JBL Premium Audio System uncovered

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Thanks to all who suggested disconnecting the center speaker; that's exactly what I did this weekend and I can't believe what a difference it made in the sound. I don't know what JBL was smoking when they designed this system, but it sure sounds better without that muddy midrange speaker.

 

Thanks for the frequency response curves SynergyGuy!!! I spent over an hour in my car with my sub's amp on the passenger seat trying a ton of different cutoff frequencies for the amp, using a variety of music, because I didn't know the response of the stock speakers. I have my cutoff set to 70Hz but maybe that's why the bass sounds muddled sometimes, I'll be changing it to 55 or 50. I can't wait to disconnect the center speaker....

I just don't unerstand how JBL could say, "Oh crap, the front tweeters sound horrible.... hey you know what will fix that, let's add a center speaker that will make everything else sound even worse! And add cost to the system at the same time!!! Brilliant!"

 

Can we write JBL and thank them for their "great" hardware and work in the Prius?

I used to have great impression of JBL's rep.

 

Just curious: has anyone done an *audio* measurement from the driver's head position of the overall system frequency response?

I don't know *all* that much about audio design, but one thing I do know is that the acoustic environment is as important (if not more so) than the response of the various individual parts.

For all I know, there could be some cavities in the Prius which have resonant frequencies that tend to amplify out some of the non-linearities in the (potentially intentionally peaky) speakers' response...

I'm not saying there are... but...

 

I know it is fashionable to knock the JBL system, and for sure it isn't advanced technology nor an overpowering sound per se. However, playing CD's I've burned from digital recordings I've made at live performances, the sound is surprisingly true to the originals. I agree with ratrent that it's misleading to measure frequency response from electronics that may have been intended to compensate for acoustic anomalies. In my car, the sound is clear, the separation realistically moderate (not headphone-exaggerated, as many listeners seem to crave) and the power handling adequate. The system is not particularly good at waking neighbors or producing an acoustic massage. For reproducing music that sounds like music, it ain't that bad, IMHO.

I am installing a subwoofer, though. That should have been included in a "9 speaker system."

-- psirus

 

psirus - I totally agree with your assessment of the JBL system. I also use it to play digital recordings of live performances (recorded in my house) and experience very accurate reproduction of all instruments and vocals. This, however, was only after I added an 8" subwoofer + amp below the hatch.

 

What 8" sub and enclosure are you installing?

 

I already installed an 8" Rockford Fosgate driver in a custom enclosure under the hatch floor, and a 200 watt amp under the driver's seat. Photos posted at http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=107 (page four of the thread).

 

Hey SynergyGuy,

I know that the front mid/bass speakers are better than the rear, but are all four tweeters the same?

 

SynergyGuy,
Thank you for a great post.
1) I found the Blaupunkt speakers. They are model TSc600, right?
They are 6 3/4" components, with 1" mylar semi-dome tweeters (which I assume won't be used).
Please let me know if it will be a direct replacement. The dimension you quote for the front and rear is 6.3". Also, will the factory crossovers work optimally for the TSc600?
2) You wrote: To my surprise, when I rewired the front tweeters to be fed from the same signal that feeds the rear ones the sound quality was of superb quality. How did you wire/splice so that the front tweeters are fed from the same output as the rears? How do you obtain access to the speaker connections?

miketoyo

 

Has anybody noticed a "hole"/drop in the frequency/volume response of the stock speakers centered around 230Hz?

Is this the amp or the speaker's fault?

This has become much more noticeable after I installed the Kenwood SW1.