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JBL Too Much Bass

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Jake Joseph, Mar 4, 2017.

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  1. Jake Joseph

    Jake Joseph Junior Member

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    Hello All!

    My 2008 Prius equipped with the JBL audio just has too much bass, distorted bass. The car has a Creative Soundblaster E1 Amplifier used inline with the auxiliary input. But this problem persists even with the Amplifier removed.

    Any music I play from my iPhone just has too much bass to it and it becomes distorted. I have tried turning the bass down all the way in the EQ and made sure all of the settings on my phone were not effecting this.

    My first thought was could the JBL amp gone bad? But I do not know the symptoms of this issue.

    Any help is appreciated!
     
    #1 Jake Joseph, Mar 4, 2017
  2. TWOPrius

    TWOPrius Junior Member

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    #2 TWOPrius, Mar 4, 2017
  3. Jake Joseph

    Jake Joseph Junior Member

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    This may sound like a stupid question, but how would I go about testing that theory?
     
    #3 Jake Joseph, Mar 4, 2017
  4. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Easiest would be to listen to know record and then listen to sound if it’s actually clipping (broken amplifier or something before it) or is it just vibrating or resonating in the speaker (broken speaker).

    Then of course you could connect the speaker to something else to test it. Or take it out and look at it.
     
    #4 valde3, Mar 4, 2017
    TWOPrius likes this.
  5. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    I believe the JBL audio system has a power amp under the driver seat. back in the day many posts about the remote power sense circuit in the amp that detects the radio is on and will then automatically turn the amp on failed and the amp was on all the time even when the car was off. Continually killed the 12 volt battery. Lots of those in fact was a TSB out on it. Then there would be subsequent discussions about how crappy that amp is.

    Take tour car to many of car stereo shops found everywhere. Since you made your locale a secret not sure where you live as other posters may know a good guy. Best Buy has there own car stereo install dept. Don't be surprised if they tell say you need a whole new system.
     
    #5 edthefox5, Mar 4, 2017
  6. 'LectroFuel

    'LectroFuel Senior Member

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    Nice wheels on your profile pic!
     
    #6 'LectroFuel, Mar 4, 2017
  7. tf4624

    tf4624 Active Member

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    Focal speakers and up amp with jlw7 subs. Monster cable with the gold connectors


    the bat cave
     
    #7 tf4624, Mar 4, 2017
  8. Jake Joseph

    Jake Joseph Junior Member

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    Sorry about that, just updated my profile. I've never had a problem with my 12v going dead. You can find a bunch of the JBL Amps online, but I don't know how viable it would be to try and replace it for fun. I need to pull the door panel off to assess the speakers later. I thought the foam on the speaker cones could've torn but the 08's had plastic to replace the foam. I may swap an amp for fun and see where that gets me. Is there any way to "reset" the system? If thats even a thing.
     
    #8 Jake Joseph, Mar 5, 2017
  9. Jake Joseph

    Jake Joseph Junior Member

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    Thanks! FR-S wheels, with Toyota center caps! Gotta put some lowering springs on the car to complete the look!
     
    #9 Jake Joseph, Mar 5, 2017
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  10. valde3

    valde3 Senior Member

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    Replacing parts for fun sounds expensive. And even pulling the door panel sounds like unnecessary work. You should be able to tell the difference between amp or head unit and speaker problems. Do bought left and right speakers have the same sound? How about rear? If they all just have too much bass then it probably isn’t a problem in the speakers.

    Pulling the 15A dome and 30A amp fuses should reset the system. Unless I missed something. Disconnecting the 12V battery will reset everything.
     
    #10 valde3, Mar 5, 2017
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