Best Audio Mods in Southern California

I have had the Diamond 10" sub installed at Beach Auto Sound this weekend. Damn - now the system sounds SOOOOO much better. Not boomy, chest rattling bass - just tight and clean. I highly recommend them for your Sub install!

- Dewg

 

Hey Dewg,
congrats. IF i may ask, what is your complete audio set up and if you have pics of your new install it would be great. Really enjoying what everyone is doing to their cars.

 

The pics are nearly identical to the ones posted already in this thread.

They put in an Alpine MRP-M450 (220W x 1 channel) amp in the cargo space, and a Diamond DS310D4 Sub. Now the tweaking begins (gotta have it just right).

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusMax @ May 15 2006, 01:17 PM) [snapback]255789[/snapback]</div>

 

Really? I have the JBL 9 speaker system (with the Center speaker disconnected - find instructions on these forums). My EQ is set at Bass (-1), Mid (+2), and Treble (Max) and Fade is set Center (LR) and -1 (FR). With the Sub at 75Hz X-Over, 0db boost and Nominal Gain. The system sounds very good!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(savingtheearth @ May 16 2006, 04:57 PM) [snapback]256521[/snapback]</div>

 

savingtheearth,
did you also have your system worked on at Beach Auto Sounds, or somewhere in LA. Haven't had luck with any shops in LA yet with Prius experience.

Thanks

 

Thank you all for your contributions to this thread. I appreciate the photos very much.

I'm waiting with great excitement for all my components to arrive. I am planning to have my system installed by Beach Audio. I have talked to a very kind technician, from Beach Audio, who patiently answered my rookie-type questions. I had first thought of buying CDT CL61, but their price was almost as much as the street price for the Diamond Audio HEX S600s. At last, I purchased the Diamond HEX S600s on Ebay. I just received my subwoofer, Diamond DS310D4, today (look great!). I'm still waiting Dynamat Door Kits, the HEX S600s, Hifonics TXi6406 (more info. on this), and components connect kits.

Does anyone have any experience with Hifonics TXi6406? I had gone though so much hassles to get this amp. I had purchased Hifonics TX8805 through two online stores and both store didn't have the product. One store quickly issued a refund. The other online store refused to issue a full refund until I took actions through Paypal. The seller vehimently insisted that I pay $25 for the processing fee even if they no longer carried the product. I'm still waiting for my refund as Paypal's investigation was on my favor(duh). A research on Hifonics Titan series led me to a comparable model, Hifonics TXi6406.

Will post more information regarding my progress.

 

I have now received all the parts. The Hifonics 6406 looked solid and nice. It is well built in an aluminum enclosure. I'll be heading out to Beach Audio tomorrow morning. How much is a reasonble labor charge and the fiber enclosure for the subwoofer?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(PriusMax @ May 17 2006, 10:35 PM) [snapback]257359[/snapback]</div>

PriusMax (or anybody)...any luck finding a shop in LA (South Bay) area?

 

Sorry, no luck J. Not many places that have ever worked on a Prius or will even do the fiberglass at a decent price.
I think your best bets are Beach Auto Sound (was there when Trojan95 got his setup and it sounded great, and was professionally done). They also do custom set-up for the Toyota dealers so they obviously have the experience.
The only other places recommended here for the amp and sub in fiberglass enclosure is Soundsations in Newhall and I think its Tweeter or Tweeters in Riverside.

 

I thought some of you might like to hear the status on my sound upgrade and see some pictures. The upgrade went really well. The guys at Beach Audio Sound did a great job. They know their stuff and do it well and clean on my Prius. The forty-five minutes drive was worth it. I am going back for more upgrades when my wish list becomes available (auto reverse tilting and folding mirrors). The sound is much better than before. PriusMax and his friend got to sit in and auditon my new sound system. I'm quite pleased with my new system. Here are some photos.[attachmentid=3645][attachmentid=3647][attachmentid=3648][attachmentid=3649]

 

Trojan95,

Looks very nice. Can you tell me what the two devices are in front of the amp ? Are they combining the signal for the front speakers ? I take it you're using 2 channels for the fronts and bridging the other two for the sub, are you running the backs off the factor amp ? After using the new system, would you have gone with a bigger amp or is this size amp fine ?

If you would be willing to share, I would be interested in a ball park figure on what I should expect to spend to do an upgrade like yours. Also how time did you spend at Beach Audio ? Was wondering if they built a mold for the prius sub since they've done a few now e.g. build the box before you got there.

I'm trying to learn more about some of the OEM intergration pieces that are coming out. Like the JBL Fix8, JL Cleansweep and the like. It would be interesting to hear an upgrade done with and without to determine if these new devices are really worth the time and money.

Thanks for you time in answering all my questions !!

Ken

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(H2OSkier @ Jun 1 2006, 08:48 AM) [snapback]263985[/snapback]</div>

You are correct the two units in front of the Amp are the crossover devices that came with the two front component speakers, Diamond HEX S600s. The 4-ch amp are used exactly as you described. I'm happy with my current amp. It's more than adequate for my need and heat tolerance. I spent about seven hours at Beach Audio Sound. Two guys were working on my system; one was installing while another building the sub enclosure. The guy built the box while I watched. There's no mold for the box which made out of wood. Including ten hours of labor and parts(except cables) purchased online I spent a little below forteen hundreds total.

 

I just picked mine up from Beach Autosound last night, and I couldn't be more pleased. They implemented a parallel system to get around the stock JBL's funky EQ. The old stereo, beeps, and nav are all routed to the center speaker. The head unit is an Alpine 9857, which controls and charges the iPod in the glove box. I've got Dynaudio speakers in the front, powered by a Butler 2-channel tube amp. An Alpine 4-channel amp powers the Focal speakers in the rear and a Diamond 10" sub. They did the sub enclosure in vinyl! I recommend them highly.

Brian.
[attachmentid=4355]
[attachmentid=4356]

 

I vote for Al & Eds on Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach. JT the guy that runs the shop is a great guy. The are Alpine authoriazed F1 installer $20,000 system that is on Lamborgini's. You have to be Alpine dealer for at least 10 years and be invited to become F1 dealer from Alpine and have to keep one system in stock. Anyway, I had bunch of high end components I wanted to install on my prius. McIntosh 6 channel amp, Seas Lotus Reference components(from great guy Eng at www.mobilesq.com), Fosgate 3sixty.2, batcap, 0 gauge kit, Image Dynamics IDQ10, Dynamat extreme and Cardas audiophile interconnects and pure silver speaker cables.

JT made a special fiberglass sub-woofer box that neatly fit into rear right quater panel well. The Seas Lotus Reference T27F tweeter was encased in a specially molded fiberglass fashioned from existing A pillar. The result was an astounding sound almost as good as my home over 100G system. I have to say I am really pleased with Seas Lotus Reference speakers. It sounds so much better than Dynaudio system 240 Mk II after doing A-B comparison. The new T27F tweeter IMO is better than $3K Supremo tweeters The bass speaker is equally impressive. I still have a set of brand new Dynaudio system 240 MkIIs that I was going to use for another car but now I want to sell it. If anyone is interested I'll give you a steal of a deal at $350 cash pickup(retails $799) Seas Lotus Reference from www.mobilesq.com is by far the best components I've used.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Stereophile @ Sep 28 2006, 06:14 AM) [snapback]324998[/snapback]</div>

I'm glad you had a good experience with JT, but I did not. After a series of deceptions to outright lies, I ended up filing a complaint with the BBB. I don't question his experience and abilities, just his business ethics. Maybe Al & Ed's would be fine for just an install, but for sales, I'd say steer clear.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Trojan95 @ May 18 2006, 11:47 PM) [snapback]257891[/snapback]</div>

I am thinking about going with Beach Audio for my setup but I was going to buy my system from them, as well. Just wondering why you bought your parts from elsewhere and then had them installed rather than buying the complete system there? Are there prices not very good? I am going to check them out this weekend. I would rather buy the system from the place that is doing the install just in case there is a problem with a component. Did they give you any hassle about bringing in your own stuff for the install?

Thanks!