jz78817

the factory subwoofers (assuming you're talking about the 8" ones in the doors) are 110 watt speakers; they're 1.2 ohm dual voice coil powered by an external amp which can deliver 8 volts RMS to each coil, for 53 watts/coil. Assuming your Sony amplifier has a boost power supply and is stable down to 1 ohm, it'll probably overpower the factory subwoofers.

I know what multi-way speakers are.

I'm well aware, I use an APx-586. before that a 2700.

I was talking about the midwoofer part of a coaxial speaker or component set, and now you've switched to talking about subwoofers.

y'know, we can throw our credentials at each other all day. I have no problem with people disagreeing with me or telling me I'm wrong, but if you do please have the courtesy to show me what's right. Don't just scream at me that I'm full of BS, then I've no reason to listen to you anymore.

RetiredSFC 97

Here’s what I ended up with, for now, after countless hours researching the Shaker system. I went this route in the event I wanted or decided to add to it in the future, which I’m sure I will. Also some notes from what I learned along the way.

Replaced the front speakers with JBL GTO 608C 6.5 components. I bought the adapter plates from Auto Nation(previously Tousley Ford) and then made my own adapters for the 6.5 round woofers. I put the tweeter in the door right at the corner of the triangle on the door where the speaker grills are located. I didn’t want to drill a hole in the door panel at first but after trying various things I decided this was the best place, and I plan on keeping the car for years so it was a non-issue. This made a huge improvement on sound right out of the gate.

I tried some woofers from a set of high quality components to replace the 8” woofers but I found I lost more low end mid-range than I would prefer. I also had a terrible rattle in the pass door from the 8” woofers. I sound deadened the door “panel”, inside the speaker cavity and on the back side everywhere I could reasonably put it. I just did the pass door because the driver’s door wasn’t rattling. What I found now that one door is deadened and the other is not, the pass door now has much tighter and cleaner bass response. The driver’s door sounds hollow and what I describe as an echo, so I will be deadening that door panel as well. That is the single best thing you can do for the door woofers short of replacing them if you plan on keeping them. It really did make a big improvement.

I replaced the rear speakers with a set of JBL 638’s I took out of my vette (I’m redoing that system as well). For those who want to try this I would say go ahead and don’t be afraid to take your interior apart. It’s not bad at all, especially if you have experience with this sort of thing. If you don’t, just take your time and it will be fine. Do get a panel removal tool from harbor freight or somewhere as it makes it easier with less chance of breaking something. Be careful with the rear side panels. There are two clips that hold it in place and when I took mine off I found both the front ones were broken. This makes me think they were broken during the factory install because I was very careful not to be pulling and tugging on it when I took it off. When you put it back on do not force it, line everything up and make sure your tabs are going into their designated spots or you will break them. Also, go ahead and remove the back of the seats completely so you will have more room to work. There are 3 bolts you remove and get them out of the way.
In my opinion, as is the opinion of several other Shaker owners, it’s not worth the hassle of replacing the rear speakers for the difference in sound. The Shaker only sends a small amount of power to the rear speakers so the improvement is not that big. Sitting in the backseat I could tell the sound was more clear, but the volume is so small you can’t tell it from the front. However, if you plan on adding an amp now, or in the future I would indeed recommend replacing them, but not if you’re keeping the Shaker head unit and amps.

So, replacing the front speakers and sound deadening the door “panels” are the main things you want to concentrate on in stage one, or if you plan on keeping the Shaker HU and amps. You will be glad you did this. You could add the kicker trunk sub at any time you wish if you want a trunk sub, or any sub package for that matter and call it a day.

For those of you wanting to replace your door subs I would take a look at the Kicker shallow mount Comprt 8” subs. They are 1 ohm DVC and hook up identical to the current wiring. A reviewer I read, who owns a Mustang, stated it made a huge improvement with no added amplification needed and they mounted right up, but you will need a spacer like comes with the kicker door sub replacement. He also said he installed a filter between the HU and the amp to keep the deepest lows from coming through. I have also read the amps in these Shaker systems aren’t bad. A guy had taken one apart and commented on how well it was built.

For those of you who are into the most current systems and like a thumping bass, if you have the money I would jerk the system out and start completely over myself. For those who want to do it in stages such as myself, replace the fronts, deaden the door panels, replace the rears and now you can add whatever you wish whenever you wish. I plan on adding the Kicker 1 ohm DVC woofers next year and then take it from there and decide if I want to add the trunk sub after that. But I doubt I will. If I do I will add a free air sub and have it installed in the back dash just to give the lowest of notes.

Note: when taking the door apart and removing the door latch cable. You will see how the green lock is holding the cable in position. Looking at the side where it hooks to the door release lever you will see what looks like two clips that can be squeezed together. (the other two do not move) using needle nose pliers squeeze those in and then push it back through the hole it was inserted through. I hope this makes sense. I had the darndest time figuring that out and I’ve read several threads on the internet others had the same trouble. Removing the panel completely makes replacing the speakers way easier.
I have my dials set at + 2 for bass, + 3 for treble, +1 for front fade. I haven’t completely settled on my settings but that seems to work fairly well with most of what I listen to.

Sorry for the long post. Good luck!

Chromeshadow

I never thought of that, sounds like a good idea. Can you post pics?
Another good idea, I'm putting this one on my list.
The reason I dislike the factory amp, is they run on the car's 12V system and do not have an internal power supply. Getting the rated power is unlikely...I could show the math and bore most readers. Mine sounded muddy and did not have any punch. The amp has a non-standard input as well, so it's a little more work to add an aftermarket amp unless you replace the head unit.
I'm not a fan of 1.1 ohm dual voice coils either, but a better amp to power 4 ohm speaker would cost a lot more. I ran a Sony 200W amp with speaker level inputs from the rear speakers to the Kicker Shelby door subs. It has low pass filters for 2 channels which worked really well to run the Kicker-Shelby door subs. It doesn't have the thump of a good trunk mount sub, but it sounds much better and I need the trunk for other stuff.

RetiredSFC 97

I will try to post pictures. I haven't taken any but this weekend I will do my best. I'm working this weekend on my vette replacing it's speaker system. I already have an alpine HU mounted to an Alpine KTP 445 power pack and am installing a powered sub. I took the JBL 638's out for my Mustang and installed a set of JBL 660's in the doors this past weekend.
If I wasn't doing two projects at one time I would have most likely added the Shelby kicker door sub package. But right now that's a little too much for my budget.

Hmmm, that was a good idea to run an amp to your existing door subs. I bet it's much cleaner. Maybe next year I'll add a four channel amp and amp my speakers to include a new set of door woofers. That certainly opens up more possibilities.