In the shop, we recently had the pleasure of working on this super clean, 1995 Porsche 911. This is one of my favorite types of jobs to do. I love figuring out how to deliver an upgraded audio system while maintaining the integrity of the vehicle and without detracting from the originality or value of the vehicle. If you own a classic Porsche 993, you understand the push and pull that exists between wanting to upgrade the dated stereo and speaker system with the need to keep everything original without modification. You wouldn’t want to do anything that would in any way detract from the value of the vehicle.
That is why I was extremely selective about what components I recommended to this client for their Porsche 993 speaker and stereo upgrade. We had a couple key requirements.
Porsche 993 Stereo Upgrade Rules to Abide by
I naturally wanted to use equipment that would require minimal to no modifications which means we were limited by certain parameters:
- Use all the original speaker grilles
- No modification to the dash, doors or wiring
- Nothing visibly altered other than the PCCM Classic CarPlay stereo in the dash
It was also imperative for me to include an amplifier simply because the power of any in dash aftermarket radio would not be enough to overcome the road/engine noise of this vehicle. Additionally I wanted to use a DSP amplifier in order to extract maximum performance potential possible out of the speakers as we were not going to add any type of subwoofer.
Good Things Come in Tiny Packages
Meet the MATCH UP 6 DSP. Measuring up at 5.12″ x 5.12″ and only 1.81″ tall this compact amp is an installers dream. It’s a 6-channel amp designed for either speaker level connection or optical SPIDF. Unlike many aftermarket car audio amplifiers, it does not feature an RCA connection.
The MATCH UP 6 DSP is one of our favorite DSP amplifiers here at the shop. We install this particular amp on a regular basis in a wide variety of vehicles. It features 90 watts X 2 RMS plus another 65 watts x 4 RMS @ 4 ohms with an integrated 31 band EQ and Audiotec Fischer’s advanced digital signal processing software. The higher powered channels are also 2 ohm stable which bumps up output to 160 watts x 2. This compact little amp packs a mighty punch!
Key Ingredients to a Seamless Porsche 993 Stereo Upgrade
I’m about to spill some secrets so take note! This car was equipped with the basic stock audio system which has:
- Factory tweeters measuring at .75 inches
- 5.25″ front door speakers
- 4×6 rear door speakers
In order to keep everything fitting nicely under the original grilles, we utilized the Helix Ci 3 series speakers. The 5.25″ Helix Ci 3 speakers fit perfectly without any modification. Prior to the vehicle arriving, I did a lot of research to find out what speakers would fit with the original grilles.
Some of the speakers that kept coming up in my research for the Porsche 993 were old and long discontinued MB Quart speakers that featured a .75″ tweeter. After reaching out to Helix to confirm I was on the right track with fitment, I learned that the Helix Ci3 and Ci7 series are similarly sized to some of the 90’s MB Quart models. This is probably due to Helix having a heavy focus on integration with German vehicles, similar to MB Quart’s original roots from back in the day when it was actually made in Germany (MB Quart is a completely different company today). How convenient!
Having the right size equipment is half the battle. The other half is the actual execution which presented some challenges that were expertly overcome. John came up with a very creative solution in order to retain the factory speaker grilles. Check it out:
Those are little tiny magnets that John glued to the back side of the original grille. This created a very clean, uniform look that is easily serviceable, but also surprisingly strong. While testing out John’s speaker grille solution I was very satisfied to see that these grilles will not easily pop off.
Attention to Detail in Every Installation
As a small business owner serving clients for 25 years, I have come to embrace an eccentric level of attention to detail in the initial planning phases because I want to cover as many variables as possible and have all the questions covered before the car even arrives. This helps to increase overall efficiency, insure we have all the right parts the day the car arrives and minimizes surprises and delays during the installation process. This hyper focus on details is a strength John and I both share.
While working on the car, inevitably, something will pop up that I couldn’t have foreseen. In this case, one such example was the driver’s side door panel. While working on the Porsche 993 speaker replacement, he noticed one edge of the trim was coming apart at the corner.
Be Prepared to Make Repairs Along the Way
Not able to overlook anything, John went ahead and resecured that corner. He even added some additional reinforcement for the other edges to prevent them from coming loose as well.
The man just can’t help himself. If he sees it, he will fix it. Schedules be damned.
While he was at at, he also repainted the grilles with a fresh coat of black paint. Below you can see the final result on the driver’s side with the freshly painted grilles.
The passenger side came out pretty sharp too:
In preparation for the rear speakers, I ordered and set aside a set of 4″ coaxials, the Ci3 C100.2FM-S3 and 4″ components, the Ci3 K100.2FM-S3. I wasn’t sure whether this car was equipped with a 4×6 or the 4″ component we sometimes see in Porsche models. This turned out to be a non amplified Porsche 993 with a set of 4×6 in the rear deck. I was also slightly concerned about the rear tweeter protruding too high up and interfering with the factory grilles, but luckily that was not an issue.
The old original rear speaker grilles did present a major challenge. The plastic base for each side was cracked. Despite John’s numerous attempts and hours spent trying to repair them, the stubborn old plastic would just crack again each time he reattached the grille. After the 3rd attempt to rebuild I convinced him to order new grilles which of course look great.
The new rear grilles look much better than the original 1995 Porsche 911 grilles. The replacement rear grilles weren’t cheap, but we think it was well worth the cost for a clean look.
It’s not just about looks, we also needed this Porsche 993 stereo to be fully functional. The client opted for the Porsche PCCM Classic CarPlay radio.
Making the Porsche PCCM Classic CarPlay Stereo Sound Incredible
The Porsche PCCM Classic CarPlay radio is interesting to me. The display is SO small I am not quite sure how I feel about it. I generally appreciate the overall look of the modern Porsche 993 stereo.
Although the display is small, it certainly fits the dash and maintains a period appropriate look. The knobs and buttons certainly have a factory like feel to them and the Porsche logo on top seals the deal.
We used the PP-ISO 2 T-harness to make a clean speaker level connection from the Porsche PCCM Classic CarPlay radio to the MATCH UP 6 DSP amplifier. I asked John to mount the amp in the factory location under the passenger seat. If you didn’t know where to look, you’d never know it was there!
We chose to run each speaker actively for maximum performance and efficiency. Utilizing each channel for each speaker eliminated the need for any external crossover network. The tweeters were run on the 65 watt channels, the 5.25″ midranges powered off the 90 watt channels and the rear 4″ run off the remaining 65 watt channels.
The combination of equipment used along with John’s expert installation and tuning process created a powerful system that was crisp, clean, detailed and vibrant yet fully maintained the original aesthetics of the vehicle. If you’re interested in a clean and classic Porsche 993 stereo upgrade like this for your vehicle, please contact our shop, Sounds Incredible Mobile in Brookfield, CT.