Guys wondering if those that have Shaker 500 if the back speaker are much lower in volume than the front? If i keep the volume set and switch from front speaker to back speaker the volume seems much lower.

 

The levels are all designed to hit your ears in such a way you cannot tell which speakers are emmitting the sound. Have you tried to play around with the settings to bias the sound to all speakers vs. to the driver's seat only? I wouldn't worry too much about the sound volume from each individual speaker. The fronts probably appear much louder because of the subwoofers being in the doors as well as the 5x7 speakers up higher.

 

When I am driving, to make all the speakers sound "right", I have the balance set 75% over to the right and the fader set 25% more to the rears.

 

It's called Imaging. You should want the vocals to sound like they are coming from the center of your dash.

 

I ended up just fading 3-4 notches to the back and it sounded right to me.

But yeah when i first got in i was like I can't even hear the rears!!

 

Lol that is the point. Many people have grown up with such a wrong sense of how music should sound, especially in a car (myself included, until I saw the light). When you go to a concert, assuming you are in the pit or have decent front stage seating, where does the sound come from? In front of you!

I'd imagine in this day and age, manufacturers are tuning their "premium" sound systems to direct the sound to the driver (correct), not the center of the vehicle (incorrect). The rear speakers are just fill for your rear passengers, and even then in a small vehicle like a Mustang they just aren't needed. I wish I could show you guys how a properly set up system in these cars should sound.

 

Thanks for clearing that up Patrick. I would have thought the same thing they were saying! LOLz

 

No prob. It's one of the reasons I push the Audison bitone so much. It gives you so much control over your speakers. When you set the time alignment right, so that all of the speakers are hitting your ears at the same time, it sounds like you are at a concert and the stage is your dash. You can pick out the vocalists and each individual instrument on your dash. NOT pick out where the speakers are in location to you. You don't want to hear your speakers. You want to hear your music.

 

Is the Shaker 1000 worth the upgrade? I mean, the rest is the same, right? mpe, expternal usb jack, internal HD?

 

Most will say no... It's worth it for me on my '05 GT so I ordered it for my '11 GT; wanted more bass and I didn't want to bother w/ aftermarket

 

No. Search my posts for why...

 

I would also say it is not worth the "upgrade." It just adds 2 more subwoofers in the trunk. Everything else is the same. It really does not add all that much more bass to the music. Your money would be better spent upgrading the 5x7 speakers in the doors and package tray so the mids and highs dont sound so muddy. That can be done with two decent pair of polk's @ ~ $100 each pair.

 

I should be getting my 2 pairs of Polk MM571 speakers this week to replace the stock speakers that came with my Shaker 500 on my 2011 GT. I'll post my opinions once I've got them installed. The Shaker 500 is definitely far better than my old Mach 460 but I bet it can sound a lot better replacing the junk 5x7's.

I had the Shaker 1000 on my 2005 GT and there was a HUGE difference in bass when the subs were turned on. However, with the current Shaker 500 in my 2011 I'm actually amazed at how much bass is coming from the door subs. I don't recall that much bass from the old Shaker 1000 door speakers with the rear subs turned off on the head unit.

 

Polk makes decent speakers for the price, but I would get 6.5s. 5x7s just always sound a little off. Also, the 8" subs in the doors are pretty 'meh'. See what replacing the speakers does for you (although I'd imagine it won't be that big of a difference, although your mind will probably tell you that it is because you shelled the money out for them ), but the factory EQ and tuning is done with the factory speakers, so to take the most advantage of the better speakers, an external EQ/tuning device would be best.

And yes, you can fit 6.5s into the 5x7 hole. You just need to make (or have some made) baffle to mount to the door, then mount the woofer to the baffle. I believe Polk and Boston Acoustics make 5.25" 'plate speakers' with a separate tweeter and woofer mounted on a 5x7 plate. This is another good option for Fords, especially with the 8s in the doors giving you a lot of midbass, negating the need for the 6.5s and baffles. Be sure to pick up some Dynamat too. At the very least cover the surrounding area of the opening on the door before you mount the speaker (sort of using the Dynamat as a soft 'washer' between the mounting plate and the door), then cut the oval out with a razor before you mount the speaker. It won't do much, but it will help with resonance and midbass response. Hope this all helps. If anyone has any other questions, PM me. I've never worked on an 05+, but the concepts are universal, and having those 8s in the doors really put you guys a step ahead in upgrading audio.

 

Thanks for the advice. I've got some extra dynamat lying around that I'll use for the install.

 

Either way i would like the sound to come from all sides not just the front, and don't get my wrong dialing the fade back 3 notches doesn't take away from the overpowering door speakers, they still dominate but now you can at least get a lil ambiance with the rears.

I think if you were to hear the same setup you would agree.

 

Well, sorry but I disagree. I've heard the 2005 and 2010 Shaker 500. Ford engineers have figured out that you realy shouldn't 'hear' your speakers. You should hear your music. You shouldn't be able to pinpoint where the sound is coming from. Since I've started going to live concerts, and I've gotten enthralled with this whole car audio thing, I have ditched my rear speakers and never looked back. Sure it took some getting used to while driving, but once I started going to more concerts, it just makes sense. Musical audio is recorded in 2-channels, left and right. The only time rear speakers are necessary is in surround sound when there should actually be sound coming from behind you (like say a helicopter flying from behind you to in front of you in a movie/video game).

For people who have lived with and driven cars with "surround sound" audio systems, meaning speakers all around, it's a hard concept to grasp from some guy over the Internet. It's what you're used to. It's what I was used to. But trust me, you would get a LOT more enjoyment out of spending say $200 on a decent set of front speakers and $400 on an external EQ/tuner that does time alignment, rather than spending $600 on two sets of front and rear speakers and dropping them in without changing anything. I've done just that. And, well while I'm rocking a rear seat delete now, when I wasn't my rear passengers could hear the front speakers just fine.

But, I can't tell you your opinion is wrong because it's what you're used to. Like I said though, if I could set up a proper audio system in one of these cars and let everyone listen to it, you'd change your mind...

 

Really the balance on the stock unit should let you shift it all the way to the front side anyway to try out the whole front speaker only idea. My '04 can do that.