Germany’s Auto Motor & Sport calls Model S sound system “extraordinary"

[Zeani]

I personally found there was a huge difference between the stock and the hifi sound systems in the Tesla. Back when I was test driving (in May), I did a back to back sound system test, using my bluetooth paired phone, and the difference in quality was very noticeable, especially on the mids and lows, and the sense of depth. Using a USB drive I can only imagine would be even more noticeable. The stock was was definitely worse than my 2008 Audi A3's premium sound system.

One thing I will say is that the Dolby surround sound they've got often makes the music sound significantly worse. I could see some people who left that one being put off, and blaming the speakers themselves for what is a separate issue (I always leave the dolby off in my car).

 

[drsaab]

I used a USB to do back to back tests and the UHF was more spatial, way more bass and definitely a large difference. The base system was "muddy" when heard back to back to the UHF.

in ranking the 4 I just tested I would say

2012 X3 upgraded sound.

Then Tesla base

then 2011 E350 Harmon kardon

then Tesla UHF as the best.

the 2014 and up S550 burmeister is supposed to be stunning. The tesla is sound is good but not "stunning"

 

[Thud]

In my last bmw the HK sound system was definitely worth the $875. The $2500 Tesla system doesn't have nearly the bang for the buck. The best I've heard is the Audi Q7 with the B&O system, but that's $7000.

I have the base sound, it's fine for streaming music, my only complaint is the lack of bass compared to my BMW. Might go with with Evannex subwoofer at some point.

 

[NielsChr]

I have had a P85 for a year now - with the Tesla upgraded HiFi sound. Back then when it was ordered, it was much cheaper.
Now that my P85 are sold, and a new P85D are ordered, I was in doubt if I should opt for the upgraded sound again.

First of all the Price was now nearly the double as I paid original, and I didn’t use the radio (DAB) very much (which was one of the reasons I upgraded the sound in first place)

Since I have driven with upgraded sound for a long time, I scheduled a test drive in a Model S without upgraded sound - immediately I could hear the different.
The bas was missing, and especially the loudspeakers in the hatch were missing - it was, as there was no sound coming from behind.

I can only recommend the upgraded sound package as this is defiantly better than the standard. My newly ordered Model S is with the upgraded sound even though I now have to pay double for the same HiFi upgrade as my previous Model S.

 

[majorlance]

My P85D with upgraded sound is scheduled for next Friday, December 26th. I have now converted all of my CD's to lossless and have a plan (that will hopefully work) on how to randomize the songs on a USB stick. My 4 and 5 star playlists are a mix of lossless and 256 aac files but will definitely do some A/B testing with both types of formats... and then Bluetooth audio vs. USB direct.

As I mentioned earlier, I just turned in a 2013 MB S550 with a HK (stock) stereo which I really liked. As Thud pointed out, the B&O upgrades in the german cars are fantastic but they're expensive... I've never been able to justify the $7k but I think I would have liked it!

I've always considered myself a music guy and am pretty picky about how my stereo sounds so I'll let you guys know after next weekend. At least what my opinion is!