2010 Overall Audio Quality

Sorry, but the original post actually covered quite a few different aspects of the audio system, not just the FM radio. So, we were still on topic.

 

Nonetheless, there seem to have been many people with the complaint that the FM reception is poor. My question stands. Has anyone actually tried installing a longer antenna?

Ken G, San Francisco

 

all mine needs is a little more of the thump-thump that my DeVille factory system had.

Honestly, as an 'audiophile', how could you think a factory system in a mid-priced car would suffice?

 

I've got a nearly lifelong connection with high quality Hi-Fi, currently have a nice surround sound system and a 2 channel system running a pair of early 80's Klipsch Cornwalls. I've found the sound quality of our JBL system to be quite good with higher bit rate MP3's disc 192 kbps to 320 kbps, than the radio stations. I personally listen to a lot movie soundtrack scores. The bass practically rattles the windows, I had bump the bass down to +1, midrange down a hair to -2 and treble to I think +2. Faded it to the rear at about +3.

I was a bit baffled that it didn't have an iPod connection just a std. Aux connection, even my Scion xA I used to own had an iPod connection, as even my sons xD has.

 

I have the Prius 2010 since 1 week and I can confirm that the FM reception is not very good. I will tell my dealer to report it back to Toyota. It is not a show-stopper, but quite annoying.
On the same route I used to do with my older car (VW Polo), I would get normal quality signal and no static at all (at least that I can remember of). With the Prius instead, there is very faint, but noticeable, static on the same route with the same radio station, in many different parts of the route.
It is my opinion, that the new antenna is too short and compromises on FM signal reception. AM reception is likely even worse, but who uses AM these days???
I don't know if the roof antenna works together with an antenna in the hatch.
I have also 8 speaker set up (not sold as JBL in Europe - simply as "8 speaker") and if I set the fader all the way to the back there are no bass at all and it sounds pretty low. If I set the fader to get some sound from the front back again, I get a more rounder sound stage. Now fader is set to 0 (center).
The AUX input does not work well with my iPod Shuffle 1st gen and iPod Touch. In both cases I need to raise the volume pretty high on both the iPods and the car stereo to get a decent volume. It appears that the signal delivered via AUX is too low. Also low quality music plays much worse than high quality music (ie. low/high bit rate).

 

Hi-I am a Very well known person in the Auto Sound Industry-Not to brag I am a an old personal friend of Bill Crutchfield for many years. My guess is to demand that the dealer change out the entire antenna/cable assembly etc. The AM engine noise is the clue of a bad connection or defective cable assembly back to the head Unit.

 

Who listens to the radio when you put 150 to 250 songs on an MP3 CD and it holds 6 CD's ?

 

You listen to the radio to know the situation of the traffic and the news...the Radio is also used (at least in Europe) from the GPS navigation system to retrieve traffic jams information and car accidents or roadworks from the FM radio stations transmitting this information (called also TMC - [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_Message_Channel]Traffic Message Channel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]).
So the FM radio reception has to be "good".

 

It keeps the water out of that little hole.

 

I didn't even know they still made CDs.

 

Just got the Prius IV...For the last 2 days I have been trying to figure why I only seem to hear the from front speaker with the JBL speakers..I saw that the speakers were balanced on the touch screen ..I unbalanced them to see If I hear music coming from the sides from the Driver seat ..No chance...I clicked the auto "SOUND" balancer, ON ..No dice...Kept continuing to hear music coming from the front of the car..I got out of the car and put my ears next to the bottm speakers on the door...music was faint..sat in back ..music was coming from sides...but more from the front of the car..This was when car was balanced and when I turned on the AUTO on "Sound" button...Haven't tried my Ipod yet...But as of right now the music sounds like I placed a 30 year old Pocket transistor radio by the front window of the car...I am hoping I am doing something wrong..I will check Ipod tomorrow..If no dice..goin back to dealer...for remedy...because the sound system is god awful to the Murano(Nor any car I owned my whole life) I just turned in.

I can confirm that there is WAY to much static on AM/FM too .

 

Overall, I like the sound less than my 2007 Prius (JBL) I used to have. I have noticed that sat sounds cruddy (blame it on XM/Sirius and their continual lowering of bandwidth/channel over the years). USB audio from my iphone 3gs sounds best with bluetooth audio and CD a close 2nd. Maybe the difference here is the iphone DACs vs. the Prius DACs??

Anyways, I found it sounds much better and *predictible* when ASL is turned off (its was on by default). Searching through the TIS, I found this statement on the back fo the JBL 8-speaker install manual. It is an addendum to the owners manual:

For Prius equipped with genuine JBL Premium Sound
ASL (Automatic Sound Levelizer) should be switched OFF to insure correct listening performance
The JBL amplifier will adjust the sound level and spectrum precisely to assure your optimal listening experience while noise level is increasing with vehicle speed.

So apparently, we are all SUPPOSED to have ASL off if we have a JBL premium setup? Interesting for all to know.

 

I am fairly satisfied with the sound in our NAV equipped IV. I remind myself that the Prius is NOT a luxury car and that while quite nice it is thus not appointed with luxe materials and equipment. I read somewhere in Priuschat that the speakers have very tiny magnet assemblies. This may be true but I have found they will play very loudly. Kinghts of Cydonia by Muse at volume level 36 from my iPhone via streaming makes the rear view vibrate so much I can't see behind me. Heh heh. :rockon:

 

Played with the switch that says "MID" it improved the music sound in the car significantly. However the music sound experience in the car is far from a surround sound experience, the loudest speaker in the car, by far , is the front window speaker...Maybe I am impartial to what I had since my last 2 cars was a Murano and Lexus RX300.

On another note...My Iphone(Ipod) did not work..Kept getting "Device is not compatible message"..Noted in another thread !

 

Feed it a good signal, adjust the fader, and it performs well. It is lousy with FM and SAT, but quite good with CD and aux, assuming you have a good AUX source. (For the record, I like bass heavy dance, hip-hop and reggaeton music while driving).
Try adjusting the fader so that the signal is in the rear footwell area on the graphic. Also play with the mid and bass. It took me awhile but now I am relatively satisfied. The system is certainly not up to any audiophile's standards but it is OK, IMHO, after proper adjustments and given a good quality signal. The FM capture is pretty bad and XM/Sirius is a complete joke (I was a subscriber from the very beginning and just recently canceled my sub largely because of deteriorating audio quality).
Another tip: If you have an IPOD, trying going with a connection setup that feeds directly from the charging interface instead of using the mini jack on your IPOD, assuming you are not using Bluetooth.

 

Turn off the cars crappy stereo, buy a good MP3 Player with FM, and a set of studio-monitor headphones.

 

... and stay parked on the side of the road, as using headphones while driving a car is illegal almost everywhere.

 

Thanks for all the audio tips.

I had to take in my Prius IV with JBL 8-speaker audio system last week after experiencing completely dampened/muffled audio on and off. It ended up being a pinched wire from the factory installation. They also said this had happened with one other vehicle; in that case, it was faulty wiring tied to the Homelink system.

If you're experiencing horribly muffled audio, then perhaps it is the wiring.

 

Seems Toyota could have placed a couple speakers in the back upper corners, right behind the side rear little windows.

 

is the european 8 speaker setup actually JBL? Because i thought it sounded excellent, not as good as my ML in lexus, but far far better than Avensis's JBL premium audio system (which was pretty bad imho), and way better than gen 2's JBL.

Not sure about the FM, they claimed they improved it, but my area gets really good FM reception anyway so it is not something i would notice.

Prius probably has best Toyota audio system, together with new LC150 (for the money of course). iQ base is also good but iQ is quite expensive.