Upgraded sound system for Gen.4 SHOs?

[studio460]

I have a 2019 SHO PP which lacks the upgraded 12-speaker "premium" Sony stereo. Has anyone upgraded their head-unit, amp, or speakers? Did the car come with a subwoofer installed? Also, is there any access to the line-ins or line-outs/speaker-outs from/to the factory stereo head-unit? Not looking for a major upgrade; of course, the easier the better. I suppose I would like to add a power-amp and a sub if feasible. Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[kryptto]

So I have one of those premium sony system, crap. Digital communication between the head unit and the speakers. For many of us you upgrade the speakers - however not many options. I am not a sound system person, however there are system amplifiers that leverage the digital communications that allow for adding an amplifier.

I would go to Crutchfield put your car in and see what can be added.

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[Joshw0000]

I thought all SHO's had the 12 speaker deal? From your trunk, if you look up do you see 2 subs (firing into the rear of the car)? Or if you remove the left padding in the trunk, is there a factory amp?

I added a sub to my car by taking into a pair of factory speaker wires with a converter, hid my amp behind the factory padding, and made a custom fiberglass box, mounted in the right pocket of the trunk. It was a lot of work but similar results can be obtained for much less.

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[Ta2dResqr]

I have a 2019 SHO PP which lacks the upgraded 12-speaker "premium" Sony stereo. Has anyone upgraded their head-unit, amp, or speakers? Did the car come with a subwoofer installed? Also, is there any access to the line-ins or line-outs/speaker-outs from/to the factory stereo head-unit? Not looking for a major upgrade; of course, the easier the better. I suppose I would like to add a power-amp and a sub if feasible. Thanks for any suggestions!

I upgraded my speakers but, I have the Sony system. There isn't a "traditional" subwoofer from the factory. The rear package shelf will hold 2 6x9, 6 3/4, or 6 1/2 speakers. You could try to find a pair of 6 1/2 or 6 3/4 subs if those would satisfy your needs. The Sony package has a "bucket" that would sort of act as a box. This would by far not be a competition system but may add some low end if you want it. More than that, and you are looking at custom options. Personally, I replaced all 12 Sony speakers with Infinity Kappa and kept the rest stock.

 

[kryptto]

I upgraded my speakers but, I have the Sony system. There isn't a "traditional" subwoofer from the factory. The rear package shelf will hold 2 6x9, 6 3/4, or 6 1/2 speakers. You could try to find a pair of 6 1/2 or 6 3/4 subs if those would satisfy your needs. The Sony package has a "bucket" that would sort of act as a box. This would by far not be a competition system but may add some low end if you want it. More than that, and you are looking at custom options. Personally, I replaced all 12 Sony speakers with Infinity Kappa and kept the rest stock.

I am a huge Infinity Kappa fan - those would be my choice as well.

 

[Chuck Johnson]

start off researching DSP's

 

[studio460]

Wow! Some excellent replies here. Not at car my right now, but will check the trunk as soon as I get back. Great to know there‘s a few options.

 

[Joshw0000]

Wow! Some excellent replies here. Not at car my right now, but will check the trunk as soon as I get back. Great to know there‘s a few options.

Here's the factory amp (if you have it). You can pull a high frequency from there and convert it for an amp with something like a Pac LP7. That was the original amp I used, I ended up swapping it for a newer model.

I don't have a pic of the factory subs, but the **** in the left of the 2nd picture is the magnet for them. That's honestly the easiest/best place to pull signal for an amp because you don't have to trace wires from the amp and those subs should be getting more power than most speakers.

Pulling power for an amp is a PITA since there aren't many unoccupied holes in the firewall. I ended up removing the plastic cover under the wipers and fishing it through there.

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[studio460]

Awesome, Josh! Thank you for taking the time to post those photos. I'll have a look tomorrow at what my set-up actually is.

 

[bpd1151]

Audio can DEFINITELY be done.

Mine's so flipping loud that it hurts to breathe, and I had to DE-TUNE my amps because I literally vibrated the glue out of the track all around the rear windshield.

2 - 15's
2 - 12's
2 - 6x9's
4 - 5x8's
4 - Tweeters

4 Class D Amps pushing a total of a little over 10 watts of total system power.

Insane build that was done entirely by Mr. Mike Plante when his talents were employed by Shockwave Customs (Mike has since gone independent).

So incredibly thankful for his talents, time, and treasure.



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[studio460]

Well, I'm impressed!!!

 

[bpd1151]

Well, I'm impressed!!!

I was too. Builder is super talented. Blessed to have had his talents applied to my SHO.

Was trying to find a couple of better pics of the amps (which he affectionately dubbed..... "The Cradle of Power") .... Haha

Also, found an image of what it looks like under all that prettiness as well.

Glad you like.

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[Joshw0000]

I was too. Builder is super talented. Blessed to have had his talents applied to my SHO.

Was trying to find a couple of better pics of the amps (which je affectionately dubbed..... "The Cradle of Power") .... Haha

Also, found an image of what it looks like under all that prettiness as well.

Glad you like.View attachment 86984View attachment 86985View attachment 86986View attachment 86987

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I love it. Got any action videos? I'm sure you've made some females' hair dance in that thing.

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[studio460]

I was too. Builder is super talented. Blessed to have had his talents applied to my SHO.

Was trying to find a couple of better pics of the amps (which je affectionately dubbed..... "The Cradle of Power") .... Haha

Also, found an image of what it looks like under all that prettiness as well.

Glad you like.View attachment 86984View attachment 86985View attachment 86986View attachment 86987

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That's sick, dude! Awesome!

 

[SHOrod]

4 Class D Amps pushing a total of a little over 10 watts of total system power.

I assume there's a typo in that total system power number....

-Rod

 

[Devin]

I assume there's a typo in that total system power number....

-Rod

I was thinking it was missing a couple trailing zeroes!

 

[bpd1151]

I assume there's a typo in that total system power number....

-Rod

Ummm no. The number is correct.

As I said previously, I had to return to the fabricator/installer and have them DE-TUNE the amps, because I had noticed what I can only describe as a honey like sticky goo in both corners of the rear windshield drip tray.....

No idea what that was. I called them and they warned me to stop playing the music so loud, and for me to come in right away, to power them down, as the sticky stuff was the glue used by the factory to secure the rear glass in place. The glue was being vibrated and literally ran down the track, into the drip tray.

They said if I didn't heed their advice, I would risk blowing the rear glass out completely!

YIKES!

Another funny story, back in I think that was 2017, maybe 2018 (my memory escapes me on the date) when I did the Ford National's in Carlisle, PA. ....... as anyone who's done the NAT's knows, the Taurus always seems to get relegated to the furthest bastard section of the entire grounds (usually the yellow section) well, my s.hit was so loud, that Carlisle staff felt compelled to drive a golf cart clear across the opposing side of the grounds, to ask me to cut the music off for 15min. as they were using a drone to capture official event footage and they didn't want to have to deal with the music in their files.

I said wait, you came from where, and you can hear it from where, or how loud? They replied literally clear across the opposite side of the event grounds. I laughed in astonishment and asked poignantly "How did it sound?". LOL.

They said "GREAT!" and actually, we'll come back and let you know when we're done, and you can turn it back on. LOL x2!

Just a funny story. I also did the parade that year, and I tapped off of the power from an electrical outlet on a street pole (as Carlisle shut down the main street for all the cars and spectators etc.....) it was hitting so hard that the street light kept dimming cuz I was pulling so much power away from the fixture itself. Hahahahaha.

Ask anyone who was there. On that note, I do miss my car, and checked in with the engine builder today. He said they're making more progress. Still hoping she's done for this year's National SHO Convention in Indy!

Fingers Crossed

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[Ta2dResqr]

Ummm no. The number is correct.

As I said previously, I had to return to the fabricator/installer and have them DE-TUNE the amps, because I had noticed what I can only describe as a honey like sticky goo in both corners of the rear windshield drip tray.....

No idea what that was. I called them and they warned me to stop playing the music so loud, and for me to come in right away, to power them down, as the sticky stuff was the glue used by the factory to secure the rear glass in place. The glue was being vibrated and literally ran down the track, into the drip tray.

They said if I didn't heed their advice, I would risk blowing the rear glass out completely!

YIKES!

Another funny story, back in I think that was 2017, maybe 2018 (my memory escapes me on the date) when I did the Ford National's in Carlisle, PA. ....... as anyone who's done the NAT's knows, the Taurus always seems to get relegated to the furthest bastard section of the entire grounds (usually the yellow section) well, my s.hit was so loud, that Carlisle staff felt compelled to drive a golf cart clear across the opposing side of the grounds, to ask me to cut the music off for 15min. as they were using a drone to capture official event footage and they didn't want to have to deal with the music in their files.

I said wait, you came from where, and you can hear it from where, or how loud? They replied literally clear across the opposite side of the event grounds. I laughed in astonishment and asked poignantly "How did it sound?". LOL.

They said "GREAT!" and actually, we'll come back and let you know when we're done, and you can turn it back on. LOL x2!

Just a funny story. I also did the parade that year, and I tapped off of the power from an electrical outlet on a street pole (as Carlisle shut down the main street for all the cars and spectators etc.....) it was hitting so hard that the street light kept dimming cuz I was pulling so much power away from the fixture itself. Hahahahaha.

Ask anyone who was there. On that note, I do miss my car, and checked in with the engine builder today. He said they're making more progress. Still hoping she's done for this year's National SHO Convention in Indy!

Fingers Crossed

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I assume you know your car specs but, I also question the total system wattage. The factory system is 500 watts. 10 watts would leave 3/4 watt per speaker. Those 15's are rated to handle 700 watts each. The amps are 1000 watts a piece. They would have to be turned down to 2.5 watts each.

 

[Joshw0000]

I assume you know your car specs but, I also question the total system wattage. The factory system is 500 watts. 10 watts would leave 3/4 watt per speaker. Those 15's are rated to handle 700 watts each. The amps are 1000 watts a piece. They would have to be turned down to 2.5 watts each.

Probably meant kilowatts.

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[bpd1151]

Oh boy..... so, the two of you had me questioning what I was told by the owner of the business (the 10k watt number previously stated, and to which I believed).

Now mind you, I'm no electrical guru by any means, so I decided to contact the audio builder himself.

He corrected me and said the actual system power is 5k (3k for the subs, and 2k for the mids and highs).

I asked why did the owner give me the number that he had when I picked up the car? He eyerolled and said in a round about way that he's the owner, and also a salesman. Salesmen inflate things. Kind of why I don't work for him anymore. Among other reasons.

Anyhow, I did ask about the factory amp allegedly being 500w. He admitted he didn't know for sure, but in his experiences (after having seen the factory amp when installing my set up) he said 500w is a BIG stretch. So not sure where to confirm that info? I did check my window sticker and it just says under the "Rapid Spec 402B" pkg that the factory set up was/is a "Sony Audio Sound Sys w/12-spk". But nowhere does it list wattage.

I also asked him if he kept the factory amp hooked up and what not, he said no, he bypassed it completely.

Umm, what else? Oh the amps he confirmed ARE RATED at 1k watts, but he said they always test out higher than rated. He recalls the 1530 number specifically.

So in closing, I was wrong. But in my defense, I was parroting what I was told. Which I confirmed was incorrect as stated above.

The whole point of me posting was simply to let the OP know that an aftermarket audio build is possible, and displayed mine as an example of I would some would say is more on the extreme end.

Anyhow, just wanted to get the correct info out there. Not trying to start an argument. Thank you both for questioning me. I too became (more) educated as a result. Carry on and happy motoring.

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