Absolutely save your money for an aftermarket upgrade. The "upgrade system" should have been the base system. It is inferior, has virtually now power overhead, and poor sound in general - and that's with high quality (better than CD) FLAC files. Sorry I purchased it with my 2013, but I hadn't researched aftermarket upgrades at the time. The sound system is the only negative thing I can say about my Model S (so far).
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Is the Premium Audio Worth the upgrade?
- Thread starter chriSharek
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I can't answer the question whether the Premium Sound System is worth the extra $2500 having never heard the standard system. I have been living with the Premium Sound System for more than two and a half years and I thoroughly enjoy it. Nevertheless, even with the presence of the Dolby Surround feature, I am frankly disappointed by the lack of well-implemented surround processing in the Model S. I have a home theater and I am familiar with how incredibly good surround processing can be. I have been hoping that it would be possible for an after market installer to implement decent surround processing. So far this apparently hasn't been possible. Even with the various aftermarket upgrades the Model S for all intents remains a two-channel system with the two front channels essentially being replicated in the rear speakers. That of course is not surround processing.
Larry
Larry
$2500 will buy you a lot of sound at Best Buy . . . and then if you install it yourself, it'll buy even more. I'm leaning towards getting the SAS and passing on the premium sound. 7 days til my order!
What are the setting most people are using? I did get the premium sound and got my car about a week ago. However, I am shocked at the low level of bass and quality of sound. I am wondering if I should be setting it different - typically I was told not to muss around with the equalizer but.....
I have the slacker and the XM so I know I should have premium speakers....
I have the slacker and the XM so I know I should have premium speakers....
beeeerock
Active Member
Before you panic too much (as I almost did), recognize the limitations of your source material. XM is garbage and I'll tell them that to their face quite happily. Slacker isn't much better, although not too bad. If you plug in a USB stick with some good quality MP3's (still not fantastic, but better than the other two mentioned), you'll begin to hear an improvement.
I have the bottom end bumped up quite significantly, the mid-range left at neutral and a slight tweak on the treble. I've played with the surround and find that for some material, it improves things... not so much for others. I can't draft a rule that explains what does and doesn't work though. Front/Rear fade is set at neutral in my car. As always, it's your own taste that dictates.
I wish I could go back to the demo car I listened to... I recall it being much better than what I have and would love to know what the source material was, what the settings were etc. There isn't that much to tweak, so I'm not sure what they could have done, short of install an aftermarket system and pass it off as the premium one... ;-)
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
To echo Brock, I have the standard audio and wasn't happy with the response unless I listened to HD Radio. That was a significant improvement over Slacker on "best", Standard Radio, and my 128 Kbps MP3s from years ago. However, I just turned on Slacker's 320 Kbps option and the improvement is signifant! Thus, Tesla's sound system is capable, but poor source material + (IMO) poor sound processing of poor source by Tesla's firmware, and the output is significantly lacking.
Thank you both for that feedback. I have been listening mostly to XM and also Slacker, so that might explain the problem. I can try the Bluetooth to my iPhone which has all my music on it and high quality - maybe that will make a difference.
That said, my BMW on Sirius XM sounded wayyyy better. I will keep playing around
That said, my BMW on Sirius XM sounded wayyyy better. I will keep playing around
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
I am not an audiophile, so I don't know how to answer. I will say that some of my more "bass heavy" or songs with an underlying bass drive in it that you would totally miss without the right setup now give a good thump and, if I go to 7 or above, my mirrors are vibrating. Its not very strong, but I can definitely feel /hearthe difference.
I listen to a fairly wide range of music. If you are someone that listens primarily to spoken word sources, audiobooks, and the like, I don't think you'll miss anything with the standard sound system. However, if you're someone who listens to music with more bass, such as hip hop, EDM, and more recent pop music, I think you'll find the standard sound system to be lacking. My car has a standard sound system and music like jazz, big band, and classical sounds pretty decent, but when I listen to rap, electronica, and other music with more varied bass, there are certain frequencies that don't even show up, kind of like if you had a 9-band equalizer and flatted out the three left-most bands. If Hova and Yeezy are part of your regular playlist, you'll probably want the upgrade.
Very helpful comment. Shouldn't be a problem for me
Chapel Hill Golfer, do you have the upgraded sound? I hear you on the electronica - there are mid, high, and low basses all in one song that need to be heard. Linkin Park is another group that does this.
McMuggets
Member
I believe the premium sound system for $2500 preinstalled is totally worth it. It's not a huge extra expense in price for what you get. Sure if vibrating windows and mirrors isn't enough bass and you want to wake the neighborhood up, then yes go to your local audio store and pick up the custom thumper. By and large I can't stand setting the bass higher than 8.5 on my Tesla, especially if I have good input audio (ie: set Slacker to HD quality not standard quality). I mean really, I was testing it out in my garage and my neighbor came over because he said it was so loud he had to see it. Anyhow, keep in mind that bass is not everything... the clarity of sound I get astounds me at all volume levels. I am sure many audiophiles will be against anything given to you by the manufacturer, since it isn't "custom" enough. Honestly, one of my buddies is an audiophile and he told me to not install the premium audio upgrade and he hasn't even heard it yet! He simply said it because he doesn't believe any manufacturer would be able to do car audio justice. This shows inherent bias amongst many audiophiles. I really think the $2500 is money well spent, and I have heard the standard audio system as well in a friends Model S. By far worth $2500 in a 100-150K priced car. Here is a review from Edmunds on a 2013 Model S:
"Our 2013 Tesla Model S is equipped with the optional $950 Sound Studio package. It includes a 12-speaker, 580-watt stereo with Dolby Pro Logic 7.1 surround sound, a music storage hard drive and XM satellite radio preparation.The voice command connected to the internet radio will play virtually any song you can think of (provided it's in the Stitcher database), and the touchscreen certainly isn't lacking in square-footage, but what's the sound quality like?
In a word: Excellent.
Medium- and high-pitch frequencies are crisp and clear, while bass is strong and consistent up and down the volume range. There is no speaker distortion (regardless of genre, making it more impressive), even when you turn the stereo up to the maximum. Roll down all four windows, slide back the panoramic roof and you'll be able to entertain (or annoy) the whole neighborhood.
Since we waved goodbye to our long-term Infiniti JX35 and its optional 15-speaker Bose sound system, this is without a doubt the best stereo in our fleet."
I'm not an audiophile either. And I'm not looking for window shattering bass, but I am looking for a.... good balanced system where the lows blend with the mids with highs - something like Audessey (sp?) does for home audio (I ordered standard sound, as the upgrade didn't impress me, though it was with lower bitrate slacker). But I'm looking into upgrade options besides Rues and Evannex.
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
McMuggets, I see you quoted me here, but I am unclear on the connection to my post. I agree with what you said and that was my intent in my post if I was unclear.
I also would have gotten the upgraded sound system if I had the choice (I bought CPO).
Here is my post from the Slacker 320 Kbps thread: #7
If I had to forego an option in order to afford my MS, the premium audio (and upgraded wheels) would be where I'd cut the costs. These are things you can upgrade yourself down the road if you are not happy with them. Having said that, we ordered the premium sound simply because I don't want to spend the time and effort to allow the Best Buy monkeys to crawl all over my new car sliplining cables and wires beneath the interior panels. Too much could go wrong with that scenario. Glad I upgraded. . . . only 82 days.
My car is 2 years old with the original $950 premium audio. I recently extensively drove a new loaner with premium audio while my car was being serviced. I transferred my FLAC USB thumb drive from my car to the loaner car and set the EQ and fade settings identical to my car as well as varying them. To my great surprise the new premium audio system was not nearly as good as the one in my early car. The sound distorted at higher volumes and was not as clear and crisp. Bass was slightly muddier and not as tight.
Were I to buy a new car I would indeed consider paying $2500 for an audio system equivalent to the one in my car. It is clearly excellent as noted by Edmunds. But the new system in the loaner was not equivalent. I would not pay $2500 for it.
Have any other people with early cars experienced a noticeable difference between premium audio quality in new cars? Makes me wonder if/when Tesla changed some of the components.
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
I don't know if the hardware changed, but I want to ask to be explicit... Did you make sure to use Dolby on/off as you have in your car? Were both cars on the same firmware? Tesla has recently made changes to the sound processor and on the premium system, some have reported that previously, they would always leave Dolby off and now, with the updated sound processing, they turned Dolby on for a better experience.
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Codecs have definitely changed. When I tested sine wave 32-33Hz a couple of years ago the A pillar speakers hated it. now they sound fine.
The bass added by the premium sound is 'ok' but lacking any sort of power. you can sort of hear it but it is really weak when you compare it to something that actually hits.
the 8" will move pretty substantially at lower frequencies but the sound it makes is kind of muted, maybe because it is a ported box?
If I really realized how much it was missing I would have put a 10" or 12" in years ago!
I also like Dolby on now for most music but I added a 10" that pulls front and rear sources.
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