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Anyone try B.A Design works speakers/sub upgrades?
- Thread starter xceler8tion
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- Model S User Interface
elderforester
Member
The BA Design sub and amp are fantastic- great bang for the buck. They did my install which was flawless. The sound quality goes from what I would rank a 5 out of 10 to a 9 out of 10. Night and day difference. The products are high end Rockford fosgate and Punch. The sound really fills the car. Highly recommend
enginerdify
2018 Model S + 2010 Roadster Sport #1078
I received my system, but am contemplating getting a new S. Would wait to install in the new one if I do. Will post once installed!
bnsfengineer
Active Member
Purchased and installed just the speakers and have the Sub up for sale... Why?? I'm old and the speakers were an incredible improvement! My buddy bought same kit and installed himself and I watched and assisted where I could and to install the sub was quite intensive. As for them looking like LH is because these two guys started there own company after working for them and didn't like the way customers were handled and sub par service so they went out on there own. Door speakers are literally plug and play and to take the panels off were very easy. Did mine in less than 90 min.
alwaysru
Member
Finally broke down and bought the 4-speaker kit for my S today. Will let y'all know how it goes once I receive them.
I'm the buddy and very happy with the overall performance of the system. I would agree that the speaker upgrade is much, much better than stock. It sounds rich and full and plenty loud, that is before the sub. If I had to do it over again I would skip the sub and amp also.
Stirthepot
Member
TD85
Member
A A Ron
Member
Just finished installing the BA Design 4 door speaker, amp and sub. Agree that the sub install was a bit intense but I do enjoy the sound improvement from the standard audio. Huge! Only hiccup is trying to get it to balance. Sees like I have to tweak depending on the type of music. Anyone else who has installed the AMP/sub had this issue? Any recommended AMP/EQ settings that accommodate all types of music? I also installed the punch/gain control dial near the driver seat.
Instead of starting a new thread, I thought I'd jump on this one, as I just received and installed the 4-door speaker kit for the Model S standard sound system. I received the newly upgraded model with the carbon fiber mounting ring.
The Good
The only reason that I haven't requested a refund for the kit is that the new speakers sound superb. No distortion, loud, plenty of bass, and super crisp throughout the frequency band. These are the speakers that the car should've left the factory with.
Contacting the company prior to purchase did result in a small discount code and a request to wait 4-5 days for the new model to start shipping, (the week of May 7th). That was super appreciated.
The Bad
The worst carbon fiber work I've ever seen in a production product, (see attached photos). Bubbles, incredibly inconsistent resin, dings, creases, etc., etc. It looks like whomever laid this carbon fiber had never worked with it before. All four speakers share the same issues.
They still seem sturdy and solid, but the workmanship is unacceptable.
The Ugly
Inconsistent communication and follow-through. Took nearly a month to receive the speakers after ordering. Multiple emails went unanswered or acknowledged. Phone number worked, however. Two shipping mistakes led to delays.
In an ideal world, I would've requested a refund/replacement. But due to personal circumstances, I barely had enough time to get these installed, much less fight with the company and wait another unknown length of time to receive a new kit, (with likely the same issues). Basically, I had no confidence in the company to make this right in a reasonable amount of time and effort.
Draw your own conclusions, clearly. Just wanted to share my experience.
The Good
The only reason that I haven't requested a refund for the kit is that the new speakers sound superb. No distortion, loud, plenty of bass, and super crisp throughout the frequency band. These are the speakers that the car should've left the factory with.
Contacting the company prior to purchase did result in a small discount code and a request to wait 4-5 days for the new model to start shipping, (the week of May 7th). That was super appreciated.
The Bad
The worst carbon fiber work I've ever seen in a production product, (see attached photos). Bubbles, incredibly inconsistent resin, dings, creases, etc., etc. It looks like whomever laid this carbon fiber had never worked with it before. All four speakers share the same issues.
They still seem sturdy and solid, but the workmanship is unacceptable.
The Ugly
Inconsistent communication and follow-through. Took nearly a month to receive the speakers after ordering. Multiple emails went unanswered or acknowledged. Phone number worked, however. Two shipping mistakes led to delays.
In an ideal world, I would've requested a refund/replacement. But due to personal circumstances, I barely had enough time to get these installed, much less fight with the company and wait another unknown length of time to receive a new kit, (with likely the same issues). Basically, I had no confidence in the company to make this right in a reasonable amount of time and effort.
Draw your own conclusions, clearly. Just wanted to share my experience.
TD85
Member
Aside from aesthetics, what is the purpose of skinning the speaker mounts in carbon fiber? Seems like an unnecessary expense that was poorly executed.
I honestly don't know, but they seem to be not just skinned; the entire mount is CF. I really hope they hold up, but I'm not terribly confident.
I'm guessing I bought the subwoofer package off one of the earlier posters that decided not to install it. It took a very long (8+ hour) day to get it installed, and I needed a few things that weren't in the kit. I did a very careful install, with each wire run in a plastic sleeve, then wrapped with the fuzzy electrical tape to reduce rattle, and zip-tied in place to avoid getting pinched anywhere.
I had to provide these useful parts that are not in the kit:
1) my own RCA patch cables to connect from the LC2i to the amplifier, I bought twisted-pair versions to -hopefully- help with noise.
2) I used ground and power distribution blocks, so both the LC2i and the amp were powered and grounded at the same point.
3) 8-gauge wire to run from the amp to the sub
4) wire to signal the amp to turn on based on the output of the LC2i
There are 5-6 total settings that can be adjusted. I found this difficult. I asked B.A. Design for guidance, and they promised to follow up, but I still haven't received the help I needed.
It seems to distort easily, and excite the rear hatch at fairly modest power levels. I put a clamp-on power-meter on it, and the max I could do without rattle or distortion was 9 amps peak to the amplifier (call that 120 watts peak). Makes all the talk and fuss about 500 watt amplifiers on 100 Amp circuits sort of silly. The whole thing could run to this power level on a 20 amp circuit...
I have Light Harmonic door speakers, so this just wasn't that much better than what I had.
This afternoon (after another 8 hour day of putting panels back and cleaning up the wire routes), I started to get static on the speakers, even without music playing, that went away when I pulled the fuse to the LC2i. Not sure what happened, but of course I am not going to live with that.
The sub enclosure comes with some velcro tape, that sticks to the interior panels around the hatch. As you know with velcro, it is almost impossible to get it in position after it initially grabs, and it was grabbing far from the correct nesting spot. I ended up removing the special velcro tape to position the enclosure properly, which left the enclosure unsecured in the back. The bad news is that this enclosure does not have a mounting tab that lets you bolt it down, which turned out OK for me, as it meant I hadn't drilled a hole in my car when the static started.
Short answer - it's already been ripped out of my car. Will be posted for sale soon for anyone who thinks they are better at this than I am.
I had to provide these useful parts that are not in the kit:
1) my own RCA patch cables to connect from the LC2i to the amplifier, I bought twisted-pair versions to -hopefully- help with noise.
2) I used ground and power distribution blocks, so both the LC2i and the amp were powered and grounded at the same point.
3) 8-gauge wire to run from the amp to the sub
4) wire to signal the amp to turn on based on the output of the LC2i
There are 5-6 total settings that can be adjusted. I found this difficult. I asked B.A. Design for guidance, and they promised to follow up, but I still haven't received the help I needed.
It seems to distort easily, and excite the rear hatch at fairly modest power levels. I put a clamp-on power-meter on it, and the max I could do without rattle or distortion was 9 amps peak to the amplifier (call that 120 watts peak). Makes all the talk and fuss about 500 watt amplifiers on 100 Amp circuits sort of silly. The whole thing could run to this power level on a 20 amp circuit...
I have Light Harmonic door speakers, so this just wasn't that much better than what I had.
This afternoon (after another 8 hour day of putting panels back and cleaning up the wire routes), I started to get static on the speakers, even without music playing, that went away when I pulled the fuse to the LC2i. Not sure what happened, but of course I am not going to live with that.
The sub enclosure comes with some velcro tape, that sticks to the interior panels around the hatch. As you know with velcro, it is almost impossible to get it in position after it initially grabs, and it was grabbing far from the correct nesting spot. I ended up removing the special velcro tape to position the enclosure properly, which left the enclosure unsecured in the back. The bad news is that this enclosure does not have a mounting tab that lets you bolt it down, which turned out OK for me, as it meant I hadn't drilled a hole in my car when the static started.
Short answer - it's already been ripped out of my car. Will be posted for sale soon for anyone who thinks they are better at this than I am.
Last edited:
trayloader
Member
It seems Light Harmonics corporate culture shenanigans did NOT change after all. Even after being rebranded as BA. Why is beyond my understanding. Pretty sad.
Heh, this was exactly my thought throughout this whole process. I guess old habits die hard.
They offered to install the ultimate system in my model x for free since they needed a model x to get measurements. We offered ours but after we asked for their insurance information they stopped replying to emails. Called them a few days ago and they said they'd send it over and still nothing
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