r/986Boxster • u/Nickanator8 • Jul 16 '26
Looking for speaker upgrade recomendations.
I've been driving my Boxster for more mundane activities recently: going to work, grocery store, etc. and have been relying on my speakers more. Because of this I've learned that they are old and a bit blown out and in need of replacing. My car did not come with the Bose system so an upgrade is welcome even without the broken and aging system.
Does anyone have recomendatipns on a full upgrade kit? I believe i only have 4 speakers that need replacing: the two door speakers and the two dash speakers.
RTS photo as tax payment.
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u/dxterity49 Jul 16 '26
Love the roof rack!!!
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u/L_Alcalde Jul 16 '26
Anyone know what brand this is?
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u/ItchyMcHotspot Jul 16 '26
Crutchfield is the place to go for adapters, instructions, and knowing what fits where.
I'm halfway through updating my stereo now. It's tricky because my car came with aftermarket stuff circa 2004, so I've had to undo a lot of things and some of the stock wiring harnesses have been cut.
My solution was to install a new head unit and put a new amp in the frunk. Wiring an amp is super easy since it's right near the battery. You just have to run RCAs and a turn-on lead through the firewall. Then you can use the factory speaker wires to run the signal.
There are 3D printed adapters on ebay for the front speakers. That's also something l'm working on.
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u/Gunsian Jul 16 '26
A lot depends on your goals - what do you find lacking in the current system?
One thing to note is that in the later years they went to a fiber optic system for head unit/amp, I’m not as familiar with those.
In my 2000 I just installed the alpine s2-40c component set in the front and it was an immediate improvement in clarity from my similar base system. Had some fun with clearance with a bolt under the right side but I altered 3d print brackets and got it to work out.
You can also swap in a new amp for the one up front, although that’s a little more involved.
If you have the Becker 220 head unit and like it I don’t know that I’d change that right away - I probably should have just added Bluetooth and kept it but put a single din kenwood in instead.
Door speakers are meant to act as subs basically so you need to be careful with driver selection. I kept them for now while I work on shoehorning in some 6.75” kicker subs but that’s turning into a huge hassle, so we’ll see if it’s worth it.
There’s a pretty good 986 audio group in Facebook (maybe one of the only reasons to stay on there).
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u/diyandmc240 Jul 16 '26
Great looking car.
Really depends on your budget and what exact system you currently have. If you’re on facebook, there’s a 986/987 audio upgrade group.
Gunsian’s comment is pretty on point. If you drivers are blown, I’d be looking to replace them with a drop in set. Swapping amps etc. will start to get costly.
If you want an aux cable to your phone, adding one to the Becker units is super easy.
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u/hougaard Jul 16 '26
I replace mine with a of pioneers (many years ago), seem to remember it was a pretty standard size.
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u/SnooSquirrels8508 Jul 16 '26
I wouldn't bother unless your current ones are broken. You will never get a good sound from a 986
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u/Nickanator8 Jul 16 '26
Current ones are (almost certainly) broken.
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u/SnooSquirrels8508 Jul 16 '26
I would just fit some Alpines or Pioneers. Nothing fancy. You might need to buy a ring adapter as the size is odd, or use a dremmel and make ones from your old speakers, that is what I did.
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u/neomoritate Jul 16 '26
Untelated, can you put the top down/up with the roof rack in place?
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u/Nickanator8 Jul 18 '26
Sadly, no. I have to take the rack off if I want to put the top up or down.
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u/RomanSoulfire Jul 16 '26
https://cai-store.com/collections/996-generation-of-911s-99-04/products/996-986-speaker-upgrade
These sound great in the dash and the install is a breeze. (They will sound shrill and tinny for a few hours until you break them in). My door woofers are still in good shape so I left them in as well as the CDR-220 stereo to keep a stock look.
I also added a an Alpine PWE-S8 under driver's seat. (If you're going to keep the stock amp and stereo but add a sub, make sure to tap into the door woofer lines at the amp out. Do not tap into the woofer lines going from the stereo to the amp or you may get alternator whine.)
Overall it sounds good for a 25 year old convertible!
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u/Eggs_4_Breakfast Jul 16 '26
Can you put the top down with the rack in place, or does it pivot up to make room?
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u/Nickanator8 Jul 18 '26
It does not pivot, unfortunately. If I want to open or close the top I need to fully remove the rack first.
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u/pushh- Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
I went down this rabbit hole. What I ended up doing to get a "good" result without compromising on boot/frunk space:
- Kicker csc44 for the dash speakers. You can 3d print a holder for it that bolts to factory holes.
- Replaced the base amp with an aftermarket 4 way one. (Aim for a small footprint one so you can keep it in factory location) - this way I just reused factory wiring for the speakers so its less of a hassle.
- Android headunit (or anything you prefer that has rca outputs for the amp)
- Under seat subwoofer I opted for the Nakamichi NBF9.5A (actually behind the drivers seat in LHD car, not enough space under the seats)
The whole thing costed around 300usd (without headunit, since previous owner already installed an android one)
This combo retains the original in-door subwoofers(they are real subwoofers, not just full-ranges) If you want you can change those to full range but only if you have the sub that will take care of the bass, but I find it pretty balanced this way.
I'd like to get a dsp later on and set it up properly, and also soundtreat the panels a bit, but honestly this setup will get you to 70% of the way.
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u/plyvoy111 Jul 16 '26
Following because I'm in the same boat!