RoadLizard

Had the Skipper-500 taken out today and replaced with a Kenwood deck. Sirius is on tap, sound is much improved and no more skipping CDs!

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dmhines

Nice .... getting ready to do the same ... what did they charge for the install?

RoadLizard

Thanks dmhines!

Kind of complicated on the cost... I had the kenwood in my old/gay '93 Olds that I drove for a couple years saving down payment for the 'Stang. I had the guys take the Kwood out of the Olds and install in 'Stang, then put stock back in Olds. The did all that plus moving the brain from the Olds to the 'Stang for $128. $30 of that was parts. I figure that's pretty good for a pro-install. They didn't get in one of the wiring harnesses (need two) so the door subs aren't firing now. The other harness is due in on UPS tomorrow and they'll complete that part of the install then. He said it would take all of 20-minutes.

DylanFan

I also have the Shaker 500 in my 2006 V6 Tungsten Grey Coupe and I have noticed that some CDs skip. Is this a problem with the Shaker 500. I usually just play Bob Dylan boots so I have never tried a commercial CD. The commercial Bob Dylan CDs that I do play I make copies and play the copies in the car. Wouldn't want to scratch the original CD. Is the Kenwood you installed a single play CD?

RoadLizard

From what I've read on these boards, the shakers are prone to skipping. Mine skipped on pavement as much as on gravel roads. I lasted less than a week before I hatched the plot to replace it.... The Kwood I have is single. It will control Kwood 6 disks or what kwood calls a "music keg" which I take it is some sort of ginormous mp3 player. I am not a big cd listener since getting Sirius though. [8D]

Orion_240

Be sure to show us a pic of your Sirius antenna and where they put it. Have seen some that are too ugly.
And Shaker will skip with commercial CDs. I prefer to make MP3 copys and keep those in the car in case they melt, or car gets stolen.
I think the whole future of car audio is going to change and we'll just have AUX plugs so we can plug in iPods or whatever. I am thinking about going that route cause I've downloaded so many songs that I have paid for and gotten the license to burn to CD, but they are in WMA files, which won't work with the radio in the Mustang. Conversion didn't work well at all.

RoadLizard

Pics of antenna and "brain" or receiver. My deck has a seperate brain which is integrated into the deck on some newer models. My deck is a 3-year old Kenwood excelon series. The only thing it doesn't do is the IPod thing, which is cool with me. I'm a satellite junkie and get my music there. The guys at the shop fixed my subs such that they work now. Holy Smoke! With the Kwood deck, I can turn them on/off with the touch of a button (NF on/off) and through the menu on the deck I have total control over the output level for the subs (-6 thru +18 in intervals of 3). With the Shaker deck, no control whatever is available. This is very cool. When I'm listening to FoxNews or CNN, I don't like the subs, so I can just turn them off with the touch of a button.

Here are the pics. They mounted the antenna on the deck per my request. They wanted to put it on top of the roof centered above the mirror. I didn't like the idea of it on the roof. I've heard some putting it inside the glass on the back behind the seats. I didn't know how it would stay afixed so I went for the deck mount. The brain is mounted on the back of the passenger-side rear seat. That would be a pain if you folded the seat down to make room for storage, but I don't see myself ever needing that.



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hawgman

You should put your antenna in the rear deck. Reception is fine. I have had both my Sirius antenna and my GPS antenna there for over a year.
Little piece of velcro on the bottom of the antenna and it sticks to the carpet no problem.

RoadLizard

Hawgman, is it difficult to run the wires up from the trunk? I like the idea of it being protected from the elements. I would think if the antenna is under glass it would have about as much access to the sky as if it were on the deck. Any reception problems? Only probs I've had with a deck mount is inside a parking garage, which totally understandable as the signal can't penetrate 3' concrete... Also, can you show a pic of your setup from the trunk and the antenna?

Thanks,
RoadLizard (crazier than a....)

mlcrycc

[sm=exactly.gif]

RoadLizard,
I'll post my XM antenna, since it looks like Hawgman went offline....same difference as Sirius....