Mach460 Head Unit Noob Question

[anton_lor]

Hello!
I maybe have a dumb question regarding the stock Mach460 System from 96 paired with an aftermarket head unit. I am new to the whole stereo section, so please excuse me.
Can another head unit have too much output wattage or voltage for the Mach460 system?
So if I buy a head unit with a peak power of 100w x4 and an RMS of 45w x4, would that be too much for the Mach460 amps to handle (or would it even be wasted since the amps of the system are used and the output wattage of the radio gets amplified)?
Does it also matter if the RCA output voltage is 5v, 4v or just 2v?
Thank you for your help!

 

[ttocs]

well first off, if you are having problems with your battery dying it is probably one of the mach amps killing it. If not then we can move on other than to say the stock speakers are at the end of their life as well and replacing them and the deck fixes the problem of dealing with the amps that do not like aftermarket products so much.

no you can't put too much power into the amps in wattage from the speaker outputs, or voltage from the rca out. The stock amps were basically designed around the old radios so they do not use a standard rca style low voltage signal like most do. Get one with the highest rca voltage output if you are going to use the rca harness.

 

[anton_lor]

Thank you for the quick reply! I know, many regard the Mach 460 System as a bad sounding one, but I think it sounds quite good. How huge is the difference between a 50w x4, 2,5V pre amp out Radio and a 100w x4 5v pre amp out Radio?

 

[ttocs]

it use to be top top of the line sound for a factory system back in the day. It isn't bad anymore but again the problems with the amps both killing batteries and not playing well with aftermarket gear leads to them getting yanked more often than not. The mach system likes the higher output decks.

 

[anton_lor]

Okay thank you for your help! I guess, I am gonna get a better head unit now. I hope, my amps and speakers dont fail, but if they do, i am gonna look into an upgrade.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Hello!

So if I buy a head unit with a peak power of 100w x4 and an RMS of 45w x4, would that be too much for the Mach460 amps to handle (

Would only matter if you are running the speakers directly off the aftermarket deck. Since you are using the Mach amps, you are actually going to send line-level signals to the amps via the RCA cables.

This is what i used with my setup and should work with 94-00 Mach setups.

Amazon.com

The RCA's will plug into the head unit and allow you to plug the 8-pin amp signal harness in.

The mach amps also use a 5V signal to turn on the amps. Aftermarket amps usually supply 12V. This can cause a loud pop when the radio turns on and potentially destroy the amps over time. You can use a step down harness like this to knock the voltage down. Very easy to wire into the amp turn-on wire

Amazon.com

I run a Kenwood DMX8709s which is a 4v preamp. I converted the 94-00 two radio setup to the 01+ double-din setup but that's a whole different subject. It actually sounds quite decent with the Mach amps and speakers. Mine is a convertible and with top down and volumn up, i have no complaints. Are there better systems out there? Absolutely. But for what I use the car for it works fantastic.

 

[ttocs]

If I had to recommend what to do, I would say to swap the speakers out at the same time and bypass the amps. Again the speakers are probably dry rotted and you will have to accept some portion of the fact that something will not sound as good as it did with all properly matched equipment. The stock amps are ok for what they are but a good high powered deck and some good speakers can do a very good job filling in the sound. Add a small powered sub and you will be just as happy with the sound as before but not have the headaches of the future battery drain or when the speakers do finally completely die.

 

[GTamas]

I would also replace the speakers and the amps. I did in my 94 and I'm very happy with the results. Mine was not a Mach460 system, only the premium sound, so I don't have the tweeters in the A-pillar, but I used 4 of these 4-way speakers and to me they sound great. They are available in Germany and not expensive:
Pioneer TS-A6880F
And this amp:
Hifonics Zeus Street ZXS700/4

 

[anton_lor]

So I searched around for some head units and the only one I found with a high wattage is the Sony DSX-GS80:

Sony DSX-GS80

If I read correctly, it has an inbuilt amplifier to reach 100w peak and 45w rms. Would that pair well with the Mach460 or would something like the Kenwood KDC-BT960DAB with 50w peak be sufficient?

Kenwood KDC-BT960DAB

They both have 5V pre amp outputs.
Also in regards to the voltage converter: Do I need this specific one:

Red Wolf 12v to 5v converter

or could I wire in a universal one like this, since I am able to order it normally without import costs:

Universal voltage converter

This one has 4 wires, 2 for ground, 2 for positive for the input and output. And it is also rated to convert the output to 5V with 3A. Is the amperage to high/low? And how would I wire it into the wire harness?

I am sorry to ask so detailed, I just don't want to fry anything in the car or come back later when I already made a mistake, since I am not that profound in car electronics :/ I am very grateful for your help!

 

[ttocs]

the wattage out for the speakers is not as important as the voltage on the rca signal.

That converter looks like it would work.

 

[Mustang5L5]

For the amp turn-on, there’s one wire that goes from the aftermarket head unit to the ford harness that sends a signal to the Mach amps to turn on.

Typically a pull-down resistor is used here which is what I linked above (not knowing you were outside of US). That unit is 3 wires. Wire in from head unit, wire out to amp, and a single wire connected to chassis ground. There are also wiring diagrams all over Google on how to wire up a pull down resistor setup from 12v to 5v.

The setup you link seems to be a 4-wire setup. Need to see a diagram to understand what it’s trying to do but I think it’s 2 wires in (12v) and 2 wires out (5v). If have to see the diagram to see how that would be integrated with the Mach unit. I would see if you can find a 3-wire 12v-to-5v converter as that will be easier to wire in series.


Speaker wattage on the head unit only matters if you wiring 4 speakers direct off the unit without any amps. If you are using RCAs to connect to the Mach amps or aftermarket amps you don’t need to worry as much.

 

[anton_lor]

Okay thank you! Then I will get a 3 wire converter, since that is easier to wire into. And got it, the wattage doesn't matter as much when using the RCAs, so I will maybe look into a "standard" 50w x4 head unit, since they are more readily available and will just look out for high voltage RCA outputs.