Best Locations for Subwoofers In 2007 Prius

Hi All,

I got my 2007 Prius Touring today. I knew I would love the car, but I also knew in advance that the stock JBL stereo (this is the "premium" stereo) needs an upgrade.

I took my parent's Prius into a really good installer about a week ago and we went over exactly what to do to get the stereo up to the performance I am looking for.

According to the installer, the stock JBL speakers are actually pretty decent and don't need to be replaced, but he says the stock JBL amp doesn't have nearly enough power or channel separation. Also, there is no real low end in the car because the existing JBL speakers can't really reproduce low frequencies.

We are going to replace the JBL amp with a JL Audio A6450 6-channel amp, and then add a subwoofer.

The subwoofer recommended by this installer is a Bazooka 6" or 8" tube, to be installed in the "greenhouse" area of the car. I can see how that would work well, but I wanted to find out if there are any other locations that also work well, and that would not take up cargo space in the hatchback area. I was thinking maybe under the front seats.

I would like to hear from anyone with experience installing a subwoofer in their Prius, and try to figure out where the best place would be before I get this install done, probably next week.

Thanks in advance!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Aug 13 2007, 09:10 AM) [snapback]494720[/snapback]</div>

LOL. Thanks for all of the information. Actually, this guy suggested a custom box as well but siad that the Bazooka is the easiest/cheapest solution and if I didn;t need thunderous bass would work well. I ahve alsways sort of looked sideways at Bazooka tubes also....but I thought maybe they had improved in the past few years or something.

The other comments about the BT etc. are interesting. I thought that the headunit just has audio outs that can go into an amp. But is seems like you are saying that these functions are somehow built into the JBL Amp?

Finally, getting a custom box made that will fit into one of those notch-outs in the back seems like a really good idea. Probably worth the few extra $$$$ to be able to get the sound, and still keep the cargo space. I would just want to make sure they get one made up with a really nice tight fit. This is an excellent suggestion, and i would not have thought of it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Actual Mileage @ Aug 13 2007, 02:40 PM) [snapback]494970[/snapback]</div>

That system looks awesome Actual Mileage. I really like the sub box. I talked with the installer again today and this is how we plan to do it also. He thought it would be pretty easy to fit a JL Audio 10" sub in there and easily and 8". I think the 8" would be enough, but hey, if a 10" fits, why not do it right?

Also, on some previous advice, I think I'll be upgrading my tweeters also. I don;t know what the amp-config is going to be yet, but probably will be using the CleanSweep. I will update with some pics of the final install when I eventually get it odne (it is probably going to take me a week to get this taken care of.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Aug 13 2007, 09:10 AM) [snapback]494720[/snapback]</div>

After a third visit to the original installer I was talking about, I decided that the advice quoted above was "heed-worthy". After an extremely frustrating conversation lasting nearly an hour, and the direction to come back yet again so that they could start to take apart my car and test things out to see what would be required.....and alot of "covering my nice person" type language, I decided to visit another local installer that has a good reputation. I also could not help but notice that on two of my three visits to the first installer, there was always a steady stream of visitors, and phone callers (yes, in the middle of helping me, the staff would always stop to spend 5 to 10 minutes on the phone talking to whoever called in) who all had some sort of problem or other with their systems that needed looking at.

I went to a new installer (Lombard's Auto Sounds) today who has done installs on several Prius vehicles, and was familiar with exactly how the factory Prius system works, and what needed to be done to upgrade it the way I wanted it upgraded. They had several options available that each immediately made sense, and they did not feel they needed any "R&D" time to figure out what would be required. They also showed me examples of other work they had done, and it was extremly impressive, not just in scope, but in particular, their attention to detail on their jobs. and on top of everything else, their prices were competitive. And, even though I ewas there for a while today, not a single person came in or called with a problem that needed attention from a previous install.

The system I ended up doing (they started today and will finish tomorrow or Saturday) includes the following:

1) Retain the existing JBL amp but convert it to function as a pre-amp prior to feeding signal to my new power amps. This will retain 100% of the existing facotry controls including all steering wheel controls, bluetooth, and MFD controls.

2) MTX Audio TA5604 4-Channel (150 watts/channel) amp to drive mid range and tweeters

3) MTX Audio TA3401 Dedicated single channel amp for sub-woofer at 400 watts

4) re-Q smart volume sensing bass roll-off corrector

5) Memphis MClass 10" subwoofer in custom fiberglass enclosure molded to exactly fit into the passenger side cutout in the rear cargo area

6) Replace JBL midrange and tweeters wth Memphis MClass Multi-Sync units in original locations and add Dynapac sound deadening material to all four doors

7) Add VAIS Tech SoundLinQ XM interface and Terk XM Direct tuner

I'll post some pics of the final installed system when I get the car back at the end of the day tomorrow, or on Saturday.

Later on I am probably going to add the VAIS Tech iPod interface.....but after this install, I want to take a breather on the spending

As usual, I appreciate the advice I have received from other members of this forum, particularly on the best sub-woofer location, but also to be wary of the original installer I talked with.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(zenMachine @ Aug 24 2007, 11:43 AM) [snapback]501648[/snapback]</div>

I don't have answers for you RE: the summing etc. All I can say is, these guys definitely know what they are doing. So far, every issue I have thought to ask about after the fact (like where they are drawing the power supply from etc.) ends up being something that they have already thought of and did. I guess among actual pro-installers who know what they are up to, alot of these things are "known" issues and they address them up front.

As for the re-Q, it is a simple device (I am sure electronically it is quite complex, but it "looks" simple) that basically does the same thing a CleanSweep does, but not to the same degree of perfection that a CleanSweep provides. On the plus side though, it also doesn't require you to calibrate/re-calibrate it, and you retain the use of all of your native steering wheel and head unit volume controls, instead of having to use a new volume control for the CleanSweep to set volume. What the re-Q basically does, is that, at lower volume levels, it leaves your signal pretty much unchanged. Then, as you increase the volume, which on most factory headunits causes the EQ to start to shave off the bass end of the spectrum, the re-Q actively adjusts the signal to retain the same EQ you had set at the lower volume. Sort of re-calibration in realtime based on the signal it is seeing from the headunit.

You can read about it here: http://www.reqsound.com/home.aspx

I also learned today that, in addition to mobile audio in cars, the guys who are working on my Prius also do high-end installs in private jets!!! I know some private jet owners and this is an exceptionally demanding group of people that don't tolerate less than perfect work/results. So the fact that these guys get repeat business from customers like that speaks volumes about them.

As an added bonus, it turns out that they did not have the 400w MTX dedicated sub amp they quoted me in stock. They say it is important to them to deliver on schedule, so they are installing the 500w version of the same amp for the same cost!!! I don't NEED the extra headroom, but it doesn;t hurt to have it Nice!

I will report back, and post some picks when I get the car back tomorrow.

 

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! The install is taking longer than anticipated. Won't have vehicle back until late on Monday. That is the bad news. The good news, is that the reason it is taking longer is because these guys are doing a very careful, well-thought-out install. I have been over to the shop a few times to see the in-progress install, and I was pleased to see that the installers are paying as much attention to detail/layout as I would if I were doing this job myself.

Also, my three mods from CoastalTech (Lockpick 3+, Auto Door Locks, and EV mode via cruise control lever) showed up in the mail yesterday, so I was able to drop these off with the stereo installers and have them put those in as well. They already had all of the neccessary panels off of the dash etc. so this took a minimal amount of time, and probably saved me about $175.00 of extra install time compared to having this work done at a separate time.

So you will have to wait for a final report on the system and pics.