sound system upgrade + custom sub enclosure

[ashe]

as many fellow prii owners would agree, the jbl audio system can be disappointing for most audiophiles. it quickly became a fun project to tackle.

an audiocontrol lc7 converted the rear speaker line outputs from factory amplifier & provided internal signal summing. the factory amp's left speaker output was re-wired to the center speaker - so voice for bluetooth comes from the center... now i'm talking to my dash instead of the door. an audiocontrol eql was added to provide fine-tuning capabilities to deal w/ the pirus cabin properties.



i picked focal components for the front & focal coaxial for rear fill-ins. we gutted the jbl speakers to utilize its "casing" for mounting. if you have never auditioned focal speakers, you owe it to yourself to put them on your shopping list. all 4 doors were than covered completely w/ dynamat.



we decided on right side cubby in the hatch (above battery) for subwoofer location. a fiberglass enclosure was custom-built. box provided adequate internal volume for a jl audio 8w3v3. the box is removable for easy access to the battery. if i were to do it all over again, i think i would go w/ a 10". the 8" just can't reproduce the same low-end extensions.





all the speakers are powered by the alpine pdx-5. nice compact amplifier that produces a lot of power for what i need. low heat (perfect for where i wanted to mount the amp) & low power draw (ideal for our small prius auxiliary battery).

all electronics were mounted inside the cargo box. a flashboard was custom fitted over the equipment to hide the wiring for a cleaner look. it can easily be removed for access to tools. the cargo box can also be lifted if spare tire is needed.



i'm waiting for the grill to go over the subwoofer for the finishing touch (hopefully this weekend). i still haven't decided what to do about ipod integration. i'm not too impressed w/ all the current available options on the market. so i'm holding out for the time being & just using the auxiliary input. note: sound quality suffers a bit when using the auxiliary input.

now on to the next project.

[F8L]

Looks good

So was the Alpine amp just powering the subwoofer or did you run it as a 3channel with front to the front speakers and the rear 2 channels summed to the sub?

Another way to mount larger than factory speakers is to use wooden spacers. You can silicone or Dynamat the surface that mates to the door to reduce vibration. I did this to mount my 7" Diamon Audios.

[ashe]

Originally Posted by F8L

Looks good

So was the Alpine amp just powering the subwoofer or did you run it as a 3channel with front to the front speakers and the rear 2 channels summed to the sub?

Another way to mount larger than factory speakers is to use wooden spacers. You can silicone or Dynamat the surface that mates to the door to reduce vibration. I did this to mount my 7" Diamon Audios.

i actually used all 5 channels of the pdx-5. plenty of power to the sub (300 watts rms). the lc7 comes w/ a subwoofer level controller which i mounted under the dash. plenty of volume just not enough of the low frequency response. i went w/ the 8" coz i was worried there wouldn't be enough box volume for a 10" to fit into that space.

we were actually going to use spacers but decided it would be easier just to cut through the jbl speakers. i wouldn't have any use for it after the install anyways.

[F8L]

Ahh ok. I didn't realize it was a 5ch amp. Very nice

It's so tiny too! My 2 amps take up 3/4 of the whole storage tray.

[hyo silver]

If the right cubby is about right for an 8", but that's too small, and the left cubby is about right for a 10", and that's not enough (though it probably should be) ...what about a custom floor over the 'trunk'? Is there enough depth and air volume in there for a pair of 12s?

[F8L]

Originally Posted by hyo silver

If the right cubby is about right for an 8", but that's too small, and the left cubby is about right for a 10", and that's not enough (though it probably should be) ...what about a custom floor over the 'trunk'? Is there enough depth and air volume in there for a pair of 12s?

No need for a PAID of 12s my friend. Just get ONE of the subs I'm replacing my 2 10s with....

Orion HCCA122! 2000watts RMS and 30mm Xmax (total cone movement). Damn thing weighs approx. 70lbs without a box! The picture does not do this thing justice. The first one that was delivered to the shop totally blew me away. Funny thing is, they sound awesome with rock music.

[hyo silver]

Only one? But what if I want to go deaf twice as fast? Isn't two always doubly good?

Did you say two thousand watts? The windshield can only take so much deflection, you know. And you might need 'hood pins' on the hatch, just in case the catch lets go. But hey, no need to worry about your car rusting. It'll blow apart at the seams long before that.

[ashe]

Originally Posted by hyo silver

If the right cubby is about right for an 8", but that's too small, and the left cubby is about right for a 10", and that's not enough (though it probably should be) ...what about a custom floor over the 'trunk'? Is there enough depth and air volume in there for a pair of 12s?

i thought about building an enclosure in the cargo floor, but didn't want to lose the cargo box, tools & spare. i wanted a simple stealth system for the prius. who knows... maybe i'll change things up later on. for now, i'm quite happy w/ the results.

here's a very clean install i found online that has a custom enclosure built into the floor (courtesy of bonpri35):

[F8L]

Originally Posted by hyo silver

Only one? But what if I want to go deaf twice as fast? Isn't two always doubly good?

Did you say two thousand watts? The windshield can only take so much deflection, you know. And you might need 'hood pins' on the hatch, just in case the catch lets go. But hey, no need to worry about your car rusting. It'll blow apart at the seams long before that.

LOL!

I'm running 1500 watts RMS to the 2 10s I have now so swapping to the single 12 is just for convenience and to reduce the box size.

[PriusLewis]

Nice install! I mounted my Clarion 5 channel in about the same place. My Rockford Fosgate Punch 10" manual says their 10" needs .7 (7/10) cubic foot enclosure. I use a very small down-firing box. You might want to measure your current enclosure volume - if it is close to .7 cu ft or bigger (that's about what that space looks like to me) it should be OK. You will get tighter bass out of the sealed enclosure than a ported enclosure, but it takes a bit more power to run it (no worry there with your amp). Plus a ported enclosure has to be bigger.