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PCM 3 or Pioneer with apple car

tgdesign

Well-known member
Joined
28 Apr 2016
Messages
308
I am after any input from anyone who has used the following stereos

In my gen 1 997 has an aftermarket Pioneer unit with apple car play. (only used it a few time mind)

I had planned to put the PCM 3 into the car and have all the parts and code etc.

I don't want to remove the pioneer unit to find out apple car play is better than the PCM 3.

I have no idea what a PCM3 is like so would appreciate any one's views.

Cheers

Tim
 
I wouldn't change them if I were you.

PCM 3 is okay (as long as you have the further options of the phone module and universal audio interface) but you do have to consider the following.

Firstly the latest maps available are a couple of years old now and there is no indication as to when or if any further update will be available (and even if there is, it isn't going to be cheap). Oh - and if the unit that you source doesn't already have that most recent (but out of date) update then you won't have full postcode search either.

Secondly, if you are planning to use the iPod interface from the universal audio interface to connect a phone then with the 30 pin to lightning adaptor is in place: only the iPhone 5/5S/SE will fit in the cubby where it is located while connected. Anything else (pretty much all current model phones) and you will have to get a Bluetooth bridge (such as the Bovee 1000) for audio from your phone. (The phone option for PCM 3 supports Bluetooth phone functionality, but not streaming audio, hence the need for a separate widget). Obviously there is no provision for getting DAB or anything like that through PCM 3 either.

Much as I like an OE look inside the car I think that to change from what you have to PCM 3.0 would be a backwards step.
 
PCM3.1 is better than 2.1, but still useless in this day and age. Biggest fail is I suspect live traffic data, which is essential.

Haven't used apple carplay as I am an android/samsung devotee, but sure its just as good as android auto or whatever its called.

What is the unit in there?
 
PCM 3.0 was already out dated when it released to the market. Don't underestimate the cost for the PCM3.0 as it's ridiculously expensive to implement.
Either keep what you've got or upgrade to a better pioneer unit
 
Personally having now experienced pcm 2.1 upgraded to an Alpine double din head unit and then PCM3 in my gen2, I would be sticking with the aftermarket double din head unit.
The PCM 3 is ok and certainly better than the PCM2.1 but its features are dated compared to a modern aftermarket head unit.
plus not only would you have the cost of fitting the PCM3 but you would then need to either colour code the rest of the silver gen1 centre ac controls or also fit the gen2 ac unit and only the ac unit from the turbo 1.5 will work correctly in a gen1 car so unless your very lucky it would mean buying that new.

Save yourself a lot of time, money and disappointment and either stick with the Pioneer or buy an even newer aftermarket head unit if you dont like the look of the pioneer.

You would be far better off spending the money adding a better amp that alone would enhance your audio and the amp can live where the dvd drive of the old pcm2.1 lived under the plastic lid in the frunk.

:thumb:
 
Having done a PCM3 upgrade myself, the stand out feature was the bluetooth.

The next best thing is that it looks much better (but once you have black, you will need to change the climate control and the switch panel at the bottom, and inevitably you will want a black steering wheel.. etc etc)

Then finally is the iPod connection, which is ok, but fiddly and fussy when connecting your phone which as others have said, does not fit in the cubby hole.

I would forget about the satnav, it is just very very slightly better than the PCM2.1. I never use it and always use Waze on my phone if I need directions.

The whole job of fitting, coding etc is quite frankly a nightmare and not cheap. However, I am glad I have it in my car - it looks good and keeps in line with a factory finish (its the small things that make the difference, like the bluetooth mic being clipped into it's slot inside the steering column, and the headunit being a perfect factory fit into the dash).

If you have time on your hands, fancy a "project" and if a factory finish is important to you, then go for it - its a good feeling when you are finally able to turn it on and are "relieved" to hear music out of your speakers!!

Having said all that, if I had to do it again, I wouldn't bother - I would just stick an all singing/dancing bling Alpine head unit in there, and install it "as cleanly" as possible. This way you would have "good enough" maps, music and bluetooth - all in one place. Lets not forget even the PCM3 is ten years old now.
 
Been looking at upgrades all over the car today and thought I would share latest head unit details as told to me by audiophile in Bishops Stortford.

kenwood dmx7017dabs
Pioneer avh z5000dab
 
Disco said:
I wouldn't change them if I were you.

PCM 3 is okay (as long as you have the further options of the phone module and universal audio interface) but you do have to consider the following.

Firstly the latest maps available are a couple of years old now and there is no indication as to when or if any further update will be available (and even if there is, it isn't going to be cheap). Oh - and if the unit that you source doesn't already have that most recent (but out of date) update then you won't have full postcode search either.

Secondly, if you are planning to use the iPod interface from the universal audio interface to connect a phone then with the 30 pin to lightning adaptor is in place: only the iPhone 5/5S/SE will fit in the cubby where it is located while connected. Anything else (pretty much all current model phones) and you will have to get a Bluetooth bridge (such as the Bovee 1000) for audio from your phone. (The phone option for PCM 3 supports Bluetooth phone functionality, but not streaming audio, hence the need for a separate widget). Obviously there is no provision for getting DAB or anything like that through PCM 3 either.

Much as I like an OE look inside the car I think that to change from what you have to PCM 3.0 would be a backwards step.


Hi There - this quote caught my interest as im soon to be buying a cayenne turbo s which has PCM 3.0 (since its a 2009 model) - but i needed to find a Bluetooth streaming solution.

Bovee 1000 looks very nice indeed: few questions if you or anybody knows

1. Will i need a specific cable to connect it into the universal bridge into the car? i.e a plug coming from the IPOD round socket and USB merging into 1 to plug into the Bovee 1000?

2. If the phone is connected to the cars Bluetooth - can it also connect to the Bovee 1000 in tandem?

thanks!
 
jamiez said:
Disco said:
I wouldn't change them if I were you.

PCM 3 is okay (as long as you have the further options of the phone module and universal audio interface) but you do have to consider the following.

Firstly the latest maps available are a couple of years old now and there is no indication as to when or if any further update will be available (and even if there is, it isn't going to be cheap). Oh - and if the unit that you source doesn't already have that most recent (but out of date) update then you won't have full postcode search either.

Secondly, if you are planning to use the iPod interface from the universal audio interface to connect a phone then with the 30 pin to lightning adaptor is in place: only the iPhone 5/5S/SE will fit in the cubby where it is located while connected. Anything else (pretty much all current model phones) and you will have to get a Bluetooth bridge (such as the Bovee 1000) for audio from your phone. (The phone option for PCM 3 supports Bluetooth phone functionality, but not streaming audio, hence the need for a separate widget). Obviously there is no provision for getting DAB or anything like that through PCM 3 either.

Much as I like an OE look inside the car I think that to change from what you have to PCM 3.0 would be a backwards step.


Hi There - this quote caught my interest as im soon to be buying a cayenne turbo s which has PCM 3.0 (since its a 2009 model) - but i needed to find a Bluetooth streaming solution.

Bovee 1000 looks very nice indeed: few questions if you or anybody knows

1. Will i need a specific cable to connect it into the universal bridge into the car? i.e a plug coming from the IPOD round socket and USB merging into 1 to plug into the Bovee 1000?

2. If the phone is connected to the cars Bluetooth - can it also connect to the Bovee 1000 in tandem?

thanks!

Jamie I have a bovee 1000 in my 997.2 with pcm3 yes you can connect both the bovee for music stored or spotify etc on your phone and bluetooth via the pcm3 bluetooth function for the phone calls at the same time .

not sure about the cable for the cayenne but would assume its similar or the same as mine so you need the factory lightning lead a Y type thing this goes into the ipod port etc in the car and then the 30pin other end just plugs into the bovee job done. :thumb:
 
Phil 997 said:
jamiez said:
Disco said:
I wouldn't change them if I were you.

PCM 3 is okay (as long as you have the further options of the phone module and universal audio interface) but you do have to consider the following.

Firstly the latest maps available are a couple of years old now and there is no indication as to when or if any further update will be available (and even if there is, it isn't going to be cheap). Oh - and if the unit that you source doesn't already have that most recent (but out of date) update then you won't have full postcode search either.

Secondly, if you are planning to use the iPod interface from the universal audio interface to connect a phone then with the 30 pin to lightning adaptor is in place: only the iPhone 5/5S/SE will fit in the cubby where it is located while connected. Anything else (pretty much all current model phones) and you will have to get a Bluetooth bridge (such as the Bovee 1000) for audio from your phone. (The phone option for PCM 3 supports Bluetooth phone functionality, but not streaming audio, hence the need for a separate widget). Obviously there is no provision for getting DAB or anything like that through PCM 3 either.

Much as I like an OE look inside the car I think that to change from what you have to PCM 3.0 would be a backwards step.


Hi There - this quote caught my interest as im soon to be buying a cayenne turbo s which has PCM 3.0 (since its a 2009 model) - but i needed to find a Bluetooth streaming solution.

Bovee 1000 looks very nice indeed: few questions if you or anybody knows

1. Will i need a specific cable to connect it into the universal bridge into the car? i.e a plug coming from the IPOD round socket and USB merging into 1 to plug into the Bovee 1000?

2. If the phone is connected to the cars Bluetooth - can it also connect to the Bovee 1000 in tandem?

thanks!

Jamie I have a bovee 1000 in my 997.2 with pcm3 yes you can connect both the bovee for music stored or spotify etc on your phone and bluetooth via the pcm3 bluetooth function for the phone calls at the same time .

not sure about the cable for the cayenne but would assume its similar or the same as mine so you need the factory lightning lead a Y type thing this goes into the ipod port etc in the car and then the 30pin other end just plugs into the bovee job done. :thumb:

Brilliant - thanks for the confirmation there - great help. Would you mind posting a URL to the cable you used so i get a good idea please?

Also - does the bovee stream the information about the audio to the PCM 3?
Are the audio forward/back controls from your steering wheel reliable and fast?
 
I upgraded my car to pcm3.0 and I'm glad I did. Updates the interior and was needed in my car to complete the project I was doing. Must admit I made not using the satnav feature much even though it's one of the things I looked forward to (although being able to have music from an iPod/iPhone was more appealing.

I've found the bovee to be a bit unreliable. I'll be driving along and it's wirking fine. I stop for fuel or a Starbucks etc and remove my phone and get back in 2 mins later and I can't connect. Then I end up having to either restart my phone or the head unit (sometimes both). Also when the unit connects to my phone for music, I have to manually go in and connect it for the phone feature otherwise it doesn't connect.

I'd say if you can live with the non standard head unit in the car from an aesthetics point of view (I couldn't) then go aftermarket (in your case you already have aftermarket).
 
jamiez said:
Phil 997 said:
jamiez said:
Disco said:
I wouldn't change them if I were you.

PCM 3 is okay (as long as you have the further options of the phone module and universal audio interface) but you do have to consider the following.

Firstly the latest maps available are a couple of years old now and there is no indication as to when or if any further update will be available (and even if there is, it isn't going to be cheap). Oh - and if the unit that you source doesn't already have that most recent (but out of date) update then you won't have full postcode search either.

Secondly, if you are planning to use the iPod interface from the universal audio interface to connect a phone then with the 30 pin to lightning adaptor is in place: only the iPhone 5/5S/SE will fit in the cubby where it is located while connected. Anything else (pretty much all current model phones) and you will have to get a Bluetooth bridge (such as the Bovee 1000) for audio from your phone. (The phone option for PCM 3 supports Bluetooth phone functionality, but not streaming audio, hence the need for a separate widget). Obviously there is no provision for getting DAB or anything like that through PCM 3 either.

Much as I like an OE look inside the car I think that to change from what you have to PCM 3.0 would be a backwards step.


Hi There - this quote caught my interest as im soon to be buying a cayenne turbo s which has PCM 3.0 (since its a 2009 model) - but i needed to find a Bluetooth streaming solution.

Bovee 1000 looks very nice indeed: few questions if you or anybody knows

1. Will i need a specific cable to connect it into the universal bridge into the car? i.e a plug coming from the IPOD round socket and USB merging into 1 to plug into the Bovee 1000?

2. If the phone is connected to the cars Bluetooth - can it also connect to the Bovee 1000 in tandem?

thanks!

Jamie I have a bovee 1000 in my 997.2 with pcm3 yes you can connect both the bovee for music stored or spotify etc on your phone and bluetooth via the pcm3 bluetooth function for the phone calls at the same time .

not sure about the cable for the cayenne but would assume its similar or the same as mine so you need the factory lightning lead a Y type thing this goes into the ipod port etc in the car and then the 30pin other end just plugs into the bovee job done. :thumb:

Brilliant - thanks for the confirmation there - great help. Would you mind posting a URL to the cable you used so i get a good idea please?

Also - does the bovee stream the information about the audio to the PCM 3?
Are the audio forward/back controls from your steering wheel reliable and fast?
one of these with the cable was for sale in the parts for sale section :thumbs:
 
This is what you need for a 997.2 so I guess yours would be similar, the one in the for sale section is sold . As isysman says they can be a bit temperamental if you keep getting in and out of the car but I can live with that to be able to stream music , every now and again it doesnt auto connect and you have to do it manually but its really a small issue for me. clearly hardwiring your phone will be a more positive conection but its a faff to keep unplugging it. either way you still need the y conector

yes the info is displayed on the pcm what track is playing eyc you can more foreward or back a track , to change album i havent found a way and use the phone to change album for spotify etc.

the cable is only from your OPC as it must have the Porsche round bit on they are £25/30 and usually in stock.
 

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