Tldr: Wanting to modernize the connectivity of my car with CarPlay while keeping or enhancing my existing speaker quality. Wondering what option would be the best for my use case:
- Porsche's PCCM+ OEM headunit, which looks fantastic in the car's dash, but is insanely expensive - about $1,500. (runs a very stripped & locked down, custom launcher above android. super cheap hardware though, arguably shittier than most AliExpress units, and lacks wireless CarPlay) ( https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/sku997pccm.html?gad\_source=1&gad\_campaignid=23030068275&gclid=CjwKCAjw5NvPBhAoEiwA\_2egfiQAEe1j4os0BjUzo\_30VYkHMXlakfOOdAbSPmOJ6CidJcVy1SFpDRoCeNUQAvD\_BwE )
- Sony XAV-9000ES (would this be overkill with a stock Bose sound system? Would I just be overpaying for it?)
- Sony XAV-AX6000 (seems like a nice compromise on the Sony lineup, but if the ES would be able to squeek out even a bit of a better sound experience, I'd bite the bullet and pay up for the ES)
- or, just keeping the car's current setup from a previous owner, an old Alpine INA-W900BT (and I'm assuming with an amplifier?)
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Have a 2007 Porsche Cayman with the upgraded Bose fiber optic sound system. Looked into AliExpress android units with upgraded processors and the required Bose fiber optic connectors (did lots of research on the Rennlist/Porsche forums), and it seemed like a solid approach, given that I'm a software dev and am familiar with how android/Linux is setup, so the idea of an Android computer in my dash was moreso viewed as a fun thing to mess around with, rather than some gimmicky junk.
However, after taking my dash apart, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to figure out how to disconnect the wiring done for the Alpine for the new AliExpress unit myself (don't have much of any experience with audio wiring - felt intimidating to tackle this myself blind, since this was much harder than just plugging and playing the OEM wiring harness).
Took it to an audio shop and they strongly recommended that I just return the AliExpress unit and keep my existing setup, which I've done - even though the unit I got was pretty highly recommended from the Porsche forums, I can't argue against a guy who does this stuff for a living and will listen to their guidance.
Car already has an old school Alpine INA-W900BT ( https://www.crutchfield.com/S-3qjpgRbU4Xb/p\_500INAW90B/Alpine-INA-W900BT.html ) which seems to have been professionally installed by a previous owner back in the day. Stereo works great as is, has a USB connector running under the center console into the armrest. It treats a modern iPhone as an iPod, so USB provides track metadata and playlist controls, which is good enough for me. It's got a built in DVD player, too, which is neat.
The old unit, combined with a phone mount, is probably enough for me - can use maps on my phone and listen to music through the unit's ipod interface, but CarPlay + a modern unit like the Sonys are appealing as an upgrade later down the line.
Thoughts on what you'd do?