I thought the speakers in my '11 were a joke.

As I said, when I saw the magnet size on the '15 I had to snap a pic since upon 1st glance it looked even cheasier than what my '11 had.

But after uploading the pic from my phone and comparing to '11 pic, I now noticed what appears to be much better speaker overall.

Not familiar with neodymium magnets, but I'm guessing they can be smaller in size without sacrificing power capacity / performance.

Doug

 

The only thing I like about GM....Bose!! Best systems I've ever heard.

 

That's exactly right. Lighter weight, smaller magnet, no sacrifice in output. But much more expensive. A lot of car manufacturers have switched to them to save a few pounds here and there, but unfortunately that means the rest of the speaker is typically even MORE cheaply made to offset the cost of the magnet

 

Thats what I was going to say too. My guess is you probably save a couple pounds per speaker

 

Didn't know about GM having Bose ? But I most definitely agree, best systems right along side with Infinity

 

Strongly disagree. The Bose system in my '08 Corvette was one of the worst systems I've ever had in a new vehicle. A Bose system is now grounds to disqualify a vehicle from my consideration.

 

 

These.

 

Ford already has a nice sound system. The Sony/Nav system in my 14 F 150 sounds fantastic !! Even the Infinity in my Wrangler Unlimited sounds better way better than the base system that's in the 15 Stang premium. Scott

 

I have the 2015 with the 401a package, with the 12 speakers and the woofer in the truck realy sounds great. I had the 2005, 2007, 2008 and a 2014 GT. the 1st 3 had the shaker 500 which was pretty good but the 2014 was ****, hated it.

 

You're the first person that posted who actually has the 12 speaker Shaker Pro Audio System (401A pkg). How does is sound as compared to the the previous Shaker 500s? What did you have in the '14 that you hated? Thanks.

 

I have the standard shaker in my 2015, and its not that great. No better than my 2010. I think it's the speakers. I've always been afraid to change them because I'm worried that they won't put everything back the right way. I guess I could look for a good reputable place with high reviews, but when I did go speaker shopping so few years ago I didn't find any opi really liked. I will probably deal with it for now. By the way the car is awesome.

 

I swapped the speakers out on my previous S197s and it was a PIA. The doors were easy, but the rear deck poses a different challenge as everything from the door sill plates back... rear seats, rear side panels, rear deck cover, etc., had to be removed as the speakers were positioned above the deck. If under the deck it would be a 10 minute job.

I see from the pictures posted earlier that the speakers on the S550s are positioned in the same manner. Not sure if the panels are attached in "layers" like the previous generation, but if so, then it may be just as involved...

Note: some have replaced the rear speakers with success without removing everything as mentioned above, however, when attempting this technique I marred some of the panels, which is why I prefer to remove everything...

Yes, I would be concerned to have someone replace the speakers, but if you take your time it can be done... Probably too early for Youtube tutorials, but they certainly do help. Also, Crutchfield usually has the OEM connectors for further ease of installation.

I have a few threads on here on my upgrades... '12/post#48: https://themustangsource.com/forums/...504595/index3/

More detailed- '08: https://themustangsource.com/forums/...0-pics-482936/

 

Since rear speakers don't matter anyway, don't bother replacing them. Spend twice as much money on your fronts and fade two the front (start with 70/30 front/rear and adjust from there) and you'd be much happier. Just leave the stocks in there.

And actually, for a factory system that isn't an option, the Shaker 500 is decent, if you know how to tune stereos. The worst aspect of my stock stereo is the fricken rattling in the doors and interior panels, and I have my bass set only 1 notch above the mid point.

I'm planning a full audio build too, but for now it's okay. I wish I had the energy to just sound deaden the doors for now, but I'll wait until I do the full build because I don't want to go into the doors twice (those clips and pushpins never like to be taken out multiple times).

 

I agree that the rear speakers are useless, but they still provide sound, however, poor. If you're going to replace speakers, then replace them as well.

 

As useless as the rears are ! I still notice sound from them as well, and know that I wouldn't be satisfied until knowing they've been replaced..

 

If you're using them properly, as rear fill, the stock ones are just fine. Audio is 2ch, there's no point in having fake surround sound with music. This argument will be lost on most people, but I always have to put it out there. If you listen to live music (I'm not talking about gigantic Top-40 concerts in stadiums here), music comes from in front of you, on a stage. Not from behind you.

I used to be of the same thought, OCD about certain things like that. Since working at Sound Innovations, I learned to throw out a lot of those weird quirks.

Trust me. A $300 pair of speakers will almost always be more worth it in the front than two pairs of $150 front and rear, if you actually care about music. If you care about making noise and being immersed in the music, versus having a sound stage with accurate representation, then yes go ahead and replace the rears.

For me, the headache of tearing the interior apart and possibly damaging the panels, does not outweigh the benefit that replacing the rears would provide. Mine are barely faded in as it is.

 

Yeah, just turned down the bass and all is well. Your tuning remedy is kinda funny. I'm surprised that nobody has ever thought of that...

Also, it appears that the auto industry has been duping people for years by installing rear speakers... I bet the "argument will be lost" on them as well.

Oh, BTW- having "OCD," and not wanting to do a halfa$$ job, are two separate things entirely. I look forward to reading about your "full" audio build someday... or mostly full, or somewhat kinda full... ahhh, you know what I mean.

 

The 2014 was the standard shaker and they lowered the wattage and bias 75% to the front and only 25% to the rear and made ther rear speakers 5X7 instead of 6X9 so all the sound came from the front. But the shaker pro in the 2015 is great.