Speaker Upgrade Questions

Just get an component speaker system. It comes with the crossover. Replace the tweeter in the stock location. Everything will remain stock look. You don't need to get an amp, just use the built-in one from the head unit.

That's what did in my 2006 anyway.

 

There is a built in crossover at the Squaker (part of it). In theory, you could just drop in something in the doors - not sure of the efficiency of each speaker (you'd be very lucky to get it to match).

Why not just buy a component and install it. You could place the tweeter in the squaker area. One easy mount is to simply hot-melt it into the"grill". The grill has a 2.25" round recessed area to place a speaker. MB Quarts have like a 1.5" tweeter, the Infinitiys have like a 1". Most any comp would work.

Also, if you are installing a HU, one location for the GPS antenna is under these grills (same with XM)...

There are many posts with reviews, and how-tos....

 

I disagree with rrolf. You're right. There will be problems. In fact, rrolf admits that his system has issues. Tweeters and midrange speakers are DIRECTIONAL. Therefore, pointing them in different directions will only cause more issues.

I don't have a solution to your issue, but i would not just throw a tweeter in the stock squaker location.

Good luck.

 

The squawkers in the the dash have a capacitor which is used as an inexpensive cross over. If you put in aftermarket speakers in the doors they should work, but the crossover and speaker efficiency will make the crossover even worse. If you do this make sure to get 4 ohm speakers.

Why not try components without an amp first. This should improve the sound. Depending on your hu choice just changing that should also improve the sound. The tweeters sold with the car have a low crossover point, but when I listened closely I could hear the time delay. The stock location is not a bad one. Having them up there moves the sound stage forward and up. The distance is greater though. Using back fill correctly gets rid of most of the time issues. I replaced the front speakers with polk mm components, and have a pioneer amp, and dynamatted the front doors. I left my rear speakers as factory, but added a sub. For a little over $100 you can get a pair of infinity reference components, and others have mentioned they work fine without an amp. There seems to be differences of opinions on how much the sound improves going with a new tweeter location. The amount the location matters depends on the tweeters you get. ajc has bought the same components as I did, and experimented with tweeter location, and has them kind of floating out of the vent.

 

That sounds like a plan. After market hu definitely provide more clean power than the stock unit on the II.

I spent $200 for polk mm6501s from sonic electronics. I spent a little more for scooshe door brackets to make them fit, crutchfield is more but includes brackets. They are a step up from the db series with a very good sounding tweeter. I don't remember where the $100 infinity references were from when I was shopping, but I would check out amazon or old threads.

 

I can't really tell the best location, without hearing them with the different locations. I know my speakers sound good where they are, but if I listen closely I can hear some artifacts from placement. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. AJC seemed to experiment with location more than I did, so they may sound better. Tweeter placement is not very easy, but I would think ideal would have them facing slightly towards each other in the pillars, the same distance to your ear as from the mid-bases in the doors.

 

Any component speaker I've seen has a tweeter that could easily fit in the dash squaker location. If you don't like the look of mounting at the A pillar, there's no reason not to just put it in the stock location...

You will need a 6 1/2 to 6x9 speaker adapter (or cut your own) for the door speakers (unless you choose 6x9 comp - which aren't nearly as readily available).

Amazon usually has the best prices Infinity ref are in the $90 range (MSRP $250 range), MB Quarts can be had in the $135 range (MSRP $550).

 

Sorry, I can't keep myself from replying regarding the "placement/distance artifacts"... Let's talk physics....

The speed of sound in 77 degree (F) air is 1,137 feet per second, regardless of frequency.

Speed of Sound

Are some of you saying that you can hear a noticeable difference in delay between the low and high frequencies (speakers)??? Let's say that the midrange/woofer is 4 feet away, and the tweeters are only 2 feet away. So the tweeter's sound will reach you 2/1137 = 0.00176 seconds, or 1.76 milliseconds sooner. Sorry, I'm not buying that any human can discern that time difference when listening to music. I can guarantee there's typically much more delay between a single drummer's bass drum beat and his "simultaneous" cymbal crash than that, or between two different musicians trying to play at the exact same tempo.

What you will hear, however, are differences in the frequency components (yes, higher frequencies are more "directional"), depending on the position of each speaker and the position and relative direction of your ears. What people sometimes perceive as "delay" is actually just differences in amplitude of various frequencies due to speaker type, quality, positioning, and reflection/absorption. There is no significant delay introduced by the relatively small distance inside a vehicle.

I would advise not worrying about the "delay" and worry about speaker quality, balance, and equalization. And unfortunately, you can't truly evaluate it until installed in the actual environment.

 

You need to think neurology before resorting to physics The interaural time threshold for detecting direction is around 10 microseconds. Since humans get more directional ques from higher frequencies placing the speakers where they are in the prius raises and moves forward the sound stage which is a good thing. The artifacts that I sometimes hear are caused by both the dash tweeters and door woofers switching in the music, I can then distinctly hear artifacts of the music moving. There are reflection and soundstage issues anywhere in the prius. Both the factory dash location and a-pillars should work well. Since we also get location information from volume changes crossovers are important, which is why I would not just change out the door mid-woofs if concerned about good sound.

I do agree with your conclusion about speaker quality, balance, and equalization being more important than location, as long as you don't totally put the speakers in the wrong place.

 

And this is where headunits that have Audyssey Multi-eq feature come in handy.

The basic principle of Audyssey can be seen in this article about AV receiver at home: Denon AVR-3806 Audyssey MultEQ XT Test Report — Reviews and News from Audioholics

Proper calibration of the system is what makes the biggest difference.

And this is where you can find Audyssey in a car: http://www.audyssey.com/products?f=automotive

 

I agree with your points (although neurology is still governed by the laws of physics ;-) - but the artifacts you refer to (if I understand you) are not due to straight-line delays as was suggested in earlier posts.

And, I actually didn't say that he should not worry about location - I said delay. Location and direction are important, too - as you suggest.

Good discussion.

 

Yes, the artifacts are due to the components being separated but the signal mixed to make it act as a single source of sound. I was just joking about the physics.

 

The problem is that factory "tweeters" are really mid-tweets...and they play to a lower frequency than most (if not all) aftermarket tweeters...so, the separation between the highs and the midrange is less of an issue.