I have said this before, speakers are the greatest variable in any system. That makes them biggest bang for buck. That said, once I added the Shelby amp (signal processing for the 8's) things really improved. I was going to go with a different amp (an Alpine), but now think for the door subs it would have been overkill. I like the fact the Shelby/Kicker was plug and play and I could do it myself. I sound deadened the doors and still get rattles with the shaker amp. That is a fact of life with door subs. My trunk sub more than makes up for it. My 8's in the door sound tighter now so I removed my two 12's and am running a single 10 in the trunk. I will change back as soon as I can get a custom enclosure for the 12's, but in no rush. The signal processing the Shelby amp does really helps everything sound better. Now I hope the Skipper never dies!

 

That's good to know, thanks! Just wish that amp wasn't so damn expensive!

 

If you concider the cost of install, parts, etc. the Kicker/Shelby isn't so bad. I got mine for $399 from Champion Mustang. The Alpine I wanted cost close to the same, had a bit more power, but needed adapters and installation to be added to the cost. I have a vert. and a killer double din. with touch screen wouldn't last too long if someone else really wanted it! Top down, my new setup sounds great. No contest winner, but really good for my everyday commute.

 

One of the things I learned is that install, processing, and speakers will have an overall greater impact on sound than swapping amplifiers will. I took a trip down memory lane, and noticed that I went through 36 amplifiers (and 5 vehicles) between February 2007 and February 2010.

Of course, the greatest challenge created by the S197 chassis is all those dang reflective surfaces between the speakers and the listener causing odd harmonics.