Coool. Thanks! Is that what the Garmin Rhino or whatever uses? I saw an ad that it like showed your friends or something.

 

I bought my car with the base audio system. It's OK but, as mentioned above, not great at hwy speeds. I later decided I wanted 6-CD capability so I bought a used Shaker 500 on eBay and swapped it in for the base headunit. I didn't change any thing else.

Later I sold my base headunit on eBay so that my net cost was $82.00. The Shaker 500 makes even the stock speakers sound better and the highway noise adjustment option is great. I might change out the speakers at some future point.

The used Shaker 500 was the early version but it has had none of the reported problems. I'm quite pleased with the whole deal!

 

I have the base 4 speaker setup and its fine but its not as "musical" as listening to my custom Flowmaster/AEM Brute Force magical wonder 6 with the windows down.

 

Thanks for all the comments. I went to a dealer and listened to the base and Shaker 500 stereos. To my ears and for the money, I did not think the Shaker 500 was worth it. Obviously, there was a difference in loudness, but I did not percieve the door subs to be adding as much as I imagined. Also, seeing the Shaker 500 CD player light up with "initializing" and " CD error" did not instill confidence. I can live with the base for a time and plan for an upgrade in the speakers and head unit later.

If others have comments, please continue to post.

 

I had the base stereo, it sounded fine if you don’t really like music, that’s not really the head unit, it was the cheap single cone speakers. I replaced the four speakers first w/ pioneer 6x8's fit perfect. It sounded better, but no mp3 so the head unit went next; I also added a Bazooka 8200 powered sub at that point to add a little thump.

My friend who got his 06' just over a month ago w/ the skipper 500, has already ordered a new head unit, he plans to use the stock speaker set up.

 

It would be nice to load multiple CDs, but for the money and all the complaints I've read about the Skippers, I thought I'd go after market. Probably with one that I can change color to match the instrument panel. It will have to have the feature I was surprised to find in the base stereo - speed sensitive volume - I like that quite a bit.

 

No problems with burned CD's. Sound quality is more that fine for me. I like my thump under the hood.

 

If I order another GT Mustang, I doubt I will spend the $ on any of the Shakers with all their problems. Mine produced white noise at low volumes, and I thought the door subs cheapened the look of the interior. The system sounded ok, but I would just live with the base radio and upgrade the front and rear speakers.

I just don't play music that loud anymore now that I have high-frequency hearing loss and permanent tinnitus from listening to too much loud music when I was younger.

 

Thanks for the continued replies. I also suffer some hearing loss from my DJ'ing days in the 20s. My wife and a buddy who is a big audiophile mentioned the white noise. I could not hear it but was told it was a hissing sound.

For the money, the speaker upgrade sounds like a decent deal. I don't think I would put a sub in the trunk to preserve the space.

Has anyone noticed certain types of music sounding better than others on the base stereo?

Keep the replies coming!

 

Has anybody used a PIE adapter with the base system? I want to put my Satellite radio in my GT. I was hoping the Trip Tunes would be out by now, but no luck there.

 

Tony, it looks like you ordered the Shaker 500 on your 2007. Why and how did you come to that decision? Thanks.

 

Tony I'am getting base player in my 07 GT So can put a DVD player in it.

 

There were 2 things I was worried about when originally deciding - a) reliability of the unit and b) bang for the buck. What convinced me to order was the volume of the base stereo when the car is at speed. I had to really turn it up to hear it over the wind noise with the windows down. It was fine while the car was stopped and the engine not running.

Secondly, if ever were to sell the car, the next buyer might appreciate having the area for the door subs available.

I always did like the sound of the Shaker 500. I am hopeful that the '07 units are improved. If it does prove problematic, it seems there are many options.

 

Nifty - any ideas on which one?

 

I'am thinking getting Kenwood or Sony. Car DVD player for the car.

 

For what it's worth I got the Shaker because I found the base stereo to be lacking in volume. When I test drove one about a year ago it had the base stereo and even with the windows up at mid range volume it was just too soft. The 'Skipper' is a PITA but it works 90% of the time and having the ability to put in 6 CD's and already having a hole cut out for subs will help with any future additions. Also the Sound difference is noticible when you turn the compression off and kick the bass level up a bit.

 

Thanks for affirming my experience. I have somewhat dulled hearing from time as a DJ, so I appreciated the increased volume the 500 could bring. I did not want to put a sub in the trunk or add an amp later the more I thought about it.


Exactly - I assume part of the 500 option cost is for the door panels set up for those speakers. My co-worker who is an audiophile freak said the location was not that great but it would eliminate the need for trunk-mounted equipment.

 

Hi
I have the shaker 300 and I only listen to the news.

 

I have the base/stock radio/cd player, it came in the car. I think it sounds ok. I'll upgrade someday, but right now as stated by others above, I'm not really listenin to the radio right now, I'm listenin to the beautiful sound of the car.