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Wow, my speakers work great, its the stereo that sucks!!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by freshmtt, May 30, 2008.

  1. freshmtt

    freshmtt Dachshund Addict

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    2008 Prius
    Holy Cow,,, my speakers really do work very well!!, I discovered this on my awesome Burrito run tonight, my hubby and I had a craving for some super huge steak burritos so I happily agreed to make the Burrito run to our favorite place that is about 16 miles away..

    Since i just discovered that my MP3 player is not toast and it is working just fine, I brought it into the car with me for some good tunes on my way to the burrito place..

    I was so happy the MP3 player was working good so I plugged it in and turned on the tunes. I cranked up the volume on the player to the highest level and did some adjustments on the equalizer that is built into the MP3 player and WOW,, the sound coming out of the Prius Speakers was totally awesome!!!! I was blown away. I had the volume only on 18 and it felt like my head was about to explode in the car from the sound..

    Now, my stereo, the radio and CD player do NOT sound like this, I switched back and forth to test it out.. It sounds like a I have a totally different sound system when the MP3 player is playing compared to when the radio or the CD player is playing. When I play the radio or the CD I have to practically turn up the volume to the mid 30's range to get anywhere near the sound I get when I am playing the music from the MP3 player and even then, the sound is dulled like a cloth is being held over the speakers..

    This leads me to believe that there is nothing bad about the speakers and I must have a kick nice person MP3 player.

    So, I truly believe that I need to replace the stereo in the car.

    Someone mentioned though, that if I change the factory stereo that I will loose the cool features on the steering wheel, and will not be able to use any of those, the volume control, switching modes etc...

    Is this the case with all stereo changes or are there some stereos that you can buy that can be sync'd to work with the controls on the steering column??
     
    #1 freshmtt, May 30, 2008
  2. Five5Six

    Five5Six New Member

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    I don't have Dogs, I have DACHSHUNDS!!
    Me too!!!
     

    Attached Files:

    #2 Five5Six, May 30, 2008
  3. Turbogizzmo

    Turbogizzmo New Member

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    I think with certain MP3 with the right sound profile they sound great coming out of the speakers...I would love to upgrade, just not thrilled with the wiring idea...
     
    #3 Turbogizzmo, May 30, 2008
  4. abra

    abra Member

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    my 08 non jbl has a hiss:mad: my mp3 sounds great:D
     
    #4 abra, May 30, 2008
  5. V8Cobrakid

    V8Cobrakid Green Handyman

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    my 04 has it's problems too. the 06+ models sounds better.. at least i have a tape deck though :p
     
    #5 V8Cobrakid, May 30, 2008
  6. freshmtt

    freshmtt Dachshund Addict

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    Cool!!! You have lots o Doxies!!!!!!
    There are a lot of us Doxie owners on this this board. very cool......
     
    #6 freshmtt, May 30, 2008
  7. mheinle

    mheinle New Member

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    Freshmtt,
    There are adapter kits out there to retain the Wheel control on an after market stereo. Usually you can ask the installer and they can get it and install it for you. They tend to cost at least $120 through the retailer. I found this one on E-bay that works with my after market head unit.
    eBay Motors: Steering Wheel Control 4 Pioneer DEHP6800MP DEHP7800MP (item 180247183578 end time Jun-03-08 01:19:16 PDT)&

    I just don't know if I want to take that plunge just yet but maybe soon. I would really like to get my controls back. I am fairly confident with this product because they give specific instuctions on installing it in a Prius.

    Good Luck
     
    #7 mheinle, May 30, 2008
  8. Malkavian

    Malkavian New Member

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    If your MP3 player has a built in equalizer that could easily be the source of the better sound quality compared to radio (which is a crappy bitrate anyway)

    I'm not familiar with the stock radio on the Prius--does it have a similar function? If so might want to play around with that and see if you can configure it to sound similar.
     
    #8 Malkavian, May 30, 2008
  9. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Yes, I'm confused by this thread as well. An MP3 player should sound better than the car's radio, but not better than its CD player. Like you, I'm thinking that it's the equalization feature on the MP3 player that's making freshmtt's MP3 player sound better. The stock radio/CD player only has bass and treble adjustments.

    * * * * *

    My daughter used to call dachshunds "wiener dogs" -- or "hairy wiener dogs" for the long hair variety.
     
    #9 Boo, May 30, 2008
  10. rep308

    rep308 Junior Member

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    I just yanked the speakers out of my Prius to upgrade them and boy are they small and light.
     
    #10 rep308, May 30, 2008
  11. freshmtt

    freshmtt Dachshund Addict

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    Yes, My MP3 player has a built in equalizer which is very cool. I guess that is why the sound is so cool. I choose ones like, jazz, hip hop, rock, pop, classical etc.. I can choose one of those and it turns the equalizer on.

    I call my Dachshunds wiener dogs too, hot dogs, etc..
     
    #11 freshmtt, May 30, 2008
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