Speaker Upgrade Questions

Go with a complete upgrade, here is my complete audio upgrade with pictures. Any questions let me know.

--> http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-audio-electronics/75574-complete-audio-upgrade.html

 

you can get a pair of Kenwood Excelons, Alpine type x, they come with a crossover. You could upgrade the speakers and leave the stock headunit, but in my opinion, i would say that the HU is more important if you want nice sound.

For Clear sound, i recommend MB quartz

I'm going to put in a doulble din headunit + navi on my prius sometime this week too!

 

Nearly all coaxial and component speakers come with crossovers but rarely do they have crossovers to cut off low frequencies for the midrange. Thankfully, most modern head units do have a built-in crossover for this purpose.

What you may be confusing with "clear sound" is likely just a boost in amplitude at higher frequencies and or the characteristic sound of different tweeter materials (MB Quart was famous for their tinny sound caused by titanium tweeters and it was a love or hate relationship). This doesn't neccessarily make for a cleaner sound. Because everyone hears a bit differently and has different tastes in what kind of sound they prefer, I think the best advice is to avoid generalizations between brands and go to an audio store armed with your favorite types of music and listen to a lot of speakers (sans any equalization) and hopefully with similar supporting equipment (head unit, amp, etc..). Figure out what is most pleasing to you and fits in your budget. The Prius interior is pretty forgiving when it comes to sound so the speaker in the sound room shouldn't sound too terribly different when placed in your car (when ambient noise is kept low). If it does sound different and you don't like it, an equalizer and/or playing with phase might help correct what you don't like.

 

lately, i have installed a set of Dynaudio speakers to a customer's car, it was remarkable!!
well, you should always listen to different speakers and make sure the speakers you buy suits you perfectly.
also, after you have installed the speakers, listen to it for a while, play around with the headunit and find the sweet spot.

hope you have a nice time doing it

 

Just curious which dyn's and what amp did you put in?

 

Did you try playing with the equalizer in the deck?

 

I was thinking more along the lines of a custom EQ adjustment rather than the preset ones that HUs come with. With a 7-9band EQ or a 3 band quasi-parametric you can usually made the stock speakers sound ok or at least tolerable. Maybe somewhere down the road you can install one of the new tiny amps from JL Audio or ARC Audio and get those components you want.

 

Progressive upgrade is great.

I added B-Quiet Ultimate first. It added more bass because the entire door became a woofer and the sound behind the speaker was isolated and did not cancel out the sound from the front.

I then changed the speakers. There was more improvement and I wanted more. I upgraded the headunit and installed BASS600. This provided the most bang but a lot of bucks as well.

 

Does anyone have the specs and dimensions for the 2010 Speakers?

Im upgrading to the best: Hybrid Audio and if I can get everything installed,
and make a nice install - I'll provide a group purchase option.

 

There are 2.6" squwakers in the dash, 6"x9" mid-bass' in the front doors. In the rear doors there are also 6.5" mid-bass' in the bottom and (if you've got the JBL upgrade)squwakers (also 2.6") in the top.

I don't believe that Hybrid offers anything that would be a "drop-in" direct replacement....wiith the exception of the rear door mid-bass drivers.
The L3 midranges might fit in the squwaker locations, but they are meant to be paired with a tweeter in order to play all the way up. The 6.5" round midbass drivers (L6) could be made to work in the front doors with some custom baffles....and they'd probably drop right in to the rear door's lower locations.
The exact specs of the factory driver's are listed in an earlier thread.

 

A 6x9" to 6.5" baffle for the front doors would be quite easy to make. There are also plastic baffles designed for this but I'm not 100% sure the mounting holes line up to the Prius door.

 

scooshe makes a plastic mount just for toyota 6x9 to 6.5 speakers. I used them on my install.

Car toys and amazon have a low price on what is probably a discontinued focal speaker if you want to go high end
http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/B001MSI9PW?tag=priuschatcom-20

 

Just my bonus adds... I have had stock, infinity ref, "MB Quarts" ~ just another impression (from an Android kb ~ so b easy).

HU makes a big big dif ~ don't discount just doing that
I mounted my Inf Ref(IR) and MB Q (MB) into the lower A pillar. Cosmetically the MB looks nice and very robust
If I knew what I do now, I would simply.remove the squaker, and mount a tweeter in that spot (with xm and gps antenna below it). The squaker has around a 2" circle for sound. Mount your random tweeter there (hot glue sb your friend).
The MB has a very large tweeter/mid side ~ which would fit nice. I think the MB is much better than IR.
When doing the 6.5 side, the schosche is good only for ease. It is thin plastic. When I next open the doors, I will put in a custom cut mdf ~ with insulation (sound) all around everywhere.
Worry about the front spkrs first
Depending, I fit the IR crossover inside the squaker spot. MB is huge and won't fi there ~ but can b mounted in that area
The MB/IR seems efficient ~ no need for external amp(s). Seems MB has a msrp at $550 but can b found for $130.
I put dynamat all over, while I haven't finished, you *should* buy it or equiv whenever opening panels. Buy it by square foot on ebay.

[IMGLINK][/IMGLINK]

 

I've got those Focal 165 VR's in my work truck and love them...although I'm not sure how good the 6.5 & tweeter component setup would sound in the Prius if you put the tweet up in the dash where the squwaker is. That's a really good price on the Focals though.....I thought mine were a steal at $300 (delivered) when I bought them a while back.