I am about to pull the trigger on an upgrade for my car audio. Perhaps some will have opinions here.
The car is a 2001 Porsche Boxster S (known as a 986), which I have owned for about 15 years. The car is a great joy to drive, in excellent condition, and plan to keep it as long as I can get in-and-out without looking like a complete idiot!
It still has the original audio system, which comprises a Becker radio/CD with 6 speakers (dash, doors and rear parcel tray). I love listening to music in the car, but a “decent” audio system has been an extravagance I could not justify in the past (I have a decent audio system in the house, and even a very modest system in the workshop/garage). It is not just audio, but having a screen for GPS (better than using my iPhone) and a backup camera.
I’ve done the research and settled on the Alpine ilx-507a head unit, which is a new wireless model with Apple Play. There is a corresponding rear camera. The issue for me are whether I upgrade all the speakers, and whether I add an extra amplifier.
The head unit has outlets for 4 speakers, and I have seen a video where two extra amps were added to feed the 6 speakers. I am not clear whether this was done for the connection or the extra output - would an even higher output improve sound, assuming that the head unit has enough to drive what is there? Would more efficient speakers be the same/better? I have purchased one set of extra speakers for the doors (from Focal). The dash and rear could be done later (it is getting expensive, and there is also installation costs to add it - too complicated for me. Some components, such as the air con, will need to be re-located on the console. I’ve been quoted 6 hours).
Thoughts and comments welcomed.
Regards from Perth
Derek