Anyone with new thoughts on the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound" vs Standard System

Argelius · Sep 1, 2013

Anyone with new thoughts on the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound" vs Standard System

I know this has been previously addressed ad nauseum. Alas, most of the threads originated 6-8 months ago and are 40+ pages.

So, humor me if you will, and share your thoughts on this.

I know ultimately it comes down to "personal preference" and how much further I am willing to empty my wallet.
For $1000, I'd say, "what the hell -- what's another $1000 on a $90K+ car?"; for $2500, I'm wondering, "it's only worth it if the base system is really mediocre.

I did do a (albeit too brief) side-by-side (actually showroom -- to dealer lot ) comparison. The base system sounded pretty darn good to me; the premium sounded even better (just not sure if it's $2500 better...).

Anyway, thanks to anyone who cares to chime in on what I know is a topic of much opinion and debate).

- - - Updated - - -

After posting I came across this relatively recent thread, which is essentially the same question as mine. So apologies for the duplicate. (I would delete the thread, but can't seem to...). Anyway, thoughts are still welcome...

http://goo.gl/HUhmUQ

Odenator · Sep 1, 2013

$900 extra for OEM, sure why not for the slightly better sound and roll the cost into the car loan.

$2500 extra for the modest improvement, go after market. The improvement in sound quality is significant. The biggest drawback is you can't consolidate the out-of-pocket expense into the purchase price.

ddruz · Sep 2, 2013

I recently posted this over on the TM forum.

I have the Sound Studio in my car and consider it worth the $950 it cost at the time. However I do not consider it worth the $2500 it costs now. Were I to order now it would be with the standard sound system.

I drove a loaner with standard sound again last week for a couple days. I spent a very long time playing around with the sound system this time, comparing it to my car's system and tweaking it for best all around sound on a variety of genres. My source was lossless FLAC via USB.

I have been blessed with a good ear and appreciate distinctions important to audiophiles. IMO the standard sound system sounds best with both bass boost and to a lesser extent treble boost to compensate for its speaker configuration. But it should do a creditable job for most non-audiophiles.

FWIW these are the system settings that I now prefer with the standard sound system. You see a lot of people crank up the equalizer across the entire spectrum of bass, mid and treble but that is not much different than just increasing the volume.

7.5 Bass
0.0 Mid
3.5 Treble
0.0 Fade
0.0 Balance

What is needed with this system on most source material is compensation in the lows and highs relative to the mids. Increasing lows and highs also compensates for the human ear's decreasing sensitivity to highs and lows at lesser volumes which is an added benefit.

If you do this type of compensation with the system's equalizer and are not an audiophile or a titanic volume meister you should be able to save $2500 and be plenty happy with this system.

Al Sherman · Sep 2, 2013

Is the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound System" the same as the original " Premium Sound Upgrade?"

texex91 · Sep 2, 2013

Al Sherman said:
Is the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound System" the same as the original " Premium Sound Upgrade?"

You have two options from TM, Standard and Premium.

$2500 for 'premium' system that I personally don't think is that premium, I wouldn't do it. I ordered a + and skipped the premium as it just wasn't worth it. Which is a shame, because I certainly would have ponied up another $2500 for a true superior sound system.

jerry33 · Sep 2, 2013

Al Sherman said:
Is the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound System" the same as the original " Premium Sound Upgrade?"

That is what is generally thought, however there have been posts that Tesla personnel have said both. I don't know that any forum member has actually compared the "Sound Studio" to the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound System". I'm happy with the Sound Studio at $950. I wouldn't have purchased it at $2500.

Mayhemm · Sep 2, 2013

For me, the choice isn't really a choice. I want satellite radio, so I need to get the UHFS.

Sure, I could stick a $100 unit on my dash and use an FM modulator, but that ruins the clean lines of the S interior (not to mention makes already crappy quality even worse).

I have to say though, it sticks in my craw a lot more to pay $2800CAD for satellite radio than it did to pay $1000CAD (which was bad enough), bit I'm going to do it anyway. :redface:

yobigd20 · Sep 2, 2013

definitely not even close to worth $2500. I feel like this is similar to having a plumber or electrician give you a quote for a small job where they really don't want the job - something they should only cost $500 and they quote you $3000 because it's not worth their time.

JohnQ · Sep 2, 2013

ddruz said:
I recently posted this over on the TM forum.

I have the Sound Studio in my car and consider it worth the $950 it cost at the time. However I do not consider it worth the $2500 it costs now. Were I to order now it would be with the standard sound system.

I drove a loaner with standard sound again last week for a couple days. I spent a very long time playing around with the sound system this time, comparing it to my car's system and tweaking it for best all around sound on a variety of genres. My source was lossless FLAC via USB.

I have been blessed with a good ear and appreciate distinctions important to audiophiles. IMO the standard sound system sounds best with both bass boost and to a lesser extent treble boost to compensate for its speaker configuration. But it should do a creditable job for most non-audiophiles.

FWIW these are the system settings that I now prefer with the standard sound system. You see a lot of people crank up the equalizer across the entire spectrum of bass, mid and treble but that is not much different than just increasing the volume.

7.5 Bass
0.0 Mid
3.5 Treble
0.0 Fade
0.0 Balance

What is needed with this system on most source material is compensation in the lows and highs relative to the mids. Increasing lows and highs also compensates for the human ear's decreasing sensitivity to highs and lows at lesser volumes which is an added benefit.

If you do this type of compensation with the system's equalizer and are not an audiophile or a titanic volume meister you should be able to save $2500 and be plenty happy with this system.

I have the standard and it's "OK." Meaning that there are obvious weaknesses (particularly the bass) but I'm willing to live with them. I didn't find the upgrade (at the time) worth the $950 and if I'm going to pay for an upgrade I'll do it right. At the end of the day it's tolerable.

texex91 · Sep 2, 2013

JohnQ said:
I have the standard and it's "OK." Meaning that there are obvious weaknesses (particularly the bass) but I'm willing to live with them. I didn't find the upgrade (at the time) worth the $950 and if I'm going to pay for an upgrade I'll do it right. At the end of the day it's tolerable.

Looks like Reus is in Texas now (Houston Area). Good excuse for group buy and trip to Houston when I get my P85+!

Reus Southwest
281-318-1150
www.reusaudio.com/contactus.html

Andrew · Sep 2, 2013

Considering that so many people keep saying that the upgraded audio was worth it at $950, but the same upgrade wouldn't be worth at it at $2,500, it would be really nice to finally figure out if it is indeed the same exact upgrade.

Has anyone actually taken delivery of the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound" system yet?

If anyone in Los Angeles has, I'd love to meet up and do a side-by-side test! (I have the Sound Studio.) It would be good to know if the UHFS is actually the same as the prior upgrade. Even better, maybe we can get all three systems together at once? Base/Studio/Ultra?

yobigd20 · Sep 2, 2013

Andrew said:
Considering that so many people keep saying that the upgraded audio was worth it at $950, but the same upgrade wouldn't be worth at it at $2,500, it would be really nice to finally figure out if it is indeed the same exact upgrade.

AFAIK its the exact same system. It's just a matter of value for the price. Would you pay $600 for an ipad? Yes. Would you pay $1500 for the exact same ipad? No, that's absurd.

doctrewho · Sep 4, 2013

Has anyone with the standard system had a Reus upgrade installed? I've seen posts from people who had the Sound Studio package that have had it installed and was curious about the differences. I'm guessing that the Reus installers will wire and install extra speakers into the locations that would normally be occupied by the UHFS system.

SCW-Greg · Sep 4, 2013

yobigd20 said:
AFAIK its the exact same system. It's just a matter of value for the price. Would you pay $600 for an ipad? Yes. Would you pay $1500 for the exact same ipad? No, that's absurd.

Confirmation?

I know both state 12 speaker system, but how else do we know?
I love my Sound Studio. Selfishly, if my resale value shows the same sound system is some how worth $1500+ more, well that's helpful.

get_amped · Sep 4, 2013

Andrew said:
Considering that so many people keep saying that the upgraded audio was worth it at $950, but the same upgrade wouldn't be worth at it at $2,500, it would be really nice to finally figure out if it is indeed the same exact upgrade.

Has anyone actually taken delivery of the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound" system yet?

If anyone in Los Angeles has, I'd love to meet up and do a side-by-side test! (I have the Sound Studio.) It would be good to know if the UHFS is actually the same as the prior upgrade. Even better, maybe we can get all three systems together at once? Base/Studio/Ultra?

It's the same exact hardware. The explanation I got from the local store was: "we looked at what other high end cars charge for premium sound and we felt our system was underpriced".
So all they did was jack up the price by $1500 while giving it a new name. IMHO, it's ludicrous that they are only offering XM with the upgraded package. XM should be included with the tech package. Oh well, I guess i can live with the the Sirius XM iPhone app...

lloyds · Sep 6, 2013

get_amped said:
It's the same exact hardware. The explanation I got from the local store was: "we looked at what other high end cars charge for premium sound and we felt our system was underpriced".
So all they did was jack up the price by $1500 while giving it a new name. IMHO, it's ludicrous that they are only offering XM with the upgraded package. XM should be included with the tech package. Oh well, I guess i can live with the the Sirius XM iPhone app...

This is how Tesla's improving on the margins.

texex91 · Sep 6, 2013

lloyds said:
This is how Tesla's improving on the margins.

...and not making people buying $100K P85+ very happy.

Brett · Sep 6, 2013

Andrew said:
Considering that so many people keep saying that the upgraded audio was worth it at $950, but the same upgrade wouldn't be worth at it at $2,500, it would be really nice to finally figure out if it is indeed the same exact upgrade.

Has anyone actually taken delivery of the "Ultra High Fidelity Sound" system yet?

If anyone in Los Angeles has, I'd love to meet up and do a side-by-side test! (I have the Sound Studio.) It would be good to know if the UHFS is actually the same as the prior upgrade. Even better, maybe we can get all three systems together at once? Base/Studio/Ultra?

I have UHFS. I'll be at the Tesla Run on Sunday if you want to check it out.

Crispix · Sep 6, 2013

I'm getting used to the MS upgraded sound.

My previous car was an MB CLK with a Harman Kardon (factory upgrade) sound system. It sounded fantastic, easily the best OEM audio system I'd heard in any car. Super rich detail in all levels.

Switching to the Model S was a medium disappointment. My first impressions: the MS sound is full, but not detailed. (I'm not an audiophile, not sure if I'm using the right terms). The bass booms, but lacks distinction. Turning up the volume on the Model S just makes it noisier all around; on the Benz, I could pick out, for example, the high hat or the bass line easily -- now it's harder for my ears to isolate the different parts.

I've fiddled with the settings and finally settled on bass and treble turned up ~4.5 each, Dolby ON (I know a lot of people turn it off), and the sound moved slightly toward the rear.

I'm getting used to it and my car audio sounds pretty good now. I no longer have the Mercedes to compare to, so I think my ears just don't remember what it was like with the better car sound system. So it's fine.

$2500 (if it's the same as what I got for $950) seems steep. Frankly, I don't know what I'd do now if I were buying today and the same system is now $2500. If the Reus upgrade is about the same price, I guess I'd probably skip the Tesla upgrade, try out the standard sound for a while, and probably never get around to getting the Reus upgrade.

JohnQ · Sep 8, 2013

Crispix said:
...Frankly, I don't know what I'd do now if I were buying today and the same system is now $2500. If the Reus upgrade is about the same price, I guess I'd probably skip the Tesla upgrade, try out the standard sound for a while, and probably never get around to getting the Reus upgrade.

And that's exactly my state of affairs. Bought standard, figured I'd go aftermarket, haven't gotten around to it. I miss my bass, though.

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