I'm thinking about buying a 2005 Supercrew Lariat and I'm trying to figure out the difference between the Audiophile 6-disc stereo and the "regular" 6-disc stereo.

Does the Audiophile just add the subwoofer, or are the other speakers upgraded as well? Any other differences in the stereo head unit itself?

Thanks

 

Hello and welcome to the forum! Yes the audiophile system has an upgraded head unit with more power and upgraded speakers. It even includes seperate tweeters in the front doors in addition to the sub and amp.

 

I thought the head unit was the same?

Anyway, I got the regular 6 disc, knowing I was going to upgrade, and it absolutely sucked. Terrible. If you don't want to add a sub and better speakers, absolutely go for the audiophle.

 

Audiophile head unit has extra features....a little "Search" yielded the following:

The Audiophile additions are:
* Audiophile Equalized Radio - optimized for each cab style. Driver or all-seat EQ selectable
* Digital Signal Processing (DSP) ambiance. This feature gives the feeling of "being there" to your music, creating increased clarity as well as an open and spacious feel to the music
* Subwoofer with 90-watt external amplifier
* Audiophile 2-way speaker system - optimally placed midrange and tweeter in each front door
* Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS) - the radio will decode the data stream broadcast by FM stations per the United States RBDS Standard from the National Association of Broadcasters. The radio supports:
- Show program service name
- Show format type
- Seek/scan for traffic program
- Seek/scan for format type
- Traffic announcement
- Emergency alert announcement

 

But why pay ford money for factory equipment that is (frankly) below par for the money. Less than a grand will buy you a system where the bass will rattle you hard and the highs won't be muddy from the stock headunit. Just take a listen some time...sure factory sounds good..because you drive with it every day and get used to it, but if you just compared it...you'd laugh at every second you listened to "stock" sound - EVEN the audiophile! It's not "that" great...

 

I'd have to say that after the reverse sensing option, the Audiophile option is great. I've set up many aftermarket stereos in my day but for the extra duckets, the system is awesome. I get comments from passengers that its one of the best stock system upgrades theyve heard.

Im no longer into the "BASS heard down the street" stuff but theres enough kick out of the 8" sub to put many systems to shame.

For me it was well worth the $$$.

Take your favorite CD to the dealer and check it out?

RUSH - Tom Sawyer sounds awesome

 

What does the audiophile cost? I think I paid around $500 for it. I don't think I could have had comparable aftermarket sound for that price. Yes, you can always get better but the audiophile is great for me. I like to listen to my music and I don't need "share" my base with everyone else on the road.

 

That's fine, basicly if you're old you will like the stock sounds

If you still like cruising with your kids in the back, you'll want aftermarket.

 

get the audiophile unless you wanna upgrade later....if you like the stock look and dont wanna have to add anything its worth the extra 250$ over the regular stock system.....but if they would offer the mach 1000 (shaker 1000 in 05) system in the f150 i would have done that...my wifes mustang has it and it sounds as good or better than any aftermarket system ive heard...it has almost 1300 watts with 7 amps 8 speakers inside and 2 10'' subs in the trunk...its a 1275.00 option tho where the audiophile is under 300 if i remember right....

 

Sorry to give you the bad news KELMVOR... before you know it you will be old too and if your still "booming" down the street, that must mean youre old and single.

 

the mach 1000 has NOWHERE near that many amps. I have ripped a couple of mach 1000 and 460's out of mustangs. Each of those little tiny amps is a 40 or 75 watt amp depending on what speakers it was driving. Seriously...

 

search mach 1000.........and you will find this..

Visteon's MACH® 1000 Audio System — which builds upon the MACH® 460 audio platform with over 1000 watts of peak performance — delivers high-octane audio performance previously available only as a factory-installed option. The MACH 1000 combines high decibel (dB) delivery with impressive sound quality — the ultimate fun, attention-grabbing, high-energy audio platform.

Visteon's MACH 1000 upgrade package, designed specifically for Mustang owners, builds on the 460 platform by adding four additional subwoofer amplifiers and two 10-inch subwoofer enclosures — giving Mustang owners an ear-popping 570 watts of continuous average power and 1,140 watts of peak power. The MACH 1000 Audio System uses subwoofers that have two coils working in parallel, which essentially gives consumers the power of two amplifiers within each subwoofer enclosure. Known as "Dual Voice Coil" speakers, this technology gives the systems plenty of power and terrific bass response; they can easily handle frequencies below 20 Hz.

Technical Specifications:

One high-pass amplifier with 60 watts C.A.P./120 watts peak power at 2 percent total harmonic distortion
Two low-pass subwoofer amplifiers with 85 watts C.A.P./170 watts peak power
Four additional MACH MA185 amplifiers
Six 5.5 inch x 7.5 inch subwoofers
Two rear-seat woofers
Two front-door woofers
Two MACH 10 inch subwoofers in integral 14-liter sealed enclosures mounted in the trunk
Four 2.5 inch midrange/tweeters
Works with existing factory head unit


that makes 7 amps total......and a chit load of speakers.....

ok.....i was wrong its alittle over 1100 watts as per the Visteon site....but you probaly know more about their system than they do Kelvmor...

 

....

 

Uh, Im not old unless 25 is old. I think the audiophile sounds great.

 

The Audiophile option was $250 on our sticker.

The main reason we went for it is THEFT. I just can't see spending $1000's on a fancy system only to have every kid in the neighborhood want to steal it.

Audiophile sounds good enough for me (great actually!) and we don't have to worry about theft.
--
Mitch
'05 SuperCrew FX4