Pics of speakers inside door

Thanks, man! Definitely sounds a lot better than the Skanker 500 did (mega understatement).

I don't have to - your statement is exactly what I'm saying.

I agree - for best sound components can't be beat. For my purposes though the Pioneer 4-ways sound exceptional and were priced well. I should clarify they sound exceptional in a sound room. To get equivelent sound in my car will take a total rewiring and replacement with a 4 channel amp and a new head unit. I will do that but haven't as of yet.

As you repeated, the FACTORY head unit and amps use crossovers that prohibit full range signals from being sent to the speakers. There is no need to as the FACTORY speakers are incapable of playing full range signals.

Earl

damnisityellow said:

I am familiar with how crossovers work. I also know you will never get the sound quality from coax, triax, four way that you will from components.Your statement that the crossover in the factory amp(s) limits the bandwidth would mean that no matter which speaker you install would play within the same range. you are saying the factory stereo does not play the full range.do a little more research and get back with me.

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Haven't been in here in awhile, but thought I'd weigh in (BTW, the Sound Shop forum is alive and well, contrary to popular belief: it's just that the default viewing option displays only one day's posts and I think a lot of good discussion is lost because people think it's dead - change the "display option" to a week).
Anyway, a couple of comments: first of all, full frequency range is sent to the rear deck speakers, it's just that the stock speakers really suck. Before I disconnected the factory wiring I hooked up a pair of coaxes with the factory wiring going to the crossover inputs and yes, poor quality amplification, but full range of frequency. Immediate improvement to be had by just replacing the rear deck speakers with two- or three-ways and nothing else. Standard 6 x 8's or 5 x 7's fit effortlessly (o.k. not so effortlessly because those mounting screws are a bi*ch! lol). Next, front doors are just not the place for subs; there's no room for the air displacement necessary to create good bass. That and the fact that most posters have or plan to have sub(s) in the trunk means just don't bother trying to find a replacement sub that fits: use the space for a decent, smaller-sized mid (6 - 6 1/2" can be more easily made to fit and will produce more than adequate bass for the front) or just disconnect the dam*ed things. And whatever you do, don't change the head unit and try to make it work with the existing speakers and amps - you may, eventually, get it to work but it's just not worth it. If you're going to invest, do it right and do the whole thing. Besides, as far as stock audio goes, the Shaker 500/1000 really isn't all that bad... IMO see you in Sound Shop!

eedwards, I agree with all of your points except one - behind the front door panel, there's a nice chamber that goes along the bottom of the door behind the 8" midbass driver - it spans almost the entire length of the door. There's got to be at least .5 if not .75 cubic feet or more space, plenty for an 8" sub. It blew my ass away when I saw that Ford had bothered to put that there (especially after seeing the cheap carpet-on-metal in the trunk). I wish I had a pic to illustrate.

ExCon said:

Haven't heard them yet! My experience has been with the general garbage thats out there like Pioneer, Polk Sony, etc and then quality like MB Quarts and Focals. I have yet to hear a better speaker than Focals but then again I thought MB Quarts were the best till Focal came along! I'll check em out!!

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while you are at it, have them show you the crossovers for the diamonds, compared to others, they are overkill on build quality.

delurker said:

eedwards, I agree with all of your points except one - behind the front door panel, there's a nice chamber that goes along the bottom of the door behind the 8" midbass driver - it spans almost the entire length of the door. There's got to be at least .5 if not .75 cubic feet or more space, plenty for an 8" sub. It blew my ass away when I saw that Ford had bothered to put that there (especially after seeing the cheap carpet-on-metal in the trunk). I wish I had a pic to illustrate.

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8" midbass driver is the key here. the placement and chamber are great. after adding your components, amps, head unit , processors, and blending in your sub base, this has the makings for a very competitive SQ car.should sound great. you hit the nail on the head delurker------ mid bass, not bass as eeeedwards thinks. good call!!!!!!!!!

EarlB said:

I replaced both the door and rear speakers in my GT with Pioneer 4-way 6x8s and I can guarantee you there is NOT a full range signal going to those rear speakers. FORD is getting away with the damn dinky papercone rears because they are NOT receiveing a full range signal. Anyone that thinks they are and is using the factory head unit and amps, just simply turn your fader between front and rear and you'll see firsthand you aren't getting proper highs and mids from your rears - especially if they are 4-way speakers.

Earl

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The Skaker 500 in my '05 sounds like it IS getting full range. I sold car audio at Circuit City for several years, so I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference. I put in a set of Pioneer 4 way 6X8's. Lots of bass and crisp highs, much better than stock paper speaker. I fade full rear, and can still here the subs in the door, but there is still a lot of bass and highs coming from the back. I know not all '05s are created equal, mine won't roll down the windows with the remote, so maybe they had different stereos for some reason or the other (skipping?)

Also, the shak'r head unit loads and changes CD's a little slow, but the sound quality is not all that bad. Plus, no thief in their right mind will steal a stock stereo when there are tons of much better aftermarket head units out there, plus, that's money I can spend on performance mods.

Most times, I'd rather here the motor than the stereo.

Cheers.

Hatchman said:

Most times, I'd rather hear the motor than the stereo.

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No doubt. I've listened to my skanker surprisingly little since I got the car.

damnisityellow- I don't think I understand your point... I suggested using the existing front door subwoofer location for mids (?). And delurker, you're absolutely right about the cavern inside the door panel; I hadn't found it yet but when I replaced the 8" "subs" with 6 1/2" mids, it was a great place to put my crossovers. I ripped the grills off of the factory subs, then mounted my mids to the backside of the grills and put them back in; looks like original factory install but sure doesn't sound like it! BTW, delurker, your install looks GREAT!

Sorry to ressurect this, but have any of you seen the door panels on cars without the shaker system? How difficult would it be to cut a hole for a 6.5" or 7" midrange where the shaker 8" usually goes?

The reason I ask is I will likely special order the car if I get one, and don't want to spend 600 bucks on the shaker just so I can have a hole big enough to slap a decent 6.5" component system in. My current car has custom fiberglass kickpanels with focal 165K2's....love them, but due to the manual tranny I plan on having in the stang kickpanels just don't seem like they're feasible.