I wanted to give everyone an overview of my experience in replacing the standard 997TT.1 PCM system (NAV/CD Stacker/Bose) system with a Chinese sourced head unit and later speaker upgrade.
(updated with 2x12" sub install, additional amp)

Why did I want to do this:
Basically the standard PCM 2 system that came with my 2008 model is antiquated, lacking features and sounded pretty poor as detailed in other posts.
What I wanted:
1. I wanted more features such as USB/SD support, Bluetooth, Ipod interface, Australian maps, touch screen, etc, etc. I purchased the car in the UK when I lived there and brought it back to Australia on my return. I needed to update the Nav DVD anyway so this seemed to be a better route than wasting money on the original PCM system. I am still unsure if I could even update to Australian maps.
2. I wanted a “factory” look, so this discounted using the universal fit units such as Alpine, Pioneer, and many Chinese suppliers. The fascia kits look good but didn’t look factory to me.
3. Had to be easy to restore to “factory”, “just in case” it didn't work, or a future purchaser really liked the OEM PCM.
4. Better sound.
5. Not to spend $5000.
6. I wanted something that could be upgraded. The factory Bose with Fiber/MOST is very proprietary so adding more amplifier power is difficult/expensive for what you get.

What I was happy to give up:
1. Sport Chrono interface. Never used it, and didn't think I ever would.
2. Dash info, Nav, Radio station info (most stations in Australia don't broadcast any track info).
3. CD Stacker, really, does anyone still use cd's.
4. The existing Nav unit is redundant.
5. Other hmmmm?

Car = Porsche 2008 997 turbo (ie 997.1) with Nav/CD Stacker/Bose 9.1 speakers, fiber amp and sub.
HU purchased here = http://www.seicane.com/car-dvd-playe...tooth-srd-8815
Manufactured by = http://en.hualingan.com/
Total Budget to date = about $2000Aud (plus a lot of my time)

New Components Installed to Date:
- New HU http://www.seicane.com/car-dvd-playe...tooth-srd-8815
- New amp to drive the door woofers (Response AA0455 from Jaycar) http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...UBCATID=1028#4
- New Kenwood Shallow Mount 8” woofers (KFC-XW800F) http://www.kenwood.com/au/car/speake...ies/index.html
- New door mid range/tweeter speakers (4” Response from Jaycar ) http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...UBCATID=1027#4
- New 4 Channel Amp to drive front 8: woofers, mids and tweeters (Jaycar AA0457, 4 x 100W RMS)
- 2 x 12" Pioneer subs (TW-W310D4), dual voice coil wire in parallel for 1 Ohm load.

What has been retained
- Dash mount tweeters
- Rear speakers

Challenges/Issues/Things you should know/Bad stuff:
1. After much searching I could only find one manufacturer that makes a factory look unit. The problems I had with the install stemmed from the fact I think this unit is designed for 997.2 models, not 997.1 models such as mine.
2. The new HU is black, our 997.1 cars have the volcano grey centre dash bits. My original plan was to take the fascia off the new HU and take it to an auto paint shop to see if they could match the grey colour. In the end I painted the old climate/PASM/Storage bin units black. This went against my aim in point 3 above, being able to restore to factory easily. My reasoning was that I could always buy new climate/PASM switches, storage bin. I also think the black looks better.
3. Bose optic amp. The new HU didn’t come with the Optic (MOST) interface. As it turns out this was not that big a deal, and probably was a blessing in disguise.
4. Physical mounting of the new HU in the dash. The mounting and locating lugs on the new HU were not quite “right”, and it didn’t “click” into place like it should have. I needed to put a screw through the right side housing to ensure it didn’t move around. There was already a locking screw on the left side so this seemed a reasonable solution.
5. Wiring. The provided speaker wiring harness had to be modified slightly. This was straight forward once I figured out where the existing speaker wiring went and the fact the parcel shelf Bose Subwoofer has its own built-in amp that needs a “power” on signal (+ve 12v) and speaker level inputs.
6. Installing 8” subwoofers in the doors “is” possible, but I had to trim a little bit of metal around the opening to clear the Kenwood units and I had to make spacer rings. Nothing impossible but does take a bit of time. A metal nibbler is a real help here.
7. Installing the new amp in the factory amp location was a challenge. I had to grind bits off the amp to make it fit. It would have been much easier to install where the CD stacker or Nav unit was, but I wanted to free up this space and I didn’t want any components visible. I also had to remove a bolt holding the battery frame/holder. Seems to be very solid without it though. There are other smaller amps available that may be a better option here, at least as far as ease of install goes.
8. Radio doesn’t seem to have the same signal reception quality. No digital radio – not an issue in Australia as it will be another 5 or 10 years before we start getting digital radio.
9. Haven’t got the digital TV to work yet. I live in an area where an antennae amplifier is needed to get any TV reception, so no surprise really. Not something I would use anyway.
10. UI. I am not totally wrapped in the UI (User Interface) design. It is colourless, and to move between the screens you have to “slide” the top bar. I prefer the “home” screen with buttons/tiles type design. The UI is also a little slow in comparison to other units I have used. Nothing terrible, but could be a little snappier. It is functional though.
11. UI Apparently there are 2 UI’s available for this unit. When I contacted Hualingan they said they only had the “antique” UI version which Seicane provide. Other web sites “sort of” indicate they sell the other more “colourful” version. I am not particularly happy with the UI (I knew this before I purchased), however I couldn’t get a definitive answer on what the music play screen was for the “other colourful version” and I saw one screen shot on the web with a very old 8 character DOS type display screen when opening files/folders for music playback. For those old enough to remember DOS.
12. The new midrange/tweeter door speakers needed 2 lugs ground off. Factory speaker has 2 screws, new speakers had 4 screw lugs.
13. You will loose the dash info such as nav direction, radio station name.
14. Trying to get 2 x 12" subs in the rear parcel shelf.

What is good:
1. fast shipping, was around 3 or 4 days to Australia
2. HU looks factory, see photos below.
3. HU has all the features you probably need, although compared to other aftermarket units a little basic. I have tested the phone/Bluetooth while parked and works well.
4. New HU comes with iGo Navigation software. I have used this in other Chinese HU’s and it works well, at least in Australia. I am not sure if this latest version has lane assist or post code lookup. I only have Australian maps loaded atm, so can’t check post code lookup.
5. Steering wheel controls work very well, actually better than the OEM PCM system.
6. Phone/Bluetooth operation worked well while parked. Haven’t tried while driving, probably won’t – my car has a bit of a noisy after market exhaust.
7. is “mostly” plug and play.
8. Sound quality is as good as PCM/OEM, or at least to my ears pretty close. Except for radio reception quality.
9. With the 8” Pioneer door subwoofers, additional door subwoofer amp, and new door mid/tweeter speakers it really is starting to sound good. Sound quality is very subjective but I am very pleased with the improvement. I don’t have any good test gear, I am just using a frequency generator on the phone to test things out. Ok, now with the 12" subs and additional amp it goes how I want it. Not perfect, but pretty damn good.

What is left to do.
1. I have managed to introduce some dreaded alternator whine which is present at a constant (lowish) volume. Solution is to turn the volume up.... When I get some more time I will investigate.

Summary
With the addition of the 12" subs and additional amp - wow. Sound quality of the new HU I believe is similar (???) to stock. Once you add in the additional amps and door woofers/rear subs it is a world away from the original system. The new HU comes with the features I would have expected to see in a factory unit 10 years ago. As for reliability I have had 2 Chinese HU’s (the full touch screen/GPS/DVD/USB etc etc), one is 10 years old, the other is 5. The CD player in the el cheapo $200 10 year old unit has failed, but otherwise is still going strong. The 5 year old Chinese HU that I installed in a Focus XR5/ST is still going strong and works well. 5 months later and still going ok.


Just some random notes:
1. I did purchase some Alpine silk dome tweeters to replace the OEM dash mount items. I couldn’t tell much difference when I tried them so kept the original items. Interestingly though after I had replaced the front door midrange speakers the dash mount OEM tweeters came alive. I believe this is because the original speakers have low impedance, and once the door midrange speakers were replaced with 4ohm jobbies, the dash mount tweeters (dc resistance was around 2 ohms) can be ran at higher volumes in relation to what was previously possible. Ie the power will go to the lowest impedance device first – see ohms law. Will see how long they last now  The new midranges are a coax design with a silk dome tweeter and also add more top end as well.
2. I almost didn’t replace the door midrange speakers. When I installed the new 4” drivers, the volume output was far lower than the original Bose speakers. After doing a lot of left/right comparison I came to the conclusion that the Bose speakers have a massive peak around 600 – 800Hz. They are also more efficient (louder at a particular volume setting) because of their low impedance design (2 ohm dc resistance). The Bose speaker sounded like a clock radio speaker though, no lower range, muddy, no top end.
3. I don’t think the dash mounting is an ideal position for the tweeters. I know they are supposed to reflect off the windscreen, but don’t seem ideal in reality.
4. The Bose door “woofers” are actually a 4” 1 ohm driver (apprx 4” anyway). They are mounted to look bigger. If anyone remembers the old 901 series home speakers with 9 x 4” full range drivers, I suspect they are very similar to those. Or very similar to the Bose car audio speakers from the mid 80’s for that matter.
5. The original Bose speakers weigh nothing. This is great as far as weight saving goes, but they are very light weight when it comes to build quality. For what they are the original system is quite impressive. In comparison to what is possible they are not great.
6. The new door woofers are now wired to channels 1/2 on the 4 channel amp, with low pass filter.
7. Nav and CD enclosures now removed. Carpet installed to cover up the holes left.
8. You can wire the Bose door woofers (now removed) in series to present a 2 ohm load to the amp. Physically small amps capable of driving 2 x 1 ohm loads are rare I think.
9. Installing the 4 channel amp has made it much easier to configure the front speakers. Channels 1/2 are used with the low pass filter to drive the door woofers, and channels 3/4 are used to drive the mids/tweeters with the high pass filter. Separate gain settings for the channels helps to balance the door woofers with the mids/tweeters. Balancing front with rear subs still took a bit of mucking around.
10. I installed the 4 channel amp in the front boot floor, made a false floor and covered in carpet. Haven't noticed any heat issues (yet). I have reused the 1000w RMS mono amp to drive the 12" subs (1 ohm). This amp only goes to 250Hz, so connecting to the 12" subs makes much better use of the amps capabilities.

Speaker Wiring (at the Bose Amp Connector, the negative has the brown stripe)
Front Left Mid/Tweeter = Grey (2.2 ohms)
Rear Right = Blue (2.2 ohms)
Rear Left = White (2.2 ohms)
Front Right Mid/Tweeter = Red (2.2 ohms)
Centre dash speaker = Yellow (3.6 ohms)
Rear Parcel Shelf Subwoofer = Orange (high resistance into amp)
Front Left Door Woofer = Green (1.1 ohm)
Front Right Door Woofer = Purple (1.1 Ohm)
Rear parcel Shelf Subwoofer Amp Remote Power On (sorry, forgot to write this one down, the other wire). The last 2 are power +ve and –ve for the OEM Bose amp (not used).

 

just a couple more pics

 

Excellent post thanks

 

Thanks for posting, stopped reading after #13 as that is a deal breaker for me.

 

993S, everyone will have different things they can live with/without. This unit does have compromises for sure, but for what I wanted the stock HU (and speakers) was just never going to cut it. Considering the rubbish engine note these things make as standard not having decent audio was my deal breaker. (the exhaust is another ongoing project)

 

thanks for posting. I remember the days I used to spend hours on car stereo install and stuff. Can't do that now with wife and family. Plus I've gotten lazy, lol. Perhaps one day I'll take it in to a pro but since the car is kinda loud with aftermarket exhaust I'm not sure I will ever do it but you never know. I do enjoy reading other peoples threads about their installs so thanks for that.

 

Do you think you can post pics or a quick video of the interface and key components like phone operation and Bluetooth streaming?
Thanks!

 

Will see what I can come up with... Stay tuned

 

Phone dialer and phone book screens...

 

BT Music streaming, music player (from USB/SD), radio, Satnav..

 

I do have a collection of "screen images" the manufacturer sent me, which are "probably" better quality than my shaky photos. Let me know if there are any in particular of interest.

I will also need to update the original post as things have changed somewhat - 2 x 12" subs, additional amp for the front 8" mid-subs/mid-ranges/tweeters......

 

pics of the 12" subs, front boot area, and console "connectors".

 

Considering the rubbish engine note these things make as standard not having decent audio was my deal breaker.

 

you understand its because of the turbos... right? they bolt to the exhaust.

 

Understand, however 930/964 turbos sound good. Ford Focus ST/XR5 Turbo sounds awesome. The turbo does make things quieter, but these 997 turbos have no character whatsoever. No burble or pop on throttle close. No growl or bark when you get up in the revs, nothing.. Even a Golf GTI sounds ok... Anyway the stereo now sounds ok