I am a proud new owner of new C2S . I have all the options which I need except for upgraded Bose sound system which was not impressive. I was looking around for audio upgrade (I know the exhaust sounds great but I need some music for long drives) when I came across Reus Audio. I saw a lot of positive and very few negative reviews.

I contacted Rick and spoke with him. He was nice to talk to and gave me a quote for the system which included upgraded speakers, subwoofer and amplifier. The door speakers will be retained. I live in Oklahoma but he would fly his technician there from Houston or California and do the installation. I liked the fact that the Control unit and everything else was stock.

I went to Houston last week for my business related work and Rick arranged for me to see/hear his system. I liked the top end was very clear with minimal distortion. The soundstage was ok but bass was so so, sort of boomy at certain frequencies. Overall a good system for car with the exception of bass. I spoke to the owner of the car that I listened to and he promptly told me that the sound from Reus audio was the best he heard and he threw out some car hifi names. I agreed with him since audio is subjective and he likes the way the system is tuned. Infact most of the positive reviews say exactly the same words "Rick audio is way better than whatever I have heard".

Now my problem .... One thing the owner in Houston told me was issues after installation which required several trips to the shop in Houston but it was eventually taken care of in a satisfactory fashion. I also emailed another owner from California who also liked the system but had some issue after installation which was taken care of promptly. But these guys were local and could afford to take the car back whereas I would be stuck.

So I emailed Rick asking him complete details of warranty (supposedly life time warranty with transfer of audio system to the new car if I sell my old one with only labor/shipping charges), return policy and exact audio components that he will be upgrading. I also asked about issues related to installation and if he will offer any additional warranty for installation issues. But he did not commit to anything, just asked me call back and that he will explain over the phone.

I replied asking him to explain these through email but he did not respond. I emailed him again 2 days later and he replied very vaguely about the warranty/installation and again requested that I call him so that he can explain.

As mentioned before he has some good reviews in the forums. But still I am nervous about his reluctance to commit (through email) details such as the individual components that he will be upgrading, return policy, full details of supposed life time warranty, estimated labor charges for installation issues etc. His receipt just states the total price without any details such as components, labor charges or warranty.

It would help if anybody had any of these issues and the manner in which it was handled.

Thanks,

Sven

 

Stay away!!!! I repeat. Stay away!!!!!

I ordered a Reus system for my 2007 997 GT3 in December of 2006. Reus was very friendly over the phone. Stated that I "only have to send a small deposit of $1000" and that he would order a system for my car. 3 years later, not only do I not have a system, but Reus refuses to refund my deposit.

I have called Reus over 20 times by phone and spoke to him personally since his refussal to return my deposit. He states "the check is in the mail." When I call him weeks later stating that the check has not come, Reus simple says, "oh sorry, I'll get that out next week."

In short, Reus is a complete scam. Don't get suckered. He'll take your $1000 deposit and leave you with nothing.

 

I would never change a factory installation. The base audio is pretty good and I know what hi-fi is.

 

I am new to porsche but have made the high dollar audio system mistake in a sports car before. I wouldn't do it. The baseline noise level will negatively impact the sound coming out of your stereo system no matter how nice it is. This was really driven home to me in the comparison between my 350Z, in which I had installed an expensive and high quality setup and the 335i I traded it in on. The stock 335i sound system sounded much better than the system I threw so much money at, largely because the baseline noise level in the car was so much lower. There were lots of details the focal utopia speakers I had installed in the Nissan were producing that I could hear only if sitting still with the engine off. Now, I was otherwise bored in the bmw but I did like the stereo. In returning to a sports car I decided I wouldn't do it and am satisfied. If I were you, I wouldn't do it.

 

STAY AWAY from RICK REUS!!! I had them install a system $4000 in my 06 E55 awhile back, system was a complete GARBAGE, I asked for a refund which took months to get and when he actually sent the checks, it bounced twice and I had to get my attorney involved at the end.

 

I can't fault them for trying, but I wonder what type of problems they had? I could not see how installing an aftermarket system would cause issues at all. the inlt thing is if they did not have the PIWIS to erase fault codes or if the radio was replaced to uninstall it from the gateway.

now if they butchered something up... I'd be pi55ed... but I couldn't see it.

I will design one for the DIY guy...

Maybe.... wait... nah... couldn't handle the tech questions

 

I had one put in my 03 911 cab and the sound was great, including the low end. I have since sold my 911 to my friend and he loves it too. ( He did change the head unit.) I spoke with and have seen Rick since and he has always been professional. That said, I did not upgrade my 997 bose as I thought the system was better than the 996 system. Also I did not think it was worth the upgrade on the 997.

 

Thank you very much for the responses guys.

I was just holding back without going forward and turns out I did the right thing.

I was actually very close to sending him a check when I got his reply email. After reading it I was reluctant to proceed with the deal.

Basically he would not commit if at all, he was going to upgrade any speakers. No info as to the speakers replaced, specs or about amplifier that he will be upgrading.

The labor charges for installation or service is ridiculous at $200 an hour.

If I change the car he would swap the speakers for only $1500 plus shipping, transportation charges etc.

He included some additional $250 in the initial bill which was supposed to be taxes, but being an internet seller without a physical presence in my state there is no taxes, so he is just bluffing about various charges on the bill.

Now it turns out he is doing some sort of a scam.

Yes I agree the road noise defeats the potential of any upgraded speaker so I am not upgrading my audio for now.

 

Holy cow what was he quoting for the system??? He was going to charge you $2k or more for a system without a head unit and without replacing the front speakers?? How could anyone do a system without replacing the front speakers, which are probalby the most critical components? THat labor charge is insane. I thought $120 at the P dealership was bad. I've gotta go into the car audio biz! I've got the Bose and I know audio very well. I love my exhaust sound, but the Bose is not bad. The Audiopilot feature is nice in that it is easily adjustable and can provide just a hint of noise compensation. My BMW had a similar feature that was impossible to defeat and was way too intrusive. The Bose subwoofer is a bit boomy, but the car is loud on the road, so you really need the extra bass - an audiophile environment it isn't. I went with a mega buck install once, I really found it wasn't worth the money. In a P car, I would worry about the detrimental affect on resale value as well. Good luck and post if you achieve some good results.

 

i had one of the first reus system for 997 coupe. it was drastically bette than the stock bose. i remember leaving the car with them in orange county for about 2 days. there was no issue after installation for the 1 year i own the car and i have not heard any problem from the person who bought my car 2 years ago.

i don't think installing a sound system should cause any problem to the car as long as the installer knows what he/she is doing. it is done daily at some high end stero shops without killing any cars! just pick the right people.

 

Do what you feel comfortable with.

As far as cost goes, I took my car to a high end shop in my area and showed/had him listen to my 996. He asked me how much I was charged for the system. He was really shocked. He said that he couldn't come close to doing that amount of work for that money. He thought the sound was exceptional. He really never gave me specs on the stuff either, but the sound quality really speaks for itself.

 

I do not agree. It is not good by any standards.

I do think it would make great improvement to upgrade first front door speakers, bass woofers in front door are horrible and amount of distortions in bass is horrible.

Problem here is in 2 major areas - first of all disassembling doors you will damage a bit stock material so it may result in increased amount of rattle.

Second - unique design in Porsche utilizes feeds from stock radio as part of amplified signal and amplifier in trunk simultaneously, so completely re-amping sound bypassing stock radio you will loose central speaker as stock amplifier essentially gets simple stereo signal only to amplify - just 2 channels.

I was thinking for a while on what to do with this as sound in 997 annoys me a lot, especially this bass which cannot be properly controlled. But as for now I still see no ideal solution.

 

I have heard many bad things about Reus over the years on the forums.

You are not missing anything by not having the Bose system...it truely is horrible. The bas in the Bose system lacks low end punch in the 60-125hz region but has a lose boomy lowend below 60hz. The mids are OK but the highs are rather harsh in the lower treble range of around 5-7khz. If you want to see a very odd freq. curve stick a RTA in the car and do some measurments.

On the other hand with out adding a lot of sound deading all over the car with a dynamat type of material that adds a whole lot of weight to the car, a high end audio system is a waste because of the road noise from the tires and the over all acoustics of a Porsche Carrera cabin. Between the new high end system and sound deading in the tub and doors you will be adding hundreds of pounds.