I have a 2009 Boxster with Bose and I had the same questions as you several months ago. If you search the electronics thread there is alot of good and related info.

I finally decided to replace everything except for the 7 or 8" bose door shallow depth woofers. The sound is awesome as I have the Avic 140 head unit, 5 channel JL 600 amp, and Focal speakers(tweeters in dash, rebuilt rear speaker box with focal 5.5" two way component). My total cost was within your 1500 budget but I only recommend to do this yourself only if you have previous car stereo installation experience.

(1) getting the head unit and most adapter kit from Loi will be relatively easy and will provide a really nice upgrade.
(2) you can replace the bose amp for the about the same money as the most and get another significant improvement in sound. This is what I did initially and replaced most of the speakers later. This took me a weekend to do but I was slow and careful.
(3) replacing the speakers was another huge improvement in sound and not too hard. I used all the existing speaker wire except for the rear bass box. The bass box had another small amp and some crappy bose speakers. I decided to rip out all that stuff and retrofit with the focal components. This was relatively straight forward.

It all depends on your priorities and any of the above options will be a big improvement. I am an audiophile so it was worth the extra hassle for (3).

Jim

 

Thanks for the reply. This may end up being a multi-phase project. I'm going to do some research on local installation places. Go in and talk to people. Hopefully I find one I have confidence in and if I do, I'll go the route of replacing the amp and HU (I will not attempt this on my own). If not, I may go with MOST HUR and do it myself (leaning heavily on Loi and this forum).

 

I'm going through the same Thoughts for my cayman. I've email Loi several times in the past months and think I have come to the conclusion that I will replace the amp. If the MOST hur box was less expensive than an amp, I'd be more willing to go that route but since they are similar cost, I feel that the improvement in sound should make it worth the effort to replace it all.

So I will probably go ahead with Loi's mounting kit and the jl audio 6 channel amp that is popular here. After that I'll decide if speakers are going to be replaced.

 

I replaced my HU and amp a little over a year ago. One of the best mods I have done. Didn't replace the speakers and the system sounds great.

 

I'm in the same boat. I want to replace the CDR-24, but don't want to pay hundreds for the MOST HUR adapter to keep the bose equipment. The alternative is to replace the amp, and then some speakers too. I've installed many car stereos/amps/speakers, so I'm not scared of tackling the job myself.

Here's my dilemma. If I replace the bose amp, I can get the JL 600/6, which fits nicely where the bose amp is currently in the front trunk. Put a nice set of components in the doors (maybe even 3-way), and new 4" speakers behind the seats. Probably lose the use of the center channel...and the factory sub (1 Ohm, can't drive it with the JL). To keep a sub, it would probably mean an 8" in a custom fiberglass enclosure in one corner of the trunk.

Here's how it breaks down:
Pioneer AppRadio / Euromotorospeed kit - $1200 (give or take)
JL 600/6 - $500
Amp kit/wiring - $150
3-way speakers - $500 (could spend more or less here)
4" speakers - $100
Subwoofer - $200
Custom sub enclosure - $300

And you're at $3k before you know it. A little more than I'm ready to commit at the moment. But that would be a pretty nice setup. Nav, BT, full smartphone integration, you name it.

Here's one of the threads that I've had bookmarked.
http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-boxster-electronics/59473-need-advice-upgrading-sound-system.html

 

That's exactly what I did - but didn't do the rear speakers or sub yet. The best part isn't the sound although it is so much better - it's integration of BT, Nav, iPod and Sat Radio with NO visible clues of any of it. Well the small mic on the steering column is visible but nothing else is. I can also stream music via BT. In fact - most people can't tell I have any aftermarket equipment in the car.

 

I also wish the MOST HUR option wasn't $850. It's just a huge expense to keep the bose amp that I'm not even that attached too. If it were cheaper, I'd go that route most likely just to save money and keep this DIY, but as it stands it doesn't seem it would be that much more getting a better amp (keeping my existing speakers). I still need to check out local shops as that may change my approach too (if I can find a place that is reasonable and has experience with my particular car).

Thanks for the link Jeffbrig. I've read most of the threads here about this topic, but that one I missed.

 

I wish I'd just replaced everything from the get go. I honestly spent the better part of a year installing/uninstalling/reinstalling and troubleshooting what should have been an "easy" MOSTAUX + iSimple interface install to get my iphone connected and "working".

I'll recant my tale of woe:

I started by taking my car to the expensive local shop. I figured I'll pay a lot once for a job well done, vs being bled out slowly. What I ended up with, was both. These butchers saw my install as a small potatoes job and treated it that way. What I received from them, was a large bill, and an iphone integration using a clumsy rocker switch. I also got back a radio that didn't work. Basically anytime the iphone was charging, it knocked out every radio station between 90-100Mhz. Now, for most people that don't listen to the radio, this would probably be fine. But I'm anal about keeping things factory, and explaining to a potential buyer of my car down the road, that it had iphone ability, but no FM radio, seemed like a hard sell. 3 trips back to this shop, and I ended up with more bills, and the same problems. They traded reception issues for alternator whine, and back.

Finally I lost it. I bit the bullet, and dove into taking everything apart myself (actually not a difficult job at all). I removed everything they did, restored it all back to stock, and started over. Turns out, among other things, the rocker switch they used was causing a ton of interference. There was also interference coming from the mostaux unit itself. I sent that back and got a replacement, replaced the rocker switch, rewired everything back up, and still am left with minor interference when the iphone is charging, and the need for a clumsy rocker switch to toggle the unit on and off. Also, a no longer "virgin" factory wiring harness, which I'll have to spend some time restoring when I yank all this stuff out.

Bottom line...When I add up all the aggravation, cost, headache, loss of sleep, etc of trying to solve this problem with a hack solution...I'd been better off just replacing the head unit from the get go. So my advice is...pick the most comprehensive solution within your budget, and go for it. And don't be afraid of working on this car yourself. If you have basic wiring skills, you can do this job. You won't break anything, this car's cabin is actually engineered quite well.

 

Thanks for telling your story Jason. That's actually the kind of story that I'm worried about walking into. It's what is making the MOST HUR option more and more appealing since there is allegedly no alternator whine (keeping it fiber) plus it's supposedly a basic DIY job. My installation experience though is next to nothing (I've put speakers in a car, but nothing beyond that), so I'm not sure I can trust myself not to screw this up.

 

I just did the Pioneer 940BT and full Bose integration kit from Loi... I also had an issue with the price, but my desire to be minimally invasive here steered me in that direction. While I'm a competent modder, Electronics and stereo installs are mot my area of expertise. The MOST-HUR is truly a plug and play. A handful of connections to be made but otherwise it all plugs in and integrates perfectly. Having Bluetooth, Ipod, and Streaming BT (one button Pandora from the HU) is perfect. Just back from a 1000 mile trip and having all those options was a joy.. I'm into it all for about $1350 and, while expensive, felt the upgrade was well worth it to me. The HU Equalizer compensates for a lot of any Bose deficiencies, and I plan to do the Tweet mods...Already stuffed the subwoofer. My only disappointment is FM reception with the stock antenna... I'm playing with options now to try to get that better.

 

I had the CDR24 with Sound Plus (no Bose).

Replaced it with a Pioneer AVH-X8550BT Pioneer AVH-X8550BT - www.pioneer.com.au

Replaced the ASK amp with an old Infinity 4-channel amp I had.

Replaced the woofers in the doors with real subwoofers GermanMAESTRO - Powered by MAESTRO Badenia

The head unit drives the door tweeter and mid, and the rears, the Infinity drives the subwoofers (bridged).

Dash center disconnected.

HOLY **** does it sound amazing.

 

is there a good reason why high end aftermarket head units have not started offering MOST built in?

 

There's been a lot of threads on this folks.. for what it's worth you're better off changing everything at once. Doing the changes in increments is interesting as you can gauge for yourself the improvements made as you swap out your HU, then amp, then speakers, then add a sub, etc.. And you have the car apart all the time. I would have to search for the thread where I posted the total cost of my system, but I think it was around $2k

 

There are a lot of threads, and I've read most of them. But it's not a clear cut choice for me. If you are looking for the best possible sound, then yeah. The choice is obvious - replace it all.

But I like the idea of keeping things as stock as possible so I have the option of reverting back to stock when I eventually sell. I also don't want to have to deal with alternator whine. Replacing everything also requires professional installation and it costs more (though how much more is open to debate). All these things are negatives to me, and at the end of the day it's more about function (iPod, bluetooth, etc) than it is audio quality - at least for me. I actually think the Bose setup sounds pretty good.