Hello all,

I got a Jensen in dash DVD player for x-mas and had it installed by the guys at Circut City. Asthetically they did a great job; however, now I have NO bass response from my speakers!!

Help! I assume they've bypassed my factory amp, but why would the speakers crap out like that.

Again, please help. I have little to no knowledge concerning stereo systems and audi equipment (....unless you consider free-flowing mufflers audio equipment.... which I kinda do )

thanks in advance, and Happy Holidays to all!

John Y.

 

Do U Have A Bass Control? If You Turn It Up And Cant Tell The Diffrence.. It May Be The Unit Itself.. Or Just Not Enough Power.

 

No clue, as there is no way of knowing what they did. I would go back to them and ask them these questions...I also would NEVER let a Circuit City guy install anything in my car...there is far too much for them to mess up. Just curious, is your alarm working correctly or is it going off by itself and beeping the horn when you arm it? Also the sound quality of the Jensen will probably be WORSE than the stock radio. If they just bypassed the amp, then there could be an impedance mismatch as the stock system is like 3 ohms and most radios wanna see 4 ohms...

 

Return the Jensen, and get a Kenwood or Alpine. Also if you're upgrading from the stock unit, you should upgrade your amp too. Alpine makes a compact size digital amp that easily fits in the Porsche. I have the Alpine PDX 4.150 (4 x 150w amp). It's smaller than a CD changer.

 

Thanks guys.

I know the Jensen isn't exactly high-end, but it was my x-mas gift from momma, and I don't want to be rude (she was very proud of her purchase). The unit is nice (with the DVD capability, touch screen, and the kewl little media input center now mounted under the passenger side) and I have no complaints with it other than after the installation I have zero bass response from my speakers.

Short of a complete swap-out / upgrade, are there any other solutions to my dillema? Would upgrading the amp give my speakers back their oomph?

Thanks again!

 

Dude, TAKE IT BACK. It could be the install. It could be a bad unit. It could be the unit has bad specs and sounds bad. If they just wired the speakers to the head unit, you are operating at the wrong impedance. If you exchange the gift simply say, that one doesnt work with the Porsche wiring, so I had to get a different one. Done. She wont be offended. Trying to fix a bad or incorrect install is throwing good money after bad. The first step should be a return to the installer and asking how it was installed. They could be trying to run a high level speaker line into a line level input on your amp. That would reduce your bass dramatically. But no one here can tell because its impossible to know what they did. Porsches are not just like the Honda or Nissan in the audio department...so you may need to find an installer in your area that knows Porsches.

 

Which factory sound system do you have in the 996? There are 2 or 3 versions and that might help us give you some info.

1. Base system - no door speakers and the door panels have open storage areas instead. The head unit powers the speakers directly with no amp. If they ran separate wires to the speakers (which they didn't need to) they might have bypassed the crossovers.

2. Hi-Fi package - has door speakers

3. I think there is one more level with DSP buttons in the center console in front of the shifter.

I would imagine you have the DSP package or the Hi-Fi sound package with separate amp. Even then it's a little wierd because I think the amp is split into 4 speaker channels (LF, RF, RR, LR) and not into separate high/mid outputs for each speaker. A sub was not an option in the pre '02 cars.

My guess is that your head unit has a built in sub output with crossover. If it's turned on, your mains will be high pass only and bass freqs will be directed to the sub outputs. Read your manual and look for a subwoofer output or level control. Turn it off if you are not running a separate sub and your main speakers will get full range sound again. Newport is absolutely right though, without knowing what they did there is no way to help you.

 

I would have to agree with Newport996. Return the Jensen, and tell your mom it's not compatible with the Porsche. You're better off with a stock system, than a messed up install.

 

as for your alarm, i have the same issue, it's a wire that needs to be grounded. i don't have the patience to remove my stereo, so everytime i arm, i get the confirmation horn hunk.
it's kind of cool now.

 

More accurately its a wire that needs to be removed from the old radio chassis. It may be cool, but it can randomly trigger false alarms as the car thinks the radio is gone. Happened to me for about a month...every time the wind blew hard my alarm went off.

 

agreed, she wont be offended and not waste her money...

 

yep, take it back.

i upgraded with a becker unit (monza) that looks OEM. upgraded the speakers with a new amp/crossovers. also added a powered bazooka tube (8") behind the seats.......all for less than $700.

G/L

 

your first mistake was taking your PORSCHE to CIRCUIT CITY!!! OMG! You crazy man??? Ugh....

I would return the headunit and find a QUALIFIED place that knows Porsches etc and can give you a nice install. CC is good for Ford Tauruses and Honda Civics...not your bad *** Porsche!

 

Tell me more about this wire. I had my system completely redone recently. I got the beep when arming. I assumed it the alarm noticing the head unit was no longer there. I figured it was something the dealer would have to reprogram. I guess I was wrong. So what is the deal with this wire? FWIW, no false alarms since the beep started.

 

yea, i would like to know about this wire too!!