How to replicate Mach 460 bass with aftermarket stuff?

Nobody

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May 9, 2000
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Kenmore, WA
I just went to Best Buy and listened to some of their stuff. It became painfully obvious that I would have to run a subwoofer and amp to get the rumble of the Mach 460. So how much do I need? Can I shake the car with a single 12", single 10"? Can it be done with a single 8"? I want the smallest footprint as I can get while maintaining the Mach rumble. So what's a decent setup for price/performance?

Thanks
 
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I had one 12" in my 'vert LONG ago and it was overkill. I went with the 12" because I was afraid anything less than that would be too quite with the top down... man was it loud! I took it out on my first trip to the track and haven't put it back in since. I'd go with a single 10" if I could do it over again.
 
I believe the mach system has an 8" sub.:shrug:

The most important part is the amp you choose. Pretty much any sub will sound good with a good hq amp. I would go with an MTX or equivilent name brand, at least 100-150watts RMS(not peak), and a single 10" or 12". The 12" would be just a little bit deeper and louder.

I had an Alpine Type-E 10" w/MTX 100W RMS amp in my Explorer and it sounded really good. I was really surprised how much bass that little 10" put out.
 
wytstang said:
Why not just replace the 6x8 speakers and bypass the amp.
I don't quite understand what you mean. You are suggesting that I replace only the 6x8's and keep the head units of the Mach?

I realized that I wan't clear on my intentions in my original post. My Mach 460 is going goofy (looks like a head unit problem) so I am considering replacing the whole lot. I listened to a few 6x8/5x7 2-way speakers and they were really tight and sounded more like midrange drivers compared to the washy Mach 6x8's.
 
Wytstang, how did you put an aftermarket head unit with the mach 460 stuff?


The 6X8 mach 460 speakers are unique in that they ARE a subwoofer and not a midrange like all other 6X8's. I am 99% sure (unless something has come out VERY recently) that you will not be able to replace the 6X8's with aftermarket ones and expect to get the same low frequency response. My CD player is shot in my mach 460 so I have looked every now and then at replacing it, but ti means I need to replace EVERYTHING or so I have found.
 
I have a JL 10W3 sub and a Kenwood 600 watt amp (puts out around 450 watts RMS) and I'm very happy with the sound. It can really rumble if I turn the bass up, but the way I normally listen to it, it just completes the sound nicely and makes the music sound right. Plus it doesnt take up much space since it is in a 1 cubic foot box, and only being a 10 means it adds minimal weight compared to a 12 or even an overkill 15. I also have mine set up to be easily removed if I wanna go to the track. :nice:
 
Killercanary said:
Wytstang, how did you put an aftermarket head unit with the mach 460 stuff?


The 6X8 mach 460 speakers are unique in that they ARE a subwoofer and not a midrange like all other 6X8's. I am 99% sure (unless something has come out VERY recently) that you will not be able to replace the 6X8's with aftermarket ones and expect to get the same low frequency response. My CD player is shot in my mach 460 so I have looked every now and then at replacing it, but ti means I need to replace EVERYTHING or so I have found.
i have run into so much crap when i bought my car with the mach 460... the front speakers had a little water on them for some time since the top was leaking a little and by the time i got em they were shot...and the cd chnger was jammed too... i figured no big deal i would just replace the front 6x8's with pioneer 3 ways and get a new head unit... wow was i wrong, it works great except for the fact that i turn it up to about 10 of 30 and the front speakers "pop" then i lose all bass for a short while, the it comes blaring on again... this has been the biggest hassle for the last three years for me, one guy said it was the ampedence problem where i need to match the stockers which is a 6 or an 8 i believe, and i have 4 ampedence, then circuit cicty says i hafta rewire the entire thing, then a different circuit city sid its just the wirning harness, but they cant get their hands on the right one since they dont deal with a certain distributer...or something... :fuss: we should turn this into the official mach 460 help thread since there is so much mismatched information out there..., or maybe someone can just tell me how to wire my front speakers right that would help, :damnit: just seeing this thread has stirred up how pissed i really am at this situation... i wish i could shine some light on your situation, but i just realize there are a lot of us out there dealing with this finicky system
 
My research shows that You can SUPPOSEDLY use the Scosche OEM adapter for hooking up a new head unit using the Mach 460 amps and speakers. The harnesses look right. The one customer review on the item is actually a Mustang/Mach 460 owner.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-C9HCk7qJLma/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=751&I=142C4FDK5


However, I haven't seen anyone who has really used this product.
The stereo stores in my area, Best Buy, Circuit City, Car Toys will not touch any part of the Mach 460 unless they are replacing the whole thing. This could very well be a profit thing but at the end of the day, that $50 install labor is money you otherwise wouldn't make, so I don't see why these places WOULDN'T use this if it did in fact work.
 
ive used a scosche adapater and several different head units for about 8 years and have had no trouble with the mach 460. I even replaced the front speakers with memphis componet speakers and they still work off the mach 460. if you want it to really sound off leave the mach 460 and add an amp and two tens
 
I've had a couple of aftermarket head units in my car with my mach 460 system and have never had even the slightest of a problem...:shrug:

I planted two 12's in WITH my mach 460 and man it's some gooooood sound quality now

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You should face them towards the trunk, it will be louder. I used to have 3 10's in mine and it was waaaay overkill. I split them up and only have 1 10" in it right now. With a nice class d amp and a ported box it sounds very decent. Its pretty light and doesnt take up much space at all.
 
I had 2 10's in a 3 cu. ft. box in my old stang. Homemade box from MDF, 2 Pioneer 10's with one 2 channel 50w RMS amp. I ran 50w. RMS to each speaker, 100w peak, replaced all the door and deck speakers with pioneer and a pioneer head unit. I had the subs crossedover at like 30 htz, and God Damn did that thing sound bad ass. I put 2 titanium dome tweeters in the doors and that was the clearest/nicest system any of my friends had heard. It was clean/clear/ and had the perfect amout of everything.
 
I have one 12 in the rear trunk in the spare tire well, a custom box, and a nice focal component set also running off an amp. I dont think I will ever go back to regular coxials/speakers. Component sets all the way, you only need a front set and a amp to power them. But with a component set a sub is a must.

Bypass your stock amp for sure, even adding a nice deck to your setup will make it sound a lot better!
 
redsn95 said:
ive used a scosche adapater and several different head units for about 8 years and have had no trouble with the mach 460. I even replaced the front speakers with memphis componet speakers and they still work off the mach 460. if you want it to really sound off leave the mach 460 and add an amp and two tens



yep i got a pioneer h/u with the adapter and i'm still using the rest of the mach stuff...and it sounds great...i was surprised at how good the mach system sounds with a good h/u
 
Killercanary said:
Wytstang, how did you put an aftermarket head unit with the mach 460 stuff?


The 6X8 mach 460 speakers are unique in that they ARE a subwoofer and not a midrange like all other 6X8's. I am 99% sure (unless something has come out VERY recently) that you will not be able to replace the 6X8's with aftermarket ones and expect to get the same low frequency response. My CD player is shot in my mach 460 so I have looked every now and then at replacing it, but ti means I need to replace EVERYTHING or so I have found.
Like others have said there is a mach 460 adapter the wires itself straight into the 460system. It cost about 16/17 bucks.
 
redsn95 said:
ive used a scosche adapater and several different head units for about 8 years and have had no trouble with the mach 460. I even replaced the front speakers with memphis componet speakers and they still work off the mach 460. if you want it to really sound off leave the mach 460 and add an amp and two tens
It's the rear spaekers that have to bypass the amp to work with aftermarket speakers. The front works off the head unit only (if I remember correctly).
 
I had the mach in my convertable and I plan on putting the door pillar tweeters (at least the pods, maybe better tweeters) in, but i don't think there's any way to use the stock amps, right? If i fed them power, would i then feed them a line in type signal?

Oh, and by the way, if you want a sub, go for dual 10's.... they have a great punch, and will give you the big bass if you ever want to drown out the person next to you. Also, get an amp that is rated higher than your subs and just keep the power down. It's better for the amp, and cleaner power for the subs.