2019 Toyota Avalon: Redesigned & Ready to Rock
It’s All About the Bass…and so Much More
As I kick back in the new Toyota Avalon and begin listening to a random song, I am expecting to experience something new and notable. But what’s coming from the Avalon’s audio system right now is something altogether surprising, and I am not quite prepared for such a dramatic shift in sound quality.
Streamlined into the dash or strategically hidden beneath it are some of the 14 JBL speakers and woofers that deliver the audio system’s 5.1 channel surround sound listening experience. Included are four 25 mm horn tweeters, five 80 mm wide dispersion midrange speakers, two 8″ by 9″ wide dispersion woofer, a pair of 150 mm wide dispersion speakers, and a 265 mm dual voice coil subwoofer. Together they bring a new dimension to the lost art and appreciation of stereophonic listening that helps you virtually feel the sound around you.
The 2019 Toyota Avalon’s A-pillars are used to optimum effect, incorporating the horn tweeters into the panels. The shiny black speaker covers with the JBL badge that are visible at the bottom of the pillars look very sharp against the tan interior. The JBL system is featured as a standard or optional upgrade available only in the new Avalon models, but I can’t imagine having this technology available and not taking advantage of it. From what I’ve heard so far, I am convinced that this JBL by Harman surround sound system is a game-changer when it comes to advancing the quality of digital music. The exclusive Toyota-JBL product is the result of state-of-the-art car and audio technology merging together for one spectacular audio system that is custom tailored for the vehicle it is in. When experienced in person, the upgrade in overall sound quality and performance of the 12-channel Class-D 1,200 watt amplifier is instantly and undeniably noticed in a BIG way.
‘With this JBL system, we were targeting systems that were two classes above what you would traditionally look at as a competitor to the Avalon.’
The acoustics delivered by the speakers have a fullness and crispness that make the music sound simply amazing and unlike anything I’ve heard before from a car audio system, or any audio system. The music from the JBL surround sound system in the Avalon fully envelopes my senses, making me feel as if I was just hit by a tornado of sound waves that I can hear and almost feel from every direction. The soft-jazz tune “Come Away with Me” by Norah Jones is not exactly my preferred style of music, but with the song being processed by Clari-Fi and delivered in surround sound, it is actually giving me a newfound appreciation for the artist. I am immediately sold on the silky vocals that are floating above a lush arrangement of delicate guitars and subdued percussion. And with my eyes closed, it sounds like I’m sitting five feet from the stage at a live performance. I have no plans to run out and buy any of Norah Jones’ music any time soon, but I am now a huge fan of this car audio system.
To fully appreciate the JBL system, I opt for something a little more exciting than Norah Jones. Both Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” and Aerosmith’s “Love in an Elevator” are chosen because of the complexities and layers of different sounds in the songs. When “Smooth Criminal” kicks in, the sound of a heart beating is more pronounced and louder and fuller, creating the mood of suspense that was intended but which I’d never felt during previous listens over the past three decades. The cacophony of frenetic footsteps, sharp snaps on the snare drum, MJ’s signature yells, and every syllable that the King of Pop utters sounds so much more dynamic and exciting than I have ever heard them before. The listening experience is completely immersive and feels like listening to a song performed in a concert hall versus hearing it on the radio.
Beauty & the Beat: The 2019 Avalon awaits another dose of Norah Jones at Toyota’s Research & Development facility.
Next, I crank up Aerosmith’s classic from the Eighties and it sounds so good that it’s like I’m hearing it for the very first time — that’s how awesome the impact is. I didn’t think it was possible to get Steven Tyler to ever sound any better, but JBL proves me wrong. With Clari-Fi continually improving the audio quality, there’s noticeably a much livelier, more expansive range of sounds as the QuantumLogic Surround works its magic. The acoustic noise-reducing front windshield also does its part, providing an optimal listening space by reducing acoustic static and thus reinforcing the impressive clarity. I imagine that even if you put some early Bruce Springsteen on this audio system, you’d finally be able to understand every word he’s singing.
At this moment, it is actually disheartening to realize that every audio system that I’ve ever owned and discovered new music on has been cheating me out of the full quality of my favorite songs for decades. But then again, this new JBL by Harman car audio surround sound system surpassed even the expectations of the JBL and Toyota engineers and designers that created it.
“We set the bar very high,” says Kyle Roche, Global Product Line Manager at Harman. “As Harman International, we have expectations when we make proposals to Toyota about what we’re capable of producing in the audio system. And with this JBL system in particular, we were targeting systems that were two classes above what you would traditionally look at as a competitor to the Avalon: The LaCrosse, Maxima, Cadenza, and the Camry. All of those vehicles–the segment as a whole–have a very strong branded audio availability. So, we wanted to make sure that we provided the Avalon team with a system that not only sounded great from all of the engineering that was being put into it, but also it has those features that people are looking for, that they’ve come to recognize in some of those luxury-level vehicles.”
The 23-speaker Mark Levinson Audio System by Harman that I experienced last year and which is featured as an option in the revamped 2018 Lexus LS 500 is simply acoustically stunning. But this new JBL by Harman audio system pushes the edges of high tech and the processing and delivery of digital music even further.
Continued: The Def Leppard Effect
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