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326 Posts
My 08 came with the basic 4-speaker factory stereo with no amp and no rear speakers. I have been hanging around here for months, looking for a cheap solution, and there really is none. I just installed the AVIC Z110BT and added new Boston Acoustics 4" speakers in the rear. Expensive, yes, but the cost wasn't nearly as much as I expected. It just takes some careful shopping and a good installer who is not totally greedy.
Another installer had told me that adding rear speakers was a big problem, that the wiring would be difficult and that they had to create a new frame to hold the speakers, etc. (wanted to charge 10 hours' labor). He was estimating $2300 and still reusing the CDR-24, and didn't act very interested in my job, either. He was highly recommended by other Porsche owners, but I think his main qualification was high cost.
The installer I went with only needed 6 or 7 hours to install the Z110BT and also the rear speakers, and to prewire for an amp and subwoofer. Even though he didn't have Porsche experience, he had a lot of other experience and also was enthusiastic about doing the job. His work was excellent -- no damage to the car at all (the other idiot damaged the car when doing his estimate!). This guy charged me $600 including the labor, Boston speakers, wiring, materials, and taxes. Since I got the Z110BT for $1200 at Nebraska Furniture Mart on a price-match, minus the $200 rebate, and the Euro Motorspeed bezel cost $250, my grand total was $1850 after rebate.
Sound quality overall is at least 200% better than stock, i.e., the difference is night and day over the stock system. I love having the rear speakers, you cannot imagine the difference -- if you don't have them, you don't know what you are missing. I am running a lot of the sound through the rear speakers so it overcomes the engine noise at speed, and the various adjustments on the Z110BT are also very helpful. Since I'm already prewired, I'm looking for a subwoofer enclosure to fit into the back and an amp to fit in the frunk compartment. JL Audio has an XD400/4 amp that is very small and appears to fit, but I'll wait to accumulate some more $$$ before upgrading further.
I haven't posted pictures of my setup because the rear speakers are hidden and the unit itself looks absolutely identical to RSchwerer's, posted elsewhere (same color, same bezel, same color interior). The Euro-Motorspeed bezel is a perfect match and the installer had no trouble with the kit at all. You'd have to look VERY closely at the car before you could even tell this isn't a factory unit. The lack of knobs or buttons on the Z110BT contribute greatly to this kind of appearance.
As for the Z110BT itself, I'm very happy with the sound quality and it's nice to have the navigation, but the navigation has produced some pretty squirrelly results and the voice recognition is more trouble than it's worth. Also, the Bluetooth works good in the garage and around town, but seems to not pick up my voice at all when at highway speeds. Maybe the car is just too noisy? The mike location is in the steering column in the same location where the factory mike would be. Anyone know of a more sensitive mike?
Another installer had told me that adding rear speakers was a big problem, that the wiring would be difficult and that they had to create a new frame to hold the speakers, etc. (wanted to charge 10 hours' labor). He was estimating $2300 and still reusing the CDR-24, and didn't act very interested in my job, either. He was highly recommended by other Porsche owners, but I think his main qualification was high cost.
The installer I went with only needed 6 or 7 hours to install the Z110BT and also the rear speakers, and to prewire for an amp and subwoofer. Even though he didn't have Porsche experience, he had a lot of other experience and also was enthusiastic about doing the job. His work was excellent -- no damage to the car at all (the other idiot damaged the car when doing his estimate!). This guy charged me $600 including the labor, Boston speakers, wiring, materials, and taxes. Since I got the Z110BT for $1200 at Nebraska Furniture Mart on a price-match, minus the $200 rebate, and the Euro Motorspeed bezel cost $250, my grand total was $1850 after rebate.
Sound quality overall is at least 200% better than stock, i.e., the difference is night and day over the stock system. I love having the rear speakers, you cannot imagine the difference -- if you don't have them, you don't know what you are missing. I am running a lot of the sound through the rear speakers so it overcomes the engine noise at speed, and the various adjustments on the Z110BT are also very helpful. Since I'm already prewired, I'm looking for a subwoofer enclosure to fit into the back and an amp to fit in the frunk compartment. JL Audio has an XD400/4 amp that is very small and appears to fit, but I'll wait to accumulate some more $$$ before upgrading further.
I haven't posted pictures of my setup because the rear speakers are hidden and the unit itself looks absolutely identical to RSchwerer's, posted elsewhere (same color, same bezel, same color interior). The Euro-Motorspeed bezel is a perfect match and the installer had no trouble with the kit at all. You'd have to look VERY closely at the car before you could even tell this isn't a factory unit. The lack of knobs or buttons on the Z110BT contribute greatly to this kind of appearance.
As for the Z110BT itself, I'm very happy with the sound quality and it's nice to have the navigation, but the navigation has produced some pretty squirrelly results and the voice recognition is more trouble than it's worth. Also, the Bluetooth works good in the garage and around town, but seems to not pick up my voice at all when at highway speeds. Maybe the car is just too noisy? The mike location is in the steering column in the same location where the factory mike would be. Anyone know of a more sensitive mike?
