I love my system installed this summer. Clean and strong, it sounds fantastic at speed with the top off.

Eclipse 3422 head unit (great, low-key design)
JL 300/4, fins up vertical trunk mount
MB Quart 6.5 separates in the doors, bi-amped off the JL
MB Quart 5.25 separates in the rear deck run off the head unit
Crossovers raised up and mounted under passenger seat
16 guage throughout
Dynamat doors

would like to put a sub in someday with separate amp, next summer.

I highly recommend this or similar set-up.

Total outlay was about $1600. I installed the headunit, JL and ran the wiring myself when I redid my interior. Tweeter, Etc. installed the doors, rear deck and made a nice carpeted platform for the crossovers.

now that the search function is working i found the thread with my setup.......
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/109175-911-audio-way-meant.html?highlight=audio

SO bell, is there anyway you can hook it up with a discount on components???
Mike

80sc sounds like a system for a 1980 sc? First, recognize that no car will ever have audiophile quality sound. And a vintage 911 especially so.
But sometimes a great tune can merge with the visual and other sensations from driving to make for an experience better than any home audio system.
Next, consider that there is a tradeoff between adding wt. and having better sound. You have to decide that. Then there is the wt./$$ tradeoff.
All the suggestions above are good. I am a Focal fan, but used some JL audio speakers in my Boxster. You may also want to check out Paris Audio and ask jamie if they do any systems for older 911s or if he has any recommendations.
ads is a fine amp and ver reliable. You can get a lot more esoteric if you want. Soundstream used to be the hot amp for 911s but I've not heard of them in years. Blaupunkt I think, has some sort of new Class whatever amp that is very light in wt. I haven't heard it. It's encased in plastic and generates little heat.
Beside Rod B's fine bass module (it kills footroom in the rear, and adds a portly 35 lbs. to the car -- in the rear), I would look carefully at bell's smuggler's box bass system. Maybe his veiled comment means he is going to come out with a production version -- I hope so. That is already an enclosure, so it might be possible to make a great bass system in there without adding too much wt. -- and it would be in the front.
Maybe someone will someday adapta set of mini-Maggie's for the rear passenger area.....
General rule - separate tweeter/mid units will sound better than coaxial mounts. Not necc'ly because the configuration is so bad, tho.
Finally, to really get the best sound, you want a high quality source material -- no mp3s, and maybe only selected "ultra' CD's -- or audio DVD's -- whatever.
Figure on spending many hours (or many dollars) to properly tune the system -- maybe half the cost. A quality real time analyzer (RTA) is an xlnt idea to do this, and you need to know how to set up the mike's also.

Good luck -- you can be as obsessive as you want. Just think about what you really want in terms of time, cost, and wt. (remember, it's a sports car).

Here's a classic old thread on upgrading 911 stereo systems that may be of interest to you. Lots of detailed information in there:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/56635-upgrading-early-911-stereos.html

AS far as the amps go, I have a question. Hopfully this won't be to juvinile but, What is the difference between 2-ohms and 4-ohms. These amps have a lot more power at 4-ohms than they do at 2-ohms. What does it do to the sound when the speakers are being powered by 4 ohms?? Thanks

I just installed MB QUART 6.5" with the seperate tweeters and mounted the crossovers in the doors. It had kenwood coaxials before. Big improvement. I use Kenwood amp and head unit. Very crisp sound but could use just a little more bass, but not bad enough to mess with subs.
I like the sound of the car better.
jc930

QUOTE]Originally posted by Steve W
Here's a classic old thread
upgrading 911 stereo systems [/QUOTE]

Hi Steve.
That audi thread you posted is the best IMO.
My new tweeters are still waiting for the install, thanks.
Between you and bell maybe I can get the stage better than it is now.
I just finished a trick electrical panel, now plumbing, then cams, then audio.........Ron

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1067217167.jpg

Ohm is the unit for resistance (actually what's involved is AC impedance, but let's keep it simple). If a speaker is rated for x ohms, the amp has to be able to put out undistorted power into that load. So you match them. If speakers are wired in parallel the impedance will drop, so you need to be sure the amp can handle the actual impedance in the circuit, not just what one speaker says.

oh ok.. Thanks alot Randy.Here is what I am thinking guys..
Today I went ahead a bought some 3-way components on ebay that focal makes. I was also going to get an amp, not sure which one yet, but am leaning torwards a US acustics amp from crutchfield. They are pretty cheap. As for a headunit, I found a pinoneer that i like. Do you htink that the 3-way components will be enough or should I go ahead and get subs too??

Wait on the subs -- you can always add them later. You will have a nice system as is. Upgrade later if you find an important difference in a friend's car. i.e. you can do better than Pioneer and the amps from Crutchfiled but for many it's "why bother" -- use the best reasonably priced wiring you can find tho. It's more trouble to replace.

Hi Ron, don't know if I ever posted this pic, but here's how I installed my Focal tweeters (tweeter grill removed). It just has just a slight angle upward when crossfiring and the Kevlar domes sound better than the titanium one's I've heard. The titanium one see to be superbright and ear burning. Everyone, including the high end audio shops around L.A. have been very much blown away at the system's imaging and sound quality.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1067225765.jpg

If your car is a coupe I have a subwoofer enclosure that is made to fit in the smugglers box. It replaces the a/c fan. i.e. no more a/c. It is designed for a 8" JL 8w6 or 8w3 but will work with any 8" designed for a small sealed enclosure. At one time I was going to make a mold and sell these things but people didn't seem to respect the price needed to make them worth while. I charge about $600 at the shop I work at to make and install one from scratch.
The one I was making into a mold was for a conv. or targa. their footwells are smaller and they take a different box. Because of lack of interest I decided to to make it into my box and just keep it.
$200.00 takes the one for the coupe. It sounds AWSOME but is ugly. (completely out of site.)This was the first one I made. I use to fill the fan housing with expanding foam and then break the housing away and fiberglass the foam. I would then dig out the foam and attach a baffle board. Now I use the housing as the enclosure. much prettier but exact same function.
I personally think that the amp you are talking about would be your weak link. IMO the amp bell has is the best amp for a one amp systom on the market. I see them on e-bay for around $350.00-$400.00 which is cost on them, they retail for around $750.00.
3 way systems don't replace bass. It is still just a mid range. The weak link is the spks are in the door. I made fiberglass enclosures in my door which helped emmensly but I still needed the sub. I have mb quart q's.
You should hear the imageing with the bass up front! If you want to be really trick use your 6's in the door ond make kick panel pods for the 4's and tweets.

Good luck
Pie

i beg to differ......but it takes ALOT of time and listening......i spent 2+ YEARS tuning my old toyota (ron already heard about this :D) and let's just say that "spooky" is the only word to describe it :)

i won't be mass producing my box.......doing it like this is 1 off and is purely custom, but who knows.......it'd be a ***** to remove and measure and it'll have to be destroyed in the removal process.

the JL 3 way set is unique compared to all other 3 ways......thier 4" for this set is it's strongpoint....
but yes you'll still need a sub for the overall experience.

the quality of your soundstage goes hand in hand with the quality of the speakers and having enough power to run them properly.
the jl 500/5 is one sweet piece, and the flexibility is unreal......the sub channel is basically a 250/1.

OK.. news to me.
I've been using the angled housing to aim the tweeter more twords between the pass and driver.. don't remember specifically the tweeter angle, but I used a flate plate on the end of a broom stick to aim the tweeter and angled bass speaker in the door map tray.. I have a pic if wanted.

and I just opened my new/old package that has the new tweets.
Candy store time.
They are different than the T90KF.. I believed I talked directly to Focal US because it is discontinued.. they said the TN51 Utopia is the replacement.. 275 bucks

and bell gave me some kind of frequency phase speed machine..
or something like that.
I need Jim Hendrix out on the front hood........Ron

it's a ppi phase shifter.....capable of delaying 360 degrees of phasing on 2 channels (although only one will be adjusted)
jimi will be out front with janis stradling your fender :D

please God, please God, ohhh pretty please.........Ron

"audiophile quality sound"

- bell, maybe we differ on what the definition is. I use Magneplanars at home with a Cal Audio CD player and a Sonic Frontiers tube pre-amp. That's what I mean by audiophile. I've never heard car system that can do what that system can -- incl. the ML in the Lexi. And, psychoacoustic studies and theory indicate that one cannot replicate this in a car - esp. a 911, and esp. when the engine is running.

Not to say that you can't get fine sound from an aftermarket system, of course.

Paul Klipish[sic] did a lot of audio research for Bell Labs in the late 30's and mid 40's. I have some of his research papers that state you need a 30ft room to duplicate very low acoustic frequencys. So I visited a high end room audio designer for a test flight of the Klipish corner room horns.
The visit was in the 70's.
If this was now the 70's I'd describe the experience as a real trip.

i've heard some of the best of the best car installs, i've heard as good as it can get.......
i've also spent plenty of time listening to the extremely high end home stuff, yes there are some things that the space will restrict but it can still get damn spooky in a car :)
personally i'm a martin logan fan, and krell for amps.....but it boils down to .....911 or logans :D