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Head unit upgrade issues

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by steveosupremo, Jan 31, 2015.

  1. steveosupremo

    steveosupremo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2015
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I am new to prius chat so I hope I'm posting this correctly and to the correct forum. I was hoping I could get some advice on an audio issue I'm having. I recently upgraded the head unit on my 2010 II with the kenwood excellon ddx5901hd. I've never owned a Kenwood car audio component so I am new to the Kenwood car audio world. This is what was suggested by a local Kenwood dealer. The specs seemed pretty good and would accomplish what I wanted. To replace the dealer installed blue logic bt and give me touch screen control of my ipod. The problem I'm having is the sound quality in my opinion is horrible. I can only wish it was as good as my factory hu. It sounds very muffled and I have to raise the volume to over half to get a normal listening volume out of it. I've tried adjusting the sound as this unit has multiple ways to adjust the audio. I've taken it back to the installers and they are telling me I need to.upgrade the speakers. I've replaced many factory hu and this has never been the case. This would be the first. Is there an issue with the ohm rating on the factory speakers compared to the Kenwood or is it possible they didn't wire it correctly. I'm really at a loss as to what to do. Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated. I'm about ready to put the old unit back in
     
    #1 steveosupremo, Jan 31, 2015
  2. vskid3

    vskid3 Active Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    What is the audio source, FM, ipod, CD? Aux/ipod inputs can be pretty quiet compared to FM. My Pioneer headunit has a "source level" adjustment to make the aux louder at any given volume.

    The ohms should be fine, most stock speakers should be fine with most headunits and I haven't seen any complaints about the Prius. The wiring would generally be difficult for even a monkey to mess up. Given that it "works", even poorly, its likely all wired correctly. Maybe its a defective headunit? I've had similar experiences with aftermarket headunits making even stock speakers sound better.
     
    #2 vskid3, Jan 31, 2015
  3. steveosupremo

    steveosupremo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2015
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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I did figure out that the cd source has much better sound quality than the ipod but the sound level was much lower. I'm no audiophile by any means but the quality of the sound is poor to say the least. I'll give the manufacture a call on Monday to see what they say. Thanks for response. I was hoping someone out there might have some experience with this particular head unit in the prius.
     
    #3 steveosupremo, Feb 1, 2015
  4. eloplayspolo

    eloplayspolo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Any aftermarket radio from Kenwood, Pioneer, Alpine or a major brand should vastly improve your sound quality.
    I suggest taking a look at the settings and perhaps reading the manual to see if you can do a reset. I wouldn't be surprised if the shop changed some settings and created horrible sound quality.
    Muffled sound, sounds like you may be missing treble.

    Take a look at all of your audio settings and let me know where things are at, and I can try to be of some assistance.
     
    #4 eloplayspolo, Feb 19, 2015
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