Upgrading stock GT350 Stereo and more

I know so very little about what makes good car audio, so I am at a tremendous disadvantage. I have consulted 2 shops. Shop one says plan a budget of 1500 and they are pushing me towards Diamond brand speakers. Which, I understand were known as quality speakers years ago, but the quality is no longer perceived as top notch. They want to add 2 power supplies and a single 10 inch sub centered in my trunk taking up significant space. They are suggesting nothing to clean up the signal from the factory stereo.

Shop 2, which locally does a fair chunk of German and Italian cars, says I should budget around $3k and starts with an audison bit 10 to clean up the signal. They plan on running hertz brand speakers and are adding only one power source. They also have decided that my choice in music won't mandate multiple sub woofers and are placing it off to the side out of the way.

I am leaning towards plan 2 as I would rather spend a little more and be happy with the results, than do it twice to ultimately get the the same place. Interestingly the shop with plan 2 is booked nearly a month in advance so I have some time to do some research.

Please feel free to chime in as I'm pretty sure most of you, if not all of you have significantly more knowledge than I in this field of endeavor.

Do yourself a favor and just replace the entire system.

I like the current system, open the windows, hit the little toggle switch.
Sounds great and others will enjoy my choice of music

Careful re: weight - subwoofers/boxes can get heavy quick! I have 2 12" JL subs in my garage that I love, but just can't justify adding weight to the GT350.

bretlasalle said:

Careful re: weight - subwoofers/boxes can get heavy quick! I have 2 12" JL subs in my garage that I love, but just can't justify adding weight to the GT350.

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That's my only reservation. I have a box we built with two 12" Alpine subs in it when I had my 96 GT, but it weighs the same as a small country.

My plans is to remove the entire radio unit with all cables and replace it with something like they did on the R. Barely listen to music in my last car anyways. I want to live my race car driver fantasy for a while.

bretlasalle said:

Careful re: weight - subwoofers/boxes can get heavy quick! I have 2 12" JL subs in my garage that I love, but just can't justify adding weight to the GT350.

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JL is where it's at!

I know that's rough. In fact I'm going as far as seeing what weight could be saved by ditching some speakers. I was being serious. I know it sounds insane too but I really have a specific focus on balance and function. We'll see how it goes.

The great thing about subs/amps is when you wanna race, just pull 'em out!

I like my tunes and I like the sound the car makes but there is a place and a time for both. Stock system is junk and I am willing to add a bit of weight to the car for more ear pleasure. I will post picks as I go. The only way to go on 90% of the new cars is to get a signal processor and keep the stock head unit since it interfaces into alot of the cars controls.

I have built numerous SEMA vehicles and always leaned this way because of interfacing. Right now there is no easy solution or setup on the Shelby so going to tackle it this way.

I agree that JL makes some great stuff and so does audison. I'm trying to put a great system myself and keep the costs under $3k. All the components I am using in this build are very good on scale of at least 7 of 10 or better.

Will keep everyone posted.

Besides bluetooth, what features does the basic Sync have that we couldn't do without? I use bluetooth yes, but I can live without it.

With the right install and components the amount a weight added to the car can equal the difference between my 165 pounds verses another guy weighing in at 225 or so. You just have to let your installer know what you want. If the shop is good enough they can make it happen.

I have not turned on the radio yet, might give it a shot today! Most I will do is upgraded door speakers and perhaps a mini amp if its really awful, but I cant imagine it being any worse than my 2012 base GT

It's pretty bad. I can only imagine it sounds like what a late 70's or early 80's mustang had in it for a sound system. I'd like to also upgrade the speakers (or other components) so that it sounds at least as good as the stock Sony system that comes in a well optioned F-150, which is pretty good IMHO.

I'm not a track guy, but got the track pack for the seats. I always planned on tossing out the sound system. Rented a fully loaded mustang last month and am glad I did. Didn't think much of the stereo. Yes I know this is adding a lot of lbs. But I'm no track nor street racer.

My build plan:
Head unit: Undecided
Front speakers: Focal 6 krx2
Sub JL Audio W7 10"
Amps
JL HD750/1
JL ? for front

Sub box arrived today from Zenclosures.