Re: New '13 S owner. Retrofitting a USB audio input?

I picked up a new 2013 Boxter S this weekend (Silver/Back).
Haven't had a chance to drive it yet other than the short ride home from the dealer- the weather in Chicago is pretty soupy at the moment.
It's what I was looking for in that it's near base: 20" wheels, Bose sound, Convenience Package, Heated steeing wheel & seats, ventilated seats.
I'm surprised that the car doesn't seem to come equipped with a USB auxilary input for the radio- all I've found is a stereo analoge line level minijack in the glove box. Nor does it seem to support bluetooth audio. I know I was looking for a near base config, but...
How difficult would it be to retrofit a usb/ipod connection?
BTW, to anyone contemplating the Bose upgrade, my advice would be to pass. I don't know what the stock speakers sound like, but the Bose system in my car is surprisingly bad- I actually checked the sticker once home to verify that my car was equipped with the "upgrade" (the speaker grills in the doors do bear the Bose logo). Lest anyone ask, I did check that the balance, bass, treble, surround were all set correctly. The sound is just dull and unengaging- I guess the engine/exhaust note will have to substitute ;-)
Other than that, I'm happy to be back to the marque- The last Porsche I owned was a base Boxster I bought new in 2000 and drove for about 70K miles. I've since been through two Lotus cars and really missed the Tutonic build-quality of my old Boxster- the Lotus "quality" would have been laughable had they been someone else's cars...

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arobot
I picked up a new 2013 Boxter S this weekend (Silver/Back).
Haven't had a chance to drive it yet other than the short ride home from the dealer- the weather in Chicago is pretty soupy at the moment.
It's what I was looking for in that it's near base: 20" wheels, Bose sound, Convenience Package, Heated steeing wheel & seats, ventilated seats.
I'm surprised that the car doesn't seem to come equipped with a USB auxilary input for the radio- all I've found is a stereo analoge line level minijack in the glove box. Nor does it seem to support bluetooth audio. I know I was looking for a near base config, but...
How difficult would it be to retrofit a usb/ipod connection?
BTW, to anyone contemplating the Bose upgrade, my advice would be to pass. I don't know what the stock speakers sound like, but the Bose system in my car is surprisingly bad- I actually checked the sticker once home to verify that my car was equipped with the "upgrade" (the speaker grills in the doors do bear the Bose logo). Lest anyone ask, I did check that the balance, bass, treble, surround were all set correctly. The sound is just dull and unengaging- I guess the engine/exhaust note will have to substitute ;-)
Other than that, I'm happy to be back to the marque- The last Porsche I owned was a base Boxster I bought new in 2000 and drove for about 70K miles. I've since been through two Lotus cars and really missed the Tutonic build-quality of my old Boxster- the Lotus "quality" would have been laughable had they been someone else's cars...

I'll let Laz cover the details since he's had his 981 the longest of anyone on this board, but I'm thinking if you didn't get the PCM option or Infotainment, you didn't get the connectivity you're looking for. I think the message is here that many the audio features that typically are included on a US or Japanese made higher end car end up being an option on Porsche's "entry level" car.

Here's a thread on Planet 9 that gets into specifics of where'd the USB go?..
[www.planet-9.com]

Here's link that gets into 981 connectivity:
[www.porsche.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2013 10:12AM by MikenOH. (view changes)

Initially I thought my car was to come with the USB port, too, and didn't go far into considering Bluetooth, etc. Albeit a little less convenient for quick reference while driving, my iPad served as navigation device and let me conduct other wireless business as needed, other than phone calls: my dumb phone handled that. Neither my family nor friends are yakky people who constantly call with every notion that comes into their heads. I carried a medium format, yet "large type" Rand McNally map book for perusing when in hotel rooms. Paper maps are always great for conceptualizing the vastness of a long journey. I would also hand write simple, anticipated directions for the following day into a paper memo book. There's a novel concept! Hey, I'm glad the car has a glove compartment!

My car has the CDR30 and standard speaker set-up, which sounds fine to me. An addendum to an earlier rant about Porsche's sloppy information: the literature/site info used to say the system had if I correctly recall, anything between 185 to 335 Watts, but as of the past month or so its finally listed as 2 X 25 Watts. It sounds clear and dynamic enough, whatever the number of Watts or speakers, and the radio reception seems to be noticeably better than 01's.

An alternative to the PCM and/or Bose system is the "CDR Plus audio system" at $1700 that has a USB connection, among other features. I gave it some thought thought, but cheaped out as I was getting PTV and PASM with the intention the car would have maximized chassis performance. Radio programming in the flyover states can be pretty stultifying, but relieved by popping in a CD. All said and done, listening to the existential beauty of that motor for endless hours suited me fine.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2013 12:03PM by Laz. (view changes)

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How difficult would it be to retrofit a usb/ipod connection?

My '09 has the USB and iPod ports in the little compartment on the transmission hump. Have you looked there?

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BTW, to anyone contemplating the Bose upgrade, my advice would be to pass. I don't know what the stock speakers sound like, but the Bose system in my car is surprisingly bad-

I certainly agree with this statement. I won't get into the Bose is overpriced hype argument (which is is), except to say that it is exceptionally bad in my car. I have heard $300 all-in-one systems that sound better.

Porsche needs to improve their "premium" sound option as well as their GPS; both stink compared to 3rd party options.

Driving a new-to-me '09S in Aqua Blue Metallic. It does .5 past light speed. I made the Kessel run in less than 12-parsecs.
Motto: If you have your top up, that storm outside had better have a name!
Motto 2: Having the top up on a convertible is an oxymoron. Don't be a (oxy)moron.

Having had the Bose system both in my 2008 and now in my 2013, I can say that the 2013 version is much improved. I am sure there are better systems, but it is better than the "premium" oem systems I have in my other two (non-Porsche) cars.