993 Cab Audio options

[moo75]

Hi, I appreciate this has been mentioned previously but as tech evolves i thought i would ask again -

Has anyone any ideas of how to upgrade the audio in a 993 C2 Cab at all please? I was thinking the new Blaupunkt Frankfurt DAB with a door speaker upgrade of some sort - no doubt would need a small amp and perhaps even a sub if you could shoehorn one in anywhere.

Is the classic stereo really worth the money they want - it looks fab but i wouldnt need sat nav and its a heck of a lot more money

All advice (thats helpful) would be greatly appreciated.

[Burrow01]

Probably anything would be an improvement, but you cannot hear it in a cab anyway :-)

I have the Porsche (Becker) CD player in mine, and noticed in the summer how crap the speakers are - they would be the first thing I would change, they are probably brittle with age.

Depending on how original and "Porsche" you want to keep it, maybe go for the best 3rd party single DIN unit out there, and replace it if you sell with the original?

I've looked at the Porsche Classic units, but have a high suspicion (but no actual evidence) that they are charging quite a bit extra for the Porsche label on the front. Do Becker do a similar unit without the Porsche branding?

[moo75]

Burrow01 said:

Probably anything would be an improvement, but you cannot hear it in a cab anyway :-)

I have the Porsche (Becker) CD player in mine, and noticed in the summer how crap the speakers are - they would be the first thing I would change, they are probably brittle with age.

Depending on how original and "Porsche" you want to keep it, maybe go for the best 3rd party single DIN unit out there, and replace it if you sell with the original?

I've looked at the Porsche Classic units, but have a high suspicion (but no actual evidence) that they are charging quite a bit extra for the Porsche label on the front. Do Becker do a similar unit without the Porsche branding?

Hi - the blaupunkt looks favourable to me at the moment, its very retro and doesnt look out of place, they do the bremen and frankfurt which look like they are front runners for my money - i fear the same the Porsche one may be buying a nice branding - i fancy keeping retro more than stock standard

[Burrow01]

moo75 said:

Hi - the blaupunkt looks favourable to me at the moment, its very retro and doesnt look out of place, they do the bremen and frankfurt which look like they are front runners for my money - i fear the same the Porsche one may be buying a nice branding - i fancy keeping retro more than stock standard

We are on the same wavelength I think :-) I would like some more modern features, but keeping it looking appropriate to the age of the car

[moo75]

Burrow01 said:

We are on the same wavelength I think :-) I would like some more modern features, but keeping it looking appropriate to the age of the car

Cool - i am hoping someone replies that has experience of the porsche units so an see if its actually worthwhile researching further or dismissing out of hand

[Orangecurry]

I bought the RDO or Continental a few years back. They come as modern as you like - USB, DAB, and or CD player, blueteeth, telephone.... and suit the 1990s style dash, especially IMO if you get one with a knob at each end.

I can take a photograph of the dash if you are interested.

Make sure you get a 12v one.

https://www.continental-automotive.com/en-gl/Truck...

I have the HiFi option in my 993, and the speakers are all OE and to my ears sound good, so I can't help you there.

Rennlist is full of useful info.

[moo75]

Orangecurry said:

I bought the RDO or Continental a few years back. They come as modern as you like - USB, DAB, and or CD player, blueteeth, telephone.... and suit the 1990s style dash, especially IMO if you get one with a knob at each end.

I can take a photograph of the dash if you are interested.

Make sure you get a 12v one.

https://www.continental-automotive.com/en-gl/Truck...

I have the HiFi option in my 993, and the speakers are all OE and to my ears sound good, so I can't help you there.

Rennlist is full of useful info.

Thanks - I had never really thought of those but a quick google and they look pretty good so will do a little more research and see if there is a comparison of them against the other two anywhere, cheers

[Orangecurry]

Durrrr they are made VDO not RDO, but also sold rebranded as Continental. I have a different (single knob) telephone-enabled VDO/Continental in the E30, where it also sits well, and the microphone works well even in a wobbly 1980s convertible.

[moo75]

Orangecurry said:

Durrrr they are made VDO not RDO, but also sold rebranded as Continental. I have a different (single knob) telephone-enabled VDO/Continental in the E30, where it also sits well, and the microphone works well even in a wobbly 1980s convertible.

That looks bob on doesnt it?????? like OEM from back in the day - thanks for that, its def on the list!

[ch3tman]

moo75 said:

I was thinking the new Blaupunkt Frankfurt DAB with a door speaker upgrade of some sort - no doubt would need a small amp and perhaps even a sub if you could shoehorn one in anywhere.

I did a similar upgrade about 4 years ago... whilst the tweeters were the original factory Nokia units, the mid-range/woofers in the doors (as well as those in the rear/parcel shelf) had been upgraded to a set of Pioneer units several years ago when the Becker Grand Prix was installed.

So out came the fronts and in went, along with a set of new speaker grills, a set of components: Hertz ESK165. They may not blow away our resident audiophiles, but they are massive improvement in terms of sound quality. The other contenders were Morel Maximo and also the Audison Prima APK165, though I was advised whilst they are better performing for the mid-higher frequencies, you may find them lacking in the low end and hence would benefit from a separate/dedicated sub-woofer. I opted against going down the amplifier (even though its popular to fit in the spare wheel cavity) and sub-woofer route, and so far, no regrets.

Along with the speakers, sound deadening on doors - in the form of Skinz Pro 2mm + Skinz Wave Diffuser + Skinz Liner 6mm - was installed to address road noise and improve cabin acoustics. I'd highly recommend considering this as it's made a significant difference. It will also be an opportune moment to replace the vapour barrier behind your door car which will have no doubt deteriorated by now.

[moo75]

ch3tman said:

I did a similar upgrade about 4 years ago... whilst the tweeters were the original factory Nokia units, the mid-range/woofers in the doors (as well as those in the rear/parcel shelf) had been upgraded to a set of Pioneer units several years ago when the Becker Grand Prix was installed.

So out came the fronts and in went, along with a set of new speaker grills, a set of components: Hertz ESK165. They may not blow away our resident audiophiles, but they are massive improvement in terms of sound quality. The other contenders were Morel Maximo and also the Audison Prima APK165, though I was advised whilst they are better performing for the mid-higher frequencies, you may find them lacking in the low end and hence would benefit from a separate/dedicated sub-woofer. I opted against going down the amplifier (even though its popular to fit in the spare wheel cavity) and sub-woofer route, and so far, no regrets.

Along with the speakers, sound deadening on doors - in the form of Skinz Pro 2mm + Skinz Wave Diffuser + Skinz Liner 6mm - was installed to address road noise and improve cabin acoustics. I'd highly recommend considering this as it's made a significant difference. It will also be an opportune moment to replace the vapour barrier behind your door car which will have no doubt deteriorated by now.


Thanks - i had considered the sound deadening but given its a cab thought it wouldnt make a jot of diffrence really lol

[Burrow01]

ch3tman said:

moo75 said:

I was thinking the new Blaupunkt Frankfurt DAB with a door speaker upgrade of some sort - no doubt would need a small amp and perhaps even a sub if you could shoehorn one in anywhere.

I did a similar upgrade about 4 years ago... whilst the tweeters were the original factory Nokia units, the mid-range/woofers in the doors (as well as those in the rear/parcel shelf) had been upgraded to a set of Pioneer units several years ago when the Becker Grand Prix was installed.

So out came the fronts and in went, along with a set of new speaker grills, a set of components: Hertz ESK165. They may not blow away our resident audiophiles, but they are massive improvement in terms of sound quality. The other contenders were Morel Maximo and also the Audison Prima APK165, though I was advised whilst they are better performing for the mid-higher frequencies, you may find them lacking in the low end and hence would benefit from a separate/dedicated sub-woofer. I opted against going down the amplifier (even though its popular to fit in the spare wheel cavity) and sub-woofer route, and so far, no regrets.

Along with the speakers, sound deadening on doors - in the form of Skinz Pro 2mm + Skinz Wave Diffuser + Skinz Liner 6mm - was installed to address road noise and improve cabin acoustics. I'd highly recommend considering this as it's made a significant difference. It will also be an opportune moment to replace the vapour barrier behind your door car which will have no doubt deteriorated by now.

Sounds good - did you DIY this, or have it done professionally?

[ch3tman]

Burrow01 said:

Sounds good - did you DIY this, or have it done professionally?

If you're handy, many do DIY it and there are plenty of guides online as well as reference installs to look at. But I left it to the professionals.

Regarding your earlier comment...

Burrow01 said:

I've looked at the Porsche Classic units, but have a high suspicion (but no actual evidence) that they are charging quite a bit extra for the Porsche label on the front.

...your suspicious are warranted . Take a look here and keep scrolling : https://www.kraemerautomotive.com/de/produkte/

[Orangecurry]

....and here's the VDO website for the same kit

https://www.vdo.com/special-vehicles/audio-product...

ETA but oddly all of the VDO versions on sale new seem to have a blue background. Dunno what colour your car is, but the yellow background looks much better IMO

Edited by Orangecurry on Wednesday 26th October 14:29

[Pope]

ch3tman said:

Burrow01 said:

Sounds good - did you DIY this, or have it done professionally?

If you're handy, many do DIY it and there are plenty of guides online as well as reference installs to look at. But I left it to the professionals.

Regarding your earlier comment...

Burrow01 said:

I've looked at the Porsche Classic units, but have a high suspicion (but no actual evidence) that they are charging quite a bit extra for the Porsche label on the front.

...your suspicious are warranted . Take a look here and keep scrolling : https://www.kraemerautomotive.com/de/produkte/

Not sure it's a travesty; 964/993's were delivered sans audio for the most part, we were fitting Sony face-off units for years at or after PDI.

Porsche don't make the units; they never have done - tying up with the specialist manufacturers to create products that were branded for them is just continuing that process. I particularly liked the CD10 unit (branded Porsche). The branded CR / CDR and PCM units have helped keep the later models consistent and have never been cheap to replace.

That Porsche have tied into developing options for their classic vehicles should be seen positively I think. Not having to lash a Bluetooth receiver; DAB antenna or other cradle-mounted device into a car to bring up to date options is great in my (biased, naturally) opinion.