Audio upgrade in 2013 Prius Four on a limited budget

Before I bought my 2010, I listened to the factory options then and was not impressed so I purchase the Level II Base model and did my own thing. I am not qualified to judge the HU you have now or the MS8, so not sure my advice will help any. Here is what I did so take from it what you will. frodoz Stereo Upgrade | PriusChat

 

I also have the JBL package in my Prius. I never had any complains on it. I did get some of that rumbling sounds the front doors. I installed 3 subwoofers (500 watts rms each ) on my car and I love how it sounds. I'd recommend you to install some subwoofers first and see if you like how it sounds before thinking about replacing the other speakers. I'm typing this in my phone and it is really annoying so I can't get into much detail. I'll explain what I did tomorrow when I get my laptop. I'll share some pictures too. Sorry lol

 

I have replaced all the OEM speakers in my prius. It helped, but not enough.
I have a jbl ms8 and I an collecting the bits and pieces to do an install. I will be adding a subwoofer and subwoofer amp.
I plan on building a shelf over the cargo area in the back and installing two 12" woofers and an amp.
If anyone has any pointers on tapping the OEM speakers to attach to an external amp, I could use them.

thanks in advance

 

vutown, the system I put together was after months of extensive research prior to buying my Prius. I learned of the Hertz speakers from PC member ShawnB2, the rest I figured out myself. Be advised this is a "system", not just a speaker upgrade, so the cost was much higher than what you budgeted. You have to buy the Hertz speakers from authorized only distributors. My costs were $750 for the fronts, the rears were $250, the Sub was $250 with the custom made tuned sealed box @ $250. The JL, amp is unbelievable but cost $1000. Just a word of warning...sound systems start with the HU, just like a computer starts with the CPU. This is why I was hesitant to offer my help because I think the Toyota HUs suck (garbage in, garbage out), though they may have improved by your model. I heard some good things about the MS-8, but that they are just used to compensate for weaker systems, so my research ended there. For the record, I have not heard a system with the combination of quality, clarity and power mine has "ever" and have not one regret. Take your time on this and I will help when I can.

 

The head unit does suck in almost every way. On the other hand, it does have a backup camera, integration with the steering wheel, and the 'car' button with some car statistics. I have decided to keep mine for awhile. I have bought new speakers and installed some deadening material,
I don't like the crappy FM-HD tuner, the stupid USB sorting system, and it being woefully underpowered.
I did the latest software update, but it still has the bug of switching to usb input as if it were haunted.

I now have the JBL MS-8, which I will be installing, along with a subwoofer. I suspect all of this will cost less than a fancy head unit alone.

If anyone has some pointers about where to access the front and rear door speaker wires, I need to do that as my next step.

 

vutown...remember my 2010 Prius II Base Stereo had no interface with other vehicle reporting systems, and did not have the additional expense of $1000 or $3000, and the additional equipment to sacrifice with my upgrade that would have been case had I done this with the JBL or JBL w/NAV that year. Your situation is not the same as you have already spent extra money for the upgraded Toyota equipment and your stated budget is less than mine was. If you were to replace your HU, your costs will go up (in addition to what they already have) and you "may" loose the "car button with some statistics" as lopgok stated. I do not know your model year specs and factory system to say for sure.

That said, if you do replace the HU, I will only recommend a Kenwood eXcelon double DIN model. They used to have a higher voltage pre-amp signal than top end Pioneers and the Pioneers had Bluetooth issues. This information is +3 years old, so do your own research to see what has changed. Also note that the factory JBL systems used to be 2 ohm set-ups and "most" quality upgrade speakers are 4 ohms. What the JBL MS-8 will do to help, I just don't know as stated previously. Steering wheel controls have adapter harness that work great, but I don't know if the factory camera is adaptable.
Do a lot more research and cost analysis before you embark on this task so that everything will be balanced electrically and give you the results you want. Most car stereo installers can and will put anything in just to get a buck, so be careful there too. I hit 17 each installers in my area before deciding on the "right one", but the results were well worth it to me.

lopgok and vutown, pay your $15 dollars for a weekend Techstream to get the the wiring diagrams and layout of your current system before you start. I was able to negotiate this info prior to purchase of my car from the dealer, but after the fact is like pulling teeth or getting the reverse beeper shut off for free...good luck with that.

I am going to be real careful to only answer direct questions "when I can" on open forum...unless you choose to "Start a Conversation". I have found that peoples opinions with regard to music and car stereo equipment can very polarized and I will not get into any un-nessesary debates about who is smarter, or "you should do it this way". I work nights but will help when/if I can. For the record, I spent $3,800 for equipment and $900 on labor for my installation...but it was done the way I wanted it. Do a search for ShawnB2's installation. He had a Level V Prius and sacrificed some of his high end interfaces after he lastly replaced his HU. We are all different and want different things. You have to decide what you want.

 

I'm also new here.. just got my 2014 Prius and I've been working on the system little by little. I used to compete in IASCA and dBDRA back in the day and I'm excited to have an SQ system in the Prius. First, in my opinion, the stock HU sounds pretty good and is a capable unit. My goal is to keep the stock HU while retaining functions like GPS, controls, etc and still get the best sound quality possible.

First thing I did was replaced the front stage with MB Quart PSD 216s. I used Focal tweets in the stock tweeter locations (dash) because they are softer and less bright than the Quarts. I then used Infinity Reference coaxs in the rear doors for rear fill. All 6 speakers are being pushed by a JL Audio XD700/5.

The system "as-is" sounds pretty good, but as far as "staging" is concerned, the Prius' cabin has some issues with acoustics - perhaps the flying bridge has something to do with it. Basically I needed a DSP that has a time delay to move the soundstage "up front", not on the lower right side. Initially, I had two options for DSP.. the JBL MS8 unit that you mentioned and the Audison Bit One. One day while doing some research, I came across this unit called "miniDSP" (Welcome to the world of miniDSP | MiniDSP) I ordered one and was blown away by it! We can talk more about this but I don't want to derail the thread. Anyways, with proper tuning, I was able to get my 2014 Prius Three to have amazing SQ, while still keeping the stock HU.

So, to answer your question... NO - adding the DSP without replacing the speaker will not improve your system. The first thing I'd upgrade would be the speakers and amplifier, THEN maybe add a DSP to fine-tune. The stock speakers are basically trash.. I'd replace those first.

Here is my install
Amp rack with sub


I tried to make it look as stock as possible


Here is my system diagram

 

Very nice.

I did consider the sub location you and others have. Instead I chose rear facing placement to help better utilize the long wave length and installed the amp and cross-overs under the front seats so I did not loose the spare tire and acsess. I can also quickly remove my sub for additional storage when needed.

opps, edit required.

 

Very clean. Would love to see details on how you fitted / wired and mounted your rack.

 

"I have about a week to decide on which route to go."

If I may, you have all the time in the world to make your decision. My apologies if I'm speaking out of turn here, but this is your car and your money. Do not let others people's schedule force you do do anything, or anytime if you are not ready. Best wishes what ever you do.

 

Not sure if you're replying to my post, but thanks. Also, I can still access my spare tire by lifting the black tray.

thanks for the kind words mrstop. I need to start my own build thread to document my whole install. I soldered and used shrink tubing on all connections so it took me weeks just to have the wirings neatly concealed. In the end it was worth the extra work.

Thanks vutown. I have several Alpine units from my previous cars that I could have used in the Prius but I ended up selling them. The thing that bothered me was that I bought and paid for the GPS, backup cam, and all that extra stuff and now I'm gonna toss it away. As it turns out, the stock HU actually sounds pretty good. My previous car had an Alpine X100 unit with PXA-H100 processor and I can honestly say that I was able to make this system in the Prius to sound just as good, if not better, even with the stock HU.

 

The entune fm radio is decent, but unexceptional.
The entune fm hd radio is about the same.
Sony makes a first rate fm and fm/hd radio. I have one in my toyota tacoma and one in my toyota camry.
Significantly better reception than the entune radio. All the amps and speakers won't fix that.

I spend about 80% of the time listening to fm/hd radio, so I am hosed :-(

 

JGI,

Can you give some info on the sub? Did you build it yourself? Is it closed/enclosed behind that facing/speaker?

I would like to do something like that but trying to find out how difficult it may be.

Thanks...

 

It's a sealed enclosure made of fiberglass. Not really hard to make but the resin stinks and is very messy. If you do a search, you'll see some members here who created similar sub enclosures. I can help you make one if you have the patience to do it

 

i have watched my friend build sub enclosures and he usually does a MDF box and the speakers are tuned for the box.