I love my '13 GT but the base radio leaves something to be desired, I have a budget of $1000 for upgrading....help!!!

 

What do you listen to? What are your goals? What do you feel is missing from your system?

 

-Metal
-Compared to the Shaker in my wife's '10 GT it blows, I would be happy with a speaker upgrade and call it quits.

 

I'd start with a speaker upgrade but you'll probably want a sub to give you some impact like your wife's shaker system. Metal doesn't sound like metal without bass. I would go to a local store and test some speakers. Being your own music and listen to the speakers running off of a head unit amp only. Don't let the salesperson run it through an external amp. This changes the sound quality. I can recommend some speakers but your ear will till which is best.

 

You're gonna need an amp if you change out the speakers. An amp alone can help with the stock speakers too. I would recommend something like a 5 channel amp and a sub. Like these:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_113X700....html?tp=35808
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_158GT12...LS.html?tp=112

I simply mean for these to be starting places to look through the offerings as to what you can do with your system. I picked these out keeping your budget in mind, as this will let you do a bit more and will still give you a much nicer experience over stock.

On a side note, i do really like these Sony Xplod subs, i have 2 10" that i bought years back that still sound great. I just use them for testing and playing around now, they are not in a vehicle any more as I had sold the car that they were in.

 

While an amp is never a bad idea, I don't think most people HAVE to buy an amp. If they purchase a speaker with a high sensitivity it will sound pretty decent on stock amplification. Many speakers are designed to run on 4-6 watts.

If you are looking for improvement on the sound of the speakers alone you can add pieces. I usually recommend this incremental approach because it allows the buyer to appraise their cars sound and then move on to the next step. When you can listen to how something sounds in your car versus a sound board, it can change your mind.

 

Why do you need a radio at all when you have that glorious exhaust sound!!!!

 

Your post started off decently, but then you lost all credibility.

 

What's wrong with Sony?? no balling on a budget allowed in here? LOL

 

I hope this doesn't come off as rude but I thought a similar thing reading your post. You state a good deal of good information. The reference to Sony usually throws most audio guys a curve. Even the old Sony ES stuff wasn't known as good power and they were a small fortune. Sony is known for being overpriced for what it is and still underperforming compared to other makers of much cheaper equipment.

I try to no longer be an audio snob and try to help people find the best sound they can for the cheapest amount of money. Sony has that polarizing effect on audiophiles. It brings out the worst. I don't mean any offense, I'm just trying to explain my thinking and many other audio people's way of looking at it.

 

I was poking at him haha I have a JVC & it does what I need it to

 

You've got $1000, and all you think you want to buy is speakers?

At the very least, you'll be spending about $100 on speakers. You can spend a lot more, but what's the point? Anyway, you probably want to replace your head unit too because the base radio doesn't allow you to plug in a thumbdrive or SD card, so that means you have to lug around a crapload of CDs (with no storage space in the car, that becomes a problem REAL fast).

If you change your head unit, you have to spend about $250 on a replacement HVAC panel (I chose the Scosche unit, but Metra makes one as well). The head unit you select is a personal choice, but they start at about $200 for single DIN and go up way past $1000 for touch-screen double-DIN.

I just upgraded my whole base stereo stuff with new speakers, a new head unit, and all of the required adapter harnesses, and all totaled, everything came to about $600 (including shipping). I did not buy an amp or a woofer.

The biggest hassle associated with a new stereo is setting the sound up so that it sounds good to you. I've had my new stereo stuff for a little more than a month, and I'm still ****in' with it.

Go to crutchfield to find what fits your car, and then order it elsewhere. It'll be cheaper that way.

 

You have plenty of options here, and it's all going to boil down to your personal preference and what you want to achieve.

Personal preference here, but i don't like that on the 13 the stereo has to go down at the bottom of the HVAC panel due to how Ford designed it. So for me, i am opting to keep the stock head unit for a while (though i have SYNC so im not as restricted with 2 usb ports and bluetooth connection to my phone).

From what i had said above with the Sony Xplodes, their amps are complete crap, but i was able to pick up the subs for $45 a piece (walmart sale, back when i had to keep things on a tight budget) and they have been just fine for what i want of them. Maybe i am just lucky and got a good set . But that was also before i started my education with computer electronics.