Sony XAV-9500ES EQ settings

I've had the 9500ES installed for a few days and thought I'd pull out my UMIK-1 and play with the parametric EQ settings using REW with some pink noise. Sounds pretty decent with just the OEM drivers after a little EQ work.

This is for my 2018 CrewMax Limited non-JBL amplified OEM system. I plan on doing a full active 3-way system in the spring, but wanted to take advantage of the Sony's sound settings before I can get to that. I bought this from Trail Grid Pro and would highly recommend them. Very easy plug and play setup.

Below are my parametric EQ settings for the front channels. I set the fader to Front +10. I don't really want the rear speakers to take away from the front stage. I also tried to limit the rear speaker bandwidth to 200Hz-3kHz using a HP filter and LR+RR EQ settings. Finally, I played around with the Listening Position settings. The center image had more focus when I selected the Left Front position, but I plan to leave this setting off when I have passengers. I may also play around with the TA settings, but didn't see much cancellation between the Left and Right when summed together. I know the center channel adds a level of complexity. There was a dip or cancellation around 300Hz that I found with both channels playing.

I also bumped up the graphic EQ filters a couple notches at 50Hz, 80Hz, and 315Hz. It needed a little help on the low end and tried to compensate for that cancellation around 300Hz. This OEM system really needs a sub, but now I have a decent frequency response with a better soundstage. If you have the 9500ES, try and play around with these settings and see how you like them. Good luck!

LF EQ
Frequency(Hz) Gain(dB) Q
1 251 -6.80 3.534
2 378 -6.20 1.354
3 1278 -5.00 4.494
4 2667 -10.30 1.518
5 4438 -3.30 4.888
6 9049 +4.20 1.154
7 13537 -2.30 4.743

RF EQ
Frequency(Hz) Gain(dB) Q
1 246 -5.70 3.849
2 385 -4.90 2.768
3 728 -5.70 5.000
4 1244 -7.30 2.972
5 1836 -3.80 1.362
6 2811 -7.20 1.323
7 9300 +4.80 1.774

 

Thanks for the detailed write up, I’m gonna try this out now, been wanting to fine tune but had no clue what to change. This will hopefully help. I have added all new speakers including adding a sub and a couple amps. Definitely loving my new xav9500es!

 

Made these changes this morning and makes a world of difference with the stock speakers. Thanks for the info!

 

Made the changes this morning too, not sure this is gonna work for the setup I have. Now I think I need a UMIK-1 to make the changes I want to fine tune…just don’t think I’ll ever use it again.

 

I'm glad you heard the same results as I did. Really made a huge difference for sure!

 

Generally, you're using the EQ to correct the peaks and nulls created from the listening room (Tundra interior). Different speaker drivers will also have different frequency responses too. The EQ settings I shared are really only optimized for the CrewMax non-JBL amplified system with the factory speakers. By replacing the speakers and adding a subwoofer, you'll need a different tune. Purchasing a miniDSP UMIK-1 or Dayton Audio UMM-6 and learning how to use it with REW will make a huge difference with your setup. The 9500ES has a pretty powerful DSP that can really elevate your system.

One thing I will note, I decided to replace the 2.5" dash speakers with a pair of used Audiofrog GS25's. I switched the Sony from Front+Rear mode to 2-way mode. I purchased the factory amp bypass harness so I could power the front 6x9's and GS25's off of the Sony. I was pretty disappointed to see the the lowest HP filter that the Sony has as an option for the "High" channel is 1.6kHz. The GS25's are more than capable of playing 350Hz and above. Sony must assume that people will be using a tweeter and not a wideband on the "High" channel. Again, very disappointing. Also disappointed that there is no 3.5mm aux audio input. The 9500ES really does sound great using the USB drive or wireless Android Auto streaming Tidal.

I did perform a retune with the factory 6x9 and AF GS25. I ended up settling on the 1.6kHz crossover setting. Looked like the factory crossover was around 1.2kHz. I might come up with my own passive crossover setup so I can get the GS25 to play lower up on the dash.

 

When you did the factory amp bypass did you notice a decent difference in the factory speakers? Or did you make all the changes at once? I have that coming shortly.

 

I bypassed the amp when I replaced the dash speakers with the AF GS25's. I did get a slight output boost from the factory 6x9's.

 

Would you mind sharing the rear settings as well like you did the front? I know you talked about it, but that might as well be a foreign language to me lol.

 

I really didn't do any measurements for the rear. All I did was set the fader to Front +10 and set the rear HP crossover to around 200 or 250Hz. I used the parametric EQ and tried to limit anything above 3kHz. So, I literally just grabbed some random points from the EQ display and pulled them down. I don't have the settings anymore because they were lost when I switched to 2-way from Front+Rear.

 

Did you have any issues with sound coming from the subwoofer? I am getting nothing out of mine. Have the maestro setup from trailgridpro and for some reason even after doing a reload on the maestro for the JBL system with amp I am still not getting sound from the subwoofer. Any ideas or fixes from anyone? Thanks

 

Did you have any issues with sound coming from the subwoofer? I am getting nothing out of mine. Have the maestro setup from trailgridpro and for some reason even after doing a reload on the maestro for the JBL system with amp I am still not getting sound from the subwoofer. Any ideas or fixes from anyone? Thanks

 

Have you reached out to Trail Grid Pro? I don't have experience with the JBL system with the factory subwoofer.

 

I did and they said to reload the meastro for the JBL with amp. No joy. I may pull it and reload it under the other settings to see if that changes anything. I am pretty sure no signal is going to the subwoofer because when I adjust the input to it nothing changes. Hopefully someone on here had the same issue or understands the amp with this head unit enough where they can give me a fix. Thanks

 

@ballz50401 have you adjusted your rear speakers using the parametric eq? I’m looking to increase bass. I don’t want to buy a sub yet without trying to adjust everything first.

 

No I haven't due to the fact that I have my 9500ES set up for 2 way mode. I prefer not to have any rears speakers playing because it can take away from the front soundstage. The factory 6x9's do put out some pretty good bass for most music after adjusting the PEQ.

One thing you can do is sound treatment. I sound treated all 4 doors and the roof with Resonix products and it really improved the bass performance.

 

@ballz50401 copy thank you for your response and help! I got some work to do.

 

Here's a little peek at some of the sound treatment I did. I haven't retuned after doing this work, but it's the best upgrade I've done to help with the midbass and sub bass.

 

@ballz50401 Looks really good! Did you get aftermarket speakers in the front? Also, did you remove anything in the doors or door panels when you sound proofed? The sound proofing is just the shiny stuff right? Every YouTube video I watch has folks pulling everything out before proofing.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I'm currenting running the Stereo Integrity TM65 mkIV's. I didn't remove any of the factory sound treatment. The shiny stuff is the ResoNix CLD Squares. There's a lot of good info out there. ResoNix has some good information.

These 2 playlists walk you through everything:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLITh5r3UxBTVF6eRPprPeZktJ9Aixsnhw&si=2CVp4FE7OSx0Dzd3

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL23F_XkCzLecwCgFAcGUn5xaGuBp0K_EL&si=andDa4oDWXA9YDXq

 

I have the same 9500 from trailgrid pro. I will be adjusting these setting next week!! Great info.