Upgrade Stereo Head Unit

[Dan888]

Good Evening,

I'm thinking of upgrading the CDR24 head unit (on my Boxster 987 MY06 ) with something from the Pioneer range, as they seem to be a great bang for buck.
Perhaps a Pioneer SPH-DA160DAB; https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/dab-car-stereos/pioneer-sph-da160dab-car-stereo-480150.html

Does anyone have any advice or experience they can share with this range and is this a DIY task?
I've watched some YT videos on how to remove the existing and it all looks fairly straight forward.

I have a few questions though;

1: The Pioneer units come with a head unit to ISO connector, I suspect the Porsche needs something to convert the ISO to the existing Porsche connector.
Are there different model specific flavors or is this a fairly standard piece of kit?

2: Do I need an entire fascia kit like this?
https://www.design911.co.uk/fu/prod133704/Double-Din-Fascia-Plate--Anthracite--Porsche-911--997----987-Boxster---987C-Cayman/
Or can I just get hold of a fascia plate as the cage seems to come with the head unit?

3: I saw a thread where someone had a gizmo to allow the normal aerial to act as a DAB aerial too without having to add a second one?

4: Is it common place to bypass the handbrake ground? Which functions do not work unless this is wired up to the handbrake or bypassed?

Cheers

[Paul P]

Have a look at incartec.co.uk.  They have a good system to tell you what you need.  There stuff is good but you often pick up the bits separately cheaper.

Depends on what you have to start with as to what you need but it's largely plug and play. 

Boxsters aerial is amplified.  As such a lot of the cab adapters don't work.  You may find something of be able to bypass  the aerial amp but I have only heard of that being done in 9x6 with the Porsche pccm plus. 

I fitted a similar unit to previous daily.  I grounded the handbrake cable because it was easiest to do that so it allowed was watching videos on the head unit not that I ever wanted to do that stationary or otherwise. But spending in the harness adapter / interface you need you may get handbrake on as well as lights and ignition on from there. 

 

 

[Dan888]

Sounds daft but is it easy to tell which installation I have?
I do not have Bose, so do I just have the entry level base unit? Or are there multiple flavors of that too?

My head unit is a CDR24
I have 2 tweeters in the dash and 2 woofers in the doors.
I don't seem to have multiple speakers in the doors like I have seen in some videos.
And there is a grille in the center of the dash but I'm unsure if this is a speaker or just a decorative grille.

Cheers

[Dan888]

19 minutes ago, Paul P said:

Have a look at incartec.co.uk

Thank you, That link seems to answer many of my questions...

So it looks like I need this kit:
https://incartec.co.uk/product/Porsche-987-997-Single-Double-DIN-stereo-fitting-kit-CANBUS-IGNITION-SILVER-FK-9591-IGN

Still a little confused about this though;
Quote: The adapter has a built in CANbus ignition interface that gives a key present ignition supply to the new radio.
 

[Paul P]

2 minutes ago, Dan888 said:

Thank you, That link seems to answer many of my questions...

So it looks like I need this kit:
https://incartec.co.uk/product/Porsche-987-997-Single-Double-DIN-stereo-fitting-kit-CANBUS-IGNITION-SILVER-FK-9591-IGN

Still a little confused about this though;
Quote: The adapter has a built in CANbus ignition interface that gives a key present ignition supply to the new radio.
 

That’s “switched power” the harness gives you permanent power.  The canbus signal basically tells the head unit to wake up when you turn the car on. And keeps it “on” after you turn the ignition off until you remove the key.  
 

you will likely find that same unit will supply “Lights on” so the head unit knows when to switch to night mode etc.  

ISO wiring expects those signals on the main loom bit a lot of cars (especially German ones ) depend on the cars computers for that   The canbus interface takes those signals and presents them in a way the head unit can consume them   

 

 

[Paul P]

41 minutes ago, Dan888 said:

Sounds daft but is it easy to tell which installation I have?
I do not have Bose, so do I just have the entry level base unit? Or are there multiple flavors of that too?

My head unit is a CDR24
I have 2 tweeters in the dash and 2 woofers in the doors.
I don't seem to have multiple speakers in the doors like I have seen in some videos.
And there is a grille in the center of the dash but I'm unsure if this is a speaker or just a decorative grille.

Cheers

There were 3 audio specs. Basic. Sound package plus ( amplified  made by ASK ) and Bose.  The difference between base and spp is the amp and extra speakers.  I couldnt tell you for sure since both my boarders have been spp so I don't know what the difference is.  If you have the option codes in the handbook of have done a vin/build  sheet on here that will tell you 

Centre too of cash is where the sunlight temp sensor is for the a/c there's no speaker there but there should be some either end of the cash and a couple in the doors I think

If you are referring to the small grill in between the temp and can buttons.  That's where the cabin temp sensor lives. 

[Dan888]

Paul P that's really helpful thank you for taking the time to post this info

[Ti Rich]

Having just done this as well (I have the basic system) I recommend changing the door speakers as well and adding sound deadening material to the metal around the speakers. This made a huge difference to the sound. I purchased the Vibe Slick Component speakers from Halfords for £53. There is no need to replace the tweeters on the dash as it made no difference at all. Just replace the 6" speaker in the door. They are really sensitive speakers and are easilly powered from the headunit without an amp.

The Pioneer headunit has a very useful digital filter built in. So you can stop really low frequences going to the 6" speaker. Using a 75 or 63Hz cut off works really well. Such a small speaker can't reproduce such low frequencies anyway.

Having done both the above i am really pleased with the sound but dont underestimate how much difference the sound deadening makes. Two sheets will be enough for both doors. This image gives you an idea of what to do:-

https://img1.wsimg.com/isteam/ip/ce17bba3-e33d-4d7b-a57e-027f67d6497c/IMG_5170.JPEG/:/rs=w:600,h:300,cg:true,m/cr=w:600,h:300

Plenty of videos on You Tube showing how to remove the door skin - it really takes 10 mins but buy some new clips off Ebay before you start as some will snap. Only about £3 for 10.

Next task for me is the reversing camera. If anyone has any help for that I would appreciate it!

Edited August 4, 2022 by Ti Rich

[Dan888]

@Ti Rich

Thank you for the info, that's really helpful. I'll look at the sound deadening too.

Which head unit did you go for and which fascia kit did you use?
Also, was it simply plug and play for the head unit?

[Dan888]

@Ti Rich I think one of my in dash tweeters is knackered... Do you know if they are an easy replacement? Stock or is it a good idea to upgrade these too?

[Ninesomething]

Plenty of people are happy with the head unit when they've replaced the door speakers so that might be a place to start unless you need more functionality than the stock head unit provides.

I had the CDR 24 with uprated speakers and it could be argued that it sounded as good as the Bose I have now. But then I don't like Bose. Lucky I almost never listen to tunes in the car.

[½cwt]

1 hour ago, Dan888 said:

@Ti Rich I think one of my in dash tweeters is knackered... Do you know if they are an easy replacement? Stock or is it a good idea to upgrade these too?

If you go stock, consider a salvage unit from a breaker (Douglas Valley, Status Porsche, 9apart) as it would have had similar use, as new speakers can sound different making them mis-matched, plus you'll only have to take one out and put one back in.

[Dan888]

2 hours ago, JonSta said:

Plenty of people are happy with the head unit when they've replaced the door speakers so that might be a place to start unless you need more functionality than the stock head unit provides.

I had the CDR 24 with uprated speakers and it could be argued that it sounded as good as the Bose I have now. But then I don't like Bose. Lucky I almost never listen to tunes in the car.

My head unit is on the blink and also upgrading to a modern one will give me satnav and a reversing camera... (I'm terrible at parking !)

[Ti Rich]

2 hours ago, Dan888 said:

@Ti Rich I think one of my in dash tweeters is knackered... Do you know if they are an easy replacement? Stock or is it a good idea to upgrade these too?

I tried to replace with new tweeters  that came with the above mentioned speakers but it wasn't easy. I would get a replacement 2nd hand one as someone else says.

 

 

 

[Dan888]

On 8/4/2022 at 12:22 PM, Ti Rich said:

I purchased the Vibe Slick Component speakers from Halfords for £53.

Are these the ones you got?

https://www.halfords.com/technology/car-audio/car-speakers/vibe-slick-6in-component-car-speakers-355180.html

[Ti Rich]

Yes thats them. Only used the main 6" not the tweeters that came with them. They will fit into the OE speaker housing using 3, not 4 screws if i remember correctly. They are not going anywhere and don't catch on the windows when down.

[Dan888]

I wonder if the tweeters would fit too?

[Ti Rich]

No, I tried.

[zcacogp]

As has been said, choose your upgrade path depending upon what system you have in: base, SPP or Bose. FWIW I had the base system and simply replaced everything - i.e. head unit and speakers (main and tweeters), and put an aftermarket amp in as well. Overkill, but I enjoy this sort of thing and like good sounds in my car. 

An separate amplifier will make a HUGE difference to the sound of the system. As will the sound deadening that Ti Rich mentioned. In order of priority, I'd suggest the following would be a sensible set of things to do if you have the base sound system, from most important to least: 

- New head unit

- Sound deadening

- Amplifier

- Main speakers

- Tweeters

- Speaker cable

Things get more complex with the other sound packages as the Bose had 2ohm speakers (not 4ohm, which is pretty much standard everywhere) and needed a converter thing to enable the head unit to talk to the rest of the system. 

It's worth doing though; the basic sound package on my Cayman sounded unbelievably awful. A cheap radio alarm clock would offer better sound quality with some ease. Now it's pretty good! 

[zcacogp]

On 8/5/2022 at 12:39 PM, Dan888 said:

@Ti Rich I think one of my in dash tweeters is knackered... Do you know if they are an easy replacement? Stock or is it a good idea to upgrade these too?

I have the tweeters I took out of my 987 which worked fine. Happy to post them to you if you can cover the postage and some beer tokens. Send me a message if interested. 

[Dan888]

Thanks @Paul P for the Incartec tip.

Over the weekend I've replaced the stock CDR-24 head unit (which was on the blink) with a new Pioneer SPH-DA160DAB.
I was super impressed with the fit and quality of the Incartec kit (fascia and wiring adapter).
The whole operation was simply plug and play with a little patience needed to remove the old head unit. (small securing screw was fiddly)

I'm delighted with the new head unit and have decided to not hook up the DAB yet.

Next project will be to add new speakers and sound deadening as advised above.
Then fit the reversing camera to the head unit. (if anyone's done this I'd be interested to hear what your experience was like)
 

[Paul P]

Re dab. This is purely anecdotal (based on a video from friends green Porsche talking about the pccm plus install on a 996) but they reckon there is a bypass to aerial amplifier in use in the 996 that means you can use the built in screen fm aerial for dab and don’t have to do the stick on one (with the associated bare metal earthing requirement.)

 

I am sure I have seen install instructions on the net for pccm plus so maybe worth digging around and seeing if there’s is a route to dab and fm without additional aerials.  
 

 

[iborguk]

5 minutes ago, Paul P said:

 

 

I am sure I have seen install instructions on the net for pccm plus so maybe worth digging around and seeing if there’s is a route to dab and fm without additional aerials.  
 

 

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10179274-0001.pdf

 

[Menoporsche]

On 8/15/2022 at 3:17 PM, Dan888 said:

Over the weekend I've replaced the stock CDR-24 head unit (which was on the blink) with a new Pioneer SPH-DA160DAB.

@Dan888 do you know if this has an internal setting for 2/4 ohm speakers? Wondering if I have to rip out Bose or if I can live with them with a new head unit. 

[Dan888]

1 hour ago, Menoporsche said:

@Dan888 do you know if this has an internal setting for 2/4 ohm speakers? Wondering if I have to rip out Bose or if I can live with them with a new head unit. 

I've not noticed a setting that specifies the impedance of the speakers...