Major JBL stereo upgrade but keeping stock HU

How do you like your Yellow Top???

 

The Optima Yellow top arrived today so I was able to get it installed

 

Finally a Yellow Top that's a direct fit with no Modifications or adapters needed. Even the OEM vent tube fits. It's Optima model # DS46B24R

 

No I tested it first and it arrived at 13.1 volts so I just put it in.

 

I ran a separate 4 ga. Ground wire to the Battery body ground location

 

So yesterday 10/25/21 I got the opportunity to go see Nick Apacella at Apicella Sound to have my Prius sound system professionally tuned.. All I can say is WOW !!! Now I knew going in that a professional tune would make a big difference in the sound but I could never have imagined just how much of a drastic improvement it would really be. Let me start by saying something that many of you familiar with Nick will already know and that is that the man is a perfectionist when it comes to stereo tuning. When I arrived at his shop his crew members were already there working on custom builds for other customers. They warmly greeted me and asked to see what they could do for me. The tech Matt checked out my system and asked questions to be sure the system was up and ready with no problems so Nick could jump right in. As I sat in the back set of my Prius watching Nick perform his magic I knew that I was in for a treat watching someone who truly loves what he does when it comes to all things car audio. About 2 hours in I was already completely blown away and satisfied with the major improvement in the sound quality and clarity, but not Nick.. He wasn’t stopping until he squeaked every available bit of improvement out of the system. Several hours later he was done and I was AMAZED !!! He could have easily done a quickie tune and been done with me but that’s not how Nick operates. If you go see Nick you can be sure that he will do everything within his ability to be sure that you are completely satisfied before you leave his shop. That’s just how he operates. The man definitely has a special talent and makes it look so easy, which it is not. If you live anywhere even remotely near Stony Point New York and are looking for a GREAT professional tune or even a full audio install then do yourself a big favor and contact Nick Apicella . You will not be disappointed. I know I wasn’t. Thanks Nick for a great job.

 

Tune was $600. but he spent the entire day working on my Prius. I arrived at 10:00am and left at 7:00pm.

 

So me being me and constantly looking to improve things. I decided to change out the Subwoofer. After having the system tuned it was obvious that my used Kenwood 10" sub just could not compete with the rest of the system. So I installed this Adire Brahma MK 2.5 10" sub rated at 1000 watts. It actually fit into the Pre-Fab sub box that the Kenwood was in by just adding on one 3/4" spacer ring. It has a minimum .6 cubit foot sealed box rating and the NVX box is .7 cu ft. so that worked out nicely....... And this thing KICKS !!!

 

Of course my Audiocontrol 175watt single channel mini amp was never going to be able to power the new sub so........I went with this Helix M ONE X 1000 watt single channel amp to match my Helix DSP/8 Channel Amp. Pics of install to follow whenever it stops raining !!!

 

Yea....This build has definitely taken on a life of it's own. I started out with a budget of $2,000 but that very quickly went by the way side. If you sat in this Prius and heard this system you would think it's a $10,000 system, which it likely would be if I didn't do the install myself. The only thing out sourced was the professional tune. I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Now I hope the wife never finds out how much it all costs...YIKES...that would not be good !!! A really ,really high end system goes for way more. One of the Customer vehicles I saw there was getting a $37,000 system installed in their Mercedes 5 series truck

 

Yea Dogman, Everyone has their own take on what's acceptable for a stereo system. Ever since I was a kid I've have always had a nice sounding system in whatever vehicle I had at the time. This is like my 10th car audio build. I travel about 500 miles a week just back and forth to work so good tunes are important to me. I'll be the first to admit this system is a little over the top in a Prius...Even for me !!!

 

Yea the Go-cart is still riding on totally stock suspension, but that too will change once the sticker shock of the audio system wears off with the wife !!! The sound system was my first priority. I've only had this 2011 since January. Drove my 2005 Prius before that and my youngest son still drives it when he's home from college . 185,000 K miles and still going strong. It's amazing to me how well these cars will run with just a little TLC.