OK guys...help me out...if I order the Sync system with Nav, I'm not going to be incline to have that system yank for an aftermarket unit to get better quality audio. BUT...could the factory audio sound be upgraded by installing amps and replacing factory speakers with aftermarket ones? Has anyone done this to their Mustang?

Thanks guys (and girls)...look forward to your response...Lou

 

I used to be big on car stereo systems but I haven't upgraded by Shaker 500 system because the factory amps don't function without the factory head.

On the other hand, without RCA outs on the back of the factory unit you'll get a crap sound using a line out conversion to an amp.

 

The last time I swapped out a stereo was on my 96 GT...all cars after that, I just went with the factory radio...they have come a long way since the days of casettes and 8-tracks

Been surfing the net looking for answers and its not looking good. The more I surf, the more I come across people who state that the whole system has to be yanked and replace to get full high quality sound.

 

Yeah, they're all right. I never replaced the whole system because I liked the 6 disk in the dash but I won't be replacing the stereo in my 2011 because of the Sync functionality.

 

I ordered the Nav with the Shaker 500 system for my '11. I haven't actually heard the system in a previous Mustang, but I expected the sound to be pretty decent. Am I mistaken? What are your thoughts on the Shaker 500 system?

 

Hey man, I work at a Car Audio store. For the cost of the electronics package you can get a far superior setup in your ride as they make dash kits for these cars now. Say for example, compared to the $2400 electronics package you could get....

DNX6960 installed ( dvd, nav, bt, etc )
Kenwood Component Plates at all 4 corners installed; Kfcp680c
nice 4 channel amp installed; mrpf-300
(2) 12 inch alpine type -r's
dual 12 inch box
4 guage dual amp install kit
sub amp; mrpm1000

everything purchase and installed for about $2200 and you would have a system that would beat the "factory premium sound" all to hell


also, don't use line out converters on anything but a sub-amp, using lineout converters to hookup a 4ch amp is ridiculous and highly susceptible to engine noise.

 

IMO, the Shaker 500 is great for music that doesn't have a whole lot of bass (rap, r&b, etc.) but it'll make your ears ring if you listen to rock or metal (All That Remains sounds nice for example). I'm content with it but it's obviously got nothing on the system I used to have that was pushing 150 db in the front window...

 

by chance, do you have pics of an aftermarket system installed in 2010 models?

 

Bypassing the factory amps used to be easy. ive been out of the industry for a while. but if there is a base model version of a car without any amplifcation. there is usually a wiring harness in the dash NEAR the radio that is the wiring to the speakers directly. on SN-95's with the "460" system if you pulled the radio out you had the amp plugs. but if you looked on the pass side from the floor behind the center consol was the factory bypass directly to the speakers. MOST cars have that type of setup. you just have to know where to look..

 

my factory amps along with my Infinity amp are all pumping out fine with an aftermarket Pioneer AVIC 700BT ?

 

No kidding?! That's great news. I've still got my old system but haven't even tried to install it because of having read about the compatibility issues back when the car was new. Thanks.

 

I had to get a harness that mated up with the factory car harness end the other end plugged into the Pioneer, I think TacoBill has links on how to , or in the modifiction section there is interior mods I think that's where I found the guts to be able to do it !
https://themustangsource.com/showthread.php?t=441678

the other one may be gone after TMS was hacked up ?

 

While I used to be big into building my own stereo system, even building my own speaker boxes, systems like the Shaker 500 are more integrated into the car these days and pretty good on their own.

On top of that, last time I looked, I had a hard time finding a head unit that I liked. Most of them had LCD screens that were all about displaying ridiculous animations that had absolutely nothing to do with audio.

On top of that, the subwoofer generation that is more interested in bass than in proper audio has completely killed off all normal woofers, so I couldn't build a new system they way I would want anyway.

All in all, the masses have turned car audio into some kind of frankenstein industry, while industry stock systems have really improved, resulting in my complete loss of interest in the audio aftermarket. Obviously, I think it's best to just keep the Shaker 500. But to each his own.

 

Question? Besides the wattage difference in the Shaker 500 and 1000, (and the sub) what else is different?

Are the door mounted speakers and twitters any different? If there's no difference, maybe I can get the dealership to install Shaker 1000 components to upgrade my sound.

 

Ok first off, the system that the F5 Assassin listed is crap. You're better off stock. It sounds like his "car audio" place is Best Buy or one of those box shops that get you in and out of there as quick as possible.

Let me know what your budget is, what kind of music you listen to, how much driving you actually do etc. Maybe you can get away with just adding a subwoofer onto the factory system and that's good enough for you. Maybe you are an audiophile like myself, and wouldn't hesitate at dropping $5k on additional audio equipment to get that perfect sound quality. It all depends on your situation, so let me know that and I'll help you build a system to meet those criteria.

Now, we'll start with the head unit. You have to think about how you're going to be using the car. Personally, if I was buying a 2011 right now, I would go for the Electronics Pkg because I like how everything is integrated and it cleans up the dash really nicely. Aftermarket head units will never look as integrated and you won't get as much functionality out of the current crop. Do they change and get better every year? They sure do, so like I said what is worth it to you. Do you prefer the stock OEM look and usability? Or does having an aftermarket double-din HU in the dash that you have to upgrade every couple of years not bother you?

Really, the first thing you should buy whether you go OEM head unit or aftermarket is the "Audison bit one". This processor is by far the most useful tool out there for audio tuning and integration. It's capabilities far outweigh its price tag, and if you can find a local dealer hook up to give it to you close to dealer cost, it's really not that expensive. Even at the MSRP of $1000, it's worth it. It can take any audio signal in and clean up the equalization, time alignment, etc. Then you can hook up aftermarket amplifiers to it and run a complete system off the factory source unit.

Another head unit to consider is an Apple iPad (especially when the 3G version comes out and you have wireless Internet). Think I'm crazy? Look it up on Jalopnik, it's already been done. It would give you access to your library of music, movies, audio books etc. The 10" screen would look awesome in the dash, and with the Onkyo dock, you have an output to the bit one and that's all you need (especially if you don't listen to radio, but with the 3G version you can have Pandora streaming). If hacking up your dash is too much to undertake on a brand new car, then we'll take a step back.

So if you take my advice and go with the bit one, you may be happy with the sound just tying it in to the factory speakers and subs. I wouldn't, but that's up to you. At this point, I would pull all the factory equipment out and start wiring the car for amps, then start sound deadening/vibration dampener. In my current Mustang, I haven't done much sound deadening to quiet road/exhaust noise because a) my car isn't that loud to begin with, and b) I don't want to quiet the exhaust on a Mustang! Rattles, however, I cannot stand, and the 2010+ cars are already screwed together pretty well, so if you keep your system modest, you won't need to do much at this stage.

Next step is equipment choice. Like I said before let me know your budget and music tastes and I can recommend companies that will suit you. There are definitely areas where you can "cheap out" and still be okay, but if you're going to do this on a brand new car, you might as well keep the quality level up to par with the 2010+ S197s. Kenwood plate speakers and Alpine Type-anything less than X, are not what you should be wasting money on. I'm not sure where you live, so it may be hard for you to sample a lot of different equipment, but that is the best way to do it if you can. If this were my car, I'd be going with a nice 3-way system up front, skip the rear speakers altogether, then do either 2 8" or 10" subwoofers mounted off the rear deck, infinite baffle (no bulky box in the trunk, very natural sounding bass, requiring very little power to get them moving). Depending on your music tastes, I would either do the Focal K2 3-way set, with the 6.5" mounted where the factory 8" subs are, 3" in the factory 5x7 location, and tweeters on the A-pillars; Or, the way I would do it, Focal Polyglass 8" subwoofers in the factory 8" sub locations in the doors, then probably the 5.25" K2 component set with the 5.25 mounted in the 5x7 location and tweeters on the A-pillars. Then, I'd look for a IB-rated sub, and maybe go with a single 13" Focal mounted in the center of the rear deck, with a beauty panel surrounding it, sealing off the holes from the factory speakers. What's going to power all this? You could get away with a big 5-6 channel amp, like the Audison LRx5.1k (same amp I'm running but with 2-way speakers instead of 3-way) to make it simple, or run four 2-ch amps; the possibilities are endless.

At this point you're probably up to $4-5k in equipment alone, but as I mentioned this is how I would do it, with the help of my buddies at the high end shop I used to work at, so I get free help on installing. I don't know what your situation is, but I can definitely help you choose different equipment to stay within a certain budget. Also, let me know if you will be installing or if you are thinking about dropping it off somewhere. There are easy things you could do to get around some of the major install cost, like wiring/sound deadening/disassembly of the interior, etc. Using factory locations (no custom fiberglass stuff or crazy upholstery/painting), at a reputable shop, with them doing the entire install, you're looking at about another $4-5k in labor and materials. That's not including an aftermarket head unit if you skip the Electronics Pkg, although retail on the good ones like the current cream of the crop double-din, the Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT, you're looking at spending $1500-2k more...so it's really a wash.

There are other options though. There are a bunch of online retailers who illegally sell audio equipment at a HUGE discount, but it's a crapshoot. You never know if you will receive the right item, sometimes they sell stolen equipment, the warranties from the manufacturer are void etc. You're better off paying a little extra to support a local shop and have the peace of mind that you can go back there if you have a problem. There is a pretty big profit margin on audio stuff, so if you buy everything from one place, you can negotiate the price down to be closer to your budget. Trust me, I've learned this the hard way and I've been on both sides of the fence, being dead broke buying stuff from those shady sites (who screwed me over) and working at the shop where I saw how customers have that relationship with the owner: if they have a problem even after the manufacturers' warranty runs out, you still have the installer to go to and work it out.

So now that I've written you a novel, you probably want to stay completely stock haha. But really, answer my questions and I can help you out. This is the one area of car stuff where I'm pretty **** knowledgeable, so I would love to help you/you other guys out with this stuff. Also, I hate seeing crap posted by people who think they know what they're talking about, but they really don't. It's how people like you and I get screwed over and waste money.

If you want to go forward with some kind of upgrade, it would be cool to use this thread as a build log and chronicle it from start to finish. All the way from the planning stages to completion! Let me know bud!

-Patrick

 

Double novel post

By the way, I thought I would add that the system that F5 Assassin mentioned isn't completely crap. I've owned those Alpine amps and they are decent workhorses. Nothing special about them though. The Type-R subs get loud, but their sound quality is lacking. I've owned them as well. Kenwood makes crap speakers though. The head unit he listed is okay, but the best current Kenwood IMO is the DNX-6140. The full touchscreen Kenwoods are just slow as hell to your inputs. And complicated to use. The Pioneer is the best right now.

 

I got the Nav and Shaker 500. I would love to have a sub and I'm sure someone will make one that will interface with the 500.

 

For the record, I do not work at best buy. =| I work at a place that strictly does car audio / video and car alarms / remote starts. I was just trying to give an example of something that would sound a lot better than stock and be a little cheaper. If I had a 10-11 mustang, the system I described is not the one I would use but then again I pay %10 over cost. If I had no budget in mind it would have been different.

Furthermore, how would the "audison bit one" be any different than Alpine's imprint ($200) outside of integrating into a factory head unit? And how does it hook up to a factory head unit / speakers when you are dealing with a 2ohm factory premium sound system?

 

Anymore, going with an aftermarket HU is becoming more and more difficult and expensive to add in. I don't plan on getting a SYNC equipped vehicle then ripping that feature out.

For fine tuning of a factory system, another solid tool would be the RF 3sixty.2:

http://signature.crutchfield.com/s_5...h=3sixty&ssi=0

You can fine tune the factory stereo, then change amps/speakers/subs and adjust accordingly. It's pricey, but if you want to do a system right, I'd recommend it.

 

Cool device. I would be weary of it's claims, but you can usually trust Rockford Fosgate to be top quality. I could see the software being a bit cheesy, but you can always trust their hardware. Definitely pricey though.