Speakers / amp question

[rrolff]

I'm starting an upgrade project, and looking for some help on speakers and amp. I'm starting with stock stock...

For speakers, it seems there are 6 (or 8???) speakers. For external amplification, does this mean I need a 6/8 channel amp - or are the speakers (front,front/back,back) run in parallel ???

[GeoGeek]

If you have a 2009 Package 2 Prius, without the JBL radio, then you have 6 speakers. Two 6½" full range speakers in the rear doors, two tweeters in the front door sail pillars, and two 6½" mid-bass drivers in the front doors.
The most common speaker upgrade is to put a new set of 6½" component speakers (these come with separate woofers, tweeters, & crossovers) in the front doors and a new set of coaxial 6½" speakers in the rear doors. You can drive these off the factory head unit, but you'll do much better to add an aftermarket amplifier (4-channel). The amp will either need to have speaker level inputs or you'll need a line level converter (like the Scosche SLC-4).
Good Luck!

Originally Posted by rrolff

I'm starting an upgrade project, and looking for some help on speakers and amp. I'm starting with stock stock...

For speakers, it seems there are 6 (or 8???) speakers. For external amplification, does this mean I need a 6/8 channel amp - or are the speakers (front,front/back,back) run in parallel ???

[rrolff]

Originally Posted by GeoGeek

If you have a 2009 Package 2 Prius, without the JBL radio, then you have 6 speakers.

Yes - it looks like I have 6 speakers... I'm swapping the whole system - but need to buy an amp and speakers for the head unit which is coming...

I'm just trying to find out how it will be wired, and what to buy. I'm guessing the speakers in the front door, and the speakers in the dash corners are wired together (so in parallel). This would change a 8ohm load to a 4 ohm load - which any amp can handle.

It seems for level control etc, I need matching 'tweeter/mid thingy mounted in the dash', and door speaker - otherwise, one may end up louder (???). The other option is going to a 6 channel amp, and discretely driving each speaker (amps have level control).......

Hrmmm - seems 6 channel amps are not a commodity item (not so common)

Right now I'm staging (buying) all the stuff, and hoping to get it right the first time - HU dash kit from Toyota UK, HU and camera from China, DTV box from Ebay, and now speakers and amp from (EBAY?????)???????

[banshee08]

Has anyone verified that the front door of the Prius II is a 6 1/2 " driver? I thought it was a 6x9 driver??

Originally Posted by GeoGeek

If you have a 2009 Package 2 Prius, without the JBL radio, then you have 6 speakers. Two 6½" full range speakers in the rear doors, two tweeters in the front door sail pillars, and two 6½" mid-bass drivers in the front doors.
The most common speaker upgrade is to put a new set of 6½" component speakers (these come with separate woofers, tweeters, & crossovers) in the front doors and a new set of coaxial 6½" speakers in the rear doors. You can drive these off the factory head unit, but you'll do much better to add an aftermarket amplifier (4-channel). The amp will either need to have speaker level inputs or you'll need a line level converter (like the Scosche SLC-4).
Good Luck!

[banshee08]

Rrolff,

If you get a component set (i.e. 1" tweeter and 61/2" mid bass) for the front and a co-axil 2 or 3 way 6 1/2" speaker for the rear,then all you have to do is get a 4 channel amp. You will not need to worry about the ohm calculations and the gain balancing for he front stage, the passive crossover will take care of that for you.

That is unless you are going to go to a active crossover in which you will need a sound crossover/processor between your head unit and your amps. You will then need 1 amp channel per speaker.

If I were to go with a passive setup, in my opinion is to abandon the stock tweeter location and mount the tweeters on the door as close to the mid bass. It would should much more balanced. If you want to mount the tweeters in the stock location then I would suggest the active crossover setup to be able to properly tune the front sound stage.

Hope I did not confuse you. One more note is, check to see if the head unit from UK is capable to tuning into US AM/FM. I know that some system have a switch or way to switch between European FM/AM frequencies and US frequencies. If not they you will have a hard time tuning to US FM channels.

Give me a PM. If you are in Sol Cal, I would be willing to help on your install. Since we have the same Prius II model.

Originally Posted by rrolff

Yes - it looks like I have 6 speakers... I'm swapping the whole system - but need to buy an amp and speakers for the head unit which is coming...

I'm just trying to find out how it will be wired, and what to buy. I'm guessing the speakers in the front door, and the speakers in the dash corners are wired together (so in parallel). This would change a 8ohm load to a 4 ohm load - which any amp can handle.

It seems for level control etc, I need matching 'tweeter/mid thingy mounted in the dash', and door speaker - otherwise, one may end up louder (???). The other option is going to a 6 channel amp, and discretely driving each speaker (amps have level control).......

Hrmmm - seems 6 channel amps are not a commodity item (not so common)

Right now I'm staging (buying) all the stuff, and hoping to get it right the first time - HU dash kit from Toyota UK, HU and camera from China, DTV box from Ebay, and now speakers and amp from (EBAY?????)???????

[rrolff]

Originally Posted by banshee08

Give me a PM. If you are in Sol Cal, I would be willing to help on your install. Since we have the same Prius II model.

Banshee - thanks for the info... We're dealing with 6x9s in the door - and who knows what for tweeters in the dash (also who knows how to pull them). removing front door 6x9 speakers is a good thread on the door piece.

I'll let you know as I get closer - there are soooooo many things to get from all over the world to make this happen (hopefully) right...

The Toyota plastic surround mount is coming form the UK
The HU is coming form China (if it's half what it looks like it should be very cool - great 3D iGo NAV, 800x480 TFT display - PIP for nav and DVD etc etc....
A DTV box is coming from middle America thanks to EBay
I'm ordering soundproofing material (once I get a confirm on what thickness to get) from Soundproofing & Noise Control Materiels Prices
CCD Backup cam is coming from China (still waiting on specs) - along with a distance sensor that shows how many feet you are away on HU screen...
DTV antenna is still unknown
Speakers are still unknown (need tweeter info)
Amp is unknown until I get the speakers ordered.....

It shouldn't be that hard once I've amassed all the right stuff.... Right now it kinda seems like a big monstrous puzzle and I'm missing bunches of pieces.

OBTW - I'm down southward (Coto de Caza - south OC)

Cheers,

Rolf

[radioprius1]

Originally Posted by rrolff

Banshee - thanks for the info... We're dealing with 6x9s in the door - and who knows what for tweeters in the dash (also who knows how to pull them). removing front door 6x9 speakers is a good thread on the door piece.

I'll let you know as I get closer - there are soooooo many things to get from all over the world to make this happen (hopefully) right...

The Toyota plastic surround mount is coming form the UK
The HU is coming form China (if it's half what it looks like it should be very cool - great 3D iGo NAV, 800x480 TFT display - PIP for nav and DVD etc etc....
A DTV box is coming from middle America thanks to EBay
I'm ordering soundproofing material (once I get a confirm on what thickness to get) from Soundproofing & Noise Control Materiels Prices
CCD Backup cam is coming from China (still waiting on specs) - along with a distance sensor that shows how many feet you are away on HU screen...
DTV antenna is still unknown
Speakers are still unknown (need tweeter info)
Amp is unknown until I get the speakers ordered.....

It shouldn't be that hard once I've amassed all the right stuff.... Right now it kinda seems like a big monstrous puzzle and I'm missing bunches of pieces.

OBTW - I'm down southward (Coto de Caza - south OC)

Cheers,

Rolf

Did you order that weird "OEM" nav unit thing? I hope that works out for you. The whole thing just seemed weird to me and looked odd.

[banshee08]

South OC. Nice area. I lived in the Irvine and Tustin area for 10 years so its not too far if you need help. I currently live in the San Gabriel area. All sounds good. If you are looking for sound material I recommend Second Skin Damplifier Lite. http://www.secondskinaudio.com/produ...ifier-lite.php.

Check them out. It is some of the lightest stuff I have seen and works rather well. Of course the thicker the better but there must be sacrifices for decent MPG. hahaha

[rrolff]

Originally Posted by banshee08

South OC. Nice area. I lived in the Irvine and Tustin area for 10 years so its not too far if you need help. I currently live in the San Gabriel area. All sounds good. If you are looking for sound material I recommend Second Skin Damplifier Lite. http://www.secondskinaudio.com/produ...ifier-lite.php.

Check them out. It is some of the lightest stuff I have seen and works rather well. Of course the thicker the better but there must be sacrifices for decent MPG. hahaha

e=radioprius1;950595]Did you order that weird "OEM" nav unit thing? I hope that works out for you. The whole thing just seemed weird to me and looked odd.[/quote]

I am worried about MPG (the wattage will cause drain, the weight is a huge deal, I am looking for the most bang for buck - and I think i'll get it - I will do a thorough analysis of MPG at some point
After much research, I moved away from most of initial OEM things out there. This one (2 Din Indash DVD GPS Navi Toyota RAV4 Digital Panel PIP - eBay (item 260470331610 end time Sep-30-09 03:38:37 PDT) seems more next gen to me (at least from the correspondence I've had with others and this one). Everyone says the GUIs are poor - but that was earlier WINCE 4 and 5 versions (which I think have been fixed from what I have seen in the generic 7" screen version - they clearly have moved forward in the GUI side).... From the screen caps I've seen, it looks less Asian (not a slam at Asians, just an observation as someone who has traveled there, and had worked with many engineers there - it's funny - the cultures like different ideas in what makes a good GUI - like having "Hello Kitty" everywhere ). Of course, I'm hoping this works out - but my expectations are not wildly high. *If* the nav really is the latest available (with 3D maps etc etc - though it maybe is pointless on this version - I can install almost any nav - TomTom etc), and *if*, and *if*, and *if*, and *if, and *if*, and *if*, and *if*, and *if*, and *if*, and *if*, and , and *if*, and *if*, and *if*, and *if*, and *if*

Many ifs to deal with.........

I want a really good nav, ability to run DVDs (long ski trips etc with kids), DTV is cool (seems like a nice cheap addition - maybe $60 all in from Ebay sources), backup camera is essential (and getting an actual distance on the screen is VERY nice since I hate our Lexus GX camera because I can never tell really how close I am) because I think the Prius has VERY poor visibility back there (Toyota hasn't figured this one out - my father had a Celica with crazy bad visibility), and finally a stereo (I could qualify as an audiophile, but not in the car - just want decent sound - would've liked a center channel though for DTS DVDs )

I'm pretty sure I'll be VERY happy with the nav (ability to run any and latest available). I think PIP sounds very cool, and I really like the backup cam with distance sensor that shows on the display. Not sure how it will look - or even if it will work......... I'm clearly in uncharted waters - even the backup cam mount and location - or sensor mount and location, DTV mount/location, tweeter swap.............................................. .................................................. ...............

It seems I'm one of the first - so this will be an adventure....

[banshee08]

Rrolff,

I would suggest the Boyo cameras as they have great night vision and good lenses. As for amplifiers, I would recommend any class D amp. Amps using class D circuits are much more efficient and very small (easy to hide and install). Look at the PDX series of amps from Alpine or the HD series from JL. I think of myself as a audiophile so I would only go with Class A/B amps but for the Prius I am going Class D to cope with the efficiency issue.

-Chan