You're doing some great ground-breaking work here. Maybe once you finish and get it all tuned you can put together the entire kit of speakers and parts etc needed to fully upgrade the car and sell it to the rest of us.
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Audiophiles w/ Model 3's
- Thread starter groovyd
- Start date
You're doing some great ground-breaking work here. Maybe once you finish and get it all tuned you can put together the entire kit of speakers and parts etc needed to fully upgrade the car and sell it to the rest of us.
flashflooder
Member
I’ll definitely make a post once I get it all finished. Work on it is slow with 3 young kids....
Thanks for that info flash flooder. It looks like the big problem is the fact that the rear door speakers are basically Sonic welded into a plastic shell that looks like it has a way smaller magnet than those nice Infinity reference speakers. The question would be whether there's any way to mount anything other than the stock speaker without getting into a boatload of trouble. If you cut the stock speaker out and it turns out you can't get anything to fit because of clearance issues even with a custom Mount, you've destroyed the option to utilize the stock speaker. Could be a classic case of how tweakophiles get themselves into trouble! I've done that many times
flashflooder
Member
yea, been there done that. I'm not touching the rear door speakers. No way it's worth the effort. I am, however, considering replacing the trunk lid speakers. I just need to figure out how to get to them.Thanks for that info flash flooder. It looks like the big problem is the fact that the rear door speakers are basically Sonic welded into a plastic shell that looks like it has a way smaller magnet than those nice Infinity reference speakers. The question would be whether there's any way to mount anything other than the stock speaker without getting into a boatload of trouble. If you cut the stock speaker out and it turns out you can't get anything to fit because of clearance issues even with a custom Mount, you've destroyed the option to utilize the stock speaker. Could be a classic case of how tweakophiles get themselves into trouble! I've done that many times
flashflooder
Member
I've replaced the 2 of the 3 4" drivers in the dash, and yes it's very easy to do. The 4" in the center of the dash has almost no clearance underneath it, so I didn't replace that one.
I've also replaced the door tweeters (right near the side mirrors), also easy.
The door woofers are my current challenge, as there is VERY little clearance in the door.
You guys that are capable of handling your own upgrades are impressive - sound is very important to me but I'm happy to leave it to the professionals. If you want amazing sound, I had a great experience with Reus in Orange County, CA. I really recommend calling them if you want truly audiophile sound for a very reasonable price. Their systems start at just under $3K, but they are a tremendous value at that price. The other great thing is they will give you very honest advice about improving the sound in your car or your home. I've had several systems put in my cars over the years, but the both the system itself and the customer service at Reus are head and shoulders above any previous experience I've had. I really recommend calling them - their # is (714) 663-6636. You can also PM me if you have questions, but don't be shy about calling them directly. Their sales style is informative - never pushy and they will build a system that will suit your specific demands. If you do call them, please tell them Pete with the red model 3 sent you. They do such a great job, I'd feel guilty not spreading the word and helping out a good honest business that delivers exactly what they claim to. If you live in the OC area, feel free to PM me and we can try to meet up so you can listen to my system.
Thanks again. I'm amazed that you have time for any of this with three kids.
Tough to have time for a bathroom break let alone customizing your car! One question is about that clearance issue. One of the things that I experienced in dynamating a previous generation Lexus LS was how the door reassembly all of a sudden got tricky. I ended up having to cut out sections of a carefully and painfully installed Dynamat that prevented the cover from going back on the door in areas of minimal tolerance for extra space. Have you found any issues like that and have you Dynamatted the front and rear doors extensively on the model 3? Appreciate again your pioneering expertise!I'll be also very curious to hear what you see as a potential for solution for the front door woofers. A bit disappointed that they are paper cones. Doesn't sound like the smart solution in a car that probably does not have a water sealed door. I assume you're going to be going with some kind of carbon fiber, polypropylene or other waterproof material for the front 8-inch drivers?
For me it's a question of affordability. We had to stretch to afford 2 model 3s. Also expensive to upgrade wheels and tires so any place I can save money that I can do safely is Open Season. I won't on the other hand install coilovers just because I don't have the equipment and a mistake could be very expensive
I hear you. I never envisioned spending $3K in one lump sum on a sound system. I figured with an electric car, I didn't trust just anyone to work on my car. But I knew I wanted to upgrade the sound and that I might as well start enjoying it right away instead of waiting. I also had $1300 in gift cards that Reus accepted that Tesla wouldn't, so I was only out $1700 in cash. And once I heard the system in a model S, I decided that I would forego spending the extra for the performance and upgrade the stereo instead. I personally get at least as much joy out of great sound as added performance. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have the P or even AWD performance, but adding AWD and P was $16,000 and the sound upgrade was only $3K, so for me the choice was obvious.
My 2 sets (4 speakers) of the Infinity 4's arrived and nervous to actually start breaking things open to install them. It's always a project and something always goes wrong huh? I might be getting too old for this stuff. Would it make sense to add baffling or dynamat within the area where the speakers drop into? Also was planning on soldering those standoff pins to the wire to remain harness compatible if you have any more tips on the dash speaker replacement before I give it a go please let me know. Is there possibly a compatible Infinity tweeter that would fit the door tweeters? Like to keep things in the same family more or less if possible and love the typical Infinity sound. Used to own some of their reference floor standers back in the 80's were incredible speakers.
For those of you who might not be ready to invest in a new sound system, I can share my settings.
A bit of background, I'm a full time audio engineer and music composer/producer with 2 grammy nominations, an Oscar nomination, 2 Sundance awards, and an Emmy. I've been mixing music daily for the past 25 years. I'm NOT saying this to brag, nor to suggest my opinion is any more valid than anyone else's, nor to imply that my opinion is valid to begin with. It's simply for those who place any value in these types of qualifications.
The sound system in the M3 does lack some clarity in the mid-lows and has diminished crispness above 8-10kHz. I have not used any analysis tools, just my ears using music I mixed on my reference monitors. So I tried to match what I hear in my studio.
A couple things to note:
1. The EQ section is noting more than a multi-band amplifier. This is important because you can simply increase your audio system's output by 8dB by increasing all the bands to the top of their range. Except for some expected mechanical changes due to the increased volume, the EQ remains steady with all sliders maxed out.
2. Different audio sources change the EQ of the music as they broadcast it. For instance, I have some music on streaming radio. If I compare it to the same music on a USB drive, the streaming version is compressed (an engineering term for music whose dynamic range has been reduced) and has been through some sort of high-pass filter, making it sound thinner. There are also artifacts in the upper bands due to some sort of storage compression and conversion.
3. People have reported different low-end response in their stock system on the different operating systems of the car.
4. These settings are not a perfect fix to the sound system, it's just where I landed when I decided to tweak it to my liking. In general, the stock system is adequate, I'm really happy with it, despite it lacking some "punch". (The bass response increases a bit when the rear passenger-side seat is lowered.) Different audio sources will change the EQ response but in general, I have been satisfied with this:
-------------------------
EQ:
Low: +8
Low-Mid: +4
Mid: +1.5
High-Mid: +3.5
High: +8
-------------------------
Balance/Fade:
Set L/R balance where horizontal line bisects passenger headrest right through the middle.
Set F/R fade where the vertical line bisects the passenger side [red] seat belt receptacle.
-------------------------
Enhanced Audio:
Standard
A bit of background, I'm a full time audio engineer and music composer/producer with 2 grammy nominations, an Oscar nomination, 2 Sundance awards, and an Emmy. I've been mixing music daily for the past 25 years. I'm NOT saying this to brag, nor to suggest my opinion is any more valid than anyone else's, nor to imply that my opinion is valid to begin with. It's simply for those who place any value in these types of qualifications.
The sound system in the M3 does lack some clarity in the mid-lows and has diminished crispness above 8-10kHz. I have not used any analysis tools, just my ears using music I mixed on my reference monitors. So I tried to match what I hear in my studio.
A couple things to note:
1. The EQ section is noting more than a multi-band amplifier. This is important because you can simply increase your audio system's output by 8dB by increasing all the bands to the top of their range. Except for some expected mechanical changes due to the increased volume, the EQ remains steady with all sliders maxed out.
2. Different audio sources change the EQ of the music as they broadcast it. For instance, I have some music on streaming radio. If I compare it to the same music on a USB drive, the streaming version is compressed (an engineering term for music whose dynamic range has been reduced) and has been through some sort of high-pass filter, making it sound thinner. There are also artifacts in the upper bands due to some sort of storage compression and conversion.
3. People have reported different low-end response in their stock system on the different operating systems of the car.
4. These settings are not a perfect fix to the sound system, it's just where I landed when I decided to tweak it to my liking. In general, the stock system is adequate, I'm really happy with it, despite it lacking some "punch". (The bass response increases a bit when the rear passenger-side seat is lowered.) Different audio sources will change the EQ response but in general, I have been satisfied with this:
-------------------------
EQ:
Low: +8
Low-Mid: +4
Mid: +1.5
High-Mid: +3.5
High: +8
-------------------------
Balance/Fade:
Set L/R balance where horizontal line bisects passenger headrest right through the middle.
Set F/R fade where the vertical line bisects the passenger side [red] seat belt receptacle.
-------------------------
Enhanced Audio:
Standard
Correction in my text [corrections in bold]:
-------------------------
Balance/Fade:
Set F/R Fade where horizontal line bisects passenger headrest right through the middle.
Set L/R Balance where the vertical line bisects the passenger side [red] seat belt receptacle.
-------------------------
Balance/Fade:
Set F/R Fade where horizontal line bisects passenger headrest right through the middle.
Set L/R Balance where the vertical line bisects the passenger side [red] seat belt receptacle.
flashflooder
Member
Thanks for your thoughts, Hecdog. Didn't realize the "EQ" worked the way you outlined.
Question for your trained ears.... does it sound like there is some sort of bass attenuation at higher volumes?
I added an aftermarket 10" subwoofer with 300W going to it, and tapped the speakers wire going to the stock sub to get my signal. When the bass signal is amplified like this, it makes it sound there is some kind of manipulation going on at high volumes / certain frequencies.
I am planning to install a high quality powered LOC to try and clean up the signal.
Question for your trained ears.... does it sound like there is some sort of bass attenuation at higher volumes?
I added an aftermarket 10" subwoofer with 300W going to it, and tapped the speakers wire going to the stock sub to get my signal. When the bass signal is amplified like this, it makes it sound there is some kind of manipulation going on at high volumes / certain frequencies.
I am planning to install a high quality powered LOC to try and clean up the signal.
No problem, flash.
As for bass attenuation at high volumes, it is my experience that this is a normal mechanical/physics response in car audio systems due to the increased need for current and our ears' hyper-sensitivity to mid range frequencies. There might be a limitation on ether the amp or the speaker itself. Bass frequencies require the most energy from an amplifier and the most work from a speaker. Either one of those could be the bottle neck.
As for bass attenuation at high volumes, it is my experience that this is a normal mechanical/physics response in car audio systems due to the increased need for current and our ears' hyper-sensitivity to mid range frequencies. There might be a limitation on ether the amp or the speaker itself. Bass frequencies require the most energy from an amplifier and the most work from a speaker. Either one of those could be the bottle neck.
omgwtfbyobbq
Active Member
Have you noticed the same rattle with your audio off when driving over certain surfaces? I've noticed something similar on the road and it seems to depend on the road, outside temperature, and I think how warm the car is.
flashflooder
Member
No, I've never noticed any rattles at all unless I'm blasting bass from my aftermarket sub. Even the stock sub cranked all the way up does not produce any rattles.
Anyone get a relatively noisy sound from the climate control fan when it is on anything other then really low? mine seems pretty noisy but not sure if this is normal. Nothing drives my OCD crazy like a noisy climate fan.
Would you mind posting a picture of this? Maybe this will make sense once I get back to my car and play with the balance settings.
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