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JBL possible upgrade

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Audio and Electronics' started by trentofdestiny, Sep 15, 2011.

  1. trentofdestiny

    trentofdestiny Master Finagler

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    Can I cheaply/easily improve the SQ of the JBL by replacing the speakers? I have a Polk dxi6500 set and a Polk dxi650 set laying around. Or, if nothing can be done without replacing the whole system, I'll just leave it alone. I have it set treble -2, mid 0, bass 0, fader -2 (towards rear). The front tweeters are too bright IMHO.

    I could only find threads about Gen2 JBL and the "center speaker" they refer to, that I don't have :p
     
    #1 trentofdestiny, Sep 15, 2011
  2. kormaster

    kormaster Junior Member

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    CHanging the speakers will improve a lot and it is free for you so just do it. Dynamat the doors. It will be the biggest improvement i think. Anything beyond that is adding ext amps and all that stuff.. a lot more work but i think the cheap Toyota paper speakers need to be replaced...
     
    #2 kormaster, Sep 19, 2011
  3. trentofdestiny

    trentofdestiny Master Finagler

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    Hmm, alright. I thought the EQ curve built into the JBL amp would keep ANY speakers from sounding really good lol.
     
    #3 trentofdestiny, Sep 19, 2011
  4. mcshade311

    mcshade311 Junior Member

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    Did you end up installing the speakers? Was there a noticeable improvement? I'm looking at swapping out the speakers of my JBL system, but only if it'll be worth it.
     
    #4 mcshade311, Sep 26, 2011
  5. trentofdestiny

    trentofdestiny Master Finagler

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    No, didn't get around to it yet. I think it would only be beneficial to upgrade the woofers, and not worth the trouble for the tweeters. Additionally, only the front ones, because my JBL seems to not give any sound from the rear if you are in the front. You have to get in the back to actually hear the rear speakers.

    After selling most of my stuff on eBay, I'm left with 4 Toyota speaker adapters, and the Polk Audio dxi650 (coaxial set :(). I would have much rather taken the woofers out of the dxi6500 component set...but then I wouldn't have been able to sell the rest.
     
    #5 trentofdestiny, Sep 26, 2011
  6. mainemanx

    mainemanx Member

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    From JBL to JBL?

    How about replacing your JBLs with, well... JBLs?

    OK––assuming you've stopped laughing––JBL carries a Chinese-made GTO series that includes a:
    – JBL GTO328 3.5" squawker for the dash
    – JBL GTO938 6X9" for the front doors
    – JBL GTO638 6.5" for the rear doors (Don't know about the JBL rear door tweeters)

    Comments:
    – Highly rated on Amazon... and, FWIW, I found this link for the 6X9".
    – 6X9" has a 3" mounting depth. Using the radioprius1 technique (middle-of-page, this link), these should work on the front doors.
    – JBL's installation instructions are terrible/non-existent.
    – Can currently be had for a song on eBay.
    – Relatively sensitive 3.5, 6.5, and 6X9" are 89, 92, and 94db respectively (cet. par., they'll be loud), but only 2 ohms.
    – Don't know what you have for RMS power per channel with the JBL amp...
    – For my Gen III, (Sony head unit, 17 watts RMS into 4 ohms @ < 1% THD, per channel) I am considering the JBLs (also considering several models of Pioneers, Infinity, and Rockford Fosgates).

    Does anyone have any experience with the JBLs? Comments? Opinions?
     
    #6 mainemanx, Sep 26, 2011
  7. trentofdestiny

    trentofdestiny Master Finagler

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    I believe the woofers and tweeters are each 4 ohms and are wired in parallel which makes the TOTAL impedance of each channel 2 ohms...right? ;)
     
    #7 trentofdestiny, Sep 26, 2011
  8. mainemanx

    mainemanx Member

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    That's what we are told for the non-JBL dash squawker and door speaker...with the addition of a capacitor to roll-off the lows going into the squawker....

    1/4 + 1/4 = 1/2... 2 ohms, is that the way it works?

    But I think your point is that the two, two ohm speakers in parallel equal one ohm of resistance to the signal coming out of the solid state amp... YIKES!

    1/2 + 1/2 = 1/1
     
    #8 mainemanx, Sep 26, 2011
  9. trentofdestiny

    trentofdestiny Master Finagler

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    Yeah, we can't use two ohm speakers if they are wired in parallel. If the tweeter and woofer are wired to the amp separately, then 2 ohm speakers should be used. I'll see if I can find a wiring diagram for the JBL
     
    #9 trentofdestiny, Sep 26, 2011
  10. mainemanx

    mainemanx Member

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    Wouldn't want to see bits and pieces from the backside of the amp flying out through the speakers...

    I guess it's the Fosgates or Pioneers for me....
     
    #10 mainemanx, Sep 26, 2011
  11. trentofdestiny

    trentofdestiny Master Finagler

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    #11 trentofdestiny, Sep 26, 2011
  12. mainemanx

    mainemanx Member

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    #12 mainemanx, Sep 26, 2011
  13. GeoGeek

    GeoGeek Member

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    I can confirm that the JBL system has 8 separate channels coming off the amplifier to the 8 separate speakers.
     
    #13 GeoGeek, Sep 26, 2011
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