What have you guys done when you installed a new head unit. I'm not sure if this is with all 99-04 mustangs but I have the radio and tape deck uptop and then the cd player seperate below that. If I were to put in a new head unit up top what would you suggest I do with the cd player below that? I'd really like to not leave it there.

 

i was just goin to put in a new head unit and fix a blown speaker but u cant, they said because of the mach system u can only use mach parts or rewire and replace everything, the only thing u can add to the mach system that isnt mach are subwoofers

 

That’s bull… what you need to do is go to a real audio specialist, you’re not going to find the right answers at Best Buy, Circuit City… or any other general retailer. Sound Solutions here in my area installed the Alpine 9833 head unit, with the iPod interface adapter… I have one CD player in the head unit but over 3 day’s of music on my 40GB iPod that I can control through the stereo. ALL the speakers (even the mirror speakers) are fully integrated into this Alpine, I did have to put caps on the door speakers and the mirror speakers because they were putting out too much bass (no big deal to cap these – did it myself). I am installing two Alpine Subs and when I do I may have to change out the amp that controls them, but this will be a self install too… it’s not going to be very expensive to play around with it.

Alpine CDA-9833 (http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/...y=45&p_main=10)

Alpine KCA-4201 (http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/...y=45&p_main=10)

Alpine 10” Type-S 4ohm Subs (http://iweb.alpine-usa.com/pls/admn/...=160&p_main=10)

 

If you have the mach 460 youll need an installation kit for a <99 mustang and Metra Harness #70-1771 and #70-5519 to have your mach 460 work. Id suggest getting a cd player with at least a 5 band equalizer built in so you can cut the bass off to your upper door speakers or they will pop at lower volumes.

Metra can be easily ordered through www.partsexpress.com

 

alrite well if i didnt just go save money by not puttin in aftermarket speakers and stuff(money i can use for my h pipe) i would go woop that guys a$$ lol

 

i have that popping noise when i turn on my car. sounds like all the speakers are popping. its been like that for about 2 years or somethig like that. how can i fix that problem. i put in a pocket where my cd player used to be. i want to upgrade my deck to the alpine 98 something series. i want to also get my 30 gig ipod photo hardwired im sure its possible, i dont like the static i get while i use the fm modulator. i was also told that it would be better to bypass the mach system and to just get some amps and new speakers. im more into spending my money on going faster but that popping noise is flippin annoying. when i get back from iraq thats another issue that will be fixed.

 

I'm not sure what the popping noise is... and I'm assuming you have a Mach 1000 since you mentioned amps? If it's been going on for two years, this could have lead to more serious problems (short in the power, burnt amp). I've never had any problems with mine except for the frequency response in the door and mirror speakers - but like I said, I capped those so now their fine.

I'd suggest you take it to an authorized Alpine installer (Audio Sound Specialist Shop)... The only thing I changed was the head unit, all speakers and amps are Mach 1000 and work fine (yes, it could be better, but it's serving its purpose for now). The sound system is just as additive as the look and performance of any car... but don't get fooled by somebody selling you hardware and labor needlessly, shop around. I’m sure the day will come that I’ll fully replace my Mach with a pure Alpine setup, but I have other desires right now that I want to spend my money on. Currently what I have does exactly what I wanted, 1) play MP3’s & 2) plug in my iPod, so I’m good.

There’s a couple “Audio Jam” and “Tweeter” shops near you… give them a shot, I’ve never been to either so I’m not sure of the quality of work you’d get.

Shaker

 

i have the 460 system, not the 1000. i keep getting told that the popping is because a amp is going out. (yes mach 460's have 2 small amps in the back) when i hook my stock deck back up the popping goes away. i think that 200 watt deck isnt mixing to well with my stock amps. how does your ipod work with your deck btw?

 

I just swapped out the head unit on my Cobra and i get a noise that sounds like someone is shutting of the speakers kind of hard (like a thud). I had a pro install it, but now that you guys are mentioning it, in wondering if its just due to the way the car is wired, or if the amps just dont like the head unit.

 

about a year ago i asked the re-re's at best buy if they coueld tell me whats up they didnt tell me anything i already havent heard. maybe this maybe that. then i went to sound of tri state and they just told me to bypass my whole mach system and to get a four channel amp and some speakers and ill have a better sounding stereo.

 

The difference in the frequency outputs of the head units could be causing this… like I said; I had to cap (filter) some of my speakers because the Alpine was driving too much power to them causing distortion. The small woofers in the doors simply couldn’t handle it and started rattling and then the mirror mid/tweeters were picking up too much of the highs and started popping. Tuning is also valuable, the adjustments of the Alpine are so enormous that most sound phasing problems can be removed by using the cross over and time correction controls.

In short, it’s the equipment and how it’s used… you can’t simply drop in a new head unit and expect it to function without any adjustments and fine tuning. The perfect sound system will project a front stage and not a center or rear stage. What I mean is the artist should appear like their singing from the center dash while the music extends outside the car. You can’t get this type of adjustment from any Mach system as it’s pre-tuned for center staging, rather the artist is sitting on your lap or back seat and the music floods the car. Hence why most auto audio shops would prefer you simply change the whole thing out – it’s difficult to fight this pre-tuning, but it is possible with an Alpine.

If you have an Alpine that supports i-Personalize, then visit the website to custom configure your head unit, you can then download the tune and setup your system.

http://i-personalize.alpine.com (Use Internet Explorer, Firefox wouldn’t work for me)

If not, just read up on Alpine tuning and what your system supports and experiment with various adjustments. The last option would be to simply replace everything… but chances are you can get away with tuning and maybe replacing some of those speakers damaged by not filtering earlier.

If you want to replace everything anyway - I'd recommend two amps, one mono amp for the subs (if you add subs) and one 4 channel amp for the front and rear speakers. You'll look at around $2500 to rattle the windows. You might also consider some Dynamat to help keep down the vibration noise.

In a vert it's important to have a quality sound system because with the top down and at 65+mph a cheap system will seem weak, or distored at higher volumes...

 

This is exsessive power hitting the speakers, you need to adjust the gain. Gain is dynamics control, not volume control. With gain set at maximum the signal from the head unit is amplified as much as possible... which isn't good on these cheap paper speakers well all have. Try adjusting your gain by doing this...

1. Set gain at minmum
2. Play very dynamic music (I'd go with some chemical brothers or something with alot of mixed highs and lows)
3. Turn the volume of your head unit to maximum or near maximum (you might have to be somewhere away from noise polution restricted areas)... many head units don't send a clear signal at maximum volume
4. Up the gain until you hear the system cannot cope anymore
5. Turn the gain down a bit
6. Preferably repeat with some different music, like country (with more highs then lows) and rap (with more lows then highs)... finish it off with some Bob Marley since his tunes hit extream highs while lows are constant.
7. Choose the lowest of these settings

In line filters would also work wonders... but I'd recommend setting the gain and doing some basic tuning first to see if this removes the "thud".

Shaker

 

Go to Best Buy and get a 6' rca to headphone jack conversion wire for $6. Then get (2) rca couplers for $1 each and pull your headunit it out and hook the cable to the back of the head unit and fish the wire out the front and you will have hardwired your ipod to the head unit, then just change the input to auxilary and enjoy I did this with my dell dj in my old car.