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Another subwoofer option - NVX Audio
- Thread starter tlr1000
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bo3bdar
Member
There is some discussion about the grounding points. The NVX install video shows that they install to just a chassis ground, a bolt under the seat that they ground with a wire wheel for good connectivity. At this moment in video:
For people without the factory subwoofer, they are also using the mount point/bolt for the plastic guard in the trunk as their ground.
Travis originally used the grounding point from the OEM subwoofer amplifier, which is also the bracket that holds that amplifier, or the plastic shield. He moved it to the front 12V battery ground while trying to figure out a noise issue, but it didn't solve that problem (was a bad DSP amp).
Tesla Model 3 Stereo - Part 10: DSP Epilogue
Blog about various hobby and engineering projects including mechanical, electrical, and software
I think you can use any chassis ground because that's what Tesla did for the OEM subwoofer amp. Doesn't hurt to run a ground wire to the battery as well, but it's not necessary. But if you use a chassis ground, be sure to grind the surface and use a lock-washer so that you can be certain it has good connectivity.
bo3bdar
Member
Found a really terrific thread regarding grounding for the car, and probably the source for the example from your link where the Hansshow shorted out and killed the car. Similar idea at least.
Of all people, I know it's annoying and difficult to get a straight answer out of the internet. You basically always get conflicting information because google just gives you links with no quality or accuracy metric. So you can search for "only use front 12V" battery and get all the links, and then "only use penthouse 12V" and get links. Google is the king at providing confirmation bias.
So who do you trust? In that thread I link there- JWardell disagrees with the orginal poster. Who to believe the OP who talked to the most excellent Tesla Tech, or JWardell? No question in my mind- JWardell. He says to use the penthouse connector. And for the same conclusion I came to, which is that Tesla monitors the 12V battery for health, and will report errors there if it sees unusual draws.
In that thread, JWardell also shows the grounding strap to demonstrate that chassis ground is in fact the negative 12V battery side, just like we expect.
Of all people, I know it's annoying and difficult to get a straight answer out of the internet. You basically always get conflicting information because google just gives you links with no quality or accuracy metric. So you can search for "only use front 12V" battery and get all the links, and then "only use penthouse 12V" and get links. Google is the king at providing confirmation bias.
So who do you trust? In that thread I link there- JWardell disagrees with the orginal poster. Who to believe the OP who talked to the most excellent Tesla Tech, or JWardell? No question in my mind- JWardell. He says to use the penthouse connector. And for the same conclusion I came to, which is that Tesla monitors the 12V battery for health, and will report errors there if it sees unusual draws.
In that thread, JWardell also shows the grounding strap to demonstrate that chassis ground is in fact the negative 12V battery side, just like we expect.
bo3bdar
Member
Are you planning to install the NVX Boost kit using their VADM1 and XLCA2? And also, are you adding this to a premium LR stereo or the SR stereo?
Depending on the scenario, I think another interesting option might be to use the auxiliary plug in the center console as the power source. I've not seen anyone talk about this because mostly people are adding monster stereos, but the VADM1 is really efficient, and if you are connecting it normally it's a 4 ohm load for the subwoofer boost box, which means the amp is running at 180W RMS max. XLCA2 draws 150mA.
The center console plug is specified by Tesla as being the definitive location to draw power, and it can provide 12A continuous. That's 12*12= 144Watts. 16A peak, which is 16*12= 192Watts for peak handling. That's enough to run that amp without any problems. And also that power supply has a software circuit breaker, so if it ever actually does overload, you see it without is harming anything else in the car. It also has a nice auto-power-off when the car sleeps.
I don't know of anyone using this, but it is worth consideration for anyone just installing the VADM1 + XLCA2 + Boost in a SR.
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I've had the NVX system installed for a while now, and enjoy it very much, but am getting a bit of an itch to improve on it, particularly regarding extension. Output falls off rapidly below about 29Hz in my setup. Would really like it to hit solidly down to at least 25Hz, 20Hz ideally. Maybe that's asking too much for a 10" sub and a box this size. Some ideas to try:
- My installer ended up wiring in-phase to the stock 8" sub; I couldn't tell much difference. Has anyone measured to confirm out-of-phase is the way to go?
- Add polyfill to the inside of the box. I believe someone else earlier in the thread said this helped extension. Not sure how much to add?
- Double check (subsonic?) filter setting; I think my installer went with NVX recommendation but not positive on that.
- Possibly replace the woofer itself with something like this 10" Sundown? I think the depth would work, but not sure about the mounting holes? Any other considerations to a swap?
I know from some posts above that we could put in substantially bigger amps, and there is the big sub trunk area, but I like having that extra space for storage and would prefer to keep the stealth enclosure.
- My installer ended up wiring in-phase to the stock 8" sub; I couldn't tell much difference. Has anyone measured to confirm out-of-phase is the way to go?
- Add polyfill to the inside of the box. I believe someone else earlier in the thread said this helped extension. Not sure how much to add?
- Double check (subsonic?) filter setting; I think my installer went with NVX recommendation but not positive on that.
- Possibly replace the woofer itself with something like this 10" Sundown? I think the depth would work, but not sure about the mounting holes? Any other considerations to a swap?
I know from some posts above that we could put in substantially bigger amps, and there is the big sub trunk area, but I like having that extra space for storage and would prefer to keep the stealth enclosure.
bo3bdar
Member
The subwoofer in the Boost box is speced down to 20 Hz. VSW104v2 | 500 Watt RMS Dual 4 ohm 10" Car Subwoofer
So that would suggest that it's something else in your audio chain that is limiting it. Definitely worth checking the subsonic limiter. If you feel that it's not powerful enough you could experiment with running the dual cones in parallel at 2 ohms. The VADM1 can run the subwoofer at 320W at 2 ohms.
Might also be worth experimenting with disconnecting the stock subwoofer, because if it's out of phase it might be canceling out. You should be able to tell by trying both directions though.
bo3bdar
Member
Maybe check the connections used? Jared Bienz blog suggests there was some confusion over the actual connector: M3S: Tap and Layout – The Blog of Jared Bienz
You could also route those connections directly to the NVX subwoofer as a test to see that it is functional and that you have the right connections.
So if I go direct to subwoofer from taps it works. So it could be: bad vadm1 outputs? Bad signal (bass out) from xlca2 to vadm1? Both power lights work and I see the bass light going off an on on xlca2. I called nvx but they are closed on weekends I guess.
bo3bdar
Member
Sounds good. That means the subwoofer is OK, and also proves that have you connection to the correct signals from the Tesla amp. That means the fault must be in between those two points.
Since the XLCA2 shows activity, it's most likely working. It's fairly unlikely that the VADM1 is dead on arrival, but maybe.
Looking at the manuals for these, there are a couple of possiblities. Make sure the remote out from the XLCA2 is wired correctly to the VADM1. If that signal was missing, the VADM1 would not power up. Check the PRT/Power switch on the back. If I understand correctly, that chooses between always powered, or using the remote turn on. Would be worth flipping that to PWR as the always on state.
Check the volume levels. It could be working OK, and just be turned down to zero. Sending the amps with volume set to zero would be a good idea from NVX. On the XLCA2, you would want to bump the Bass Level dial on the top of the box. Don't go crazy, but it probably can't be set at zero. Same thing might go for the Sens dial on the VADM1. It'll be set for lowest volume likely, and you can dial it up a bit to test. Since the output from XLCA2 is the input of VADM1 for volume, you generally don't need to tweak both, but I've no actual experience with this specifc gear.
Probably unrelated, but you might want to change the LPF on the VADM1 and turn it up. If it's set to 50Hz, that means nothing gets through above 50Hz, and it might not be clear.
I don't have this kit and am doing something completely different, so I'm just offering general suggestions. Outside of those ideas, you need to follow the signals and see where they stop working. For example, it seems like the output from XLCA2 is working based on the LED blinking, but if you can test the output itself, that would verify it.
It also might be worth trying to look for other NVX videos that show how they setup the XLCA2 to see if something pops out to you.
I got it working! I made sure ground was ok, and took everything off amp and reconnected one by one. I did t realize the light I was seeing in amp was that it was going into protected mode. Red not it blue, so I think I had bad ground connection. All good now. Now just need to tune and put back together. Seems like a lot of knobs. Not sure which ones to mess with on either amp or xlca. I will start with nvx recommendations and go from there. Thanks for all your help! And if you have any advice on tuning im all ears.
Did you ever come up with some settings? I just installed and would love a place to start too.
@MapledLeif would you share your settings? Trying to get a place to start and not sure which to mess with first.
MapledLeif
Member
For sure I will. It seems that after some time, trunk rattling, and now a different season with colder temps, my settings could use a readjustment anyway. The downside to my installation is that I have the amp and LOC mounted in the stock sub location which is behind the carpet on the right hand side. It's not the easiest to access (although it's out of sight and that's worth the effort). When I get some time to get in there, I'll take some detailed pics of the settings. For best results though, I would suggest getting a multimeter as even the SLIGHTEST adjustments can make a pretty big difference.
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