Because your car should sound good too

Circa 2001 I bought a new Porsche, and wanted to upgrade the stock audio system.

Like any self respecting Audiogoner, I would normally get obsessively involved but was busy at the time and therefore deferred to a "high end" car audio guy in CT who recommended new speakers and amps, while keeping the stock head unit which he thought was very good.

Well a couple of thousand bucks later, it seems that the stock head unit did not even have line level out to the amps! So it all sounded absolutely terrible to me, and not even close to my 1978 Nakamichi a/d/s system - I really couldn't believe how bad it was.

For an incremental improvement, I had another dealer install a newer Nakamichi head unit, which was fairly simple, CD+radio, no pimp my ride lights, EQs or DSP - I believe it was a 2002 Nakamichi CD 400 which appears to be available online for < $200.

The simple presence of line level out to the power amps (duh!) made a huge difference.

So could be worth a look, subject to whatever else is available (or not available) from the peddlars of subwoofers and neon.

Others have recommended Butler tube amps, and Dynaudio (?) speakers. There was also a Milbert tube amp, but I never heard one and they were very expensive.

Bondmanp -

If you dynamat and want to do it it correctly, you dynamat everything. From door panels to trunk floor and lid, to roof and floor to wheel wells and firewall. Any panel inside the cabin and trunk that could be removed that has some room under it to place dynamat should be covered. That of course is for best results. And considering your vehicle, you are looking at more than $400 in dynamat to do it right.

Now, instead of removing all the panels more than once you may want the rest of your audio gear you are going to install handy so you can install it at the same time.

Now you said you don't want to remove the HU. I understand completely. However, I have done a few installs where the HU wasn't changed but the speakers were upgraded. Sometimes it actually sounds worse. You could try the higher-end cable route and replace your speaker cables. But I've never done that myself so I can't comment on the improvements on a stock system.

One thing you could do on a stock system to at least get bass you can control is get a splice box that taps off your rear speakers wires and gives you an RCA line-output for an amplifier. Then just make sure you get an amp with a remote level control that you can place in your center console or mount on the dash. Put one nice 10" Alpine Type R or a JL W6 in a sealed box and viola! Bass that won't interfere with your music that you have control of. You may be able to use your subwoofer wires and just disconnect that thing entirely. Up to you.

Total cost of all this would be approximately $1,200 if you install it. But it would be very quiet and great controlled bass. You might not mind your stock stereo after all. I've done a few of these installs before as well and I only received compliments. If you need any other tips you can always send me a message and I'll help out any way I can. Good luck

Spending a lot of money and time on car audio seems like a bit of a waste to me.

McIntosh HUs still have the some of their trademark sound. They do sound great. That is, if you don't mind spending the cash.

Unsound, if done right it is far from a waste. Most of the time it is a waste because people do not put the right amount of time, money and energy into it and always get sub-par sound and then blame it soley on the gear. So your statement, while true to a point, is only valid with those that take the cheap route. I've heard a few mobile audio stereos that sounded nearly as good as the $80k reference system at my local home audio dealers sound room. Of course they'll never sound as good due to space and the overall environment but you certainly can get close.