Anyone upgrade the stereo in a V???

The JBL system in a 2010 Prius does, in fact, use a digital signal between the head unit & the amp. There's only a left & right signal coming from the head unit to the amp. The DSP in the amp does all the processing to the 8 individual channels, including cross-over frequencies. The only way to "crack" the signal, as best I can tell, is to use a device like an Audison Bit One or the JBL MS-8 to sum, de-eq, then re-eq, cross-over, and time align the output for a suitable input into an aftermarket amp.

 

i'm going to forward this to my sound guy to see what he says. anything further to add? thanks!

 

I got the Dynamat off eBay for $50 per door kit (covers 2 doors each) and Best Buy charged me $140 to install. Best $240 I ever spent.

 

okay, to those in the know, the JBL MS-8 is out now. will that help my plight or no??

 

PS - i have the NAVIGATION package, NOT the advanced tech package on my prius.

 

It depends on what your plight is. The unit looks great and may help you keep your factory head unit. It allows those that don't know what they are doing to tune the system well.

IMHO I would replace the head unit and not worry about this new tech. The MS-8 costs $800. If you had ATP it would be a different story. It sounds like the guys in your audio shop know what they are doing.

 

yep...i made that decision this morning. they are excellent. thanks for the help you guys. i'll post pics when it's all done. should be later today.

 

10435

 

Next week installing...

2-point underbody stabilizer bar
lowering coil springs
K&N air filter
nokya hyperyellow foglights (bulbs)

first car i've ever had (always driven trucks). i love this thing!

 

Nice unit Doc! Nice truck too! Please keep us posted as your have.

 

This is intentional. Prius JBL system is a 2 channel (stereo) system. It is not a surround sound system. The rear channels/speakers are mainly there for 2 reasons:
1. provide ambience for front driver and passenger (very minor role)
2. more importantly, provide and support the front stage...so that the rear passengers still hear all sounds coming from the front of the vehicle (in front of them) and not from the sides of the doors.

If the rear speakers were more powerful, then the rear passengers' sound stage will not be good because all sounds come from the rear door that they are sitting next to. Think of it like sitting in a concert. The sound comes from the front stage, not from the sides. At the same time, the front driver and passenger should NOT be hearing too much sound coming from the rear either (such as when you have loud rear speakers)...again, think of being at a concert...do you want sounds to be blasting from the back row?

To play around, just fade the sound to the rear of the car...and sit in the rear bench and see if you like it. FOR ME, i much prefer the factory setting. I always think back to what a concert sounds like.

This type of setting (front bias) is quite common in most (if not all) modern uplevel sound systems from the factory. So, no, there is nothing wrong with JBL system.

The rear speakers consist of a midtweet (like the front dash speakers) and 6.5" round subwoofer per door. The subs are there to augment the bass for the rear passengers (along with the 6x9s in the front doors)...in what JBL calls, DSS (distriubted subwoofer system). The midtweets are high up in the doors to keep the sound stage in front and high, not at your feet. I must admit that Toyota/JBL really thought this thing through. I probably prefer another set of 6x9s in the rear doors (for more bass output), but this may have been a packaging problem since the rear doors are smaller than the fronts and you would lose the water bottle cubby. My guess.

 

thank you...i will!

 

It was quite the pain, but it has all worked out. Sorry haven't been around in awhile. Back to work finally after being on disability for 5+ months from surgery. Had more time when I was home full time, not to mention we are getting ready to move next month. Back to the stereo, I got way in over my head but couldn't turn around. I think I was one of the first to experiment with what could be done and tried just about every avenue available to get it to work with the JBL head unit and it just wasn't going to happen. Not to my liking anyways. I still need to finish taking pics and posting them on how it tuned out. I couldn't be happier considering I had to keep the JBL unit for the ATP. We found out the Clean Sweep setup didn't work at all. Doing a full aftermarket system is certainly going to be the best way to go. There are enough people who have done it now these days to agree. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions. I'll try and answer them as quickly as I can.