in the spirit of the "gundo hack" should we call this the "gator hack" for the bose?

 

Great informative forum! Found this old thread searching for ways to improve the Bose system sound. The DIY link is actually for a Boxter/Cayman subwoofer assembly. I was going to pose a question to you guys on how to specifically open up the 997 subwoofer assembly but after searching the web I found this at Sharkwerk illustrating the subwoofer removal so I thought I share it here for the 911 owners:

http://sharkwerks.com/porsche/techni...2-and-gt3.html

 

This is great next up is how to stuff the fiver fill into the 997.2 sub woofers. Do we just stuff then into the port holes, which means removing is not neccessary, or is there a better watmto get that stuffing behind the driver?

 

Yes, this ^^^ What is the best way to stuff the Bose Subwoofer in a non-cab set up?

 

Yes, this post from Burg Boxter talks about removing the driver to stuff the box more completely:

"Just a quick follow up here, I took it a step further. Picked up the smallest bag of poly-fil at JoAnn Fabrics for $2.99 (still have 3/4 of the bag left too...) - no it's not N-spec

Anyhow, instead of trying stuff the filler in thru the port, just unscrew the 6 (IIRC) torx screws holding the driver and grill in/onto the bottom of the box. No need to disco the wires to the driver, just lift it out of the enclosure and place to the side. Then using your hands, stuff the poly-fil in from here into all the corners, crevices and open space in the box. Firmly but loose I think is the technical measurement . Then just replace the driver, grill and 6 torx screws into the enclosure and reinstall the enclosure back into vehicle."

And then in the earlier RH512 post there are 2 links that talks about how densely to stuff the enclosure. In the DIY thread most people are stuffing the enclosure as tightly as possible but according the 2 links below it's better to not over-stuff and better to use denser stuffing material. I tend to agree. If you ever open up home stereo speaker cabinets you'll find the stuffing to be evenly distributed but not tightly wadded up in there. I think if you are stuffing only the ports then it should be more tightly packed in. This is similar to foam plugging bass ports in home speakers.

"some more relevant info on stuffing here - http://www.moodym.com/audio/fiber.html

and Acousta-Stuf superior material for stuffing here -

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=260-317 "

 

Here's the explanation from Parts-Express. It's also helpful to read some of the user reviews as some are experienced home speaker builders:


"Acousta-Stuf Polyfill Speaker Cabinet Damping Material 1 lb. Bag

Acousta-Stuf is a synthetic material made from crimped fibers. It is an excellent choice for filling or stuffing small enclosures or transmission line cabinets. Long fiber wool has been a favorite among serious speaker builders but Acousta-stuf is less expensive than long fiber wool and does not have the problem of harboring moths. Acousta-Stuf™ will also outperform Dacron, foam, and fiberglass. Acousta-Stuf is a sound absorption, dampening fiber that will deepen bass, provide cleaner midrange and improve the dynamic extension of any speaker system. There are no health hazards with Acousta-Stuf and no mask or gloves are needed when using this product; the melting point is a very high 490°F. Most sealed and vented enclosures require 1/2 lb. of dampening material per cubic foot of enclosure. For best results it is recommended to loosely fill the material throughout the enclosure."

 

Cool. Ever heard of stuffing a potato up the exhaust pipes? I heard that is a really cool mod.

 

Will it improve the bass on my PSE

 

It's sound dampening and the box won't "ring" as much so it sounds tighter.
Most speaker cabinets are lined with sheets of an inch or two of Dacron but you can sub (no pun intended) a sheet of soft foam as well.
Handfuls of loose Dacron bits if not glued down can on occasion come shooting out of the ports on heavy bass notes.

 

Done the stuffing thing. Still too much <100Hz bass energy coming from it. I.e. the ratio between mid-bass from the door speakers and subwoofer is still off: to get decent mid bass on the sound control (-2 to + 2), the sub is still too dominant for me.

Has anyone experimented with an electronic solution to the problem, i.e. an in-line resistor before the sub's speaker itself, or an input attenuator at the input of the Bose subwoofer amp in the footwell?
JM

 

If I do this, will it void my drivetrain warranty?

Time to go to JoAnne's and go shopping for the filler.

 

Probably affecting your warranty as much (or likely not at all) as stuffing the thing full of pillow dust would do (which, in my personal experience, did not solve the fundamental annoyance of an ill-conceived cross-over/subwoofer level; it only mitigated it somewhat).

I cannot imagine that a Porsche mechanic will go on a hunt and physically check every solder joint on your car, looking for a slightly more shiny solder joint as clue that someone may have previously soldered an inline resistor to the speaker wire (which you can quickly and easily unsolder, if you are concerned about this). Besides, nothing in your CPU's mapping or tracing of functions will hint at a slightly lower bass response from a woofer.

 

FYI, my post above was for humor purposes.

 

Sorry, my genetic humor-impairment prevented me from catching this.

 

Very interesting mod, I may try this. I've just completed a full speaker swap in my car using Focal drivers. Swapping out the Bose drivers did a lot to improve the punch and clean up the bass. The stock door drivers are not really woofers, they are more like bass radiators that must add to the muddiness of the bass. Stuffing the sub woofer may be a great finishing touch to the system. I can tell you that swapping out the Bose speakers can be done with good results, but it takes quite some effort to install them. The tweeters need to have a lot of plastic removed to get them in, the woofers need custom spacers, mid ranges need to have the tabs cut off the baskets, and the rear speakers don't fit all (using 4"coax). The sound results are surprisingly good though.