so i'm gathering that throwing a jbl unit in is almost pointless. im good with adding new speakers but an amp's power draw on the battery and the risk of it voiding any part of my warranty give me pause. anybody know if i'll get improved sound by putting in aftermarket speakers, or will the low level 'quality' from my stock speakers be better than a speaker that is better but requires more watts than the OEM head unit can provide?
Changeing the speakers is always a good upgrade for an OEM system. You won't break anything by making the upgrade.
Thank your lucky star that you don't have the integrated JBL amp. Without it, adding an amp and replacing the stock speakers is a really straightforward operation that even non-Prius experienced installers can do (i.e. Best Buy/Circuit City etc.) If you are handy and patient and good with running wires, there's not much to it. You won't void the warranty by adding aftermarket sound systems to any car, so no need to worry about that.
I just took home a 2009 Package 2 Prius and I'm very disappointed in the sound quality. Can anyone recommend which aftermarket speakers (specifically) might improve the without changing the OEM head? What size? thanks, Neil
The problem with installing aftermarket speakers on the OEM stereo and NOT adding an amplifier is the fact that there is generally not enough power coming out of the stock unit to run a decent component set (speakers with separate tweeters). There shouldn't be a huge los in MPG with a small to medium powered amplifier. IMO I'd rather enjoy the sound system and the overall enjoyment of the car rather than freak out over a 1mpg loss. I drove 74 miles to work today on the freeway at 70mph average and still parked with the MFD at 52mpg and I run two huge amplifiers totaling 1800 watts RMS. <shrug>
If you only knew how much I despise installing stereo equipment.... Actually, I'd do the stereo portion no problem, it's the amplifiers and speakers I don't like messing with. lol
I had no idea. In that case, any sites you could recommend for learning more about it? (Other than this one, of course.)
I really don't hang out on the car audio forums. Most of the stuff I get is from my 2nd job (car stereo shop). The only sites I've checked out were DIY Mobile Audio - Technical, Advanced & Informative and Sounddomain.com . I don't know how they rate in quality though. The info on Elitecaraudio.com was pretty good but I don't know if that site is still up. As with most other forums they are generally populated by young know-it-alls that enjoy trash talking or making you feel small.
When I replaced my speakers with Polk Audio components, it sounded WORSE than the stock speakers until I added the aftermarket stereo. I guess there wasn't enough power in the stock stereo (non-JBL).
Along with the sites F8L suggested, I would highly recommend checking out Basic Car Audio Electronics. It may be called Basic, but there is a staggering amount of useful information there.
Wouldn't the issue come up only if the new speakers have a different impedance rating than the OEM speakers?
If the impedance of new speakers is lower than OEM, then you risk overheating/blowing the amp. If the impedance is higher, then the new speakers may sound quieter than OEM. I think the stock speakers (at least in the JBL) were 3ohms.
I started my stereo mod by replacing the door speakers with Infinity Reference 6 1/2" 2-way speakers. They're very close to a bolt-in. With the stock head unit and no amp they were more efficient than the stock speakers (slightly louder at the same volume level) and increased the quality from mid through high considerably. However, they did little for the bass, and I knew I wasn't getting all out of them that they could produce. I then added a Clarion 4-channel in, 5-channel out 500 watt amp (200 watts for the sub, 75 watts per channel times four for the cabin) and a 10" Rockford-Fosgate Punch sub in a small, down-firing enclosure. The change was dramatic. I now have great, well-balanced sound with excellent bass. good for anything from rock to jazz to classical. Hip-hop might be better with 2 of the subs, but it's certainly adequate. The key is in balancing the system (and, no, the bass "loudness" contour and sub volume knobs are NOT meant to be full up no matter what!). I've spent days tweaking the various controls on the amp, one at a time, then driving my 50 mile commute to evaluate the change. Make small changes and take time to see how they work on a variety of music. I'm not aware of any loss of mileage, but I'm not a hypermiler. Coupled with the Sirius radio add-on, everything is still controlled through the touchscreen (balance, fade, tone - to an extent, and sirius).
