This car has the base Shaker audio system. It's the worst audio I've heard in a vehicle since my 1988 Chevy truck I had decades ago. Just pitiful. The sound is very hollow. The songs sound like they're coming from down in a tunnel. There's no bass and no mid range at all. What in the world is going on? I checked the fuses and they seem OK. Surely this isn't normal for these cars.

 

nope, does not sound normal .... my Shaker 500 might not be audiophile level quality, but it sounds just fine to me, nothing like what you describe ...

this sounds familiar, I think there might have been a very similar complaint/thread recently, you might try to find it with the search

 

FORD Shop Manual Info Check the Self Test on Acm. May Help.

KC

 

Very good info to check into. Thank you.

 

Just did the ACM test. The ACM passed with the “self pass” message. My display screen all works totally normally. During the speaker test, the front two speakers blared out loudly and scared the crap out of me, the rear two speakers came on at a lower volume, even with the F/R balance set in the middle. But all 4 speakers do work. No DTCs present. So…….

I guess this is just the way this system sounds. Bummer. Every day that goes by with this car the more I realize that Ford spent their entire budget on the Coyote engine. Everything else on the entire car is bottom of the barrel quality including the transmission.

Thanks for the help guys. I’ll add new audio system to the list below transmission rebuild and suspension maintenance.

 

Maybe your ears are a lot more critical than mine, but I find the Shaker 500 in my 2010 perfectly acceptable, I'm still thinking there is something wrong ... mine has 6 speakers: 2 subs in the lower doors, 2 in the upper doors, 2 in the rear deck ... if you only have 4, I wonder what happened to the other 2?

There are some other threads on here with relatively easy upgrades, I want to say "Shelby Kicker" is one of the best value but not sure, check out the audio sub-forum

 

I've never encountered what is described as having a hollow sound... Just as Bert brought up, despite the shaker 500 not being in the same category as an audiophile-grade level system, IMHO it's actually pretty decent for a factory/stock unit... I have the same shaker 500 speaker setup in my "06" GT Premium which provides plenty of low/mid-bass with clear upper-higher/mid-range frequencies with no issues whatsoever...

I still have all the factory speakers fully intact and have no desire for upgrading anytime soon...

 

That's why I said "base" Shaker system. Mine doesn't have a sub in the trunk. And as far as I can tell there are only 4 speakers. The sound reminds me of listening to AM radio back in the 1980s when I was growing up. There's just no mid-range or high-range crispness and clarity to it at all. My 2022 Ram pickup has an entry level Alpine audio system that puts this Shaker system in the Mustang to shame.

The good news is that it appears when I look up into the trunk that the rear speakers are simple as pie to get to, and the fronts are in the door so that should be simple also. In the future I will get some good speakers and head unit and that should solve the issue.

 

Sound systems are so subjective. Maybe growing up with cars in the 60's makes you realize how nice these systems are. I've really enjoyed the systems in both my GT's, The 2007 and my current 2014. I also enjoy the Monsoon system in my 2001 Trans Am. Almost every young person has trashed that system over the decades. It's all so 'individual'..

 

Very true. It's all subjective. For me, I've had about 30 vehicles of all brands and models from 1988 to 2022 so I've got a pretty good frame of reference and I'd put this Shaker audio in the 2013 Mustang at the very bottom of the list. I mean, when I go into the audio settings there isn't even an OPTION for mid-range adjustment. I can change bass (which doesn't matter because there is none) and I can change treble. It really is like a 30 year old design.

Anyhow, it's the least of my concerns right now. I tend to like listening to the 5.0 talk through the exhaust so the radio doesn't get used often.

 

Ya Wanna Talk Old School,

I'm Rocking an NOS Clarion 8 Track With Digital Display an a Whomping 12 Watts of 80's Power in My 06 P-71 Police Interceptor! Added a 90's Bazooka Tube I Had Laying Around and It's Good Enough for Patrol! It's All Worth it for the WTF Look I get When Somebody See's it. Try Explaining to Most Younger Folks What it Is and They Just Can't Wrap Their Head around Why You Need Such a Big Tape for One Album! LOVE IT! Especially the KA CHUNK when Changing Tracks!

Console out of 90's Lincoln Fits Like a Glove in the Crown Vic Holds My Tapes and Makes a Great Armrest!

Bet That Brings Back Some Memories for our Older Group!

KC

 

First off! None of the shaker 500s have a sub in the trunk... Only the shaker 1000s include the trunk subs... All shaker 500 units include a total of 6 speakers, 4 in the door panels, and 2 in the rear...IIRC, there are also 2 small tweeters located inside each corner of the dash...

Therefore, if there are only a total of 4 speakers in your vehicle, you do not have a shaker 500, but rather the base AM/FM single CD changer which is included with all non-premium models, such as the base and deluxe models... However, the shaker 500 is an AM/FM 6-CD multiple changer/head unit that is included as part of the GT premium package...

 

OK maybe I missed the two small tweeters at the tops of the doors.. The radio has "Shaker" stamped on it so it's not a base system. God I would hate to have the base system if this "upgrade" is this bad. Would literally be better off just playing music on the smartphone at that point.

Thanks guys. I guess my main desire was just to make sure that my system was functioning as Ford intended. Now that I know it is I can decide how to approach the issue.

 

The 2 other speakers located on the upper door panels are not only just tweeters but are also mid/upper range drivers as well! If your still not 100% certain, perhaps you may also want to consider posting some pics of your door panels and head unit

 

I still have a feeling it is not, because I can't reconcile your perception of the sound quality with mine, and you said you only heard 4 speakers in the test, not 6

you also said it has no bass, which makes me wonder if the subs in the lower door panels are not working

 

Are you sure all the speakers are there and hooked up correctly?
There was a time that Crutchfield sent out speaker wires that were made with the positive and negative switched, so if speakers were purchased from them and installed they could be hooked up in reverse.
The 2013 premium has a Component speaker in the upper part of the door with a 5.25 inch and tweeter in it and then the sub in the lower front part of the door. Speakers in the rear are a fill speaker and do not offer a lot of sound but do fill in with the others if they are there.
All Speakers except for the subs have been changed in mine but I have the electronics package and the radio is a 2 ohm system over the normal Shaker 500 4 ohm.
You can put 5x7 or 6x8 in with the adapters from a 2010 but the 2005-2009 adapters might be the same