[2023 Model 3 SR] Sound System Upgrade

[cecil.holmes]

New club member here! Recently took delivery of a Model 3 Standard Range on the 31st and am looking to upgrade the partial sound system. I received a referral to this club from a another Tesla owner in a separate Discord server. I would love to get more information about the best kit(s) for 2023 builds and recommendations for any installers in the Bay Area, CA.

 

[Evilgixxer]

This is what I am running in my Tesla Model 3.

 

[ALeaf]

New club member here! Recently took delivery of a Model 3 Standard Range on the 31st and am looking to upgrade the partial sound system. I received a referral to this club from a another Tesla owner in a separate Discord server. I would love to get more information about the best kit(s) for 2023 builds and recommendations for any installers in the Bay Area, CA.

Hello Cecil and anyone else...I'm in the same boat. I thought I did my homework on the audio, and the Tesla Salesperson said all new '23 M3s come with Premium Sound. Well, I dont hear any 3D and the bass is less than even my old Mazda. Really disappointed. Is there a way I can have the car audio upgraded to the Premium Sound that comes with the "better" M3's?

 

[Zacster]

Hello Cecil and anyone else...I'm in the same boat. I thought I did my homework on the audio, and the Tesla Salesperson said all new '23 M3s come with Premium Sound. Well, I dont hear any 3D and the bass is less than even my old Mazda. Really disappointed. Is there a way I can have the car audio upgraded to the Premium Sound that comes with the "better" M3's?

The short answer: No.

The longer answer: Read the rest of the thread.

AFAIK, you just can't upgrade to the "Premium" sound because the output from the console just isn't there. You can work around that by tapping into the existing wires. There are kits that will get you most of the way there and you'd need to find an installer or DIY. Or you can do what I did and just upgrade the existing drivers that already get a signal. The sub is the hardest part. My car doesn't have one, doesn't have the wiring, doesn't have the signal, doesn't have the amp.

I'm plenty happy with what I did.

 

[rickymz]

New here also with 2023 RWD, it seems that Focal ISU 200 is the most recommended, can anyone describe what should be expected from those Focal woofers comparing to stock? More bass? Cleaner sounds? Etc.
Also, Ebay has those for $200 from Europe instead of $380 in the states, is it safe to get those from eBay? Counterfeit concerns?

 

[Zacster]

Deeper, more distinct bass. The original drivers are not meant to deliver all the bass as every other model has the subwoofer. The OEM driver is actually pretty light and runs out of steam quickly.

I bought mine from Germany. When you buy from Crutchfield you are paying for instructions, brackets, wires, service. While it is worth it when you install speakers in any other car, they don't have the parts or the knowledge for Teslas. You'll need brackets and wires from AmpedGarage.

Also consider the dash speakers. They are also not prepared to handle the high frequencies that they are asked to produce.

 

[Mustangr]

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money but want better sound, install replacement drivers in the dash and door. The ones I used were Infinity Ref 4032 in the dash, 3 of them, and Focal ISU200 in the front doors. I think the Infiniy drivers will also replace the rear door drivers but I didn’t do those.

If you think it’ll improve tho sound there are wire harnesses that will connect to the tweeters in the pillar and door. I believe the connections may be there for those but I didn’t try. Once I had the dash drivers replaced I didn’t see the need.

The big problem is that the audio is a closed system. Unlike most cars there is no access to anything as it is integrated into the console. All the other car sounds come though it too. Reus may know how to build out a system as they’ve specialized in it, but it’ll cost ya. I was able to do what I did myself, popping off panels as needed, and buying a few cheap tools. Most other car audio shops won’t know what to do as a Tesla is not a head unit/amp/ speakers build. And if you want a subwoofer you’re on your own. There’s no sub feed in an sr+.

The other thing you want is Tidal. It is the only high quality streaming source and it’ll sound much better than Spotify or Apple. The other option is music on a USB stick, but if you haven’t already ripped thousands of CDs that’s a big hassle.

As you can see I’ve been down this road already. Feel free to ask questions.

The infinity 4032 speakers are 3 ohm instead of 4 ohm. Won’t that draw more power from the stock amp power supply and cause issues/ possible damage to the hardware?

 

[Zacster]

I don’t remember what the original drivers were but unless you have it at ear splitting levels it’ll be fine.

 

[Icon1]

Hello forum, new member with 2023 Model 3 RWD. Just installed the 3 front dash speakers with the Infinity REF-4032CFX. Sound is clearer and cleaner, mid-base is more prevalent, treble is crisp.

The sound with the new dash speakers are a definite improvement. I'm not a bass head and prefer a balanced base which the stock door woofer speakers are providing. Is it necessary and what sort of improvements if I replace the door woofer speakers with Focal ISU200?

Also had a slight issue in reinstalling the front dash speaker grill panell due to shape of mount and center speaker. Support post on center of the grill panel was hitting on speaker attachment tab causing a noticeable bump in the grill panel. Could not get the center area to lie flat. Had to slightly trim the center support post (left of center speaker) to get the grill panel to lie perfect. Has anyone else had this issue ?

 

[Zacster]

When I put in the ISU200 after doing the dash speakers it brought the sound together. The original woofers are kind of flabby IMHO. It isn't a hard install but you have to take the door panels off.

You had all the same issues I had with the dash speakers. The passenger side needed one of the mount's ears cut off, and the center one too. I just cut the mounts so that the panel would go on, I didn't cut the panel or the actual speaker. You'll have the same setup when you're done as I do. I didn't replace anything else. I thought about doing the rear door speakers but I kept reading that they are hard to get at and I didn't think it was that important.

One other big improvement though was Tidal. If you subscribe to that you'll get CD quality sound and it is much better than the fuzzy sound from Spotify or any of the other services. You use your phone's hotspot since Tidal requires a wifi connection to get the CD quality.

You're welcome to take a listen to my setup if you ever come across into Brooklyn since you are in NJ.

 

[Icon1]

I'm considering installing the Infinity Reference REF-6530cx component woofers in the doors. They are 6.5" woofers and should fit without any issues. Has anybody had any experience with these woofers? Like the Infinity Reference REF-4032CFX (installed in das) they are 3ohm speakers. Someone informed me that the 3ohm woofer will not work properly for the door and must be 4ohm. They stated at 70% volume the amp will go into protection mode..

 

[Icon1]

When I put in the ISU200 after doing the dash speakers it brought the sound together. The original woofers are kind of flabby IMHO. It isn't a hard install but you have to take the door panels off.

You had all the same issues I had with the dash speakers. The passenger side needed one of the mount's ears cut off, and the center one too. I just cut the mounts so that the panel would go on, I didn't cut the panel or the actual speaker. You'll have the same setup when you're done as I do. I didn't replace anything else. I thought about doing the rear door speakers but I kept reading that they are hard to get at and I didn't think it was that important.

One other big improvement though was Tidal. If you subscribe to that you'll get CD quality sound and it is much better than the fuzzy sound from Spotify or any of the other services. You use your phone's hotspot since Tidal requires a wifi connection to get the CD quality.

You're welcome to take a listen to my setup if you ever come across into Brooklyn since you are in NJ.

Thanks for your insight on the woofers. Will look into installing them. Just doing more research whether to go with the Focal ISU200 or a 6.5" woofer.

Was considering modifying the speakers like you did but opted to trim the grill/panel as the speakers were already installed.

Thanks for the heads up on Tidal. I have 600 songs in Flac format loaded on a micro sd card tgebi listen to.

 

[Icon1]

When I put in the ISU200 after doing the dash speakers it brought the sound together. The original woofers are kind of flabby IMHO. It isn't a hard install but you have to take the door panels off.

You had all the same issues I had with the dash speakers. The passenger side needed one of the mount's ears cut off, and the center one too. I just cut the mounts so that the panel would go on, I didn't cut the panel or the actual speaker. You'll have the same setup when you're done as I do. I didn't replace anything else. I thought about doing the rear door speakers but I kept reading that they are hard to get at and I didn't think it was that important.

One other big improvement though was Tidal. If you subscribe to that you'll get CD quality sound and it is much better than the fuzzy sound from Spotify or any of the other services. You use your phone's hotspot since Tidal requires a wifi connection to get the CD quality.

You're welcome to take a listen to my setup if you ever come across into Brooklyn since you are in NJ.

Went ahead and installed the Focal ISU200 in the doors. Like you said the sound does bring everything together. Bass is definitely cleaner. Question I have is the Amped Garage Bracketts. They have 2 fairly large holes on opposite ends top and bottom. Do you feel we are losing sound performance through these holes? If yes any suggestions what we can do to remedy this and regain the lost performance?

 

[JohnB68]

Those who installed the Focal ISU 200 speakers, did you install the tweeters that come with it also, and if so where did you mount them?

 

[Zacster]

I don't remember any holes. The thing about car speakers is that it is all a compromise. You don't have a real cabinet, just a door cavity of some unknown volume.

I didn't install the tweeters. I've read that they will drop into one of the tweeter spots without modification, but I've also read that they are nothing special.

 

[Rat559527]

I don't remember any holes. The thing about car speakers is that it is all a compromise. You don't have a real cabinet, just a door cavity of some unknown volume.

I didn't install the tweeters. I've read that they will drop into one of the tweeter spots without modification, but I've also read that they are nothing special.

what tweeters did you end up going with? I’m about to buy the focal 200 as well but unsure if I should now use the focal tweeters, stock tweeters, or different brand?

 

[Zacster]

I didn't use any tweeters other than the center one that was already installed and working.

I put a pair of Focal woofer/tweeter combos into a Camry and I didn't like the tweeter sound and I'm pretty sure it was the same tweeter as with the ISU200. And like I said it is all a compromise. If you've got the wires run it isn't actually that hard to swap them around in the door to try different ones.

 

[Rat559527]

I didn't use any tweeters other than the center one that was already installed and working.

I put a pair of Focal woofer/tweeter combos into a Camry and I didn't like the tweeter sound and I'm pretty sure it was the same tweeter as with the ISU200. And like I said it is all a compromise. If you've got the wires run it isn't actually that hard to swap them around in the door to try different ones.

Thanks for the help. Sorry I didn’t fully understand. So you stuck with the stock tweeters and only change the woofer I assume such as the ones I have in the photo?

If so I might try it with both. I’ll probably try it with the stock tweeters and change it out to the focal tweeters to see which one I like more.

 

[Zacster]

In my SR+ the stock tweeters are there but not connected. It wouldn't take much to connect them is my understanding but I didn't even try. There's the Hansshow harness that can be installed or you can tap into the wiring and do it yourself. There are instructions out there but they vary based on specific years.

 

[Rat559527]

Oh got it, this makes a lot more sense now. I forgot the tweeters on the door were not activated. I did activate mine about 1-2 months back when I started my audio upgrades.

I didn’t notice a huge difference when I installed the harness to activate the speakers. But after installing additional speakers, those tweeters do make a big difference I believe. It adds to the sound effect.

Anyways thanks for your advice. I ended up ordering the focal isu200.

 

[Kevy Baby]

In my SR+ the stock tweeters are there but not connected. It wouldn't take much to connect them is my understanding but I didn't even try. There's the Hansshow harness that can be installed or you can tap into the wiring and do it yourself. There are instructions out there but they vary based on specific years.

Note that they started omitting the tweeters in later model years. I don't recall when they started doing that though.