1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Does the factory stereo (non JBL) limit sub-bass?

Discussion in 'Prius v Audio and Electronics' started by Slide_into_the_V, Jul 31, 2022.

Tags:
  1. Slide_into_the_V

    Slide_into_the_V Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2018
    21
    7
    0
    Location:
    phoenix, az
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    III
    I have a 10" sub and a 250 watt RMS amp in my prius. It does pretty well for most bass, but some tracks have some very low notes, and the output just isn't there.

    The woofer should go down to 28hz, but bass drops off pretty significantly right at 40hz. I've tested this with a frequency generator. This is actually the second sub that I've had in here, and both of them behaved the same way in terms of losing bass below exactly 40hz, which makes me think this low cut is built in to the head unit.

    Which makes me wonder: is it software or hardware that cuts the sub bass? If it's software, is there any kind of mod or hack that I can do?

    I'm guessing the real mod is to get a proper head unit, but I have few issues with the factory head unit, and I think it would be a decent chunk of change for what I think would be a small upgrade.
     
    #1 Slide_into_the_V, Jul 31, 2022
  2. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
    7,432
    6,915
    1
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    A reminder that some compressors do a bandpass before encode, a lot of good bass and sub bass is left behind this way. Depending on the audio source and pathway to the car, the portion of the signal you seek may not be making it into the car.
     
    #2 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Jul 31, 2022
    Air_Boss likes this.
  3. Slide_into_the_V

    Slide_into_the_V Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 12, 2018
    21
    7
    0
    Location:
    phoenix, az
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    III
    Good point.

    Most of the music I listen to is MP3 on a CD. However, my frequency generator test was using a phone over bluetooth.

    Maybe I need to generate a frequency sweep and burn it as an audio CD to see if it's much different.
     
    #3 Slide_into_the_V, Jul 31, 2022
    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller and Air_Boss like this.
  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 12, 2018
    7,432
    6,915
    1
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
    Vehicle:
    2018 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Record your frequency generator into another device. Then encode that as an mp3 and play it back in the car and compare that to the direct playback from the generator.

    Really, every little choice made (bluetooth vs. wire... USB vs analog audio wire) comes with consequences in the resulting audio. Usually it's close enough, but if you have a specific interest (low frequencies) then you need to be more careful than the average music lover.
     
    #4 Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Aug 1, 2022
    Air_Boss and Slide_into_the_V like this.
  5. TheTewks

    TheTewks Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2023
    39
    7
    3
    Location:
    United States
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    Any updates? I'd love to hear more about this
     
    #5 TheTewks, May 9, 2023
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)