Secret Audiophile Project - which one of the UK members did this?

[tigerbalm]

Did they diagnose after you disconnected it for them?

They did but made it clear that any further installation of unapproved equipment could result in permanent removal of the New Car Warranty. I get on great with my Porsche Centre but this was (at the time, pre-brexit) a Porsche Cars GB policy.

Post-brexit, Porsche Ireland is now wired directly into Porsche AG. Thankfully, I've not had reason to test if they are the same or more forgiving. This is definitely a topic that I think is likely very jurisdictional in nature. In many countries, warranty would only be denied if a modification actually caused an issue – but here in Ireland (and UK at the time) – the policy wasn't as forgiving.

Today, if I needed major warranty or diagnostic work done, I'd make sure any potential reasons for not honouring it was removed (i.e. I would remove a dashcam) before sending it in.

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[tigerbalm]

If the car thats the topic of this thread was to turn up with a faulty AC charger, or HV battery or whatever – here, I wouldn't fancy my chances that they wouldn't blame the extensive modifications.

 

[tayCanadian]

Was it via a separate fuse, or sharing a fuse with Porsche electronics? If the latter, was is simple to un-hardwire it?

Mine simply piggy backed onto the OBD port. There was no extra fuse to install. Easy to unplug too, obviously.

 

[Mbgt72]

I'm jealous! Sound quality seems to be incredible, even when listening over my laptop speakers.

Come on now. Are you just being sarcastic? You're trying to say the sound quality of a song, that was recorded a second time using a camera/mic is discernable, much less while being played through laptop speakers.

I do think it is cool seeing this level of work being done. It's certainly no small task and their workmanship looks good.

I will be interested to see how EV's deal with aftermarket sound systems though as many high end car audio systems go to stronger 12v batteries and even some go as far as to go to an alternator that puts out more amps. Subwoofers can draw fair bit of juice pretty quick. Definitely doesn't seem like something the lithium 12v battery in the Taycan was designed for ideally.

 

[tayCanadian]

Come on now. Are you just being sarcastic? You're trying to say the sound quality of a song, that was recorded a second time using a camera/mic is discernable, much less while being played through laptop speakers.

I do think it is cool seeing this level of work being done. It's certainly no small task and their workmanship looks good.

I will be interested to see how EV's deal with aftermarket sound systems though as many high end car audio systems go to stronger 12v batteries and even some go as far as to go to an alternator that puts out more amps. Subwoofers can draw fair bit of juice pretty quick. Definitely doesn't seem like something the lithium 12v battery in the Taycan was designed for ideally.

Are you? Obviously I am saying this in relation to other similar videos, not in relation to sitting in a car listening to the song or in a concert hall. Thought that went without saying.

 

[Raphie]

In my Merc W213 I had a custom Gladen Mosconi set with 13“ JL-Audio subwoofer, while this sounded really good, it also added considerable weight and power drain to the car. My 4S now has the Burmester system and I think it sounds great. You just need to put it on “pure” and DON’T touch the bass/treble settings. there is really plenty of low end and the high end is really revealing, exposing harhsness in recordings, overdoing it when adding even more treble.
Also adding more bass/treble, does nothing more than scooping the midrange further by creating a smiley curve. Burmester makes you appreciate the difference in compressed streams and uncompressed wired sources. It really reveals the shortcomings of Spotify or BT (non AptX) audio sources.
Overall, IMHO, Burmester is really worth it, considering performance / weight ratio WHILE revealing micro detail. (The good AND the bad in recordings)

 

[whitex]

Mine simply piggy backed onto the OBD port. There was no extra fuse to install. Easy to unplug too, obviously.

For the OBD port case I can understand them needing access to the port but not wanting to get blamed or supporting any issues which might arise from them unplugging it (what if all your settings on whatever device you have got wiped, or the device required a security code to restart which they don't have and you forgot, or it simply not surviving a power cycle, then you blame them for screwing it up, etc). I think it's a good practice to unplug anything you have plugged into the OBD port before handing it over to service.

 

[tchavei]

They did but made it clear that any further installation of unapproved equipment could result in permanent removal of the New Car Warranty. I get on great with my Porsche Centre but this was (at the time, pre-brexit) a Porsche Cars GB policy.

Post-brexit, Porsche Ireland is now wired directly into Porsche AG. Thankfully, I've not had reason to test if they are the same or more forgiving. This is definitely a topic that I think is likely very jurisdictional in nature. In many countries, warranty would only be denied if a modification actually caused an issue – but here in Ireland (and UK at the time) – the policy wasn't as forgiving.

Today, if I needed major warranty or diagnostic work done, I'd make sure any potential reasons for not honouring it was removed (i.e. I would remove a dashcam) before sending it in.

I don't know how things are in the UK now but the EU is known for fiercely protecting users rights.

Years ago Phone companies (like Samsung) started refusing warranty for phones that had been rooted by their owners despite there being no direct or indirect relationship. Eventually the EU issued a directive forcing manufacturers to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a certain, non covered defect, was the user's fault. That being said, I never was refused warranty until years later I had to send in a phone under RMA and Samsung sent back a 18 page (!) report with several macro photos showing apparent water damage on the circuit board and refusing warranty based on that. This was the only time I've been refused warranty.

In the automotive industry it's the same. EU directive states car manufactures can't refuse warranties even if you do the car mantainance outside of the official dealership.

Based on that, if ever Porsche refused warranty based on a dashcam then they would need to deliver a full report with factual data proving beyond reasonable doubt that the dashcam (or any other 3rd party accessory) damaged whatever component the warranty is being claimed on.

 

[whitex]

Good to see somebody pointing out fewer good quality drivers will give a better sound than lots of mediocre ones and power isn’t as important as people think.

I'm not an audiophile, but I always assumed that to be true. Does anyone think you can replace a couple of decent speakers with good frequency reproduction/response range between the two with even a thousand greeting card speakers?

 

[tigerbalm]

Based on that, if ever Porsche refused warranty based on a dashcam then they would need to deliver a full report with factual data proving beyond reasonable doubt that the dashcam (or any other 3rd party accessory) damaged whatever component the warranty is being claimed on.

Ireland is in the EU. You agree to the New Car Warranty terms when you purchase a new car from Porsche. These terms state that warranty can be withdrawn if unapproved modifications have been made or equipment installed. This does not violate any statutory rights a union citizen has if you've agreed to those terms.

They do not need to prove your modifications have caused an issue, as you have already agreed that the existence of them gives Porsche the right (at their discretion) to withdraw cover. Of course, if one was to challenge this, it would be up to local and perhaps eventually European courts to determine. But at that stage you are spending more money then the car is worth and VW will drag it out.

Obviously, in the real world – they want to keep customers satisfied – so its not so stark.

If unsure, it's worth asking your Porsche centre for a copy of the New Car Warranty you agreed to and see what it says about modifications. There is likely regional variations even within the union.

 

[Raphie]

I'm not an audiophile, but I always assumed that to be true. Does anyone thing you can replace a couple of decent speakers with good frequency reproduction/response range between the two with even a thousand greeting card speakers?

You can’t, because of the DSP, the speakers are band limited and tuned to DSP performance, replacing them would skew overall EQ severely. If you go that route you need to put a DSP inbetween to ”de-EQ“ the head unit high level signal and “re-EQ” based upon the new speaker response. You don’t want to know the cable spaghetti required to wire that all up for 14 drivers In a non invasive/reversible way.

 

[tchavei]

Ireland is in the EU. You agree to the New Car Warranty terms when you purchase a new car from Porsche. These terms state that warranty can be withdrawn if unapproved modifications have been made or equipment installed. This does not violate any statutory rights a union citizen has if you've agreed to those terms.

They do not need to prove your modifications have caused an issue, as you have already agreed that the existence of them gives Porsche the right (at their discretion) to withdraw cover. Of course, if one was to challenge this, it would be up to local and perhaps eventually European courts to determine. But at that stage you are spending more money then the car is worth and VW will drag it out.

Obviously, in the real world – they want to keep customers satisfied – so its not so stark.

If unsure, it's worth asking your Porsche centre for a copy of the New Car Warranty you agreed to and see what it says about modifications. There is likely regional variations even within the union.

One day it will happen and it will be fun to watch how it unrolls. Apple also thought they were mighty enough to dictate their own rules until they got that 1 billion fine for not giving 2 year warranty in the EU.

I definitely plan on installing a dashcam. Let's see how that goes.

 

[tayCanadian]

Man, this thread sure got derailed!

It was meant to discuss audio upgrades to our cars, not warranties!

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