[Solsland]

Hey all, I have recently upgraded my 2006 Cayman S head unit to a Kenwood DNX8160S. Whilst the sound is reasonably crisp, it has absolutely no punch to it. I went to my local ICE centre today and they are advising me to install a sub amp.

I pointed out that the car already has an amp and that I wanted to just install a sub in a surround with the most desirable location being the rear boot. The guy I spoke to has said that the stock amp will not be able to drive a sub and that I need to go with a sub amp.

Can anyone confirm whether this is the case? I have seen sub installs (on here) that appear to be stand alone. I have a sub amp lying around from a previous car but it is quite bulky and I would prefer to just go with a sub in a custom housing rather than the sub amp.

Advice much appreciated

 

[Cayman Ed]

Hey all, I have recently upgraded my 2006 Cayman S head unit to a Kenwood DNX8160S. Whilst the sound is reasonably crisp, it has absolutely no punch to it. I went to my local ICE centre today and they are advising me to install a sub amp.

I pointed out that the car already has an amp and that I wanted to just install a sub in a surround with the most desirable location being the rear boot. The guy I spoke to has said that the stock amp will not be able to drive a sub and that I need to go with a sub amp.

Can anyone confirm whether this is the case? I have seen sub installs (on here) that appear to be stand alone. I have a sub amp lying around from a previous car but it is quite bulky and I would prefer to just go with a sub in a custom housing rather than the sub amp.

Advice much appreciated

You need an amp to drive a subwoofer and the factory amp you have now is dedicated to power the door speakers only and does not have enough juice to power additional subwoofer. Try considering powered subwoofer. I have a Cerwin Vega VPAS10 slim fit sealed 200W 2 Ohm 10" powered subwoofer that fits easily in back seat of my 981 Cayman if you want to save the trunk's space. It is punchy (I posted my project's experience in 981 Electronics section of the forum) but if you really want deeper extended bass, go with big box sub at the back trunk. Good Luck.

 

[Solsland]

Thanks for that

 

[Solsland]

Can you recommend speakers to replace the factory ones that are in the cabin by any chance?

 

[Kmac]

I replaced factory base door/dash speakers with Audison Prima APK 165 components. Not cheap but not super high end either. I don't think the factory amp has enough power for the speakers so you will have to consider the options.

I have Diamond DPAS10 powered subwoofer (not sure why it is $100 more) very similar to the Cerwin Vega model Cayman Ed mentioned. It works well but if you want to rock the block you need something else. Personally, I am only worried about the cabin. Good thing my wife is short as the few lost inches mean very little. Cheers

Ken

 

[Rosa]

Does your Cayman already have the Bose speakers/amp installed?

 

[jeffbrig]

Want to add some punch? I recently put a JL Audio stealthbox in mine (as part of a larger stereo install, look for my thread), and it'll give you a serious back massage if you crank it up. 13" sub, on a JL amp rated at 500 watts rms on the sub channel.

If you want a good laugh, here's the Bose "sub" next to the JL stealthbox, for comparison purposes...

 

[Cayman Ed]

That Bose subwoofer is more like a 6x9 or even less with a small amp.

 

[jeffbrig]

I think it's more like 4x6

 

[SSearchVT]

I've gone through this with a few of cars in my past. Car stereos in general come down to a simple question - How much money do you want to walk away from? The Cayman adds an extra kicker - It's a noisy car. The tire noise, the engine behind you, etc. Are you looking to build a sound studio, or do you just want to be able to listen to music while you drive? That said - The head unit doesn't have the power to handle a real sub. Before you start adding speakers to the system - How do the speakers already in the car look? Are they all working? I've popped a few door cards in past cars and found water damaged speakers, toss in a $50 name brand unit and the whole system comes back to life... As far as adding a sub. I've seen some small powered units that could fit under the passenger seat, and there are some smaller amps that could fit in the glove box and run a separate sub. For a car as small as the cayman you could even buy a decent set of 6 1/2's and mount them in the door.

 

[jeffbrig]

If you think the Cayman is a noisy car, you really need to take a ride with me in my S2000. Compared to that car, the Cayman cocoons you like a Lexus... :hilarious:

FWIW, I've fixed the stereo shortcomings in both cars.

 

[SSearchVT]

If you think the Cayman is a noisy car, you really need to take a ride with me in my S2000. Compared to that car, the Cayman cocoons you like a Lexus... :hilarious:

FWIW, I've fixed the stereo shortcomings in both cars.

It does all need to be taken in perspective. My neighbor has a Cobra with a 427 and side pipes. You don't even bother trying to talk to each other!