Replacing the Becker CDR23 tomorrow.... EXCITED
Discussion
Good Evening Gents,
After 6 happy months of 996 ownership, I have decided to upgrade the standard in-car entertainment system for something a little more modern.
Some background - my car is a 2003 C4 manual with 43,000 miles on the clock, and a real keeper in my opinion, so I have decided to invest a little to bring its AV tech into the 21st century.. whilst trying not to spoil the originality of the car(!)
My car is a non-PCM model so just has the standard single din becker CDR23 head unit. I have the BOSE sound system which means I need an adapter to connect anything vaguely modern into the amp.
At the outset, and in the spirit of keeping the interior looking as OEM as possible, I contemplated a Dension Gateway unit but quickly decided against it when I realised that trying to operate it via the Becker would be a real pain. In fact... all that was going to really offer me was iPhone connectivity and I was looking for a lot more.
So for the last 2 weeks - I have immersed myself in the world of double din car AV tech from the likes of Pioneer, Alpine and Kenwood.
I concluded that the Pioneer double units on the whole look the most OEM when fitted... In part due to their minimalist design and lack of buttons.
Initially, I opted for a Pioneer SPH-DA120 which I understand is a very popular unit for us iPhone folk given that it utilises Apple Car Play. It is also almost button free and basically just looks like an ipad. Photo that I found of one installed below.
However, having conducted further research, I came to the conclusion that the unit was very Apple centric, did not offer DAB functionality, relies on data connection (rather than GPS), and only allowed you to use Apple Maps for navigation (!)
So I scrapped that plan and have now opted for the next level up... a Pioneer AVIC F980dab which, from what I have read, has half decent navigation software, Apple Car Play, DAB radio, and a whole host of other techno wizardry including the ability to alter the colour of its lights to amber in line with my Porsche! Photo of the unit below.
I spoke to a few car audio specialists in the London area based on recommendations made on PH and have settled on Sextons in Wansdworth. Jason seems to know his stuff and tells me he has lots of experience fitting double din units to this generation of Porsche. In addition, he supplies everything from the unit to the adapter to the replacement trim I'll need to accommodate the new device.
The installation is taking place tomorrow and I am strangely very excited as I feel the Porsche AV tech in the car is very dated now by today's standards.
Before and after shots to follow of course but here is a photo of my interior at present......
Update to follow tomorrow evening!
Cheerio
Nick
PS: I have PSE before anyone asks why I didn't just upgrade to that! :-)
After 6 happy months of 996 ownership, I have decided to upgrade the standard in-car entertainment system for something a little more modern.
Some background - my car is a 2003 C4 manual with 43,000 miles on the clock, and a real keeper in my opinion, so I have decided to invest a little to bring its AV tech into the 21st century.. whilst trying not to spoil the originality of the car(!)
My car is a non-PCM model so just has the standard single din becker CDR23 head unit. I have the BOSE sound system which means I need an adapter to connect anything vaguely modern into the amp.
At the outset, and in the spirit of keeping the interior looking as OEM as possible, I contemplated a Dension Gateway unit but quickly decided against it when I realised that trying to operate it via the Becker would be a real pain. In fact... all that was going to really offer me was iPhone connectivity and I was looking for a lot more.
So for the last 2 weeks - I have immersed myself in the world of double din car AV tech from the likes of Pioneer, Alpine and Kenwood.
I concluded that the Pioneer double units on the whole look the most OEM when fitted... In part due to their minimalist design and lack of buttons.
Initially, I opted for a Pioneer SPH-DA120 which I understand is a very popular unit for us iPhone folk given that it utilises Apple Car Play. It is also almost button free and basically just looks like an ipad. Photo that I found of one installed below.
However, having conducted further research, I came to the conclusion that the unit was very Apple centric, did not offer DAB functionality, relies on data connection (rather than GPS), and only allowed you to use Apple Maps for navigation (!)
So I scrapped that plan and have now opted for the next level up... a Pioneer AVIC F980dab which, from what I have read, has half decent navigation software, Apple Car Play, DAB radio, and a whole host of other techno wizardry including the ability to alter the colour of its lights to amber in line with my Porsche! Photo of the unit below.
I spoke to a few car audio specialists in the London area based on recommendations made on PH and have settled on Sextons in Wansdworth. Jason seems to know his stuff and tells me he has lots of experience fitting double din units to this generation of Porsche. In addition, he supplies everything from the unit to the adapter to the replacement trim I'll need to accommodate the new device.
The installation is taking place tomorrow and I am strangely very excited as I feel the Porsche AV tech in the car is very dated now by today's standards.
Before and after shots to follow of course but here is a photo of my interior at present......
Update to follow tomorrow evening!
Cheerio
Nick
PS: I have PSE before anyone asks why I didn't just upgrade to that! :-)
Do it! The Pioneer SPH-DA120 is a really nice replacement - I did mine last year and it's fantastic. Modern but very modest appearance, simple to use, future-proof and all the functionality of a modern car. But... it has no CD drive and you have to lose the changer connection, so you are then dependent on your phone or USB drives for entertainment - or the radio, of course. But that also means there's no need for the CD storage tray in the centre console. Swings and roundabouts...
CarPlay is fantastic (provided you have an iPhone) and the Bluetooth connectivity works perfectly and is clear as a bell.
Top tip #1: Fill up a USB drive with your favourite movies and TV shows and you have the perfect time-killer when waiting for the missus (or mister) to come out of the hairdressers.
Top tip #2: Get an HDMI cable plugged in during installation, connect to your phone with the adapter [http://bit.ly/2dVdSZm] and you can play Netflix etc. direct from your phone.
Here's what mine looks like:
CarPlay is fantastic (provided you have an iPhone) and the Bluetooth connectivity works perfectly and is clear as a bell.
Top tip #1: Fill up a USB drive with your favourite movies and TV shows and you have the perfect time-killer when waiting for the missus (or mister) to come out of the hairdressers.
Top tip #2: Get an HDMI cable plugged in during installation, connect to your phone with the adapter [http://bit.ly/2dVdSZm] and you can play Netflix etc. direct from your phone.
Here's what mine looks like:
Great choice. You won't regret it.
980DAB looks pretty OEM in my opinion, like an updated PCM2 with much better functionality and sound (IMO).
A decent fitter won't have any issues with the Bose and fibre optic set up.
Looking forward to seeing it installed
Lucky you having a PSE- I have to make do with a Gundo hack!
980DAB looks pretty OEM in my opinion, like an updated PCM2 with much better functionality and sound (IMO).
A decent fitter won't have any issues with the Bose and fibre optic set up.
Looking forward to seeing it installed
Lucky you having a PSE- I have to make do with a Gundo hack!
Good Evening All,
Just home having picked up the car after work. I'm really very happy with the outcome. I think that the unit fits in well with the car's surroundings... as somebody mentioned.. like an upgraded PCM.
The screen on it is great.. bright.. clear and very receptive to touch. The unit is a doddle to use. I'm no tech expert but I was using the sat nav to get home, whilst browsing through tunes on Apple Music and even managed to call my mother on the journey home. All very intuitive.
I can't really recommend Jason and Sextons more highly really. I dropped the car off at 7am and left the keys with a local coffee stand they have a relationship with and picked it up at 7pm... having collected the keys from a local restaurant. All very smooth and whilst I never got to meet Jason in person, he called me in the afternoon to give me a progress update. The car had even been hoovered when I returned to it and the quality of the fitting looks super.
In summary... the dab aerial sits to the left of the windscreen and is fairly unobtrusive. The microphone for the telephone sits up by the rear view mirror and looks very discreet. The two USB inputs sit within the armrest out of sight and this in turn acts as your docking station for your iPhone. The temp control has been moved down to the bottom and the cd holder retained so that I can stored DVDs for Mrs P to watch on long journeys.
More photos to follow in the daylight on Saturday of course but for now... here are photos that I took this evening.
Just home having picked up the car after work. I'm really very happy with the outcome. I think that the unit fits in well with the car's surroundings... as somebody mentioned.. like an upgraded PCM.
The screen on it is great.. bright.. clear and very receptive to touch. The unit is a doddle to use. I'm no tech expert but I was using the sat nav to get home, whilst browsing through tunes on Apple Music and even managed to call my mother on the journey home. All very intuitive.
I can't really recommend Jason and Sextons more highly really. I dropped the car off at 7am and left the keys with a local coffee stand they have a relationship with and picked it up at 7pm... having collected the keys from a local restaurant. All very smooth and whilst I never got to meet Jason in person, he called me in the afternoon to give me a progress update. The car had even been hoovered when I returned to it and the quality of the fitting looks super.
In summary... the dab aerial sits to the left of the windscreen and is fairly unobtrusive. The microphone for the telephone sits up by the rear view mirror and looks very discreet. The two USB inputs sit within the armrest out of sight and this in turn acts as your docking station for your iPhone. The temp control has been moved down to the bottom and the cd holder retained so that I can stored DVDs for Mrs P to watch on long journeys.
More photos to follow in the daylight on Saturday of course but for now... here are photos that I took this evening.
Looks really nice. Good to see they've
fitted the right type of fascia as well
I agree £1100 is very reasonable based om the quotes I got.
Out of interest does yours automatically dim when you switch lights on? Have you noticed any improvement in sound quality? I think it's better than my CDR23 but might just be me!
I think I should pay a visit to Sextons or Road Radio - they both look really clued up.
fitted the right type of fascia as well
I agree £1100 is very reasonable based om the quotes I got.
Out of interest does yours automatically dim when you switch lights on? Have you noticed any improvement in sound quality? I think it's better than my CDR23 but might just be me!
I think I should pay a visit to Sextons or Road Radio - they both look really clued up.
I was going to start a thread of my own on this but decided to just get an update on the above. Was this install just a head unit replacement then? As in no other changes needed to Bose amp etc?
Now that you've had it a year do you think the speakers are up to the job?
And is this something you could DIY install ? I see the headunit is around £600 still but £500 labour seems a lot for a days work?
Now that you've had it a year do you think the speakers are up to the job?
And is this something you could DIY install ? I see the headunit is around £600 still but £500 labour seems a lot for a days work?
If you have a pre MOST 996 with Bose, the amplified output of the head unit is fed directly into the Bose amplifier.
This means that many standard head units are suitable.
It all gets a bit more involved with later MOST vehicles with steering wheel controls. Various interface adaptors will need to be selected.
This means that many standard head units are suitable.
It all gets a bit more involved with later MOST vehicles with steering wheel controls. Various interface adaptors will need to be selected.
Correct. The unit was about £600 but the remainder of the cost was made up of the MOST adapater (c. £200) , labour and the various fascia parts. My 996 is a gen 2 hence I need the adapter.
The more pertinent point that I would like to make is that 6 months on, I wish I'd gone for a much cheaper head unit as I very rarely use any of its functionality.
The sat nav is does not compare to Google Maps so I ALWAYS end up using my iPhone, if anything for the far superior traffic information.
Furthermore, Apple CarPlay isn't all that. For a start, it forces you to use Siri for the majority of its functionality as a safety feature which makes it a pain to use.
Aesthetically, the unit looks superb if not factory so I'm very happy with it from that perpestive. If I could do it again, I'd go for the £150 head unit that looks exactly the same but excludes Apple Car Play and the Sat Nav. Then you get all the benefits of being able to Bluetooth your music into the Bose for a much lower initial outlay.
Hope this helps.
Nick
The more pertinent point that I would like to make is that 6 months on, I wish I'd gone for a much cheaper head unit as I very rarely use any of its functionality.
The sat nav is does not compare to Google Maps so I ALWAYS end up using my iPhone, if anything for the far superior traffic information.
Furthermore, Apple CarPlay isn't all that. For a start, it forces you to use Siri for the majority of its functionality as a safety feature which makes it a pain to use.
Aesthetically, the unit looks superb if not factory so I'm very happy with it from that perpestive. If I could do it again, I'd go for the £150 head unit that looks exactly the same but excludes Apple Car Play and the Sat Nav. Then you get all the benefits of being able to Bluetooth your music into the Bose for a much lower initial outlay.
Hope this helps.
Nick
nickpan said:
Correct. The unit was about £600 but the remainder of the cost was made up of the MOST adapater (c. £200) , labour and the various fascia parts. My 996 is a gen 2 hence I need the adapter.
The more pertinent point that I would like to make is that 6 months on, I wish I'd gone for a much cheaper head unit as I very rarely use any of its functionality.
The sat nav is does not compare to Google Maps so I ALWAYS end up using my iPhone, if anything for the far superior traffic information.
Furthermore, Apple CarPlay isn't all that. For a start, it forces you to use Siri for the majority of its functionality as a safety feature which makes it a pain to use.
Aesthetically, the unit looks superb if not factory so I'm very happy with it from that perpestive. If I could do it again, I'd go for the £150 head unit that looks exactly the same but excludes Apple Car Play and the Sat Nav. Then you get all the benefits of being able to Bluetooth your music into the Bose for a much lower initial outlay.
Hope this helps.
Nick
So in other words just go for a mobridge/dension type solution? I think i'd follow what you said and go cheaper android chinese type unit for sub £200 and then the adapters at £200ish so all in not too bad. The more pertinent point that I would like to make is that 6 months on, I wish I'd gone for a much cheaper head unit as I very rarely use any of its functionality.
The sat nav is does not compare to Google Maps so I ALWAYS end up using my iPhone, if anything for the far superior traffic information.
Furthermore, Apple CarPlay isn't all that. For a start, it forces you to use Siri for the majority of its functionality as a safety feature which makes it a pain to use.
Aesthetically, the unit looks superb if not factory so I'm very happy with it from that perpestive. If I could do it again, I'd go for the £150 head unit that looks exactly the same but excludes Apple Car Play and the Sat Nav. Then you get all the benefits of being able to Bluetooth your music into the Bose for a much lower initial outlay.
Hope this helps.
Nick
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff