BackwardHatClub

I picked up my Mustang I had ordered four months ago today and I noticed that it had come equipped with a Shaker 500, I didn't get charged for it so I wasn't going to wait for a new model to be made for me. The problem is that I hadn't planned on it having the shaker system and now my audio plans are thrown in the air. Here are the audio compoenents I currently own:

Alpine CDA head unit
Alpine KCi 420 Ipod interface
Rockford Fosgate 200x2 amp
Kicker ZR360 400x4 amp
5 kicker XPL 12" subwoofers

Model/power ratings may not be exactly right, but it's close.


My plan was to get the stock audio system, install the Alpine head unit, let that power the factory rear speakers, get a good set of front speakers and let the Fosgate power those (I haven't tried it yet but I was hoping the amp would fit under my passenger seat). Then putting 2 of the XPLs in the trunk and letting the kicker amp power those.


Now I have the shaker system which I'm pretty unimpressed with (can't really complain; it was free) but I'm worried it will throw a real monkey wrench in the ease of installation especially for the head unit. My question is now, does the shaker have a lot of seperate amps to deal with or is will replacing it with the Alpine be pretty straight-forward?

I don't have any info on the Shaker but as best I can tell is that it has a 'sub' in the door and then a seperate mid-range and tweeter, then two mid-ranges in the rear deck. Reading through some of the other thread a lot of people have recommended replacing the rear deck speakers so I guess that leaves me with replacing the rear speakers which I hadn't intended to originally.

Now the real question is, should I leave the front door subs in place since I will already be putting to 12"s in the trunk and just replace the midrange and tweeter with a real set of speakers or would it be worth it to replace both the door subs and the midrange/tweeter?


Right now I'm thinking the best option may be just to replace the midrange/tweeter and disconnect the door subs and let the subs I'm installing in the back do the work.



Anyhow, to summarize, here are my two big questions:

1. How much of a pain will it be to make my alpine head unit work with the shaker 500? Will I need to get a different wiring harness than the standard one? Any other concerns.

2. Since it seems to replacing the rear deck speakers and the midrange/tweeter in the door is vital, and I'm installing two 12" subs in the back, is it worthwhile to replace the subs in the front doors or would disconnecting them be a better move?




I appreciate any help I can get here, thanks in advance.

nynvolt

Not trash talking or anything but cripes just how loud do you want it to bump? The shaker 500 already actually hurts my ears with the amount of bass it has. And I don't even listen to bass specific music. I think it sounds really good but is WAY too much stereo for me.

Sorry to not add anything usefull to your thread but curious. When I have it too loud it's sorta the same kinda deal when someone slams the door with the windows up and causes pressure on your ears...and hurts.

I admit, although I've never had it full blast it's not as loud as I expected but is way louder than I'll ever listen to it.

RRRoamer

nynvolt,

My biggest problem with the various Shakers has NOTHING to do with volumn. It has EVERYTHING to do with sound quality. Of course, that COULD be why turning up the factory stereo hurts your ears: the sound stinks!

I've seen the factory speakers. They are crap. Maybe some car maker SOMEWHERE is actually putting GOOD speakers in a factory system, but it sure as heck isn't in the USA! The factory speakers are junk and Ford should be ashamed for putting them in the new Mustang.

Eventually, I will be replacing every speaker in the car and adding additional amps. The purpose of having a lot of power driving speakers ISN'T to play it loud, it is to have dynamic headroom. It makes a huge difference in the sound quality.

BackwardHatClub

Like RRoamer said, it's not a volume thing. The kicker XPL's are no where near an audiophile quality speaker, but it's my guilty pleasure, sometimes when I listen to rap I like to turn it up and really have it hit, otherwise I keep them set very low. I design high-end speakers for my job and have a nice set-up in my house so I like to listen to a good sound set-up, and while the car is not the best enviroment for it, I'm in it enough that I'd like to improve the overall sound quality.

Zodiac

You should be able to get a factory harness to work with the Alpine unit and not have any trouble. I did almost the exact same thing, picked up the harneses from Circuit City and never had any trouble.

I would consider yourself very lucky with the door subs. With a good set of crossovers you could eliminate all mid bass from your 5x7s, run the mid bass to the doors, and leave only your low range frequencies to your subs. Not only is it going to sound a lot better, but will actually get louder as they arent trying to interpret sounds they just arent made to. It should help improve the life of your speakers as well.