There is no such thing as "right" settings...everyone hears music differently (tastes, style, age, hearing loss, etc)...You need to play the music you enjoy listening to and adjust from there. If you cannot tell (hear) a difference, than anything more than the base system is just a waste of money.

Good luck!

PS: I mostly listen to NPR Talk Radio, the Burmeister system for this is truly amazing!.....

 

I think the consensus is that for BOSE the defaults are un-listenable as shipped. Yep everyone has their own preferences.. based on taste I'd describe the consensus as a baseline from which you start adjusting..

Hmm Burmeister for NPR...

 

It seems the consensus for BOSE (and I'd describe this as a starting point to set up each source, and then tweek based on your taste and music).

Surround = ON (This alone is the most important setting)
Treb = +2
Base = +2
Linear = ( Some folks like it on some off so experiment.. since it depends on the music you listen to)

For the Treb and Base, it is going to be subjective based on taste, but each needs to be boosted.. So I'd start with +2 and then tweek to accommodate your ears.

Note: You need to do this for each source since each has it's own settings. Also note, that you need to make sure your memory settings don't obliterate it. Took me a while to realize that my key settings were being loaded each time I stuck my key in the ignition and obliterating my setup.

 

You might have your speakers looked at by the dealer. I've heard that several people had "rattling" as you mentioned and had it addressed by the dealer.

But it definitely isn't right. I blast mine and have never had any rattling at all. So it isn't normal.

 

This meant I was joking.

I actually have the base system in mine and am very happy with it for NPR...When I do listen to music, it feels that the engine noise drowns out any subtleties that a decent sound system would produce anyway...so why bother? Unless of course you are sitting in your garage with the engine off...then bring it on!!!

 

Yeah I got your drift. I was just nudging you about NPR

Actually I think that is one of the reasons that the BOSE does make sense over the base.. The base doesn't really have enough power for a decent listening experience (at least when I was comparing). I find that the BOSE isn't really all that bad volume wise during normal city and hwy driving (not talking about WOT).

But part of the problem is that there is such a wide differences in listening expectations.. Its hard to compare the needs of say a talk radio listener to an audiophile who wants to listen to classical music.. I really wish I had gotten the Burmeiser... but then again listening to music is very important to me.. where it might not be for others.

But like I have been saying the BOSE is a reasonable compromise.. Everyone likes to bag on it continually... and to a certain extent I do as well.. But it really isn't that bad when set up properly (which is probably the exception..).. It's just a shame Porsche presents it the way they do..

 

I never liked Bose and the system in our cars just added to my dislike of their products. I lasted 6 weeks after purchasing the car and replaced everything except the PCM. Focal, Audison, ArcAudio and Audio Control...

 

A lousy sounding stereo will sound lousy at whatever volume you play it at. It will sound even worse when its trying to drown out the noise of a loud motor and will sound even worse when the PSE button has been pushed.

An audiophile listening to classic music would never have a great listening experience in ANY car. Cars are not set up to be a good acoustic environment. So, given this glaring fact, anything above and beyond that is just a big waste of money...

I started my life (many moons ago) as a recording engineer in Hollywood. I was trained in acoustics and listening environments. If you think any car is a great listening environment for classical music, then you need a bit more education on how music is recorded and how it is supposed to be played back.

Some cars come closer than others...I once owned an Audi A7 that had the B & O system. Given a decent recording, played back through a decent media device, it was pretty passable.

Porsche's will never come close to this. If they did, they would be an Audi sedan and not a GT sports car.

 

Did you spend close to 10 large on this? I hope you added an aftermarket exhaust also...because they works great together...

 

I went with the BOSE for precisely that reason.. so I didn't have to max out the base just to hear anything which was my problem I noticed when test driving the base. With PSE on I don't really have any volume problems and it also depends on your driving routes and speed. Sitting in stop and go traffic is different than WOT on a track.. But I definitely wouldn't suggest having them compete for the ears simultaneously.

I'm not going to argue the quality of the BOSE in general because I like most agree that it isn't that great, it just isn't as bad as most people say simply because it is usually not setup optimally. It is passable at best But I would definitely agree, turning up a crappy audio system to get above the noise ambient isn't an ideal solution.

I would have definitely preferred the Burmeiser but didn't decide until after my build locked. You can claim it's a waste all you want but I had no problem hearing the difference between it and the BOSE and between the base and the BOSE.. even in the lousy environment of the 991 cabin.

But thanks for the offer to further my education, however I already have an extensive engineering development background in audio system equipment and integration in another less than perfect environment.. The cabin of high end business Jets.. So I might already have a clue as to the effects of the high ambient noise environment and differences in compression types. Those pesky engines make more noise than even a Porsche..

I never suggested that the cab of a 911 or any car was an ideal place to listen to music.. But since I spend a lot of time in that place on a daily basis (my car) I therefore prefer to have as good as I can afford as it is worth it to me.

So even as an audiophile (actually I don't listen to classical) I reject the overly simplistic notion of all or nothing. I'd still much prefer to listen to my favorite music even in a less than ideal environment..and take what I can get.. Strangely enough I find a way to enjoy both my PSE and my music, although at different times..

 

My Bose sounds okay. Rating 7/10.

My settings are:
Surround Sound: On
Treble: +2
Bass: +2
Fader: -1
Linear: Off

It is recommended to listen to high bitrate mp3 files to maximize the sound quality.

Hope this helps

 

Forgot this..
Audiopilot: off

 

My 987 had the base stereo. That was pretty anemic. My 997.2 has Bose. It's not great, but it's passable.

The 991s I'm looking at have Bose, which I've listened to and is slightly better than the 997.2 system, IMO. Burmester sounds great to my ears, but truthfully is more than I can justify for a car like this. The 991 base stereo suffers from the same problem of the 987, which is essentially not enough power to reliably play music without distortion when rolling down the road.

MB

 

It was about $7k and well worth it. My system sounds great now! It makes driving that much more pleasurable.

 

How much of the dash and doors ect. had to be taken apart to do the install?