1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Sub options with factory JBL system

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by lemcar, Mar 3, 2015.

  1. lemcar

    lemcar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2014
    8
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    2015 Prius 4 with the factory JBL Greenedge system.

    I've seen the notes from people who have attempted to make changes to the factory speakers in the JBL system. Since the extra Greenedge amp not only amplifies and crosses over the signals between the speakers, changing out the individual drivers doesn't work out.

    I like the idea of adding one or two of the small enclosure subs that can be mounted under the front seats. My only question to anyone that has done this is other than adding a larger speaker(s) for the lower frequencies, how does it help the other drivers in the car. As I see the setup, I would be tapping into the + and - speakers for the front bass drivers to send to an amp for the sub. All of these systems offer a crossover to only allow the frequencies below a certain point to the sub but aren't you still sending that full range to the front drivers? Part of the beauty of subs in a system is it takes the work of those low frequencies away from the smaller bass drivers and allows them to only work on the "mid-bass". Unless there was a powered sub that offered a passthrough of the high level output and would cross over that amplified signal back to the in door drivers, I don't see a way around that.

    I'd thought about bass blockers for the remaining speakers but the lowest frequency model I've seen (150Hz) would actually work at about 300Hz at the ~2 ohm load the speakers are running at. I think that's a little high for a sub to pick up the difference.

    I know some have done this already and the reports I see here are it's worth it. Maybe I'm overthinking this and should just hook it up and let my ears decide?
     
  2. lemcar

    lemcar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2014
    8
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    BTW,

    JBL has a quick breakdown of what they have in this system. It's not very detailed but it gives more info than I've seen from Toyota.

    JBL Automotive: Toyota Prius
     
  3. lopgok

    lopgok Member

    Joined:
    May 2, 2012
    177
    29
    0
    Location:
    unknown
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    Curious they say their amp is 576 watts total. They used to say 120 watts.
    Since this is a DSP based system, I suspect they are rolling off the low frequencies below whatever they want to drive their woofers at.
    In order to get significant lower frequencies, you will have to do something to correct their equalization for your subwoofer.
    In my case, I had the base unit, and used a JBL MS-8 to correct the EQ of the base unit head amp. Sinve the MS-8 is very versatile, it worked out quite well.
    I wonder if you will have enough room under your seats to put subwoofers. In my car, there is the tire changing tools under the driver seat, and I put my MS-8 under the passenger seat.

    I question any system using 2 ohm speakers. You need to run really thick wire for them, and the losses in the connectors are twice as great as 4 ohm speakers. If I was engineering a complete car system, I would likely use 8 ohm speakers and save a bit of weight...
     
  4. nedear88

    nedear88 My 1st Prius.

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2011
    245
    140
    0
    Location:
    San Bruno, California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    I added this kicker hideaway sub.jpg to my Prius IV with JBL systerm, I tapped into the front "woofer", it blend in with the low end frequency really well. The JBL speakers in the car are 2 ohm speakers. The 12V power is at the back battery...very easy.
     
  5. lemcar

    lemcar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2014
    8
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the reply and that's the model I'm looking to add as well. Do you recal the color of the + and - cables for the front woofers in your change or that you tapped into?
     
  6. nedear88

    nedear88 My 1st Prius.

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2011
    245
    140
    0
    Location:
    San Bruno, California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    open the kick panel, look for a black connector (watch video)
    , I believe the left side look for black and yellow wire (blk=positive) and right side red and white wire (red=positive). The kicker sub auto turn on without the amp turn on lead, the 12V source I tapped direct from the battery in the rear right trunk. have fun and good luck.

    p/s don't forget to rout the sub volume control to the front,.
     
  7. lemcar

    lemcar Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 24, 2014
    8
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Thanks for the info. I ended up getting the Kicker sub and installed it under the passenger seat. Since the JBL amp was under there it was a good spot to pick up the woofer cables I needed and other power related items. Here's some of the things I did for the install.

    - Completely remove JBL amp, mount and shroud
    - Cut back plastic of underseat hear vent. I was able to fit the Kicker box inbetween the two ridges that are built into the floor after doing this. I also stuck a sock in the vent to keep some of the hot air from blowing on the speaker.
    - Put a few Velcro pieces on the bottom of the Kicker. These hold very well to the carpeting.
    - Zip tied the JBL amp to the seat frame. There is enough play in the cabling to allow free seat movement.
    - Ran the remote turn on of the Kicker to the 12V plug in the center compartment.
    - While in there, ran the cable for the Kicker's remote volume and mounted it in the center compartment.
    - Main power back to the battery and under the carpet/door sill plastic.

    After tapping into the positive and negative woofer channels for the front speakers and powering everything up, I'm happy with the way the sub rounds out the sound of the factory JBL system. I still need to tweak the settings a bit for crossover and boost but the Kicker is well worth the install and basically takes up no extra room in the car.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    nedear88 likes this.
  8. nedear88

    nedear88 My 1st Prius.

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2011
    245
    140
    0
    Location:
    San Bruno, California
    Vehicle:
    2011 Prius
    Model:
    Four
    Very neat installed! I put mine behind the rear seat on top of the big hybrid battery pack, I didn't velco or mount the sub...it stay in all the time. I took a picture for the setting just in case, you can try this setting. I set the gain almost max but the front bass level control to 3 notch only. at the navigation audio I leave bass, mid and treble at center so that you can tune the sub easier, so far I have had the sub over 3 1/2 years and still rock on daily during the rush hour home.see attached picture hope this help. kicker1.jpg
     
  9. tragic

    tragic Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2015
    1
    0
    0
    Location:
    San Francisco
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Five
    Hello,

    Can you show me pics of which speaker wires you used? I would also like to see how you installed the remote wire into the center compartment. Did you have to drill holes or anything? Thank you kindly.