Audio Upgrade Help Needed

The amp is under the passenger seat. It has active crossovers in it for 2 ohm component speakers and infinity does may component versions of the kappa and reference. I would try hooking up the speakers first before you decide if you need a new amp. You may be happy with that, or the speakers plus the subwoofer.

 

After removing the plastic shield over the amp under the passenger seat, here's what it looks like.....

There are two snaps that hold the shield in place. The one closer to the door is a pain to get back in because the seat rail is blocking it. I couldn't do it.

BTW, sorry to threadjack, but how does one attach a sub to this? I'm not familiar with car audio connections.

 

The factory head-unit won't really work with an after-market amp. Do a thread search. You will lose bluetooth and other features as the amp controls them. I changed the speakers, added tweeters and a powered sub and have been VERY happy.

 

I did a complete audio upgrade two months ago in my III. After several months of research and going to speak to many custom audio shop guys, it came down to replacing the factory JBL HU. You do not want to keep the factory HU and replace everything else. The HU is the most important part of the upgrade, this is where you will get the best sound quality from. The cleansweep will help but it will not sound close to replacing the factory HU with a good aftermarket HU. You can get a very good aftermarket HU with Bluetooth, Satellite ready, HD ready for approx $300. Don't keep the factory HU you will be sooo disappointed.
Check out my complete audio upgrade here --> http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-audio-electronics/75574-complete-audio-upgrade.html

 

Keep factory HU = poor sound quality if you change out the speakers & amp.

 

I replaced the JBL HU (Not JBL amp) with a JVC HU which included a JVC Bluetooth adapter. I dont think the JBL amp controls the OEM HU but I do know if you remove the OEM HU the bluetooth and SWC no longer work. I have the JBL connected to the JVC HU and it works great. Others chime in.
Jim

 

The JBL amp has 8 channels that go to each speaker. The front left dash speaker is where the Bluetooth sound is directed. If you keep the factory HU and replace the JBL amp with aftermarket amp that has 4 channels you must identify the wire used for the Bluetooth. You will have to find an installer who knows what he is doing.

To simplify thinks you will be better off with an aftermarket HU that has Bluetooth & Sat. It will cost you about the same either way but your system will be much better with the aftermarket HU. I went through this so it's up to you.

I used the Alpine PDX-4.100 amp which fits nicely where the factory JBL amp was located. The Alpine amp is very small and it is digital which means it's very efficient.

Good luck

 

You will have to make sure you get the correct wire from the HU that goes to the front left speaker and use it as one of the channels to the Alpine amp input.

 

Not that easy - you have 8 channels going to 4 channels + your cleansweep processor needs to be hooked up also. Like I said before if you keep the factory HU I would suggest getting a professional installer.

 

Do yourself a favor and look up my posts on this subject. I was one of the first to go way overboard with my stereo and tried like heck to keep it all going through the factory HU because I have a V with ATP. I needed to keep the factory piece, no way around it. The JL Audio pieces do not work with our setup. The Cleansweep may work with a different interface but the two pieces that are supposed to work together do not. It would not even register the signal coming to it. We went as far as having an Alpine tech come to the stereo shop during his day off and they spent all day working on my car trying to get the Alpine PXE-H650 unit to work properly. It worked ok, but still not near perfect where I needed it to be considering the amount of money I was spending on components. After days and days, I was nearly ready to give up. We decided to mount a separate Alpine IDA-X305 HU in the center console and installed a small toggle switch to switch between the steering wheel controls for both units. Has been a huge headache. If you have a V without the tech package I would highly recommend going with an aftermarket HU that has NAV and Bluetooth and just ditch the factory stuff all together.

The biggest problem with the JBL system is how it works and it's not a good thing. Each channel has it's own X-over point, equalization at different volume levels. The HU only sends a digital signal to the amp for all the audio processing. They took the signal from before the amp and lost the NAV and bluetooth voices as well as lost control of the volume control. They had it setup through the Alpine X650 with a wireless remote for a few days until I could get it back to them and it sounded great, but still needed to get the other features back. There seems to be no way to defeat the settings in the amp. The owner tried contacting JBL directly with no help from them. There may be other processors that we hadn't tried because of him not being a dealer for them, but the JL and Alpine ones are some of the more popular choices and failed. Just too much going on and it couldn't handle defeating it all across the board as the volume went up. My stereo sounds amazing now, but would I have spent what I did to do it all over again? NO..... Was just too deep to stop and turn around. Hope this helps. You'll find more info in detail if you look up my stuff from when this all was going on. I'll try and answer any questions you may have when I have a chance to get back to you. Good luck deciding what to do. It's an adventure!!

 

kmkremer,

YOU NEED TO REPLACE THE FACTORY HU WITH AN AFTERMARKET HU PERIOD, END OF STORY. AS I TOLD YOU MANY TIMES BEFORE IN THIS THREAD AND SO HAS OTHER MEMBERS. IF YOU WANT TO WAIST YOUR TIME AND MONEY GO AHEAD BUT LISTEN TO OTHER MEMBERS WHO WENT THROUGH THIS AND ARE TRYING TO HELP.


YOU NEED A NEW AFTERMARKET HU FOR THE LAST TIME.

 

Other processors out there that may be able to help include the:
Audio Control DQL-8
Audison Bit One
JBL MS-8 (when it actually comes out on the market)

All of these units have the ability to sum all 8 channels of crossed-over/equalized output from the factory JBL Amp. All can also use built in equalization to undo the equalization induced by the JBL amp and then do whatever new equalization you like....each can also cross-over each channel of output individually at whatever frequencies you select. I'm currently leaning toward the Audison Bit One, but have not yet made a purchase and therefore cannot confirm the effectiveness of any of these pieces....just wanted to throw them out there as possibilities. In the end, ajc's advice to replace the head unit may be the best solution; there seem to be a handfull out there on PC who've gone this route and have gotten the integration hammered out with steering wheel controls, backup camera display, etc.
Personally, I just really want to keep the factory look and I like that the factory MFD is angled to match the slope of the dash....the aftermarket head units, even with a good integration kit seem to leave you with a nearly vertical screen display. I also like that the Nav factory setup drops down the music in the front left speakers and when issuing voice prompts...just a personal preference. Good luck in your quest.