Ford Mustang Shaker 500, how do i make it sound good?

Question

I just got an 06 mustang gt with the shaker 500. sounds fairly good at low to medium volume levels, but when you crank it up, the bass practically vanishes, and the treble sounds like an am radio from the 70's. this is supposed to be a 500 watt system, but....if it is, the speakers must be a really high impedence. Is the key in the head unit, amps, speaker ohm rating, or a controller of some sort in the mix? with an 8 speaker system, i feel it should sound alot better than it does. Ive put together some awesome sounding systems in the past, looks like i may have my work cut out for me here. Anyone with the same set up that has made improvements, please help!!

Answer 1

Toss it all and go aftermarket. Factory systems will never sound like aftermarket. Even the upgraded ones, they are a waste of money.

I've posted this before, but it should provide you with a some help.

The components of a good car sound system would be as follows: The source (cd player, in-dash dvd/nav system, radio, tape player, etc.), the speakers, the subs, the amps, the parts/wiring. Also, depending on how big of a system, possibly a new battery or two and an alternator. Here are some of my recommendations as far as good brands.

Deck: Eclipse, Pioneer (regular or premier), Alpine, Kenwood Excelon, Nakamichi (not the greatest looking, but great sound).

Speakers: Polk Audio, Infinity, Eclipse, Pioneer Rev High end: Focal, Boston, MB Quart, Nakamichi

Subs: JL Audio, MTX, Kicker, Eclipse, Audiobahn, Memphis, Hifonics, Diamond Audio, Fosgate (p3 and higher)

Amps: all the sub companies, plus, Precision Power, Crossfire, Cadence, Soundstream

Parts/Wiring: Monster, Tsunami, Streetwires, even Kicker and Fosgate make decent parts/wiring.

Now if I had to choose, here would be my choices:
Deck: Eclipse or Pioneer
Speakers: Polk Audio, Infinity, or Eclipse
Amps/Subs: JL Audio or MTX
Wiring: Tsunami or Monster

As far as the order in which to purchase (if you can't do it all at once) here would be my suggestion:

First replace you speakers (stock stereo with good speakers sounds better then aftermarket stereo with stock speakers),

Then replace the deck (it'll help the speakers, but it will also give you the foundation to build the rest of the system off of)

Next, subs/amps/wiring (give you that extra bass that you need, make sure you use good wiring and the right size, capacitors if needed, important for system, also as far as the wiring, remember you will need another amp for speakers)

Next, amp for speakers (speakers will play cleaner, tighter, more accurate, and louder - a must, especially with the subs)

After that its all just accessories: i.e. satellite radio, navigation, dvd player, screens, etc.

Now as far as where to get them, most of these companies will be available at Circuit City, BestBuy, Cardomain.com, Cruthfield.com. Others are only sold at authorized dealers (usually a local audio company), but you'll have to check out their websites in order to find the ones nearest you.

As far as cost, I would say a decent FULL system would start around 1200 installed and then just go up from there.

But in the end these are just my recommendations (based on quality and sound), like Sparky said only you can judge what you like. Everyone's ears are a little different so what sounds good to me may not sound good to you. Shop around at all the car audio dealers and take a listen, but make sure you take one of your cds with you so you can judge all of them with the same song (one that you are familiar with).

Also, go to my Answer Profile page, check out page 7 under my answers: look for the question regarding a Mustang GT, this will pertain to you as well. Email me with any questions, hope this helps.

Answer 2

Shaker 500

Answer 3

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I have never heard of Shaker 500. Usually ford uses Infinity Audio. Dodge uses Boston Acoutics. Both very good, but I would definitly choose Boston over Shaker 500

Answer 4

Pioneer TS-A6993R 6-Inch X 9-Inch, 460-Watt 5-Way Speakers Great great speakers. The bass is almost like "true bass". The clarity is outstanding. I would tell anyone this product is great and needs to be purchased. I think I'll need to purchase an Amp just to get the full effect of what this speaker has to offer. w

Answer 5

I have a 2010 Mustang "Pony Express" with a Shaker sound system. Last night I started the car and now it only displays "Mustang" in the Shaker display and the radio system will not turn on. Please help with a solution to this situation. Thanks!

Answer 6

replace the speakers with a higher quality to start with. the system is designed to be played at full capacity with stock speakers