For the record, I did find the wiring kit needed. Metra kit 705510 Ford Amp Integration. You might be able to find it at one of the local shops (might even try walmart/kmart).

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=531026 has a writeup about how to eliminate some of the popping/crackling noises that sometimes occur when adding aftermarket decks to the Mach 460 system

tjamz wrote:
There should be a kit available. Crutchfield sells one for like $50 that allows you to directly integrate w/ the factory amps

Alright i'll talk to you tonight probably about that hopefully if i get done with work on time.

tjamz wrote:
Actually this is not entirely true. MANY competition vehicles place tweeters and midranges in the kickpanels to equalize the difference in length between the speakers and your ears. The human ears are EXCELLENT @ determining Left/Right and Front/Rear sounds, however they are not as tuned at up/down.

The lower the frequency, the more omni-directional they become. It is still worth it to aim the mids appropriately too, which is why many people install them in the kickpanels for competition. Midbass (80Hz to 250Hz) does not need to be aimed, as it is very omni directional. Midbass drivers are often placed in the door to help establish UFB (up front bass). Extensive measures are taken to ensure that the midbass is in a sealed enclosure within the door to prevent cancellation of any rear waves from the back of the speaker.

For rear fill (unless you are doing a multimedia 5.1 suround system or similar) you really don't need ANY speakers back there. If you do have them, ideally you want to incorporate a slight delay into the circuit and attenuate the signal to the point where you can't even hear them, but you notice when they are gone. Tough to do correctly.

Subwoofers are omni-directional and can be mounted just about anywhere. However you can "load" the system by firing the subs into a corner of the trunk/hatch area. Generally speaking sealed subwoofers are best for a wide variety of music and for basic SPL vehicles as this type of enclosure allows for the highest power input. Bandpass enclosures tend to be louder than most other enclosures, but are less musical. They tend to make all the notes sound the same. Labrynth or Transmission line are very efficient and EXTREMELY musical, but require large enclosures. Horn loaded enclosures are tremendously efficient, but again require very large enclosures and are not well suited for the automotive environment. Ported (bass reflex) enclosures are a good compromise between natural sound and loudness. They are used in the majority of serious SPL competitors on the circuit today. They tend to be a little larger enclosure than sealed, but they have a 3 dB advantage over their sealed counterparts. The downside is that they break up really severely when powered below their F3 point (the point in the sound curve where the sound falls off by 3 decibels below average) so a subsonic filter is almost a must for this type of enclosure.

This ends the lecture for today.

Be prepared for a test tomorrow.

Thanks for the lesson! It's been ages since I read up on that stuff and I was doing my best to recite it. And I did phrase it wrong by saying "measure the imaging" and meant to say judging. Anyway, good points

mym6 wrote:
The tweeter is up high to improve imaging since with higher frequencies it's easier to tell what direction they are coming from. Mids are not as quite as easy but need to be larger and because of this they are general put in the doors, more room. The lows and some fill are handled by the rear speakers since low frequencies are the most omnidirectional.
Actually this is not entirely true. MANY competition vehicles place tweeters and midranges in the kickpanels to equalize the difference in length between the speakers and your ears. The human ears are EXCELLENT @ determining Left/Right and Front/Rear sounds, however they are not as tuned at up/down.

The lower the frequency, the more omni-directional they become. It is still worth it to aim the mids appropriately too, which is why many people install them in the kickpanels for competition. Midbass (80Hz to 250Hz) does not need to be aimed, as it is very omni directional. Midbass drivers are often placed in the door to help establish UFB (up front bass). Extensive measures are taken to ensure that the midbass is in a sealed enclosure within the door to prevent cancellation of any rear waves from the back of the speaker.

For rear fill (unless you are doing a multimedia 5.1 suround system or similar) you really don't need ANY speakers back there. If you do have them, ideally you want to incorporate a slight delay into the circuit and attenuate the signal to the point where you can't even hear them, but you notice when they are gone. Tough to do correctly.

Subwoofers are omni-directional and can be mounted just about anywhere. However you can "load" the system by firing the subs into a corner of the trunk/hatch area. Generally speaking sealed subwoofers are best for a wide variety of music and for basic SPL vehicles as this type of enclosure allows for the highest power input. Bandpass enclosures tend to be louder than most other enclosures, but are less musical. They tend to make all the notes sound the same. Labrynth or Transmission line are very efficient and EXTREMELY musical, but require large enclosures. Horn loaded enclosures are tremendously efficient, but again require very large enclosures and are not well suited for the automotive environment. Ported (bass reflex) enclosures are a good compromise between natural sound and loudness. They are used in the majority of serious SPL competitors on the circuit today. They tend to be a little larger enclosure than sealed, but they have a 3 dB advantage over their sealed counterparts. The downside is that they break up really severely when powered below their F3 point (the point in the sound curve where the sound falls off by 3 decibels below average) so a subsonic filter is almost a must for this type of enclosure.

This ends the lecture for today.

Be prepared for a test tomorrow.

In the end, if you're looking to simply replace the deck and keep the stock speakers, I say get the deck that Scosche amplifier adapter and follow the directions on the setup .

It's not unheard of in competition stereos to have either the left or right side tweeter wired out of phase due to the differences in distance between the left and right speakers. I could write a 20 page article about this topic alone.

tjamz wrote:
very true, didn't even think about the factory amps, you MIGHT need to do a full rewire to each speaker. The downside to this is that you WILL need crossovers at least on the tweeters in the upper door. I'm not sure if anyone has made a kit that incorporates the factory amps on a mach 460 kit

Yeah thats what the guys at best buy were saying, something about crossovers and stuff.....i just got confused but yeah i guess it is 8 instead of 6 speakers...CRAP why'd i have to get the mach 460.

IF you do have to bypass the amp / crossovers on the tweeters, its a bit more difficult, but you'll be come familiar with reading wiring diagrams in the process.

You can tell the if you've gotten the polairity of a speaker correct, by if it pops / crackles (if its backwards).

Good luck!

"The 90s
90s Mustang As we saw in the 1980s, some 'Stangs in the 90s were equipped with upgraded factory systems that have external amps. If you want the best possible sound, bypass the amps and use your new receiver's power.

In 1995, Ford introduced the Mach 460 sound system. The system features three separate amplifiers, driving a total of eight speakers. Four 6"x8" woofers located front and rear drive the bass and mid-bass, with four tweeters, also front and rear, handling the highs. Integration of new equipment into a Mach 460 system can be complicated. New receivers can be installed and connected with the use of a special adapter that allows you to continue to use the existing amps and speakers. Speaker replacement is problematic, since aftermarket 6"x8" speakers are usually full-range speakers. If you're thinking about a complete change of the in-dash receiver and speakers, it's best to rewire directly from the new receiver to the new speakers (or from an aftermarket amplifier to the new speakers).

If your Mustang doesn't have the Mach 460 system, installation is much less complicated. These cars do not have the separate woofer/tweeter speaker set-up that you'll find on the Mach 460-equipped vehicles. You can install 6"x8" speakers front and back, and plenty of aftermarket models are available that offer vastly-improved sound and a direct fit. Some Mustangs without the Mach 460 system (particularly 1996 and up models with cassette) do have amps; your options are similar to what we saw in the 1980s — purchase an adapter or bypass the amp (an easy proposition with a bypass harness. "

After looking over http://www.modernengineuity.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1711 I'm wondering if you can simply replace the head unit by splicing into the wires. You might get much better results simply rewiring the whole thing as tapping into the existing amps sounds like it isn't easy.

If you really want, i will find the wire color codes for you and post a link here

Lastly, how do you think the wires would be hooked up. The car has 6 speakers, two in back (6x9's i assume), two up by the side mirrors, and 2 down in the door with the stock "bass". Let me try describe to the best of my ability what im trying to say now...

(will post a diagram later to convey my question)