jthorn9

I would just run new wires when installing after market. I did that on my 5.0 and as a result I can always rip the stuff out and put the factory back in.

TO OP

After research it appears as if the Shaker 500 and 1000 head units are the same, you just need to find out which lines are left/right signal inputs and which line is an amp turn on, and top into those lines.

ttocs

I can put a deck, 4 speakers an amp and a sub in your car in just a few hours if I take my time but mind you I did it full-time for a number of years. To do the shaker swap I am willing to bet you will spend at least that much time find the pieces you want/need and then hoping that they are all the same year and compatible. Then if they are all matching then you will just have to hope that the other owner didn't pull it out because of problems.

Now as someone on the other page pointed out that they did their install with out the hrns, I would love to know how long it took you both to research where you needed to make connections as well as how long the actual install took. The parts might be cheaper but what is your time and energy worth? If it is that cheap then will your time be that cheap 2-3 yrs from now when the indash changer locks up or the amps die?

Honesly save yourself alot of trouble and get what you want from the aftermarket arena. The shaker stuff looks cool/ok I guess but you can get sooooo much more.

jthorn9

I did the swap on a Mach system and honestly, the work was only about 30-45 minutes total. Just took a couple of hours doing research on the web to find out exactly what wires I needed to tap into. Same concept applies to the Shaker.

And I've had aftermarket components that screwed up too, factory or aftermarket, nothing is guaranteed to last. And quality aftermarket cost a lot of money.

Example.

Mach 1000 upgrade - $300 for the components and shipping, 45 minutes of install work, $30 in accessories/wire, and 2 hours of research.

My custom system in my 95 Mustang - $500 for the flip out dvd player, $200 for front/rear speakers, $150 for tweeters, $100 for subs, $100 for custom sub box, $300 for an amp, and approximately $30 in accessories/wire. Took around 4 hours to run all the wire, fix a few old shorts in the car, take out all the old wires, and measure/mount up everything.

***Keep in mind I bought all of my aftermarket stuff on clearance, original prices were nearly double what I paid. I just had patience and waited for a deal***

Overall difference between my 700 rms watt aftermarket system vs the 500 rms shaker system, not huge to justify the large money difference. Yes my aftermarket system has much better sound response, sound quality, and better bass tone but only to a trained ear. My wife doesn't hear the difference, just like most people wont.

ttocs

and when you are done with your 3 hr(including the research it all counts) install you have now got the best factory premium stereo that money could by over a decade ago. Yes you are right it is possible to get bad gear out of the box but with my years of installing I found that happened maybe a total of 3 times in 15 yrs of exp. Now it the stock equipment on the other hand is known to fail after being used for a number of years and I think 10 yrs would count.

If you spend that much time and money on your previous aftermarket install with the names you mentioned and were only able to get it up to the shakers standards though you are probably better off stayin in the factory relm. You either bought the wrong equipment or didn't know how to tune it properly as if it was just above shakers standards then something was wrong.

jthorn9

I tuned it pretty well, and like I said there is a difference, most people won't hear it. The biggest difference isn't in the speakers (although there is one), but in the SUBs, that's where I noticed the biggest difference. The shaker has poor bass separation as it tends to loose voltage and power during rapid powerful hits. Good aftermarket equipment will not do that. But then again, I tested it, and several of my friends, and my wife (then girlfriend) couldn't hear what I'm describing.

My ED subs powered by my DLS mono block amp are light years away from the Shaker, but like I said, most people don't hear it. Kind of like how most people can't tell the difference between an MP3 and a CD...I can.

runstang22

I just bought the otto navi for our cars. I have a shaker 500 system. Have you upgraded yet? I will be looking to get rid of mine in the next couple weeks.