Re: Rear Speaker Replacement

I pulled my rear shelf speaker unit in the process of replacing my air filter and noticed that the suspension for the speakers is shot. Mold/mildew on the rings, tears, and will fall apart when touched. I have the Porsche rear speaker kit with the Haes 6 ohm speakers. Has anyone replaced these, and if so, with what?

Thanks,

Al

All I can find is 4 ohm speakers in that size. The original two 6-ohm speakers in parallel would be 3 ohms. Two 4-ohm speakers in parallel would be 2 ohms. I don't know what the drive characteristics of the 996 6-channel amp are.

Thanks,

Al

... speakers are available through the dealers.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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I wasn't aware I could get just the drivers. I'll give that a try, but I was hoping to upgrade to something with a little better specs. I can find a lot of information on upgrading the dash and door speakers, but not the rears. I'd rather replace with two 8-ohms in parallel than two 4-ohms. I think the amp will be better capable of driving the higher impedance without clipping than the low impedance.

Al

problem you'll find, as I recall, is OEM bracket doesn't hold std 3.5" speaker size but a custom spec size instead. If you feel like doing some cutting (not necessarily minor due to bracket gauge), you can retrofit to 3.5". Not only will 3.5" be better sound wise but wallet -wise too I'm certain. Personally, I'd recommend going that route.

Wouldn't worry too much about impedance delta as rears are really just surround drivers. Remember, there is a cross-over built into amp and they (like dash) only get higher freq signals. Been a long time since I had my Boxster but I ran Harvey PNP speaker kit w/ HAES 6x40 amp. As I recall Harvey's kit (which used std 3.5" drivers) were 4 ohm pairs in parallel and never had an issue.

Good luck

Unlike home amps which operate off of rectified AC, and are typically current limited, car amps work off the battery. This is why they are coupled to low impedance speakers - so that one can apply power. You have an absolute limit of 12V peak, so power has to be "very little voltage and lots of current". The battery provides quite a large, low impedance power supply.

So, without any further facts, i'd tend to go for a lower Z unit.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Thanks Grant. I was trying to decide whether to go Hi-Z (4-ohm 4x6) or Lo-Z (two 4-ohm 3.5" rounds in parallel). Sounds like Lo-Z is the way to go. Probably series MOSFET drivers in the amp.

Al

If you want to replace with the OEM speakers, I have an extra set. I upgrade my system several years ago and I kept the old ones. They are in excellent condition. PM me if you are interested.

Thanks Tony and BurgBoxster. I have a little more research to do. It sure looks like the holes in the plate are large enough but I'll pull a speaker to be sure. The 3.5" units I saw said the mounting hole was 3-3/16. Mine is over 3" but may not be big enough. I'm inclined to try to upgrade to 3-1/2, but if it turns out to be a hassle I'll PM Tony. BTW Tony, what did you do when you upgraded?

Al

Jamey from Rawlings Audio replaced mine. I believe he used Eclipse speakers at the rear. He manufactured a new support assembly that fit into the original space of the speaker shelf unit.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/28/2015 06:19PM by Laz. (view changes)

Suncoast Porsche has an upgrade kit for the rear speakers, 1997-2002.
Although in text given below it states fits 1997-2012, unless of course, you are lucky enough to own a Spyder.

Thanks everyone. Going with Tony's pulls. I just don't want to fool with building something right now and over $200 from Suncoast just doesn't excite me when I can buy good replacements for $50-$80 per pair. Although I have to admit Laz's guy was tempting.

Al



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/30/2015 12:09AM by Al in Melbourne Beach. (view changes)

I am doing this by memory, but I seem to recall a poster on the old board who replaced the OEM units with

MB-Quartz units and reported very good results. But again, this is an older memory.