Sound System???

[T-Sho]

I have a Mach 460 sound system in my 03 GT. In my three years of owning the car I have managed to run it into the ground I took the car last week to Mobile 1 Audio and the tech advised me that the Mach system is the top of the line and that they had nothing that he would recommend that would come close to sounding as good as when I first bought the car. He recommends that I take it back to Ford and let them reinstall a new system. I want to upgrade to the 1000 system. Does anyone know how much I would be looking at to get one put in? Also my Mach 460 came with two AMPS in the trunk. Is this normal? One of the techs said that they normally came with one and this is the first time he saw one with two.

 

[smokin00GT]

Your audio tech sounds retarded! Mustangs with the 460 sound have come with two amps since 1994!

 

[T-Sho]

Your audio tech sounds retarded! Mustangs with the 460 sound have come with two amps since 1994!

Thats what I thought!!!! But I wasn't sure.

 

[Wolvrin704]

I also find it strange that they have nothing better than the Mach 460. While it is certainly a nice factory system any audio place should be able to install a better system. Of course they would have to replace everything in the system.

 

[T-Sho]

Which they said they could, but the only thing is I don't want to have to part with my six disc IN-DASH cd player.

 

[whyask]

You can keep the stock stereo, upgrade the amps and mids, high, and lows and even add a sub... just find a better tech and installer...!! Theres always something better out there, its just do u have a deep enough wallet or it ..??

 

[Mossberg]

Actually the 94-00 Mach 460 came with 3 amps. one under the dash for the tweeters and the two rear deck amps. The 01-04 Mach 460 tweeters are powered by the headunit instead of a separate amp and still retain the two rear deck amps.

 

[TrueBlue03]

the guy has no idea.....mach system....top of the line? haha.... pshhhhh slap that fool.

>>> the mach460 sounds like garbage compared to most other upgraded stock audio systems. Thats hilarious that he told you there was nothing better. replace the speakers and the head unit and let me know if THAT sounds as bad as the stock stuff.

the bass distorts like a bitch, the tweeters get kinda scratchy sounding with any kind of flaw in a cd, AND the head unit wont even play CD-R's that were burned at a fast speed (not to mention the fact that it wont play CD-RW's) AND the damn 6 disc changer has a tendancy to swallow cds. screw the 6 cd changer... if it played mp3 cds then you could just put 6 cd's worth of music on 1 cd.

>>> dont get the mach 1000 subs.....for the money, you could get something much better and cleaner sounding. Like others mentioned, your system will sound as awesome as your wallet is deep...

take a look into some MB Quartz or even Focal components for the front if you got the money and hear the difference in sound quality...and most importantly, go to a car stereo place that knows what they're talking about!! Circuit city and Best Buy will usually give you something ok if you're willing to spend the money....BUT when it comes down to it, most of their employees dont know much about bridging, series and parallel circuits and resistance (ohms) in general.

 

[MustangJunkie]

That tech has no idea what he's talking about. The Mach system is ok but certainly not great. Any decent aftermarket system will sound better than the Mach system--and you'll pay much less for it.

Oh, and the Mach 1000 subs aren't that great either.

 

[the98stang]

The 460 is pretty nice for a stock unit. It's loud enough for me

I've dicked with subwoofers before and it's almost not worth it. I mean, you ADD weight to your already heavy @ss car, and then the bass is so loud you can't even understand the lyrics. What's the fun in that?

 

[bullitt_2620]

That guy is a fool, my system will smash on a 460 without a doubt. Upgrade to speakers with 1" tweeters, and an amp, they will blow you away. Speakers are relative to everyone, what sounds good to one sounds bad to another, but on avg, if you spend a couple of hundred dollars on every component of your system it will generally sound good, still a lot better than the 460. Unfortunately though, you get what you pay for, so if you buy crap, then you get crap.

 

[T-Sho]

So how much should I expect to pay if I want to redo the system top to bottom and have it better than stock? $1000?

 

[whyask]

Face = 300
Mids and Highs = 200
Lows = 150
Amps = 300 +
wiring = 120
sub = 200 +

The list could get endless...
The ? is what are you looking for , crisp highs with clean bass, or hard bass hitting....that will decided your price range !

 

[flyboy86]

the guy has no idea.....mach system....top of the line? haha.... pshhhhh slap that fool.

>>> the mach460 sounds like garbage compared to most other upgraded stock audio systems. Thats hilarious that he told you there was nothing better. replace the speakers and the head unit and let me know if THAT sounds as bad as the stock stuff.

the bass distorts like a bitch, the tweeters get kinda scratchy sounding with any kind of flaw in a cd, AND the head unit wont even play CD-R's that were burned at a fast speed (not to mention the fact that it wont play CD-RW's) AND the damn 6 disc changer has a tendancy to swallow cds. screw the 6 cd changer... if it played mp3 cds then you could just put 6 cd's worth of music on 1 cd.

>>> dont get the mach 1000 subs.....for the money, you could get something much better and cleaner sounding. Like others mentioned, your system will sound as awesome as your wallet is deep...

take a look into some MB Quartz or even Focal components for the front if you got the money and hear the difference in sound quality...and most importantly, go to a car stereo place that knows what they're talking about!! Circuit city and Best Buy will usually give you something ok if you're willing to spend the money....BUT when it comes down to it, most of their employees dont know much about bridging, series and parallel circuits and resistance (ohms) in general.

My 460 system plays CD-Rs that were burned at high speed, and it has never swallowed a CD

 

[y2k2GT]

I'm having the same problem with te mach 1000 in my wifes car. Been looking at alternatives. There is a wiring harness that will alow you to just replace the head unit and still use the factory amps and speakers, I think a few guys on here have done it. I priced out replacing the whole system, with head unit, amp, speakers and wiring it's going to run about $1400, if I buy everything online. If it was me I would replace your factory system with something better.

 

[justinschmidt1]

The 460 is pretty nice for a stock unit. It's loud enough for me

I've dicked with subwoofers before and it's almost not worth it. I mean, you ADD weight to your already heavy @ss car, and then the bass is so loud you can't even understand the lyrics. What's the fun in that?

haha...no offense...but thats just wrong....you need to adjust the subs so that it sounds right..hell I cant even stand music without my subs any more...sounds empty....turn the subs down so you can hear the music..but there is still a bass line.

 

[AntiRice98]

the mach 460 systems comes with 3 amps.....there is a small amp under the CD player for the highs....sorry if someone already said this i was to lazy to read everything.

 

[Kraw]

there was no amp under my head unit. That's only for 00 and older (or whatever years someone else listed)

I have an XM unit sitting under my radio


you should really check the sound forum

 

[Kraw]

haha...no offense...but thats just wrong....

how can someones opinion be "wrong"? Everyone likes their musice sounding a different way

guess you can't listen to music over earphones since there aren't any subs?

 

[Mustang5L5]

the guy has no idea.....mach system....top of the line? haha.... pshhhhh slap that fool.

>>> the mach460 sounds like garbage compared to most other upgraded stock audio systems. Thats hilarious that he told you there was nothing better. replace the speakers and the head unit and let me know if THAT sounds as bad as the stock stuff.

Actually i remember reading a few audio mags back in 2002 or 2003 and the Mach 460 system was voted "Best factory system in vehicle under $25K"


I don't have a problem with my Mach 460. In fact, i think it sounds great. I've been on a new car tear lately and have been test driving some new cars and have heard their factory stereos and i honestly think the Mach sounds better. Maybe mine just works well. I don't really have any distortion and the bass is pretty crisp in my car. Also, it's MUCH louder than other systems i've had a chance to test out (Infiniti, Audi, BMW) In fact, the top of the line Bose stereo in the G35 i just test drove sucked. When i got back in my GT my stereo sounded better.

I wish i had a mach 1000 though. I've heard a couple and like it. I'm not much of an audio guy anymore. I used to be but now the stock 460 is good enough for me.