What are the different settings of the ASL supposed to do? How can I hear the effect of one setting vs another?
Good question! I have wondered this also, and the owner's manual does not yield very detailed answers about the ASL function... I have tried all three settings and am unable to tell what it does...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bgdrewsif @ Oct 4 2006, 09:51 PM) [snapback]328336[/snapback]</div> The manual in my 06 (just acquired about three weeks ago) is a little more helpful, which reveals it is a feature I was looking for but thought the Prius didn't have. IIRC, it stands for Adaptive Sound Level, and is designed to boost the volume as road/engine/wind noise increases. A nice feature indeed. Now you don't have to constantly adjust the volume as you get on/off the freeway, etc. However, in mine, it doesn't seem to have a low/med/high setting (which my Civic does). This setting usually changes how much boost the sound gets to adjust to your liking. In mine, it seems to be fully "automatic". Perhaps because I have package 6 with the hands-free cell phone, it may tap into the built-in mic to gauge noise, eliminating the need for different settings. Or, perhaps I just missed it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bgdrewsif @ Oct 4 2006, 11:51 PM) [snapback]328336[/snapback]</div> As pointed out, it is a feature that automatically adjusts the volume based on ambient noise - How it determines the abient noise level; I don't know. May be speed sensitive. High, Med (or is it Mid, I am not in the car right now), and low are how much effect the ASL has. On "high" I found myself adjusting the volume as much as if the ASL was not on at all. If I set the volume in my driveway, The ASL would turn the volume up too much when I got on the freeway. Then when I get off the freeway, the ASL would turn the volume down too low. It's a gadget feature that I don't think adds a lot of value, but I use it on low.
The NAV guidance always had ASL, and was triggered by speed. The audio system was supposed to have ASL, but was excluded until 2006 model. It probably works by speed as well.
I wish my 06 with Nav had an adjustable level for ASL. I find it doesn't adjust enough and I end up having to turn up the volume on the highway and back down at stop lights anyway. Does anyone know if this is something that the dealer can adjust?
I work for GM and we have it on our cars too. Rumor has it that ASL comes from an old joke if you will. The car is making this squeek/rattle....so turn the radio up! :lol:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Curtis SAC @ Oct 5 2006, 08:58 AM) [snapback]328373[/snapback]</div> I've only had my Prius a couple months, but from what I've observed it's strictly speed-regulated. In answer to others' questions, the high/med/low settings are how severely it turns down the audio as you slow down. For me the med. setting was too much, even on low I can still hear the volume decreasing as I slow down in traffic. I have mine set on low.
My Dad owned a '57 Thunderbird with the same feature. From what I recall it was about as useful as the one on our Prii.
Works ok for me - better than the version on my previous Seat Ibiza which only turned the sound up appreciably once you hit about 85mph. I do find though that it doesn't work if the source is quiet. Radio 4 in the UK is always broadcast at really low levels which is damned annoying, I have to crank it up to volume 20 or higher to hear what's being said (it's talk radio) whereas I usually listen to CDs on 5 or 6... I want one that works on interior noise levels not speed. That way when the road surface gets noisy, it'd increase subtly. You'd have to make it clever enough to filter out itself and also other human voices in the car though, otherwise any conversation with passengers would turn into a shouting match with the stereo. Come to think of it, it'd be nice to have the volume dip a little, when you want to talk to people in the car... Incidentally, the stereo in the Camry we hired did a much better job. Bass was better to begin with, and when you accelerated it ramped up the bass and a bit of treble, rather than just increasing volume all round. Sounded much better as you changed speed.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Oct 6 2006, 02:51 PM) [snapback]329077[/snapback]</div> Well, it worked really well in my wife's '98 Chevy Malibu. I was rather disappointed that the 2005 Prius didn't have it.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Oct 6 2006, 11:51 AM) [snapback]329077[/snapback]</div> I don't care about the stupid sound system. I want that '57 Thunderbird!
