How many watts is the standard cd player ? Will just changing the speakers make it sound better? Not looking for that bass shaking sound system, just better quality. Thanks for any help...

 

Yes, replacing your 4 factory speakers will improve sound quality. More power helps too, but replacing the speakers is a great place to start improving things. The factory unit will only output 10-20 watts per channel max. A set of 5x7/6x8's is all you should need...what fits guide is available at www.crutchfield.com

 

New deck and 501bd punch amp did the trick.

 

Where did you get this info regarding how much the stock HU puts out? and is that the base model or the 500/1000?

 

I read somewhere the radio's are 80, 500 and 1000 watts. Is this correct?

 

The Ford literature states that the base model CD player is a 160 Watt System? Is that max power? Replacing factories should make a big change.....right?

 

160 watts...max power downhill in a hurricane! Factory head units just don't have that much power unless they utilize outboard amps that contain dedicated power supplies, and those numbers really don't add up to much anyway since speakers are so efficient these days. And if they do claim high wattage, it's measured at something like 50% THD using 20 volts for input and for peak power. RMS power is around 10-20 watts per channel or close to it. It steps up quite a bit for the shaker 500 though, I have heard both and the shaker has a ton more power than the base...swapping out your stock speakers will be a tremendous improvement over the base paper/whizzer cone speakers.

 

Okay......just replacing the OEM speakers....I think that's where I will start and add on more later!! Thanks for your input. The best best is to go with 5x7's front and rear right?