A client from Edgewater, MD brought his 2006 911 Carrera 4 to us looking for one of our famous Porsche stereo upgrades. He absolutely loved the car (and so did we!) but he disliked the cumbersome factory navigation system, and was very disappointed in how the stereo sounded overall. He had been doing research online to find a car stereo facility that he would trust to take good care of his 911, and a place that knew the “ins and outs” of Porsche electronics well. After reading several of our online reviews he decided to call us. We had a great conversation about his vehicle and what he was looking for as far as stereo upgrades go. We know these cars very well and have worked on many of them in the past so there was no hesitation in his decision to bring this beautiful car to the team at WSS! We set up a time to meet with him and let him experience our top notch sound room first hand.
Factory Navigation Out Of Date, Lacking
The navigation system that was installed in this car by Porsche was out of date, did not have extra inputs for external sources of music, and was not very convenient to use. So we decided to get rid of it! We can always perform stereo upgrades leaving the factory head unit in the dash, but in this case we knew we needed to install something better for the client to achieve the end result he was looking for.
Pioneer AVIC8000NEX Key to Porsche Stereo Upgrade
After demonstrating many navigation systems to the client, he chose to install the Pioneer AVIC8000NEX navigation system. This is Pioneer’s flagship unit. The navigation portion of this head unit is very easy to use. The mapping is done in a way that is extremely convenient to view a short glimpse at a time while driving, allowing the client to keep more focus on the road ahead. The touch screen is capacitive touch like a smart phone, making it easier to use as well. We installed an XM Satellite Radio tuner with it, and we were able to hide both the XM antenna and the GPS antenna under the cowl by the windshield! The unit came with two rear USB inputs, so we flush mounted one in a cubby hole below the radio for his iPhone and ran the second one into the glovebox for his iPod classic.
Porsche Backup Camera Addition
Lastly, we installed a great quality backup camera and mounted it on the rear license plate. This camera made by Echomaster produces a very high quality image even in low light situations. It will work noticeably better at night than even a factory backup camera would have! To top it off we got him a color-matched dash trim kit to surround the radio and make it look right at home. Now on to the stereo!
Porsche 911 Speaker Upgrade
This Porsche 911 came with a 3 way package in the front, coax speakers and a dual subwoofer enclosure in the rear. The tweeter was on top of the dash, and the two woofers were in separate locations in the doors. We already knew the client wanted this car stereo to sound great, so we disconnected the rear coax speakers and put all our focus up front. The head unit allowed for time-alignment so we designed this stereo in an “active” setup, meaning each individual driver would have its own dedicated channel of amplification and we would be able to time-align the speakers so that the sound from each would reach the clients ears at the same time. Every component would be a different distance away, so this procedure made a drastic difference in the overall sound quality of the stereo.
After demonstrating many speakers for the client, he chose for us to install Audison Voce components. The Voce’s are truly incredible speakers. You really need to experience them to fully understand their grandeur. We mounted the woofer in the lower factory woofer location, but decided to install the tweeter in the factory midrange location in the door instead of on top of the dash. This location would work much better for imaging and being able to properly time-align the speakers. Having them on top of the dash would create more variables with reflection of the sound waves off the windshield in multiple directions.
JL Audio XD7005 Powers The Entire System
To power all the components in the vehicle, we installed a JL Audio XD7005. We were able to mount the amplifier under the hood in a location that looked fabulous and was easy to access. This amplifier has 5 channels. The front two channels powered the tweeters, the rear two powered the woofers, and then the sub channel was used to power the factory dual subwoofer enclosure. This involved us rewiring the enclosure to the proper resistance for the amplifier we were using and adding subsonic filters for extra protection.
End Result: One Happy Porsche Owner!
The end result of this Porsche stereo upgrade was fantastic. The stereo sounded great and the client was very pleased with his new upgraded navigation system. We love these cars, and we love them even MORE when the stereo is up to par with the rest of the car! The client was glad that he chose the team at WSS to perform this stereo upgrade, and will be bringing his Audi S7 to us for upgrades in the future! If you are interested in a stereo upgrade, navigation system, backup camera, or all of the above… Give us a call or Contact Us for more information! Check out the CAR AUDIO and NAVIGATION SYSTEM portions of our website while you are here. We do not take the “cookie-cutter” approach with any client. We understand the different wants and needs of each individual client and will do our best to design an upgrade that is custom-tailored for YOU! If you would like to hear what your stereo could sound like, stop by at your convenience and experience our incredible sound room. We guarantee you will be impressed!
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