Prius LE Speakers

It's getting lackluster reviews at best.

The gen5 JBL audio is an 8-channel system. The four door speakers are single cone mids with two tweets in the dash pointed into the windshield and two more smaller tweets in the A-pillars pointed more or less at the front seats. At the moment it's unknown to me if the door and dash speakers are the same as those in the base 6 channel system or upgraded units at all. The JDM 8ch system replaces all six speakers from the base audio with upgraded units.

 

It's lackluster at best. The tweeters are harsh and fatiguing, the mids are solid but muddy, and the low end falls off fast. Music either sounds hollow and tinny, or muffled. I would probably describe it as a "studio" equalizer setting on a music player if that makes any sense? I feel like I'm straining to hear stuff sometimes. It was an atrocity to not put a sub in there. It doesn't hold a candle to other vehicles I have been in with tuned systems at this price range.

 

From what you’re saying I won’t be missing much by not having JBL upgrade?

 

I can confirm that Prius 2023 Limited (JBL) has sub in front door and normal speaker in back door.
If i move balance to the back, i feel like getting lower quality sound (Normal if front speakers are of higher quality).
With stock center balance, back passenger feels like sound comes only from front speakers.

 

That is not a subwoofer. Subwoofers are typically about 12 inches in diameter, and systems with a subwoofer have an odd number of speakers. If you had a subwoofer, the whole neighborhood would be trembling when you cranked up the sound.

 

They're mids not subs. The lack of sound from them has nothing to do with the speakers themselves which I think are around 4-5.25".(haven't looked that close)

The JBL has an aggressive high pass crossover on the rear doors, and they're cut down a few dB so they're barely doing anything.

The front door speakers actually have some good kick to them. Seems like they're crossed down to around 80hz or so. It's more the dash speakers and tweeters that are my issue. The soundstage is very forward to the point of being distant sounding.

 

I wouldn't put much stock in subjective impressions of sound systems.

For me, what matters in a sound system is that it sound flat, which is measurable. I want to hear what the mastering engineer created in their studio environment. So let's have a look at a frequency graph of the whole-system response in the driver's position, in stationary, city and highway conditions – then we'll talk!

I do not subscribe to MOAR BASS GOOD. Usually every person who touches a component in an audio system caters to this "drive" and what you end up with is a boomy migraine-inducing abomination at 125Hz. I have to turn down the bass EQ on my stock 2019 Prime almost to the floor to get anything approaching flat.

For the record I'm a trained audio engineer with a sound-treated space at home, calibrated for flat response. The first time I calibrated my system, I stayed up till 4 in the morning listening to music, I couldn't believe how great everything finally sounded.

Now that I'm talking about frequency graphs, I'm going to have to try it out on my gen 4 prime, if my software will work there, and hopefully in a couple months on the gen 5. Stay tuned as it were.

 

I love music but can’t imagine putting a new stereo system in a car. Too many decisions and $$ or would it be comparable price as Toyota’s JBL upgrade considering I would have to pay for installation? If a Prius arrives with JBL, I’ll be happy. I’m assuming the quality hasn’t decreased. My 2009 JBL system sounds great to me. : }

 

That's my way of thinking as well. I mostly listen to jazz(vocal and instrumental), classical(wind band/ensemble - a hint to my username), chamber music, modern a capella(yay VoicePlay), and other music that's layered and complex. I also prefer a flat sound system so I can hear the true balance of the group I'm listening to. I just wish I had the proper equipment to set up my systems correctly.

 

There's too much sound intrusion into the cabin for me to be fussed – unless, of course, there were some car stereo that had facility for calibration...

Speaking of which, is there even a way to insert an after-market stereo in the gen 5? In my old Yaris I just popped the old one out and had a shop rig an adapter for the new one.

 

I like that one "Subjective".

Speaking of subjective it sounds like you're one of those guys that thinks a perfectly flat eq curve sounds best? 99% of music is over-engineered to sound better on garbage sound systems, bass cranked way up, loudness factor, etc I'm usually cutting or boosting levels to compensate on the fly. In cars it's usually the 2khz area I often find the most offensive. I'm not even going to bother pulling out the RTA for the Prius at this point I can already tell what's wrong with it. (see previous posts) I'm still regretting splurging on the JBL to this day, especially after driving my other vehicle which has a well designed and tuned system that I developed over last 10 years. Yea I will agree most people don't have a clue what really sounds good, but I'm far from one of those people.

 

Not directly addressing OP's ask but if anyone comes here wondering about the speakers on the base LE. As someone who had previously driven an old early 2000s car the speakers on the LE are amazing in comparison to that. I would say for an average person who is not an audiophile they will be sufficient.

I was concerned as in many reviews I had seen for the 2023 LE that the non JBL speakers weren't great. Maybe it's because I'm used to really old speakers and that I went into the car with low expectations but I think the speakers are good.

 

When I got my 22 Prime Base, with the stock 6 spkr system, I looked extensively at the after market options for improving the just "ok" sound. Base premise was to retain the stock head unit to keep system compatibility with onboard features/functionality high. Priced all the solutions I found at the local audiophile shop, and decided to just stay with the stock system all the way. Reasons are first, cost: the best alternative add-on improvement that retained the stock head-unit were the Focal speakers and amps that are designed to improve the retained head-units to the max possible, which would have been around 2-3K. Also, any amount of real improvement is degraded by the noisy listening environment of the Prius. It's just not worth it to me. You're fighting an uphill battle wrestling with a cockpit noise level in the 80db range for highway cruise anyway. So I tolerate the lack of real bass, though I'd love to have a bit of it, and just accept the quality. It's really not too bad from the Apple CarPlay with wired connection to the HU. I rip everything to iTunes in full 16 bit WAV, and the system passes a good deal of the most important sonic info through pretty well. I'm always open to improvement, but haven't really found any way to gain much without spending the big bucks.

In my 2013, I just replaced the two dash midrange/tweeter units with inexpensive Infinity Ref 3022cfx units that were the same size, and that made a noticeable difference. (This is covered in the Gen 3 forum.) I might eventually do that with my 2022 Prime, but haven't really felt the need yet. Those little gems only cost about 60-75 bucks and made a real difference, retaining the two way system with the door speakers handing the lower frequencies. YMMV. Not sure what the 2023 6-spkr systems use, but wouldn't surprise me if they're still a direct bolt-in replacement. I deliberately diid not install the capacitors included with the Infinities to retain a fuller range on the dash speakers. Really like to know how much that setup changed for the 2023 Prius, if at all, because it's a winner for the stock systems.

 

So from what I've read in this thread and from what I've gathered from a very quick Google search, it seems like there's not really a cost effective way of incrementally upgrading a vehicle's sound system without spending at least several hundred, if not into the thousands of dollars. If I'm understanding things correctly, swapping in better speakers with a more robust cone or even a coaxial design with an actual tweeter might only be a slight improvement over OEM, and in some cases could be worse given the OEM speaker sensitivity and system tuning.

I'm looking at an XLE. Even if I were considering the Premium, it doesn't sound like the JBL system is significantly better. I'd love to improve things without spending a grand. Not possible?

I'm a musician and I record and I have an understanding of audio principles. But I don't need or want to do critical listening in a car. I also don't listen to the kind of music that requires a massive sub to hear "beats" (LOL). I just want something I can hear over the road noise that doesn't sound like a tin can. Furthermore, I don't often do long trips where I'd be immersed in music. All that being said, it sounds like the wisest option for me is to stick with the OEM system and live with it, unless someone here can tell me whether there's a more budget friendly, bang-for-the-buck slight upgrade that will be worth it and will make an actual difference.

 

I don’t own a 2023 yet but I’ve test driven two. There is definitely a way to improve the sound on the LE/ XLE. I just don’t know how to do it

The first 2023 I test drove had not been touched by anybody and the stereo sounded awful compared to my 2009 JBL…very tinny. The second one I test drove had been driven by someone and they had set up the trial Sirius subscription. The stereo sounded so much better this time. I thought maybe it was just Sirius so I shut it off and turned on the radio. It still sounded better than the first test drive.

Pretty sure @Preebee posted some suggestions for making his LE sound better.

 

Thanks for the reply. My guess is that someone adjusted the EQ settings on the second one you drove.

 

Update: see my Feb 25 post on the addition of the Infinity tweeters to my 24 Prime, PLUS a small sub. Big difference, small bux!

 

There's nothing wrong with the stock head unit on the Gen5. Even a keyloc can get it to a flatish output signal. Not that it matters because you're still going to have to EQ each speaker.

There's no bass roll off for higher volumes. Rear channels are gimped so don't even bother with that. Front gives you 20hz-18khz.

Swapping the head unit for an aftermarket is a lot of effort for little reward. You're better off putting that money towards better speakers/amp.