OEM 8" basket to serve as an adapter for the Focal 8". Once those are ironed out, I think things will (ideally) move along a bit more smoothly.

 

[foodbiker]

Yes, @tiiger -- That's what in there: (997 645 021 00).

 

[foodbiker]

@DS3 - I’m going to gently pull out a yellow card here. If you’re knowingly saying things like “I don’t mean to hijack your thread but...” -- you are. Explanations aren’t excuses. Please don’t do it.

I appreciate your kind words regarding my expertise, what you hope to accomplish, and your potential self-insight. Nonetheless, hijacking a thread is a universally heavily frowned upon practice. Especially when it comes to non-vital subjects such as P-cars and car audio, nothing is ever so important to “cut in line” with one’s own topic and needs. Being kind and thoughtful ALWAYS comes first here on P9. End of story.

Please consider either opening a separate thread, or sending a private message to individual users for off-topic questions. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.