Sorry for chiming in late, but you can definitely replace the Mach 460 head unit with an aftermarket unit. I've done it and used a few different decks with it. There's an adaptor kit you can buy at most any car stereo store, though the store may have to order it. It's made by Metra, model number 70-5514, and it's only $15-$25. Make sure you get the 94-98 Ford Premium sound system kit (same for Premium Sound and Mach 460). The Mach 460 kit available (70-5519) is only for 2000-2004 Mustangs - don't get it. The problem with aftermarket decks is with the adaptor used. Basically, the head unit must make use of the Mach 460 amps, and NOT its internal amp. You have to wire up the pre-outs into the Mach 460 amp for it to work correctly. The generic wiring adaptors don't do this properly, and you end up over-amplifying the music. I've used the 70-5514 Metra kit above in my Mach 460 system, and I've had great success with it. No audio problems at all. Instructions are vauge with the kit, but each wire is marked on the wire what it's for. Just splice all the available wires together between the Metra harness and the one that came with your head unit. If you end up with a few from the aftermaket harness that don't match up, that's OK. The important wires are all used.
The Metra Kit doesn't look like it has pre-out inputs. Does this mean that you have to convert the pre-out RCA connectors to plain wires in order to use the kit? Thanks
No, I didn't have to do that. On my Pioneer, I could swear the RCA connectors were for the amplified audio. Well, it's been a while since I messed with that wiring. All I hooked up was the wiring from the head unit connector to the Metra kit, and didn't use the RCA jacks.
RCA are typically the low level out, and the speaker wires are the amped level out of a head deck... it sure sounds to me like you had it backwards Chythar, but if you say it worked OK for you then that's all that matters. I used a line level control to lower the amperage of the mach 460 output to run it into my crossfire 600watt amp I had powering my 12" RF Punch DVC. I had the gain turned all the way down and had the bass on the deck at like negative 2 and it freaking POUNDED!
I went to the stereo store an listened to a bunch of stuff. I am convinced that there is not an aftermarket coaxial 6x8 that can match the bass output of the Mach 6x8. I listened to Eclpise, Alpine, Infinity, I did not listen to the sub-$100 speakers but now I am considering it since they tend to have a lower freq range. I know that the Mach stuff isn't great quality but it gets the job done. I think the only way to get the Mach sound from aftermarket stuff would be to go full component and set the crossovers similar to the Mach setup. Too much money at that point
One of the complaints I've heard about the Mach 460 is a muddiness in the mid-range. While I'm not a perfectionist when it comes to car audio, I picked that muddiness up in my system. What helped the mid-range dramatically was sound insulation in the doors. There's a lot of space in the doors for the sound to echo in, and insulating that will help a lot. I bought the Dynamat door kit, and I'm very pleased with the results. I admit, I really couldn't figure out where all the bass was coming from in the Mach 460. At first, I thought there was a subwoofer hidden somewhere. But after reading this thread, the system makes a lot more sense now.
http://www.flemworld.com/Mach460/Mach.html That has everything you need to know... I just hooked my Alpine straight into the 460 system and im sure it added more power since the original didnt put any power out. Someone said something about over powering, the more power the better it sounds. I doubt a head unit will over power the 460 speakers. My car had the Mach 460 but only came with a tape deck, after the head unit it sounded soooooo much better. I have also since added 2 10" Kicker L7's with a 1200.1 JBL amp and it hits pretty hard. Someone said something about facing your subs the right way... Bass tones travel from center out in a circle, so no matter where they are or what way they are they will hit the same. Tweeters and high tones travel in directional waves hence the reason tweeters are angled to aim at you. You can tune you box to make it sound the way you want. Some people think the bigger the speaker the harder it will hit.. not true. My buddy just won 2nd loudest car in the nation and hes only running 8's. just my 2 cents
