07-11 has a distributed subwoofer system or DSS. With the JBL, the 4 6X9 speakers do nothing but bass, the amp pushes all low frequencies to them. And the tweeters and midrange in the dash and rear deck do vocals. In essence they have 4 smaller subwoofers
That's kind of true but a 6x9 can never be a subwoofer really especially when it has vocals. Camrys from 02 - 12 have always had 4 subs. I think the DSS thing they advertise with the JBL system is just full of crap to explain the reasons behind not having a subwoofer.
The Camry is turning into more and more of a premium vehicle. It's never really stood out as a performance sedan until the beginning of the Gen 6. The marketing dept. probably deemed that it was time for a sub to start competing with audio systems typically reserved for vehicles like the Acura TL once the 2012 Camry rolled in. People are wanting more features in smaller cars nowadays, instead of having to buy a larger vehicle to get leather/auto-climate/etc.
I feel that the JBL speakers have pretty damn good low end response for a stock externally amplified system. Know their limits, and you won't come close to blowing them. Kind of off-topic, but I can't understand why I've read of people blowing the 6x9s, use common sense!
I agree with you, but you know abroad, the Camry has always been a premium vehicle (it is just here in North America where it just a near Luxury vehicle). I agree with you that the 2012 JBL system was made to imitate that of the Acura TL (heck the 2012 Camry's front-end design reminds me of the 09 - current TL).
Even the regular Gen 5 and Gen 6 sound systems are 4 6x9 speakers with 2 mid-tweets in the front dash. I think most people would agree with me that the Standard systems and the JBL sound very similar. They both have excessive bass (but not the right kind of bass like when you are playing deep bass tones they sound like speaker bass).
I don't know about the Gen 6 comment, I thought the Camry stood out in Gen 5 (maybe it's because I have a Gen 5) but an 03 Camry for example looked better than an 03 TL. The Gen 6 just made the Camry look even sexier. The Gen 7 is just WoW. My Family owns all 3 of the last gens of Camry (I have an 03 LE) my dad has an 07 Camry Hybrid with the JBL system with nav (fully loaded) and my mom has a 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE.
"I don't know about the Gen 6 comment, I thought the Camry stood out in Gen 5 (maybe it's because I have a Gen 5) but an 03 Camry for example looked better than an 03 TL. The Gen 6 just made the Camry look even sexier. The Gen 7 is just WoW. My Family owns all 3 of the last gens of Camry (I have an 03 LE) my dad has an 07 Camry Hybrid with the JBL system with nav (fully loaded) and my mom has a 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE"
I dont know about an 03 Camry looking better than an 03 TL. I would always take the TL over the Camry. And I really hate the shape of the Gen 5, worse than i Hate the shape of the Gen 7. Funny, the Gen 5 seems to be the most reliable of the Camrys so far.
Well, i guess this is a good thing, because my girl's 06 Civic EX came with a Sub. And a good Sub for a small car at that. So its time Toyota woke up.
I always thought the system in my dad's 03 LE (non-JBL) sounded decent with the bass turned down a little. I mean personally I wouldn't be blasting it up but I do turn it a bit louder than when I listen to talk shows or something. I never thought Camrys were preminum cars because of the lack of features they have compare to other car their size (TL, ES350, G35/37 sedan), I don't mean just like nice leather, sound system, comfortableness, etc. but it definitely does not handle as well as those cars. I think the Gen 7 comes with the sub because it's just something manufactures once have on their "premium" cars, or brand, my dad's 03 LE didn't come with steering wheels control but my 11 LE did, and mine have all 4 auto windows but the 03 only had 1. Maybe someday we'll see Camrys with JBL standard on all models, the "premium" option would be like Mark Levinson or something equivalent, and Lexus would come out with something even more. I think features like that are just manufactures' way of getting you to buy a more expensive car, I mean all the differences between a Camry and ES350 is just the luxury features, essentially the drive train is still the same. Hopefully someday the Camry will have panoramic sunroof lol.
Thats funny, all the cars you mentioned are entry level luxury car brands. Acura, Lexus and Infinity. There's no way they would put the options in a Lexus in a Camry. Thats why the Lexus is there. The camry is just a family sedan. AS common as a hyundai sonata. Hence, the reason those cars cost a little more.
Been said a few times in this thread but, yeah, the stock system is kind of muddy and boomy. I suspect they tune it this way so when younger people test drive it, they base the quality of the system off of the bass, and nothing else.
Tuning the bass DOWN and notching up the treble a little actually makes the JBL system quite clear and crisp. There's just way too much bass at the "0" position, it needs to be dialed negative to sound good.
been said a few times in this thread but, yeah, the stock system is kind of muddy and boomy. I suspect they tune it this way so when younger people test drive it, they base the quality of the system off of the bass, and nothing else.
Tuning the bass down and notching up the treble a little actually makes the jbl system quite clear and crisp. There's just way too much bass at the "0" position, it needs to be dialed negative to sound good.
Since Bose is a greedy company with way over priced systems, my bet is that they designed the HU like that so if it ever broke, the owner would be FORCED to buy a new Bose HU instead of going cheaper by buying an aftermarket one. IIRC, ordering a replacement Bose HU through the dealer was over $300.
Your wanting an almost 10 year old Camry to be something that it wasn't designed to be. A performance luxury sedan. Times changed, they are now. You want that buy it. Its really that simple.
Its personal preference I guess. I think the new Camry looks too much like a Corolla, or vise versa. Has taken me a while to accept the new sport look.
2012 Corolla SE
2012 Camry SE
I kinda like the nose on my Gen5..And my eye sees the largest lens ever put on a Camry.
That said, Corolla and Camry have always shared similar looks since 03 (look at Gen 9 Corolla and the Gen 5 Camry) The Gen 5 just looks like an older sibling.
I think any of these will do the job, so just pick the one that have the features you want the most at the price you're comfortable with. I have the Pioneer AVH-P4400BH and I love it.
They all have the same features, the JVC is the cheapest of those 3. What I am really looking for is reliability, which one will be the most reliable for the long run. Pioneer has a great reputation and is the most expensive of the bunch. Clarion I am not too sure about, neither do I know much about JVC.
Right now I've got the non-JBL systen and am pretty happy with it but I don't crank up the volume much. I want to get an aftermarket HU with nav but from what i can tell by looking at the current HU's offered, I will lose my XM function. Is this true? Surely not!
Isn't XM a subscription that you are signed up for? meaning they have your information on file right? If that is the case, then no you will not lose your XM, you can get one of the headunits I linked on here (they all have navigation, bluetooth, bluetooth streaming, etc. etc.
Right now I've got the non-JBL systen and am pretty happy with it but I don't crank up the volume much. I want to get an aftermarket HU with nav but from what i can tell by looking at the current HU's offered, I will lose my XM function. Is this true? Surely not!
Also, the headunit looks out of place kinda, I'm trying to get the AVIC-940BT, not sure if I should choose it over the less expensive JVC KW-NT300. How fast is this thing, do you have your music on SDCard? Also the nav is it all loaded on the SDcard meaning I won't be able to load music w/o the nav?
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