Went for it & replaced the "Entire" stereo

What a long trip it's been. First I started out by replacing all the speakers with 3 way Infinity Kappa 63.7i's & loaded the doors with 2 layers of B-Quiet. Then I added a quality 4 ch amp (ARC Audio 4050), top quality hi-low converter (CleanSweep) & a great sounding tight subwoofer (JL Audio W7). Then I decided the stereo still sounded hard & less that musical, so I knew what I had to do - replace the main offender - the head unit. What a difference a head unit makes! I decided I liked the sound quality & control of the EQ that the top end Kenwood receiver (XXV-01D) had going for it so I had it installed in the 1 din space below the original stereo unit & it was way worth the change. Of course I returned the CleenSweep hi-lo unit since I didn't need it anymore, ran the 4 speakers off 2 channels of the amp, put the other stereo amp in bridged mono & ran the sub off that. Then I bought an XMRadio unit to connect to the Kenwood & it all works seemlessly.

What I lost in having steering wheel access to the stereo, I gained in fidelity. That stock Toyota unit is OK at best & I actually like the idea of having a dedicated display for the stereo, so I can leave the MFD on all the time on my favorite screen instead of constantly going back & forth.

The XM unit connected through the Kenwood displays all the info I need to know, as does the built-in tuner. It all sounds so much better I could say this is ceratinly a contender for the best sounding stereo I've had in a vehicle & I've had a few good ones over the years.

Yeah it was a bit expensive because all the components are top quality, but I love the thing every time I get in the car. The installer left the original head unit in the car because he said it messed with the a/c when he tried to remove it & use a conversion kit for the Kenwood, but that's OK since I just close the smoke colored door & it masks the Kenwood unit & I don't feel the need to take the face off in dicey areas.

 

As requested, here's a few pix. You can adjust the angle on the face of the Kenwood so that it comes up in 3 different angles. This is great when the glare makes it hard to see the screen info. Also, with the supplied remote control, you can leave the door closed & adjust everything without taking your eyes off the road, once you get used to the remote's conventions.

[Broken External Image]:http://www.meniketti.com/images/pk4.jpg

[Broken External Image]:http://www.meniketti.com/images/pk5.jpg

[Broken External Image]:http://www.meniketti.com/images/Psub.jpg

 

I had/have the stock stereo in my Prius, not the 9 speaker JBL version. Now it sits quietly in off position.

 

Actually, you might be able to have the map lady even with a new head unit. Since you have the 9 speaker system in your prius you possibly could hook up the center speaker to your original head unit & keep it connected for the GPS prompts. Of course I'm not familiar with how Toyota has everything routed to that head unit for the GPS sounds but I'll bet a bit of investigating would allow you to make that work if you so desired.

I especially like, with my separate head unit, how I can just leave my MFD on the main trip info screen, and with your car I bet you would rather have the GPS screen always on & not have to go back & forth for the CD & Tuner funtions. Just some food for thought.

 

I can't honestly tell you what difference 1 layer vs 2 layers of B-Quiet would have made with road noise because I just went straight ahead with 2 layers without testing just a single layer first. I knew that I had enough to cover all the doors twice so I figured I'd give it a go. Plus when I tapped on the door from the outside with only 1 layer & went to the other door I had just finished 2 layers, there was an absolute difference in the lack of resonance with the 2 layers. That should translate to a better reduction in road noise, but by how much of a noticable factor I'm unsure.

I would still like to get more of the tire noise down in volume, even though I have ComforTreads, but I'm not willing to tear up the floor interior for more insulation at this time. Unless there is a simpler solution I'll just live with what I have at present. I "do" know there was a definite difference with B-Quiet & none in the doors alone on quieting the cabin.

 

I didn't do the Kenwood install, I left the head unit & amp install part to the local car hi-fi place (AMS on Stevens Creek in Santa Clara CA). He mentioned nothing of difficulties installing the Kenwood. I believe it was a pretty easy thing for an installer.

Oh & the XMRadio showing up on the Kenwood display is a plus. Kenwood has ties to Sirius in it's advertising and is what the display says I have when I change to that input, but the head unit features & display obviously works the same with both.

The second reason I wanted an external head unit, besides sound quality, was for better control of EQ. After installing the B-Quiet I could tell the door speakers needed a bit of cut around 300 and a few other small tweaks. Sometimes the best use of EQ is subtractive & this unit has a 5 band parametric interface along with complete high pass & low pass controls for the sub interfacing with the door speakers, including your choice of hi/lo frequency cutoffs & filters of 12, 18 & 24db/octave. Definitely more control than most other units I looked at. And yes, it does sound good. They say they are using better converters, caps, etc in this unit & I have no reason to disbelieve that.