Hi everyone!
I've been doing some research on replacing factory sound systems for quite a few hours and days now. I've looked at crutchfield and the info they have is decent I'm just not totally convinced I understand the process. Google is full of random, unrelated search results and after many hours attempting to search through these forums to avoid posting a possibly redundant question, I have yet to find my answers.

Since y'all specialize in mustangs and all these brains are here ready to be picked, I figured it was time to ask!

I have a 2001 V6 that's 100% stock as far as the sound system goes. It has the double din style CD/cassette radio in it thankfully, so I don't have to deal with the two separate units I have seen around.

Before anyone recommends I get a sub and amp, I'm going to stop you right there . I completely understand and agree that the best sound will come from a high quality amp and sub setup with the right speakers and headunit.

However, I'm in college and am not looking to bankrupt myself. I just want better sound quality than this 11 year old stock system is giving me. I am just looking for recommendations on what I should be looking for to get clear sound that has good range. I'm not looking for bass that will annoy anyone within 50 ft of my car but I know there are speakers out there better than my stock!

I'm looking to replace only the headunit and speakers. I'm not looking to add a bunch of wiring and such unless that's what is NECESSARY. I'm a pretty smart kid when it comes to figuring these things out with the correct instruction, so any is greatly appreciated!

I just have a few questions-

1) What are decent brands for headunits and speakers? I don't mean the systems that are thousands of dollars, but I know better than to grab some sony xplod garbage from walmart too. Just decent stuff. I don't need navigation, sirius, or any fancy features. It'll be FM and mp3 for me. What are decent double din hu's that don't look like obvious aftermarket shiny plastic POSs that look like they belong in a ricer with crappy speakers and rattling subs so you hear no actual music and alllll boom... but, I digress. I'd also love a detachable face to hide it when parked on campus, ESPECIALLY on a touchscreen hu. Not necessary though.

2) I've seen 3 way and 2 way speakers... I get the basic concept of them and I know there are even more types. But what should I put on my rear deck (size & type?) and what should go in the doors? Again I'm just looking for clean sound. I read here where someone suggested ignoring the rear speakers and just replacing the door speakers(I would love to understand that reasoning! Doesn't make sense to me to have crap rear speakers, but what do I know!)

3) What the heck is already in there? I've read about amps already in there? I'm sorry I'm so clueless but the only threads I found referred to MACH systems which I do not have.

4) Also, what should I expect when removing the current system? Is the hu easy or difficult to remove? The speakers? Where can I find a decent walkthrough for this kind of work?

Anyways, I'm sure there's a lot more for me to ask and understand, I just am having a difficult time finding information relevant to my specific setup and what I want.

Please let me know if my understanding of things is incorrect! I'd love to know more about this stuff as I refuse to drive anything other than a stang and I'm sure I'll be doing this again in the future.

My old 95 mustang we bought with the stock hu missing so it was very easy for me to run to best buy and I fairly painlessly installed my own hu in 20 minutes.
who needs geek squad anyway?(<< joke, people.)

Now it's time to replace the system in my "new to me" 01!

I do appreciate y'alls help very much! ANY info is great! What are your experiences? I'd love to hear it all