Base Stereo vs. JBL Stereo

Did you crank up the volume on the HU???? to see it corrects the problem.
Regards,
Jim

 

I've taken the sqwuaker out of my 2010 Pkg IV with JBL & Nav. It does appear to have a metallic (aluminium/magnesium?) cone with what looks like a large soft dome in the dust cap area...it's hard to see even with the speaker removed from the car because it has a sheer black material stretched over the front of the speaker. I'll see if I can post some pictures.
At any rate, I plan to change out both of these front two sqwuakers and replace them with some aftermarket 3" full range drivers. I'll also be replacing the 6x9's in the front doors with a good aftermarket 6-1/2" mid-bass driver (along with sound deadening the doors). These speakers will be actively crossed over & independently equalized and time-aligned with a JBL MS-8 processor. I'll also have a separate 10" subwoofer in the rear cargo area....I'm hoping for a significant improvement in sound quality & quantity. The MS-8 should allow me all the flexibility I need to tweak the sound.

 

GeoGeek, many thanks!! I have been wanting to see what these midtweets look like!! It looks like JBL actually put some thought into the midtweets...metal frame and polypropylene cone material with metal particles sprinkled onto it (for more rigidity?).

Wow, your proposed system sounds impressive...and looks like properly thought out! Your new system will look a lot like the Mark Levinson system in Lexus. Are the 3" full-range drivers "coaxials"? I like that!! Do you have any brands that you're looking at?? From my old car audio days (aka i am outdated!), the smallest quality coaxials were around 4". The 3" ones were of horrid quality and usually very cheap.

BTW, do you have pics of the 6x9s??

 

See: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...ives-dash-squakers-midtweets.html#post1121154

 

Thai,
I think that you may have misunderstood the scale in the pictures I attached in the earlier post. That's an engineering scale that has 20 divisions per inch. The speaker is indeed 2-1/2" in diameter, not 5".
I've had a good look at the opening with the factory speaker removed and can say for certain that a 4" driver will not fit without major modifications; however, I do suspect that a 3-1/2" may just fit provided that the tweeter (if it is a coaxial) does not project up above the flange of the speaker. One major concern is that the factory dash speaker grille only has a perforated opening of 2-1/2".

The speakers I'm considering are the Peerless 6-1/2" woofer for the doors Peerless 830946 SLS 6.5" Woofer - 4 ohm from Madisound and the Tang Band 3" full range for the dash Tang Band W3-1318SA 3" Full Range from Madisound
These speakers are fairly well regarded by those who've used them who I read about on diyma.com

 

Hmmm, i am not sure...i might prefer the 3.5" from JL or Polk (if it fits). Can you make the grill perforations wider?

 

What will you be listening to? It will make a difference if you're listening to a CD.

I doubt you can get an after market system professionally installed for less then the up charge for the JBL system.

People on Pruischat are doing their own installation and are looking to add Navigation.

 

I prefer a III to a II because of the audio.

The JBL has a far better bluetooth system and steering wheel controls than adding the BLULogic to the dash. And, the XM's good to have when you're traveling. Who can fault a CD changer when you don't have lots of time to add to the iPod? Just stick the CD in... and eventually things make their way to the iPod. That said, it sounds a little better too.

 

When it works it is really really good, then again as I have the EU market model I think ours is slightly different.

I had no end of trouble in the beginning as it didn't sound right. Toyota UK ended up bi-amping the setup for us as the headunit doesn't provide controls for the rear speakers but somehow reduces the output and likewise for the sub that gets added.

We are now really happy with the system, and considering that large parts of the interior had to be removed (but partially for the DAB Tuner and iPod kit as well) I would not like to have given that to a third party who over here are not used to Prius as all.

I'm very pleased but it took nearly two months of running in to get the SQ going. A normal system sounds really flat and like it is constantly bottoming out.

 

I work in electronics retail and most stock stereos are junk. (JBL= Junk but Loud) I do have the JBL in my '04 and it doesn't suck as bad as the base stereo in my mom's '01 but I still felt the need to upgrade it. So far I've swapped out the front speakers for alpine components and later on this week im gonna install a 10" Alpine Type- R in a ported box. Should hit really hard. My dad's 2010 V has a better stock stereo than my car but w/e. I do like having the 6CD Changer and the Navigation+Bluetooth. I would buy the stereo for those features since you can easily upgrade the speakers later on.

 

I had a base 2 for 6 months and traded for a 3 with navigation when 0% interest became available. I found the base stereo not bad coming from an 08 Civic coupe. The JBL stereo to my ears is much improved over the base model. The bass response is better and I find it to be easier to listen to overall. Of course it isn't at the level of a professionally installed aftermarket system. I also enjoy the bluetooth a lot more than I expected. You might also. I can only speak for myself but for the money I would go with a 3 for a better factory system if sound is important. I suggest test driving each and bring along your own music sources. Good luck!

 

This is the amp I have I'm gonna add a battery just wanted
know what would be a good sub or sub to add to this
amp im also getting a custom box made thanks



Number of Channels1Rated Power
(RMS Continuous Power)1000 Watts x 1 @ 4-Ohms
1500 Watts x 1 @ 2-Ohms
1500 Watts x 1 @ 1-OhmTotal Power
(Sum of Rated Power)1500 WattsBridgeableNoEfficiency (average)86.2% @ 4-Ohm
74.6% @ 2-Ohm
63.0% @ 1-OhmCrossover ControlsLow-Pass (LP): 35-250Hz 24dB/octave ButterworthTone ControlsBass: 0dB to +18dB @ 45Hz
Infrasonic Filter: -3dB @ 28Hz 12dB/OctaveSignal InputLow level: 1 RCA pairSignal OutputLow Level: 1 RCA pairPower Input ConnectorBlockPower Wire Gauge4 AWGSpeaker Output ConnectorScrew terminal barrier stripSpeaker Wire Gauge8 AWG to 18 AWGHeat Sink TypeCast aluminumCoolingConvectionRemote ControlsOptional Remote Punch Bass EQ
(overrides built-in Punch Bass EQ)Visual IndicatorsPower
Thermal
ProtectCircuit Topology ClassClass bdFrequency Response20Hz to 250kHz +/- 0.5dB

 

Since this is a 3rd gen Prius forum, you may want to test out the 3rd gen Jbl...it is A LOT better than your JBL in your old Prius.

 

I know for a fact that the new JBL is better than my older JBL system is. I would expect it too. We've had 4 cars now with stock JBL. 04 Prius 10 Prius, 01 Sienna, 97 Avalon. compared to a decent aftermarket they all suck. The base isn't as good obviously, but from an audio quality standpoint it isn't worth the extra money to get the improved sound quality alone of the JBL. It is nice to have the navigation system in my car and bluetooth was my point. The upgraded sound system was a nice bonus but im upgrading it anyways because it could be a lot better. Theres a huge car audio market for a reason

 

In that case better upgrade the head unit as well, which will be ugly IMO. But in my experience that is a greater limiting factor in a genIII than the jbl speaker system.

Bi-amping give a huge improvement already but as sad before it was a big fight with Toyota to make then see sense.

 

As some folks have found out...to improve upon the JBL system, you need to spend quite a bit of money. Now, if you're into big bass, then yeah, the JBL can't compare. However, from a SQ point of view, it will be hard to improve without shedding $$$$$ from your wallet. I believe that most spent well over $1500.

What are your plans to improve upon the JBL?

 

A friend of mine bought a 2010MY Prius (Euro specs), the car features the HDD Navigation unit with CD Player + an optional CD Changer, the code on the unit is: B9016 W/O JBL logo on it, but on the door cards there are bright orange JBL logos, also in the trunk is a funny shaped JBL Subwoofer and under the right seat is a huge amplifier, looks bigger than my 2008's JBL amp.

The curiosity is that the navigation system doesn't feature any JBL marking but the system sound ok.
IS there anywhere a list of navigation units installed in the Prius?

For those who can help, I can provide the VIN Code via PM to perform a equipment check.

 

I have 2011 package IV and my wife has 2013 II.
My system (JBL) sound wey better and louder than hers but the problem for me is she has Bluetooth and USB connection and I don't. Is there a anywhere I can buy and replace my unit with similar stock stereo with Bluetooth and possibly USB? Also, would replacing her speakers without changing the stereo improve sound compared to my?

 

The JBL systems use an amp in combination with better speakers. The head unit isn't really involved. You can't really add a Toyota JBL system to a car that doesn't have it, but there's a lot you CAN do. In any case, better speaker also call for a decent amp, but if your head unit doesn't have line-outs you need and amp that accepts speaker level input.