Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
11-21-2006, 01:30 AM
#1
2nd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Long Island, New York
Posts: 185
Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
Hey all, I'm prepping to get a GT and I'm keeping the options to a BARE minimum to keep the price down. One thing I must have is a decent audio system though.
My car now only has a 200w system with 2 new rear speakers (I forget what brand, cost me about $100 each) and stock front. I was fairly happy with it overall, the whole thing cost me about 350ish after installation.
If I don't get a shaker 500, I'll just go to best buy or circuit city and have them throw something in. I'd be willing to spend up to about $500.
Anyone know if I'll regret it if I don't get the shaker? More importantly, is it that much better than a system I could buy myself?
Because I can buy a system myself later and I won't have to finance it, I can save for a month or so and pay it all up front. But if I get it with the car, that cost is going to be financed and I'll be paying interest on it.
Thanks for any input
My car now only has a 200w system with 2 new rear speakers (I forget what brand, cost me about $100 each) and stock front. I was fairly happy with it overall, the whole thing cost me about 350ish after installation.
If I don't get a shaker 500, I'll just go to best buy or circuit city and have them throw something in. I'd be willing to spend up to about $500.
Anyone know if I'll regret it if I don't get the shaker? More importantly, is it that much better than a system I could buy myself?
Because I can buy a system myself later and I won't have to finance it, I can save for a month or so and pay it all up front. But if I get it with the car, that cost is going to be financed and I'll be paying interest on it.
Thanks for any input
11-21-2006, 01:38 AM
#3
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Virginia
Posts: 356
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
If I recall correctly the Shaker 500 adds about $1200.00 to the price of the car. If your working it into the car note then yes it is worth it compared to a $500.00 cash investment. However, I spent a little more than that and got a kickin system. Just took the Shaker out.
11-21-2006, 01:43 AM
#4
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Huntsville, Al
Posts: 982
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
I love my Shaker 500 system. It sounds great and has worked flawlessly since day one. I love the speed volume for my vert as well.
11-21-2006, 02:04 AM
#5
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 1
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
This is kinda of an ironic topic for me.
I personally own an 06 Gt with the shaker 500 system. I also work at circuit city in the roadshop (the car audio department).
The shaker 500 system is no doubt a good factory system. But for a little more than the price ford charges you could produce one hell of a system.
Using the stock headunit or radio you could easily add the following.
decent 4 channel amp- 250
2 channel amp- 350
box & subwoofers- 250
speakers- 250
miscellaneous parts and kits- 200
total: about 1300 but thats only 100 more than ford charges you for the 500 system.....
This price could vary depending on what deals we would be running
For instance if you bought this today take 100 off the subs and 100 off the speakers...... kicker audio is running a promotion right now where it is buy one get one half off. So like i said this price could easily drop depending on the current promos.
also keep in mind with a circuit city credit card we offer 6 months no intrest & no payments for 90 days
I personally own an 06 Gt with the shaker 500 system. I also work at circuit city in the roadshop (the car audio department).
The shaker 500 system is no doubt a good factory system. But for a little more than the price ford charges you could produce one hell of a system.
Using the stock headunit or radio you could easily add the following.
decent 4 channel amp- 250
2 channel amp- 350
box & subwoofers- 250
speakers- 250
miscellaneous parts and kits- 200
total: about 1300 but thats only 100 more than ford charges you for the 500 system.....
This price could vary depending on what deals we would be running
For instance if you bought this today take 100 off the subs and 100 off the speakers...... kicker audio is running a promotion right now where it is buy one get one half off. So like i said this price could easily drop depending on the current promos.
also keep in mind with a circuit city credit card we offer 6 months no intrest & no payments for 90 days
11-21-2006, 02:06 AM
#6
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location:
Posts: 853
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
Me I like the 500 for a base system, it adds the 2 8" subs to the door. They allow you to either use them for added fill and put bigger sub(s) in the trunk or if you go with a high end 3 way component system you can put an 8" woofer for the lows and then use the stock speaker location for a 5" mid range and the tweeter.
I'm thinking of putting 2 of the new 8" jl w3's [coming out in the next month or 2] in the doors and then putting 400 watts to them. (with just enough dynamatt and spray on the door skin to kill the rattle with out adding a ton of weight.
I'm thinking of putting 2 of the new 8" jl w3's [coming out in the next month or 2] in the doors and then putting 400 watts to them. (with just enough dynamatt and spray on the door skin to kill the rattle with out adding a ton of weight.
11-21-2006, 02:23 AM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location:
Posts: 28
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
I rarely put my opinion in on this site but I have to agree with those who say you would never regret NOT getting the Shaker. I had mine removed from my car and body slammed into the dumpster. For $1268. I had a very nice Alpine system complete with 6 speakers, 350 watt amp & a 10' JL Audio Sub in the trunk.........Night & day. I drive in traffic an hour each way to & from work. Good sound is a must have for me.
The shaker(s) I had were no good (Feb 05' model). Now I was able to add an MP3 player & blue tooth because of the aftermarket deck. Everyones' situation is different. If it is within your budget & important to you, I would go for the aftermarket unit. There are huge sales coming up at this time of year.
11-21-2006, 05:15 AM
#8
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location:
Posts: 333
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
when i rented a 05 premium mustang, it had a Shaker 6 disc system. i didn't like it for 3 reasons.
1. some c.d.'s would not register the 1st time when i tried inserting them. took multiple tries of loading and ejecting. keep in mind i played 1 cd at a time. never filled the whole thing up with more than 1 disc.
2. on songs that are continuous, player would always stop between songs like they were still seperate tracks, very annoying.
3. whole overall sounded empty and shallow. it was just satisfactory.
i knew that if i ever bought a mustang(which i did), that i would go out of my way to find a car without the Shaker system.
1. some c.d.'s would not register the 1st time when i tried inserting them. took multiple tries of loading and ejecting. keep in mind i played 1 cd at a time. never filled the whole thing up with more than 1 disc.
2. on songs that are continuous, player would always stop between songs like they were still seperate tracks, very annoying.
3. whole overall sounded empty and shallow. it was just satisfactory.
i knew that if i ever bought a mustang(which i did), that i would go out of my way to find a car without the Shaker system.
11-21-2006, 11:11 AM
#9
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location:
Posts: 2,544
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
First off, some background:
I used to be very serious into car audio. I have spent many thousands of dollars on components. I have worked at and installed systems for Best Buy, Circuit City, and an indipendant car audio shop. I even had my own personal business building subwoofer boxes.
I have since "quit", but I am still very much the audiophile--just in my HOME system, not the car. It's just too difficult to get acceptable sound out of a car compared to a proper home setup. And there are too many distractions to enjoying the music...like driving, for one.
Now then, the Shaker systems are not perfect by any means. But they are very good as far as factory systems go. My shaker plays every CD I feed it. It's never crashed. The sound quality is quite good. Drop in some inexpensive new 5x8's in the rear (less than $100) you'll see a fantastic upgrade in peformance.
I'll echo what someone else said, and that's if you want a better system then you should get the base stereo and build it yourself. But think long and hard about wether or not you actually need/want a better system before you drop the cash. Aftermarket systems rarely last as well as the OEM ones do, and they aren't covered by your warranty.
If you DO decide to go aftermarket, I would do a lot of research and also check out some indidpendant shops. Places like Circuit City and Best Buy have some decent head units these days, but their selection of speakers, subs, and amps are pretty bad. They also don't have very many GOOD speakers or amps available. When I worked at these stores, I barely considered their amps good enough for boat anchor duty.
I used to be very serious into car audio. I have spent many thousands of dollars on components. I have worked at and installed systems for Best Buy, Circuit City, and an indipendant car audio shop. I even had my own personal business building subwoofer boxes.
I have since "quit", but I am still very much the audiophile--just in my HOME system, not the car. It's just too difficult to get acceptable sound out of a car compared to a proper home setup. And there are too many distractions to enjoying the music...like driving, for one.
Now then, the Shaker systems are not perfect by any means. But they are very good as far as factory systems go. My shaker plays every CD I feed it. It's never crashed. The sound quality is quite good. Drop in some inexpensive new 5x8's in the rear (less than $100) you'll see a fantastic upgrade in peformance.
I'll echo what someone else said, and that's if you want a better system then you should get the base stereo and build it yourself. But think long and hard about wether or not you actually need/want a better system before you drop the cash. Aftermarket systems rarely last as well as the OEM ones do, and they aren't covered by your warranty.
If you DO decide to go aftermarket, I would do a lot of research and also check out some indidpendant shops. Places like Circuit City and Best Buy have some decent head units these days, but their selection of speakers, subs, and amps are pretty bad. They also don't have very many GOOD speakers or amps available. When I worked at these stores, I barely considered their amps good enough for boat anchor duty.
11-21-2006, 12:00 PM
#10
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 41
RE: Shaker 500 -- worth it vs. system from circuit city or best buy?
there's no way a shaker could even compare to an aftermarket stereo, my shaker 500 was taken out and is now a boat anchor!
if you do a lot of driving then get an aftermarket if not and you are content with a shaker , to bad you dont live in my area i would let you hear my stereo, then you wouldnt even think about it.but always do what is right for you. by the way i have an alpine iva-w200,2 sets of component jlaudio zr's,kenwood 9252 sub amp,kenwood 8452 4 channel,and 2 boston acuostic g5 10 inch subs. i cant even hear the traffic!!!
if you do a lot of driving then get an aftermarket if not and you are content with a shaker , to bad you dont live in my area i would let you hear my stereo, then you wouldnt even think about it.but always do what is right for you. by the way i have an alpine iva-w200,2 sets of component jlaudio zr's,kenwood 9252 sub amp,kenwood 8452 4 channel,and 2 boston acuostic g5 10 inch subs. i cant even hear the traffic!!!