996.1 Headunit and Speaker upgrade

[conanius]

Hi Folks,

I've got the original headhunt in my 1998 C2 Coupe and it seems to be well, broken. It turns on when the engine is off, but with the engine on, it will only work when the car is up to temperature !?

I've had someone take a peek and they've said its the headunit - car electrics are apparently fine.

So, new head unit.

I like the look of the Continental units everyone seems to suggest - this one seems ideal - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23468193...fdajPLOOqWgifSVgtOWafY5Vw=|tkp:Bk9SR8yvn8jyYA

Speakers wise, I was going to replace my front and rears with the JMG Alpine kit

https://www.jmgshop.com/9x6-speaker...lpine-europe-speakers-with-speakers-607-p.asp

I'm not a massive audiophile, but I assume this should give a decent upgrade that I'd notice.

Is there an adapter cable I need on the back of the headunit?

Any guidance/advice would be great. Thanks folks !

 

[cvega]

hey, I have this radio in my 996.2 and I replaced the original PCM with it. I had some issues with wiring as the radio would turn on with the key, but then switch off past a certain speed :lol: so I had to modify an ISO adapter to make it work.
In summary it will depend on what you have in car now as I've been told my issue was to do specifically with the wiring for PCM

have a look: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=139663

 

[Super]

Much cheaper options than the JMG kit.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/super_paulie/m.html?item=115230008421

 

[Alex]

A few members have done a DIY job with Alpine Speakers (self included). I did a how to here:

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=99187

 

[timm996]

I got a similar head head unit but the lack of DAB has annoyed me. The aftermarket dab adaptors are pants.
It has usb for music, but each time you turn it off it seems to lose where you where, so when it's turned on it then searches, finds the usb key then you have to click through all your albums to get where you want to be, by repeated pushing the right button. It gives you a number rather than the title, so have to guess by clicking say 20 times get somewhere. Very clunky and dated, but at least I can read the screen, I simply can't read modern screens in the car in any sunlight.
The price of these units seems to go up with supply, I bought mine direct from vdo for £105 and the DAB version TRD7412UB-OR was £140, now they are pretty much end of line, the dealers in shops are asking £160/ £259 for the same models. You can still buy them in germany shipped here for the old price, not sure about brexit vat though. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Continen...-DAB-ohne-CD-Laufw-TRD7412UB-OR-/390793878266

 

[Thunderace]

My standard CDR22 was playing up (both head unit and balancer) so i replaced it with:

Pioneer Apple Car Play system SPH-DA250DAB and a Pioneer GM-A3702 500w amplifier.

Excellent, looks in keeping and you can set the lights to C2 colours.

http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?p=1638029#1638029

 

[IUI675]

I recently fitted some focal ES 100k 4" components using super Paulie adaptors, they sound about as good as I could hope for 4" speakers. Some modification was required to get the tweeters to fit, but the woofers are nice and shallow and cleared everything in the dash with no issues.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134308211523

 

[mikeeb]

Hi

I used the super paulie kit with the Alpine SPA's, and Alpine single din head unit and they were an easy fit and a great improvement.

 

[eabeukes]

I installed a Kienzle MCR116BT which fits without needing a surround (those are ugly) and looks near-OEM. eBay has them shipped from Germany for low £150, and theres a DAB version too if thats your bag. Had to order the BergvilleFX harness and swap one of the cables to make it work corectly on my system with the 6-speaker amp so beware its no totally plug and play.

 

[porkchops]

Much cheaper options than the JMG kit.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/super_paulie/m.html?item=115230008421

Yes get the alpine and this kit on ebay this is what I did and it's perfect. The sounds quality is way better and good enough.

I did buy the continental but it wasn't working for me so at the end I ordered a mr12volt instead. Glad I did, keep the original look with the bluetooth you need.

https://www.mr12volt.com/en-gb/products/p600-lp1605po

 

[Guywilko]

Get the continental but the better version with DAb. Looks like factory fitment.

The alpines with superpaulies adapter rings are good.

 

[Carrera4Boy'sDad]

Carrera 4 Boy's car came with an aftermarket Sony double DIN radio which looked a bit out of place, so he bought a Sony XAV-AX1005DB 6" Apple CarPlay Media Player with DAB & Bluetooth.
On sale here: https://www.caraudiocentre.co.uk/product_m-sony-xav-ax1005db_p-45850.htm

Fortunately, we could re-use the plastic surround from the previous radio, but otherwise you'd need a surround, such as shown in this kit :
https://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/con...ble-din-stereo-fascia-fitting-panel-kit.html?

It took a bit of Dremeling and fettling to get things to fit flush, but it looks nice now. Ideally we would've liked to have fitted the microphone in the standard place, next to the steering wheel, but I thought it would be a pain if we ever needed to remove the instrument cluster (again) as the undetachable mic wire would be going through the binnacle. So, the mic is up on the A pillar trim.

The unit works well with the phone. We're not audiophiles but the sound seems good. The boy's only complaint is that the screen is a little bright at night. (It does dim when the lights are turned on, but will have to check if it can be further dimmed).

Next job is to fit a reversing camera to it and a DAB aerial.

I was going to get a DAB/FM aerial splitter cable instead of a separate DAB aerial, but during the install I found the OEM aerial signal amplifier sitting behind the pillar trim, so I guess the splitter idea wouldn't work as the amp might only boost the FM/AM frequencies ? Any thoughts chaps ?

 

[The Baron3]

Any pictures of this in situ?

 

[Carrera4Boy'sDad]

Any pictures of this in situ?

 

[The Baron3]

I've just revived my Bluetooth Alpine headset and installed the Continental Bluetooth and Dab headset. Nothing wrong with the Alpine and I set it up with orange back light but the Continental just looks like OEM, and the sound quality and functionality is great, but not that much better than the Alpine, so this was a swap for cosmetic reasons, plus the addition of Dab radio which works really well