Hi All,

I'm new here so pls bear with me.

Spent a lot of time sifting through the very helpful forum posts here when looking into hi-fi mods for my 996C4.
Am just about to start on a small project to refurb/upgrade an old second-hand (3rd-hand actually) Bose sub and integrate it into my C4 (I'm an electronics engineer and aerospace avionics engineer so quite happy tinkering with electronics). I plan to stiffen the whole existing floppy plastic box, integrate a better amp. inside the box, probably replace the Bose drive units too as they look quite rubbish and then integrate the thing into the car - assuming it still works..!!

Just occurred to me that someone out there might be interested so will try to document it as I go. Maybe it will help someone at some stage...

More later...

 

When I bought the C4 it had the "middle" hi-fi option - PCM2 with CD changer in the front; front speakers, door speakers and rear speakers. All standard and a surprisingly bad sound so such a small and solid little car.
Initially I just thought I'd carry out a quick fix and swap out the front and rear speakers for Alpine units. That improved the sound quite a lot but the bass was still very poor - muffled and distantly boomy.
I swapped out the door speakers for Focal units with a disappointingly small benefit. The bass is now tighter but completely overwhelmed by the fronts.

I know I should have planned this a complete project but I didn't really want to spend much time or money on this at this time. i was just looking for a quick fix but it has grown arms and legs since then ..!!

I decided the best way to get proper tight bass whilst retaining the factory look would be to install a large bass enclosure. I looked into making my own enclosure but decided my DIY 'skills' would not really give me the kind of factory finish I was looking for so that route was quickly abandoned. Next plan was to fit the Bose sub as it at least looked good.
I got one on eBay a couple of weeks ago for £100 (!!) so that worked well for my budget.
Opening it up revealed several problems - the little amp was missing; the box is made of thin plastic with no bracing or sound damping to speak of; the standard Bose drive units look rubbish.
A quick sound test (wired up to my Denon domestic hi-fi) revealed that the sound was dreadful. Very boomy and plasticy sounding.

I have since lined the whole interior with sound-deadening panels (similar to dynamat). Have bought an old-school Alpine stereo amp (another £5 on eBay!) and am waiting for a brand new pair of Wharefdale Diamond 9.1 speakers to be delivered so that I can harvest the drive units from them (as these look to be far better quality for the money than anything I have found in the car hi-fi market).
So.., that the plan and the story so far...

 

Good luck with your project. It won't really be a Bose subwoofer when you're finished!

I agree with your comments on the poor quality of the Bose speakers and the lack of bass. I replaced all my speakers and amps with Focal units, and had a custom subwoofer box built in the factory location. It made a huge difference in sound quality. I'm sure you'll see a big improvement.

 

Thanks Dennis - I had planned to wait for a while and carry out a similar thorough cohesive upgrade.., but I've ended up pecking away at it one small piece at a time instead..! Hopefully it will all come out good in the end

 

Hey, can I help... Been there: My Sub Box

 

Wow..!!!!! That's very cool..!! Great craftsmanship - wish I'd seen this thread before I bought the old Bose box (though I'm not sure my DIY skills would have the same result as you have here!).
Thanks a lot for the link - this is really interesting..!

 

I put a sealed box with two 8" solobarics and am quite happy (link below) I had it covered in factory carpet for a relatively stock look. Good luck these solutions are all very clever.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...842&styleid=24