Is it true that the Bose speakers cannot simply be replaced? I love JL Audio and am starting to think about pulling the stock speakers. Any thoughts???

 

Who told you that? Speakers are very simple electrical components and swapping in (or out) any brand is easy.

 

I am no authority, but I have heard that the Bose system uses proprietary fiber optic wires to connect the speakers to the amp(s) and that a simple speaker swap is not possible.

 

In addition, the Bose speakers are tuned specifically for our model car. Mixing and matching speakers without having control of specific frequencies will be counterintuitive.

 

If you check out Crutchfield you'll find that speakers for late model 911's are not readily available when trying to upgrade the stock audio system.

 

to be honest, I doubt that's the case. It's possible that fiber optic cables are used to connect the PCM system with an amp, but there's no way a fiber optic cable would connect to a speaker. Fiber optic cables transmit information only - they can't carry any power. Regular speaker wire is most likely what's used to drive the speakers.

 

It'll be standard copper wiring to the speakers from the amp. BUT Bose is known to do some funky things w/ regards to the impedance. Most car speakers are either 2 or 4 Ohm but I understand Bose in their proprietary systems deviates from that substantially. So you can really only stick w/ Bose replacements unless you also replace the amp which then you'll need something that can interface w/ the fiberoptic system.

 

So, what do you think would happen if I pull out a speaker, unclip it and clip in a replacement then turn on the radio??????????

 

I agree with Burg Boxster, it is likely they are a different impedance is anything. Simply pull out one of the speakers and see if the impedance is labled, or measure it with an ohm meter. It they are higher impedance (8-12ohm etc) and you replace them with standard impedance speakers (4) you run the risk of overloading the amplifier which could cause it to overheat or pop a fuse. If it is vice-versa, you may notice the replacement speakers have much lower volume.

 

My man here is correct. Only god himself knows the weird things that Bose does to make their speakers do what they do. You cannot just slap in some replacements. It is one of the major reasons to avoid Bose, if you are going to tinker or upgrade, the stock system is more amenable to it!

 

I have no idea what Bose does in the 911, but I have heard of them using dedicated amps at each speaker. Typically you can only mod the system by ripping out the entire thing, including the head unit.
If you are unhappy with the Bose, I highly recommend adding a Dension for iPod audio. Let it burn in a bit and you may be happy with the results. I'm an audiophile and am not that demanding of my car audio, but I've found the system is now pretty livable. It is also not bad in that you can at least EQ for separate sources.

 

I think Burg is on the right track. It will certainly be copper wire, not optic to ge to the speaker. I can't see anyone placing amps at the speaker, you would have to send 12V to each speaker, plus signal, plus amps. I think the fiber optic cable is head unit to a central amp (or maybe a couple) that distribute to speakers. Great...that is nice and all, what does that mean for replacement.

As mentioned before, bose does some pretty random **** to make their weird voodoo sound systems. I would pull a speaker and as listed before, get some type of read on the impedence. Typical speakers are actually 4 or 8 ohms (not 2-4) so if it falls in that range, you are proably good. You still will have some mis-match from a tone/sensitivity perspective...but you should be able to manage with balance and tone controls. Also...as long as you get the right impedence, any decent aftermarket speaker will be better than the stock bose.

Now...if you pull the speakers and get a really high impedence (say something wacked like 14)...you have a bit of an issue. You might want to get a good stereo shop involved at that point. They could probably just add a resistor, but you need to make sure that this is done correctly.

Now...if the bose is like 1.23 ohm...you are **** out of luck, because nobody makes a speaker like that (nobody would want to...but bose just might do it to create a barrier to non-oem replacement).

"Bose...better profits through marketing..."

 

Hasn't any Porsche owner out there actually replaced their stock speakers yet? If so, please let us know your experiences. All the above is theory and conjecture perhaps with some degree of engineering principle but it would be nice to know someone's actual experience with changing out the stock speakers.

 

I recommend calling a high end mobile audio installer and talking with them. That is getting the info from the mouth of the horse. They would know if its plug and play or if new modules are needed.

 

I did it the other way...

I removed the PCM 2.1 in my 2007 C2 coupe and replaced it with the top
of the line Pioneer Nav unit with Bluetooth, iPod integration,XM and Nav.

I bypassed the Bose amp and just used the power from the Pioneer for the Bose speakers. They metered at over 4 ohms. No resistors were needed. I then used the line level out with RCA's to connect the Bose sub amp ( it's not fiber optic like the main amp is).

Bottom line, for about $2,300.00 including professional install, I have a 7" touchscreen full blown system in my coupe that blows away the sound quality of the PCM and stock Bose sound system.

There is no voodoo with the Bose system. It's quite simple and manageable.

Good luck!

Steve