has anyone added DVDA and\or SACD to their prius?

The speakers all connect to the JBL amp under the passenger seat. Its analog input is a simple fixed level R&L signal from the header. It also has a digital control signal from all devices on the AVC network, including the header and MFD.

So, in short, no - you can't do that. Not enough inputs to the amp, and the inputs are analog, not digital.

Also the front center speaker is mono with low frequency response cut off at the amp. There's a thread that elaborates on the internal functions of the amp.

 

A bit off topic but do you have software to record to DVD-A or SACD. I want to convert some of my analog music to SACD but havn't found anything beyond regular cd standards. Have fun, RIck

 

You would need a 6 channel amp and signal switcher, as you have 6 discrete signal sources (LF,RF, C, LR, RR, Sub). The header provides a 2 channel signal source at a fixed level, and the amp correspondingly has a 2 channel input (R & L). The amp in turn separates that to different channels.

So, you could change out the amp, but how are you going to control the volume and EQ, since the existing amp does all the signal processing?
You would end up changing it all, but you would be hard pressed finding a system that would let you maintain control using the MFD and/or steering wheel.

Let's put it this way, can you take your father's component stereo from the 70's and get 5.1 out of it? No, not even if you had a separate preamp and amp.

 

These days, thanks to digital, having the digital decoder incorporated into the amp in 5.1 systems makes things much cleaner. Could you imagine 6 RCA connections to the amp or preamp for EACH sound source?