All,

  I recently traded a 2010 SHO without NAV and purchased a 2014.  I am very disappointed in the bass in the 2014.  My 2010 would vibrate you chest if you were in the back seat and make all the mirrors vibrate.  Both have Sony systems.  Any one know the difference?  Is it the subs and amp?  Can I get factory parts to make it thump like my 2010?  I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to sound systems.

I would just start off by saying the Sony System is just plain ole crap,also adjusting a couple of settings might help a bit such as using [Stereo]instead of surround and lowering the mid-range all the way down and then up a couple of notches up and then just adjust the tremble & bass accordingly to your preference and you should see some improvement,also the 13+ uses a different processor IMO.  Z

Everyone's preferences are different.  I have mine with the midrange and treble at max and the bass at 2 notches from full.

I think for an OEM stereo its not bad at all.  It's the first stereo I've owned in years I decided not to screw with.  Just make sure you aren't judging it utilizing digital files unless they're lossless. 

I thought my 2010 sound system was awsome for a factory system.  I will try you alls setting and see.

Z you said something about a bass tube in another thread.  Is that plug and play or will I have to run wires to the front?

Quote from: SHOme on May 06, 2016, 12:04:48 PM
I thought my 2010 sound system was awsome for a factory system.  I will try you alls setting and see.

Z you said something about a bass tube in another thread.  Is that plug and play or will I have to run wires to the front?

I can certainly tell you have done some extensive reading,lol,had a couple of those tubes in my other car and cannot beat the bass these tubes provide,they are indeed plug & play unit which has a built in amp inside and the cool part is there portable so you can remove it from your car,unfortunately those days are over and had my fun but certainly miss my two 15 in Redlines powered by R.Fosgate amps which will definitely shatter these new windshields.lol,here's the link for the tube.  Z     http://www.amazon.com/Bazooka-BTA8100-100-Watt-Amplified-Subwoofer/dp/B0002QYS8W   

I will agree that the stock system is pretty lousy.  If I were Sony, I wouldn't be too proud to display "Sound by Sony" on every startup.  That being said, I have a pretty nice home setup, and am very sensitive to distortion in my right ear. I am also not too concerned with tons of bass.  I want clear and crisp especially at higher volumes, and that is where the Sony falls short.  It is not the worst (Monsoon in a 2004 Grand Prix was terrible), but my no name factory system in my 2000 Subaru Outback is better, and many high end cars have far superior systems.   

Quote from: SHOme on May 06, 2016, 07:44:18 AM
All,

  I recently traded a 2010 SHO without NAV and purchased a 2014.  I am very disappointed in the bass in the 2014.  My 2010 would vibrate you chest if you were in the back seat and make all the mirrors vibrate.  Both have Sony systems.  Any one know the difference?  Is it the subs and amp?  Can I get factory parts to make it thump like my 2010?  I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to sound systems.

Which Sony system do you have, I thought there was two....

On mine I had to dial out a bunch of midrange. (-4)

Also, the Sony systems are very picky about the signal it is fed. FM (even HD) and Sirius sound like trash but my high bitrate digital stuff sounds quite good.

I much prefer the Sony over the THX system in the MKS. That system has no ability to dial back the mid so an audio upgrade will be in short order. I think the 2 smaller subs in the SHO may hit harder than the single 10 in the MKS as well.

One oddity I noticed is on the 2013 I preferred music in stereo. On the 2015 it sounds better in surround mode.

All I know is it has navigation and the other didn't.  I don't know beyond that.  I have gotten used to it now.  This thread is a year old.

SHOme

Sent from my Speak and Spell

Arrgh, quoted the wrong person, that was for ncole...

Quote from: FoMoCoSHO on May 09, 2017, 02:48:35 PM

Quote from: SHOme on May 06, 2016, 07:44:18 AM
All,

  I recently traded a 2010 SHO without NAV and purchased a 2014.  I am very disappointed in the bass in the 2014.  My 2010 would vibrate you chest if you were in the back seat and make all the mirrors vibrate.  Both have Sony systems.  Any one know the difference?  Is it the subs and amp?  Can I get factory parts to make it thump like my 2010?  I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to sound systems.

Which Sony system do you have, I thought there was two....

On mine I had to dial out a bunch of midrange. (-4)

Also, the Sony systems are very picky about the signal it is fed. FM (even HD) and Sirius sound like trash but my high bitrate digital stuff sounds quite good.

I much prefer the Sony over the THX system in the MKS. That system has no ability to dial back the mid so an audio upgrade will be in short order. I think the 2 smaller subs in the SHO may hit harder than the single 10 in the MKS as well.

One oddity I noticed is on the 2013 I preferred music in stereo. On the 2015 it sounds better in surround mode.

I am not sure which system I have, but I only have a bass and treble adjuster. No values, just a bar you move around. I turned the bass all the way up and it was laughably bad.  It seems any extreme on either setting makes for crap sound.  Input quality no doubt affects it, I am usually sending dowloaded music from Spotify (not streaming, Spotify is offline in car) via bluetooth.

Here's how i fixed mine:

I completely bypassed the factory system and spent a ton of money haha. Sorry it's terrible!

Current setup, ipad mini 4 -> usb dac -> toslink -> helix DSP w/ director remote -> US acoustics barbara ann amp for mids/highs & us acoustics big ben amp for subs.

running 2 12" psi platform2 HD subs in a ported enclosure taking up most of my trunk. The factory fronts are doing the sound duty for now, however I have a nice set of HAT legatia 6 1/2" for the doors and some matching tweeters for my apillars, I just need to fabricate some adapter plates for the door speakers. I want to sound deaden the doors while I have the panels off too.

There is a new unit that came out recently that lets you do soemthing with the sony, I need to dig it up, ill post if i find it

Quote from: jbeez on May 11, 2017, 02:21:03 PM
Here's how i fixed mine:

I completely bypassed the factory system and spent a ton of money haha. Sorry it's terrible!

Current setup, ipad mini 4 -> usb dac -> toslink -> helix DSP w/ director remote -> US acoustics barbara ann amp for mids/highs & us acoustics big ben amp for subs.

running 2 12" psi platform2 HD subs in a ported enclosure taking up most of my trunk. The factory fronts are doing the sound duty for now, however I have a nice set of HAT legatia 6 1/2" for the doors and some matching tweeters for my apillars, I just need to fabricate some adapter plates for the door speakers. I want to sound deaden the doors while I have the panels off too.

There is a new unit that came out recently that lets you do soemthing with the sony, I need to dig it up, ill post if i find it

That would be great. Thanks.

SHOme

Sent from my Speak and Spell

Quote from: SHOme on May 11, 2017, 02:22:57 PM

Quote from: jbeez on May 11, 2017, 02:21:03 PM
Here's how i fixed mine:

I completely bypassed the factory system and spent a ton of money haha. Sorry it's terrible!

Current setup, ipad mini 4 -> usb dac -> toslink -> helix DSP w/ director remote -> US acoustics barbara ann amp for mids/highs & us acoustics big ben amp for subs.

running 2 12" psi platform2 HD subs in a ported enclosure taking up most of my trunk. The factory fronts are doing the sound duty for now, however I have a nice set of HAT legatia 6 1/2" for the doors and some matching tweeters for my apillars, I just need to fabricate some adapter plates for the door speakers. I want to sound deaden the doors while I have the panels off too.

There is a new unit that came out recently that lets you do soemthing with the sony, I need to dig it up, ill post if i find it

That would be great. Thanks.

SHOme

Sent from my Speak and Spell

I believe this is it,   looks like it came out this January,

http://www.pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=1374&CategoryID=28


They don't mention taurus on the applications list, but they mention it in the instruction manual,
http://www.pac-audio.com/downloads/ap4-fd21_instructions_122816.pdf

I'm pretty sure the explorer and taurus have almost identical ford sync mytouch radios anyway... but be warned

Quote from: jbeez on May 11, 2017, 02:35:03 PM

Quote from: SHOme on May 11, 2017, 02:22:57 PM

Quote from: jbeez on May 11, 2017, 02:21:03 PM
Here's how i fixed mine:

I completely bypassed the factory system and spent a ton of money haha. Sorry it's terrible!

Current setup, ipad mini 4 -> usb dac -> toslink -> helix DSP w/ director remote -> US acoustics barbara ann amp for mids/highs & us acoustics big ben amp for subs.

running 2 12" psi platform2 HD subs in a ported enclosure taking up most of my trunk. The factory fronts are doing the sound duty for now, however I have a nice set of HAT legatia 6 1/2" for the doors and some matching tweeters for my apillars, I just need to fabricate some adapter plates for the door speakers. I want to sound deaden the doors while I have the panels off too.

There is a new unit that came out recently that lets you do soemthing with the sony, I need to dig it up, ill post if i find it

That would be great. Thanks.

SHOme

Sent from my Speak and Spell

I believe this is it,   looks like it came out this January,

http://www.pac-audio.com/productDetails.aspx?ProductId=1374&CategoryID=28


They don't mention taurus on the applications list, but they mention it in the instruction manual,
http://www.pac-audio.com/downloads/ap4-fd21_instructions_122816.pdf

I'm pretty sure the explorer and taurus have almost identical ford sync mytouch radios anyway... but be warned

Interesting. I looked at the PAC but was not thrilled to spend the money without knowing it would work, and PAC customer service was not at all helpful. I ended up pulling signal after the Sony amp into a Helix DSP. My only issue is the button beep when adjusting temp, etc is a little loud now, you can adjust the sync voice but I have not found a setting to change beep volume.

When I was post sony amp I think I found a place in the interface to disable the beep all together.

Later, when I picked up a director remote for my helix, I tapped the signal before the sony amp, the issue there is its preamp and has no volume control, so you can only do that if you want to control the vol with your helix through a director or analog vol control they sell. Also the signal is a little low but it works