Final Audio Mods - My 2012 GTCS Convertible
12/20/16, 12:54 PM
#1
Final Audio Mods - My 2012 GTCS Convertible
I was never happy with the sound of the Shaker 500 system in my 2012 GTCS convertible, from the day I bought it in 2011. Through the years I tried and tried to at least get a respectable sound out of that thing. I listened to many factory systems in other cars that knocked the socks off the factory Ford unit (a Sony, I believe). Not wanting to put a sub in the trunk of a convertible, I put in 3 sets of upper door speakers and two different door lowers during this time.
I'm finally done, and I think it's as good as it can get, given my requirement to keep the stock head unit and totally stock appearance. I wanted to retain the original look of my car, but any unseen equipment changes were fair game.
Sound is subjective, so what I like, you may not like. But in my opinion, it's about as good as it can get without changing the head unit.
Here's my answer:
Focal ISC 570 (Integration Series) in the upper doors and rear sail panels.
Wiring adapters from Crutchfield. An Arc Audio KS 125.2 BX mini in place of the door sub amp above the driver's kick panel. It's small enough to fit, and has plenty of power. A pair of CDT Audio HD-M6Sub, 6.5" in the 8" factory holes. I used adapters from Car-Speaker-Adapters.com. They are not listed on their website. I helped develop them (no profit for me, I wanted a solution). These adapters work with the stock grill covers and trim rings, so the car looks totally stock. They are made from plastic sandwiched in aluminum, and can support the weight of speakers with 30 oz magnets. A 5 volt to 12 volt electronic switch built by a good friend, which totally eliminates the turn-off pop at shut off. It's small enough to zip tie to the harness which keeps it out of the way. It uses the factory head unit turn on wire to power the Arc Audio amp.
The result is significantly better quality sound in the car, WITH bass. Mission accomplished. Cheap...NO. Worth it, YES!
Happy Holidays!
Shipey
P.S. If you want to save about $250, skip changing the rear sail panel speakers from stock. The head unit is so front biased, that it doesn't matter.
I'm finally done, and I think it's as good as it can get, given my requirement to keep the stock head unit and totally stock appearance. I wanted to retain the original look of my car, but any unseen equipment changes were fair game.
Sound is subjective, so what I like, you may not like. But in my opinion, it's about as good as it can get without changing the head unit.
Here's my answer:
Focal ISC 570 (Integration Series) in the upper doors and rear sail panels.
Wiring adapters from Crutchfield. An Arc Audio KS 125.2 BX mini in place of the door sub amp above the driver's kick panel. It's small enough to fit, and has plenty of power. A pair of CDT Audio HD-M6Sub, 6.5" in the 8" factory holes. I used adapters from Car-Speaker-Adapters.com. They are not listed on their website. I helped develop them (no profit for me, I wanted a solution). These adapters work with the stock grill covers and trim rings, so the car looks totally stock. They are made from plastic sandwiched in aluminum, and can support the weight of speakers with 30 oz magnets. A 5 volt to 12 volt electronic switch built by a good friend, which totally eliminates the turn-off pop at shut off. It's small enough to zip tie to the harness which keeps it out of the way. It uses the factory head unit turn on wire to power the Arc Audio amp.
The result is significantly better quality sound in the car, WITH bass. Mission accomplished. Cheap...NO. Worth it, YES!
Happy Holidays!
Shipey
P.S. If you want to save about $250, skip changing the rear sail panel speakers from stock. The head unit is so front biased, that it doesn't matter.
Last edited by Shipey; 12/20/16 at 01:43 PM.
12/20/16, 01:57 PM
#3
Sorry...but no. Upper door and sail panel (if you do those) are not hard to do yourself, if you can handle basic tools. The aftermarket amp in place of the factory amp is another matter. I had a pro install the Arc Audio amp, and handed him the 6.5" CDT subs and adapter rings to complete the install. You'd never know from appearance that it's not stock.
I went this route because my car is a convertible. Were it a coupe, I'd of gone with Shelby (Kicker) 5 x 7 in upper front doors, left rears alone, Left 8" lower front mid-bass alone, and added Shelby (Kicker) amplified sub in the trunk. Good system. I heard it, and would be happy for less money than the route I took.
I went this route because my car is a convertible. Were it a coupe, I'd of gone with Shelby (Kicker) 5 x 7 in upper front doors, left rears alone, Left 8" lower front mid-bass alone, and added Shelby (Kicker) amplified sub in the trunk. Good system. I heard it, and would be happy for less money than the route I took.
Last edited by Shipey; 12/20/16 at 03:32 PM.