Been lurking for a long time and finally signed up because my car is ready! Flying to the PEC in Atlanta this week to pick up my 2018 Cayman base! Long time coming and the EPA issue nearly derailed my plans, but they pulled it out in the nick of time. Will post photos soon. I did a different build from many and went heavy on comfort features and light on performance. This car is already going to be head and shoulders over my 2011 Cayman and I drive it most days and realized that a bare bones setup had several annoying issues that I just spent a ton to eradicate!
Hello from Arkansas!
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Congrats! Share how the PEC visit goes. Would love to know more about it. I was toying with doing a PEC pickup in Atlanta too.
Comfort Options
When I first started looking for an upgrade to my 2011 Cayman Base, I couldn't really find very many highly optioned Caymans in the used market. So I pretty much assumed I would get a used 911 because there are a lot of those out there. I never even considered special ordering a car.
However, when I went to the dealer and actually drove several 911s, I was left sort of flat - it wasn't the superior driving experience that I had expected. Maybe I had built it up too heavily in my mind. Anyway, I then drove both a new Cayman S and a Cayman base. When the salesman spelled out the pricing difference, it made the decision pretty easy... I could purchase a new Cayman base and spec it exactly the way I wanted for the same cost as a 2 year old 911.
I got a bunch of stuff, but the highlights are GT Silver, Espresso Leather, 14 way seats, GT steering wheel, 20" wheels, Sport Chrono, LED headlights. Several others. Yes, I am stupid. The big kind of controversial choice is the Bermester stereo. I have the Bose system now and it always drives me crazy with random boominess and poor sound. I probably won't hear enough of the difference to justify it, but I won't be second guessing myself for years either.
I thought hard about Sport Exhaust, but when I test drove the cars for just 10 minutes each, I really couldn't hear much difference. I may regret that. Because of all the raging controversy about the 4 cylinder sound, I was anticipating that I wouldn't like it. However, at least in my testing, I thought it sounded pretty great. If push comes to shove, I can buy an after market exhaust if it bugs me enough.
We fly to Atlanta Wednesday evening and do the PEC thing on Thursday. I am dropping off the car to get clear film on the front before starting the long drive back to Arkansas on Friday evening. I will post how things go.
When I first started looking for an upgrade to my 2011 Cayman Base, I couldn't really find very many highly optioned Caymans in the used market. So I pretty much assumed I would get a used 911 because there are a lot of those out there. I never even considered special ordering a car.
However, when I went to the dealer and actually drove several 911s, I was left sort of flat - it wasn't the superior driving experience that I had expected. Maybe I had built it up too heavily in my mind. Anyway, I then drove both a new Cayman S and a Cayman base. When the salesman spelled out the pricing difference, it made the decision pretty easy... I could purchase a new Cayman base and spec it exactly the way I wanted for the same cost as a 2 year old 911.
I got a bunch of stuff, but the highlights are GT Silver, Espresso Leather, 14 way seats, GT steering wheel, 20" wheels, Sport Chrono, LED headlights. Several others. Yes, I am stupid. The big kind of controversial choice is the Bermester stereo. I have the Bose system now and it always drives me crazy with random boominess and poor sound. I probably won't hear enough of the difference to justify it, but I won't be second guessing myself for years either.
I thought hard about Sport Exhaust, but when I test drove the cars for just 10 minutes each, I really couldn't hear much difference. I may regret that. Because of all the raging controversy about the 4 cylinder sound, I was anticipating that I wouldn't like it. However, at least in my testing, I thought it sounded pretty great. If push comes to shove, I can buy an after market exhaust if it bugs me enough.
We fly to Atlanta Wednesday evening and do the PEC thing on Thursday. I am dropping off the car to get clear film on the front before starting the long drive back to Arkansas on Friday evening. I will post how things go.
Welcome, but there's absolutely no need for regret on the above issue. If you should change your mind then either aftermarket or genuine Porsche sports exhaust is very easily retrofittable.
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If, like me, you like the standard exhaust sound, know that it gets better in sport mode and there are several touring exhausts that improve the sound without going to the popping and farting that the PSE adds. Who needs a car with gastro upset?
Greg
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No, you're not.
Life do is brief, so you did nothing wrong. Wise decision, great choice and congrats on the Burmester system...! Have a safe trip, enjoy the long ride home to Arkansas and please indulge us with some photos of your new car.
Cheers.
By the way with regard to the Burmester system. Originally I didn't actually like the sound of mine much but it does improve considerably after many hours of usage when the drivers finally break in, so persevere. Unfortunately you'll also be trapped in close proximity until it does & the only way they'll bed in is if you play it. Truth be told I'd still prefer better, but I'm inordinately fussy regarding sound quality & it's still far superior to any other factory sound options. One thing you will undoubtedly need to do is back off the Bass settings by two or three notches. Whoever made the decision regarding standard settings was clearly partly deaf, because as it comes it's boomy & totally overblown.
Tastes always differ, but it was only after hearing a 2.5 with a Sports exhaust fitted that I decided to buy a 718. I didn't actually like the sound in sport on either the 2.0 or the 2.5 without it & still don't, so for me it's a must have. With the Porsche sports exhaust fitted I pretty much have sport selected 99% of the time.If, like me, you like the standard exhaust sound, know that it gets better in sport mode and there are several touring exhausts that improve the sound without going to the popping and farting that the PSE adds. Who needs a car with gastro upset?
Greg
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Watch this forum, my man. I'm a fairly well versed audiophile, and I purposefully ordered the base stereo (Sound Package Plus) because it's not based on MOST fiber optics and doesn't use an outboard amp and is, thus, relatively easy to upgrade.
I'll be having a shop in Dallas with a fair amount of P-car experience do its magic in a month or two. My goal is to upgrade the sound for about half the cost of the Burmester option. (Granted, I already have the amp I'll be using, which I pulled out of my current car this past weekend. Still ... hehe.)
I've done considerable research on the 718 stereo options already. If you have any questions about it, let me know!
Finally: CONGRATS!
I purchased a new Kenwood head unit for my 987 and while it was a dramatic improvement over the PCM radio, I have never been satisfied with it. Going with a completely base radio and fully upgrading the system is probably the best idea, but after my experience, I wanted to stay stock this time. I wasn't aware that the speakers needed some break in time, I am glad you said that because I likely would have been disappointed. Just 3 more days!
A couple of questions for you.
1. Where will the sub go?
2. Are there audio adjustment features in the Bose and Burmester systems not found in the Sound Plus head unit?
There's a specific menu with Burmester to alter settings such as surround, live, smooth, pure, position & sound conditioner. Whether you use surround, live, smooth or pure is very much a matter of personal taste, but once you decide what on balance you prefer it's easiest just to leave it on that. The only reason I say that is that although certain music may sound slightly preferable on one setting to another & the menu is easy enough to access, it's not a great idea to do so whilst you're actually driving as it's a little too distracting.
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@OliverK Chilli's words are of wisdom. I pick up my car later this week, and I'm definitely curious what kind of tone controls the SPP has. It will determine whether or not I go for a full DSP unit or just a corrective DSP unit as part of my system build.
As for where the sub will go: I doubt I'll feel a need for one because the doors can hold an 8" driver. As long as the driver can stay tight in free air (there are a few choices out there), the doors are properly lined in Dynamat, and they get enough power, it should work fine for my needs. I'm actually more concerned about matching 4" drivers front and rear.
Ok! Back in Arkansas with long drive back from the PEC in Atlanta. I will probably post a lot about my initial experiences, but I must say they have been almost universally positive. However, this isn't really the best car for 12 hours on the interstate... on the plus side, I am well on the way through my break in period!
I have one question. About 3/4 through the trip, my AC seemed to stop working. It just gradually stopped blowing cool air and the "wind speed" also slowed way down. No manual changes seemed to help. I stopped at a gas station for a couple of minutes and when the car restarted, it worked just fine for about 30 minutes and then it started to repeat. At that point, we turned off seat coolers and manually turned off the AC. Immediately, it seemed to start blowing better and after several minutes, we turned on the AC and it was great. I left off the seat chillers for about an hour and tried them again and everything was fine. The problem did not repeat again. Any ideas what happened here? The temp outside was about 100. It reminds me of how the AC would power down in my 987 when I tromped on the gas, but I was loafing along at interstate speeds, not pushing the car at all.
About the Bermester stereo - we stopped midway through the trip at the inlaws house and I spent a chunk of the day fiddling with the car. I am very pleased with the Bermester when it is playing high res sound. It is noticeably worse when streaming via Bluetooth vs playing music saved from Tidal on CarPlay. I hope it continues to improve! I had sort of expected to have a built in equalizer to dial in the sound myself, but the presets are pretty good. Time will tell.
I have one question. About 3/4 through the trip, my AC seemed to stop working. It just gradually stopped blowing cool air and the "wind speed" also slowed way down. No manual changes seemed to help. I stopped at a gas station for a couple of minutes and when the car restarted, it worked just fine for about 30 minutes and then it started to repeat. At that point, we turned off seat coolers and manually turned off the AC. Immediately, it seemed to start blowing better and after several minutes, we turned on the AC and it was great. I left off the seat chillers for about an hour and tried them again and everything was fine. The problem did not repeat again. Any ideas what happened here? The temp outside was about 100. It reminds me of how the AC would power down in my 987 when I tromped on the gas, but I was loafing along at interstate speeds, not pushing the car at all.
About the Bermester stereo - we stopped midway through the trip at the inlaws house and I spent a chunk of the day fiddling with the car. I am very pleased with the Bermester when it is playing high res sound. It is noticeably worse when streaming via Bluetooth vs playing music saved from Tidal on CarPlay. I hope it continues to improve! I had sort of expected to have a built in equalizer to dial in the sound myself, but the presets are pretty good. Time will tell.
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Sounds like something that should be checked out. I've had no issues with mine and I've been using the seat ventilation almost every drive. It was actually blowing too hard for me, but you can adjust the blower in the settings to "low", "med" and "stong". It may be possible that your car was switching to different key memories (one key set in memory to low and one set to strong). Just a thought since you likely had both fobs on you while you drove.
From your description, it sounds like ice started forming on the evaporator. When you stop, or turn the A/C off, the ice melts and it resumes working again once you turn it on. This was a common issue with the early Macan's. More prone to happen in high temperature, high humidity areas.
A/C AirFlow Problem - Page 5 - Porsche Macan Forum
Congratulations on your new Cayman!!
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You've encountered the primary conundrum of good audio: Both the system and the programming must be high quality for it to realize its potential. When one or the other is not high quality, it will not sound good. Why? Simply put, a high-quality system will reveal flaws in programming.
This is a huge, HUGE reason why all but top-shelf OEM audio systems are not high quality. Because of the popularity of low-bitrate digital audio from sources such as streaming services, Bluetooth, and HD Radio, OEM systems are purposefully tuned to mask those sources' flaws in the car. The Burmester is an exception because the likelihood that someone who opts for it -- and pays nearly five times the cost of the Bose for it -- will know what they are getting vs. the far cheaper (word choice is purposeful because it is cheap) Bose option.
If you're aware of Tidal, you probably know your stuff, OP. My advice would be to stick with CD-quality programming or better, and limit yourself only to Spotify Extreme (which, at 320 Kbps, is borderline) or Tidal (if you can put up with it) for streaming.
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