2005 Mustang Stereo

Hi :) I am working on my new system for my new mustang.

Install has not begun yet, but I do already have a set of JBL Power series speakers for the front doors and Infinity Reference for the back deck. JBL for the great mids and highs they offer.

Components and drilling in the doors was not an option :)

The rear speakers are really as far back as they can get in the car so they will only be used to fill and round out the sound. Expecting nice smooth mids from the Infinity Reference. Very odd location.

AMPs will likely be JBL or higher quality. Not buying all at once, just as money comes avaliable, but install will take place all at one time.

Head unit either a high level Pioneer or Alpine or Eclipse if I can find an authorized on line dealer.

Now here is the ?
The doors have a 8 in "subwoofer" in addition to the 5 x 7 speaker.

What about putting 8 in mid bass drivers in those openings? Any comments?
I think this will sound nice. Any brands? I am wanting quality at a resonable price.

Will likely finish with a nice quality 10 in sub in the trunk.

I am wanting quality not loudness.
Just FYI: My Saturn is running Infinity Kappas 3 ways off a JBL Power series amp up front and JBL GTO 3 ways in the back off a Kenwood AMP. All on a Pioneer 6700MP head unit. Sounds great as far as I am concerend :) All is cleanly and properly installed.

Thank you for all the help!! :) Take care

I would completely can the 5x7s in the front doors...Memphis Car Audio has an 8" Component set with crossover included... I have put them into the Dodge rams with the premium system that has the 8s in the doors they sounded amazing. But I would just seal off the hole where the 5x7 is or just leave it there and unplug it..

I am not at work so I cant give you a price on this set but HERE is a link so that you can check them out.

Hope this helps...Good luck

Thanks for the info.

I under stand what you are saying, but here is the problem:

The 5 x 7 openings are up near chest height when you sit in the car.
The 8 in opening is down on the floor by your feet. Also has a very odd "grill"

Would this pose a problem with the 8 in being on the floor basically?

I do like the Memphis Audio idea if the soundstage / imaging would sound correct due to the speaker locations....IF I can get the tweeters in the door seperate, where should they be placed?

As for seperate tweeter.....................the whole drilling in the doors of a new Mustang worried me....and no, there are no installers around here that I actually trust. My work looks better than most of the so called pro stuff.
Could a good auto body / repair place do the openings?

As for quality and clarity - speaking of the 5 x 7 openings. 5 1/4 better than the 5 x 7s?

Picture of the door

www.computerservices.bz/car/car.htm

There are no Memphis dealers around me :(
Assuming some of the forum members actually sells it ?

First, great looking ride.  Second, that's a great location for the 8."

If you have the money I would do what I put in my first post.  Just use the 8" as a midbass driver, but put something other than some 5x7" coax in as the midrange / tweeter.

You can get 5x7 to 5.25" adapters.

By the way, the 8 in openings are 3.5 inches deep.

So here is what I am gathering:

Option #1)
8 in midbass with 5.25 speakers (components if I can bring myself to it) in each door.
How "hard" would those hit in the door? Do they actually hit like a sub or are they more like a speaker?
Or just sorta in between?
Amp setup on the midbass? Full range or mono amp?
Why exactly  an external crossover? I understand what they are, but I have no experience with midbass speakers.

Option #2)
The 8 in Memphis components. If the openings in the car are not too low this may be a great cost effective option.

Here's the concept for a properly implemented separate midbass driver.

You only want one set of drivers playing any frequency range.  The external crossover allows this.

An example is:

up to 80hz   ---- Subwoofer
80-250hz ----- Midbass
250hz+  ------  Components

See how you need BOTH a low pass crossover AND a high pass crossover on the Midbass drivers?

An external active crossover is a device you would plug your RCAs into before your amplifiers.  It would split the frequencies up as you select. 

You want a stereo full range amplifier for midbass drivers.

Given my above frequency split they will play between the sub bass range and the component range.

You are correct:   Option #1 is the expensive, but more complete option.  You'll need more drivers, more amplifiers, and some sort of external crossover.  Option #2 is the cost-effective option.  The 8" drivers aren't too low, but they are off-axis and generally larger drivers aren't quite as behaved off-axis. 

(I'd save up for Option 1, if I were you).  You can always go in steps, put some nice components in the 5x7" slot now, implement the midbass driver later when you have money. 

Memphis also makes very good 5.25" components.

I will sit down later and figure up prices on these :)

Know any where I can buy Memphis?

I am sorry but I have to ask: What do you mean by off axis?

Since there are few online resellers for these items
Would some one care to give me a price on a set of the 8 in mid bass?

Whatever brands avaliable within a responable expense.
I saw the Adires for 80, that seems extremely resonable, but they are deeper than the openings can handle.
I found Image Dynamics for $80 (each) as well locally.

---
Also a price on the Memphis 8 in components.

ThanksSteven
I really appreciate you all taking the time to help me out :)

option 3 - why put in a 5.25" speaker when a oversize 6.5" will fit just fine? (make a baffle board) Before you continue on the wanton path of purchasing, consider this. A separate 8" is going to need a dedicated amplifier and also a bandpass crossover. Next you need to find out if the 8" in the door is in the same air cavity as the 5x7", if it is then you need to get them isolated. If you had not anticipated this, have a look at the MB Quart speakers and consider the RCE216 components and the RCE164 add a woofer system. This all works off of the same 2 channels of amplification, doubles up on the midbass driver, allows the tweeter to mount in a pointsource configuration (thus solving the mounting issue) and of course provides great sound.

Next, head to a local authorized dealer and purchase a Eclipse cd player, best move that you can make.

How do you all feel about Memphis' coaxials?
I am really hung up on drilling for the tweeters with the components. I know it may be a little silly, but it is just something I would rather not do.

https://www.memphiscaraudio.com/products/details.asp?id=17
5 x 7 Coaxials

https://www.memphiscaraudio.com/products/details.asp?id=20
5.25 convertable coaxials (better quality than the above if I mount the tweeter in the speaker itself?)

or

https://www.memphiscaraudio.com/products/details.asp?id=8
Any chance these would fit in the mustang? I like the mounting plate idea :)

They are indeed in the same air space as far as I know, but I have yet to see the door panel off of one. Raining the next few days here so I cant get mine off either right now. Doubt if ford would have seperated it or at least seperated it well.

Cost wise I am thinking the 8 in mid bass will get a little too up there. Still have to make car payments :)

As far as the 6.5 goes..the opening in the door panel (interior) itself is very small. A 6.5 will have part of the speaker blocked. I know I could get the 6.5 mounted, but a part of the speaker would be blocked by the door panel.

I do like the MB quart suggestion. That would fill both speaker locations. But what about a paper woofer on the MB Quarts......I am not an expert by far, but I thought paper was basically the last thing you want?

___________
What about this !!!!!!! :) !!!!!!!
The Memphis 8 in in the large openings and then a pair of the Memphis Coaxials or the Memphis convertable speakers in the other openings. Ball park cost on those? If this sounds like an okay idea I think it may be the way to go. I am not  a huge bass fan so this may be perfect :)
Memphis sell the 8 in just as a woofer without the tweeter assembly?

Looks at wall of MB Quart....nope, not one paper cone in sight, they are all Poly dude. Nothing wrong with paper either. Yes it does not take moisture well, but it is a very good product when it comes to sound. There is also not much inherantly wrong with blocking some of the woofer as well. The main upper frequencies will still pass straight through the grill. In actual listening tests, 9 out of 10 users preferred Coke over Pepsi....oops... most people who have had the same thoughts about this I could demonstrate to them fairly easy and 9 out of 10 went with the larger speakers to improve midbass response. As $ are always important, you can always add the add a woofer option into the system at a later date.

I'm a big fan of the Mb Quart coax/components, especially if you're not into drilling a hole.  That's one big reason I currently use the PCE's. 

Sorry about the paper thing. I completely misread the website.

Here is where I am at right now

Crutchfield prices and specs

_________________________

MB Quart Option:

Cant find price on the RCE164

is it okay for two speakers to over lap each other a little bit on the frequencys?

8 in openings

MB Quart PCE164 6.75in $219.99

Response 38-280 Hz

5 x 7 openings

MB Quart Reference RCE216 (6.75) $279.99

Not sure about fit…….but the 5.25 will anyway J
Response 38-32000hz

___________________________

Memphis Option:

I have heard Memphis before and I do like them…
I also like the 8 in speaker they have.

Could two speakers be run in each door like the MB Quart configuration?

Price on Memphis vs MB Quart?

That I am wanting to buy something bug has bitten me :)

I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT POST!! Sorry about that!

So it is okay to have two MB Quart speakers in the door?  I like that idea. Crutchfield is selling the PCE 164 for $216
okay to have the frequencies overlap a little bit?

I still like the 8 in Memphis solution. Could two speakers be done with that or not?

Price of Memphis vs MB Quart?

The wanting to buy something bug has bitten :)

I would not run two speakers producing the same frequencies.  The resulting interference patterns will make your system not sound good.

However, you could still buy a real midbass driver and put -it- in the 8" slot. 

Remember, this means another crossover and amplifier channel.

Quart PCE is a tad more expensive than the Memphis.  RCE and Memphis are about the same.

Quart PCE = ~$450+ retail
Quart RCE = ~$250+ retail

The Quart PWE 164 is only a midbass driver. 

So the answer is no on two Memphis speakers in one door and I do understanf why.

I know everyone has differing opinions, but would the Quart components with the Quart PWE 164 work?
Crutchfield has the PWE 164 for $216.00 for the pair.

RCE213 for $279.99

RCE216 for $299.00

From what I gathered from MBQuart's website. The components basically pass through the PWE 164's crossover, so only one speaker would be playing any one frequency.

From what I am reading, this should work. The crossover handles the frequency split?

RCE213
52-32000hz

PCE164
38-280hz

What about the harshness on the high end that I am reading about on various sites on the web?
Do they just have to be properly setup or is that a downside to the quart?
\

If the Quart midbass contains a separate crossover, then yes - that would be perfect - you wouldn't need an electronic crossover or another amplifier.

You really need to listen to them.  One man's harshness is another man's clean and crisp. 

I would not describe the Quarts as outright "harsh."  I would say, on a sliding scale they are MORE harsh than some very fine textile dome tweeters.  However, some number of people would describe those soft dome tweeters as "too soft."

It also depends on the music you like.  If you like rap or rock Quart is great.  If you like Jazz / Classical Quart gets a bit bright. 

I wouldn't let some people's reviews on the internet turn you away.

So if the qaulity is what I want, I will go with the quarts :)
I listen to a lot of milder rock (Dave Matthews Band, Cold Play, U2 etc..)

A good head unit should be able to smooth the tweeters out some?

I am going to go ahead and buy the Quarts and give them a shot. Crutchfield has the best prices I have found and they are an authorized dealer with a no questins asked return policy so if they are too harsh I can send them back :)

No place within 100 miles sells Quart so no real way to hear them, but I will hook them into my JBL amp just to test them out a little bit. If I dont like them, I will send them back.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the speaker selection! I learned some and I think I have made a good decision.

As for head units, wanted Eclispe, but I want XM. I already have the Pioneer XM equipment I am going to pull out of my Saturn so I think I am going to just go with a nice Pioneer unit.

Rear speakers:

The location of the openings is horrible.
They are as far back as they possibly could be.

Would this be a good location to cut cost some and go with a cheaper speaker?

I agree with forbidden.  If cutting the rears means making your front stage awesome - do it.

I personally do not like rear fill.  If you do use rear fill take forbidden's advice there again - use the DKE line to match tone but keep the cost low.

No offense to anyone, but I just took a old 6.5 inch speaker out ot my car, did some looking and there is no way it will fit without what I consider heavy modification to the metal in the door itself. I am not willing to do that.
Then in order to actually fit it in, a fair portion of the speaker will be blocked by the dash.

There is approx a $200 difference between the reference line and the premium line.
I do understand the premium line is better, but would it be horrible if I would get the reference components? From the website, there does not look to be that big of difference.

$200 is $200 especially considering I still need an AMP :)

If you can't justify the spread between the Reference and Premium, then save your money. Just make sure you match correctly for the speakers. A amp that is rated at 50w rms x 4 is probably going to be more than enough for output in your vehicle unless you have a monster sub system going into the vehicle, then more power would be nice. You can underpower a speaker all day long, just don't set the gain on the amp too high which will throw a distorted signal into the speaker.

As far as the top end response goes, the Quart crossovers also have a adjustable attenuation circuit for the tweeters, if you find them too bright, move the jumper on the crossover to drop them down a notch or two.

I like the Eclipse amplifiers, the PA5422 is a huge amp for this vehicle and the EA3422 would more than likely easily do the job for you. Audison also makes one stellar small chassis amplifier.

Thanks. Seriously, I cant justify the difference. I went ahead and ordered the reference components and the reference midbass. I look at it like, $200 difference between fantastic and unbelievable :) Heck, I am extremely pleased with my Infinity Kappas in my Saturn :)

I read about the jumpers and how to turn down the tweeters

Price is not bad at all on that EA3422 amp, but trying to find an authorized Eclipse dealer is.
I live in KY and frankly, I would have more selection of high end stuff if I was in the middle of a desert.
Best Buy is considered hi end around here......

Should I look for an amp designed especially for 2 ohm loads or will any good quality AMP work?
I would be content to get a 2 channel amp for the front and later on perhaps add the rear speakers and an amp for them.

Who do you all rank as building quality AMPS?
I am basically limited to on line retailers such as Crutchfield and CarDomain.com or any other reputable dealers you can recommend.
$250 or less would be a great price point

By the way, I am not a huge bass fan, just want it for the quality, so sub setup will likely be a single 10 or 12 in with perhaps an 8 to improve quality a bit. That can wait for the time being. Right now, I would just like to get the front speakers taken care of. The factory system is hardly being used........I cant stand how flat and muddy it is.

Pretty much all 4 channel amplifiers are going to be 2 ohm stereo stable so not much of a worry. Eclipse has a 100% no online retailers policy, thus they are hard to find. I do know of a authorized dealer in the US that will be happy to ship an amp to you. I would give the PA5422 a very serious consideration as well. PM me your e-mail address with your name and address, blood type, next of kin and shoe size for me to forward to my friends shop down in the US. I'll have him respond direct to you via e-mail and then the two of you can work this out yourselves.

As far as the sub goes, a 10" or a 12" but not one of those + an 8", bad idea.

I am learning a lot :) Thanks again to everyone!

I have never had any dealings with Eclispe at all, but have heard time and time again they are great.
prices are extremely good compared to lower powered amps by other brands....Assuming they are not selling their brand name as much as the others? Not as flashy either.

Either one of these Eclispe be perfect for the system or should I consider other alternatives?

Also, what does it mean by 4/3/2 channel?
These (this) one amp run more than just the front speakers?

It would be fantastic to run a sub off the same amp as the speakers if that is possible.

And if so.....can you all tell me how to properly wire it in?

Assuming the AMP has multiple RCA inputs?

Great!! Then the PA5532 may be the perfect solution.

The front MB Quarts and
a single 10 or 12 in sub (we will get into this later, perhaps in another thread :) )
(NOTE: I have to have some trunk space.)
off of a single amp would be very nice.

Later on I may add the rear speakers, and apparently this would be no problem for the AMP.

Right now, if I only hook up the front speakers (sub later) this amp would not be too powerful would it?

This indeed would be no problem for this amp. A great single 10" sub for you in this case needs to be a dvc 4 ohm sub. A dvc sub has 2 sets of input terminals on it. This then gets wired in parallel to create a 2 ohm load which in this case derives maximum power out of the amplifiers sub channel. Here is how it is wired.

1 DVC driver with Voice Coils in Parallel
Connecting the two voice coils of the driver in parallel (+ to +, - to -) will result in the following impedances:
Dual-4 Ohm Subwoofer: 2 Ohms

pictures are great things!! :)
Thanks

What other companies would you recommend for subs or are the MB Quart subs just flat out good?

What about the box itself? I can not easily fabricate it myself. Any of the prebuilt boxes on the market any good?

I have a 2005 mustang as well, and I have been spending ALOT of time trying to figure out what will work best. I was thinking about putting in an 8" midbass, but the fact that it would have to be driven seperately from my fronts kinda put me off.

So I decided to go with a 3-way component setup! I found a nicely priced Alphsonik setup, the PCT6551 that has a 6.5" midbass, 5.25" midrange, and a tweeter that sells online for $200. I just got the set in the mail the other day and the woven glass cone is just amazing looking. I also got a 5 channel amp, some rear speakers (i know i know) and a 10" sub that I am going to put in a sealed enclosure.

Good luck with your setup!

Glad you chimed in!! If you run into anything (mounting the 6.5s or something) let me know and we may be able to work out something. 

For me and the 8 in mids it was a matter of sealing the door and all that jazz more than anything. Not to mention a much higher cost.

I am someday going to get the rear speakers too. Just waiting for money.

Which head unit did you go with ? I am leaning toward the Pioneer DEH-P80MP.
Was going to be eclipse but my Saturn already has a complete Pioneer XM hookup and I am just going to move that.

NOTE: Is it just me or is the factory system worse than most? My girlfriends 01 Saturn came with better speakers than this Mustang.

My .02 for what it's worth, leave the Pioneer right where it is and go with an Eclipse. Actually to be a real believer, hook up the Eclipse in the vehicle where the Pioneer is right now.

Another great sub is the Eclipse aluminum series (use them myself) and of all things that I can't believe I am recommending, the Lightning Audio Strike series. Even though you might not be a box builder it is fairly simple to do or to have someone custom build a box for you and ship it to you is definitely worth the effort. Good sub bass response is more about the box than it is the sub. Get the box built, second best move you can make, the first being another shameless plug for an Eclipse cd player.

Gottcha on the box. I can likely get one built easily.

Here is my issue with the head units. I want XM for their baseball coverage............

I know I could go the whole external route with the external receiver for the XM with the aux ports on the head unit, but that seems a little much (trouble, bulk and expense)

Unless there is something I dont know, in order to keep the XM.....It is basically down to Pioneer or Alpine.

Two things:
First of all, I have found out that the "subs" in the doors with the factory system are in their own ported enclosure. Will that help or hurt the 6.75 in mid bass drivers?

#2)
Enclosure built for the 05 Mustang

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-QavV5eQFiXA/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=182750&I=142FDMUS5U

I have seen a picture and it fits very neatly in trunk which is a positive. I need as much trunk as I can get but will not give up much quality for it.
It is moulded out of polymers according to the company that makes it...

Now....I have a feeling I already know the answer to this.......but if I can get the cu.ft #s and could get a sub to match that, would this be a good option or not?

Difference between a 12 and a 10 inch sub? 12 plays a little deeper right?

Thanks for the picture!!! That clears a lot up! The sub is actually in the door panel itself..
Not too concered about mounting the amp. Likely will make a little sloped stand for it to fit in the corner of the trunk somewhere.

So ... for the 8" or any speaker going where the 8" hole is, it will be important to determine the air space back there and purchase a driver that will work well in that space.

Many aftermarket speakers are designed to be infinite baffle - NOT small sealed.  You'll severely color the midbass sound if you don't buy an appropriate driver for the airspace.

.........................I am starting to really dislike all the monkey wrenches being thrown in.. ;) LOL
Anyway around this?......
Regardless....looks like these are going to be interesting to mount....
Website says 12 liter of space.

Ok.  So you need to find a driver that will perform well in 12 liters of space.  This is ~0.43ft^3. 

I'm impressed with ford engineering.  That's actually quite a bit of space for a sealed midbass enclosure.  In your search for an 8" look for a recommended enclosure size range that includes 0.43ft^3.

With that much space you have to worry much less about space if you put a 6.5" driver in.

I wish I had that kind of sealed space in-door.  :)

OKay doke :)!!!!

Head unit?

Are the eclispe worth loosing my beloved XM?
Alpine or Pioneer or other?

I love my Eclipse, but don't buy one if you'll miss a huge source of enjoyment for yourself.  That wouldn't be good.  :-)

Between Alpine and Pioneer I'd focus on Alipine.

That is what I figured. I do like my XM a awful lot :)

Why Alpine over Pioneer? Sound quality or other?

Sorry but I have no clue. Perhaps someone else could help.

https://www.computerservices.bz/car/05mustang.htm

Here is how mine turned out :) Also, you can no longer see the wires behind the amp. That was taken care of.