I'm a sound engineer and I work IN a Sound Studio all day. (Haven't got a Tesla yet but it's in my plans) My fronts are Miller & Kreisel MPS-2510P mains and the sub is an MPS-5310. (look them up) I have metering on the source signals, and the room is appropriately damped for listening.
I just took a listen to "deadmau5 hr 8938 cephei" and "Kanye West I wonder" on Spotify to learn more about the problem. I can say both of those tracks made my subwoofer jump like a recruit whose pissed-off drill instructor just shouted "drop and give me fifty!!" LOL
Both tracks are authored to hold as much low-frequency bass as possible. It is critical that the clearest possible source material is used for these... lossy digital compression does not hold bass very well (or rather, bass that has other frequencies in it too). Also, both of those tracks are mastered at almost the top limit of the transport mechanism (16-bit digital audio). It's funny... you could deliver these tracks 6dB lower (one digital bit) and I don't think anyone would notice... or care.
It is difficult for a lossy compression algorithm to do its work when the music extends out to the outer limits of the transport, and also when there is so much bass along with the other frequencies. Put simply... distortion is added to the authored music.
On top of that, if ANY other complex digital processing is carried out by the car's systems... (Dolby what?) additional distortion will be added.
It's unfortunate that Tesla's Sound Studio package doesn't include a CD player! That would be a no-brainer. Lots of people interested in music still like to use CDs. Anyhow, using PCM tracks, or tracks compressed with a lossless algorithm is one of the only ways you can help this process.
In short, Tesla's built-in processing might be doing something to ruin the signal.
Firstly, I would recommend generally NOT turning up the bass or treble up or down on music. Car designers typically maximise the capabilities of their amplifiers, speaker cones, crossovers and vehicle acoustics based on level settings. They use a variety of different music for testing. As soon as you tinker with the EQ you are risking the chance of not receiving the maximum benefit of the Tesla designers' work. Turning up the bass on those two tracks = pointless. They're loaded with enough bass out of the factory, so to speak, and there's no way to get them more bassy than they are. Keep it at neutral... the bass and treble controls are there to EQUALIZE program material that started out inadequate in some way.
Secondly, if there is anything else going on like a surround mode, turn it off. Keep it as pure as you can get it.
Thirdly... play source material that has no lossy compression. A CD player would be perfect for this... but if you can use FLAC, Apple Lossless, Windows Media Lossless or even just PCM WAV files, do that.
In closing, it doesn't matter what car you're in... using lossy-compressed versions of those tracks and turning up the bass setting and then the volume of the amplifier... is just plain asking for trouble.
Hope I didn't sound preachy or verbose.
I just took a listen to "deadmau5 hr 8938 cephei" and "Kanye West I wonder" on Spotify to learn more about the problem. I can say both of those tracks made my subwoofer jump like a recruit whose pissed-off drill instructor just shouted "drop and give me fifty!!" LOL
Both tracks are authored to hold as much low-frequency bass as possible. It is critical that the clearest possible source material is used for these... lossy digital compression does not hold bass very well (or rather, bass that has other frequencies in it too). Also, both of those tracks are mastered at almost the top limit of the transport mechanism (16-bit digital audio). It's funny... you could deliver these tracks 6dB lower (one digital bit) and I don't think anyone would notice... or care.
It is difficult for a lossy compression algorithm to do its work when the music extends out to the outer limits of the transport, and also when there is so much bass along with the other frequencies. Put simply... distortion is added to the authored music.
On top of that, if ANY other complex digital processing is carried out by the car's systems... (Dolby what?) additional distortion will be added.
It's unfortunate that Tesla's Sound Studio package doesn't include a CD player! That would be a no-brainer. Lots of people interested in music still like to use CDs. Anyhow, using PCM tracks, or tracks compressed with a lossless algorithm is one of the only ways you can help this process.
In short, Tesla's built-in processing might be doing something to ruin the signal.
Firstly, I would recommend generally NOT turning up the bass or treble up or down on music. Car designers typically maximise the capabilities of their amplifiers, speaker cones, crossovers and vehicle acoustics based on level settings. They use a variety of different music for testing. As soon as you tinker with the EQ you are risking the chance of not receiving the maximum benefit of the Tesla designers' work. Turning up the bass on those two tracks = pointless. They're loaded with enough bass out of the factory, so to speak, and there's no way to get them more bassy than they are. Keep it at neutral... the bass and treble controls are there to EQUALIZE program material that started out inadequate in some way.
Secondly, if there is anything else going on like a surround mode, turn it off. Keep it as pure as you can get it.
Thirdly... play source material that has no lossy compression. A CD player would be perfect for this... but if you can use FLAC, Apple Lossless, Windows Media Lossless or even just PCM WAV files, do that.
In closing, it doesn't matter what car you're in... using lossy-compressed versions of those tracks and turning up the bass setting and then the volume of the amplifier... is just plain asking for trouble.
Hope I didn't sound preachy or verbose.
