Has audio improved in 2021 models?

[khyros]

Hi


so I have a model 3 LR on order. Arriving whenever Shanghai reopens I guess. In the meantime I’ve been using rental companies to hire and use model 3s during weekends etc.

I’ve had 2 2021 model 3 sr+ and a 2019 long range.
in all cases the audio quality is very poor, run of the mill cheap car audio quality. The likes of cheap Kia’s or Peugeots. Certainly not even close to bmw mini or Mercedes’.

the audio is extremely flat, bass is better inthe lr but overall it all sounds very cheap. Not immersive at all. Sounds as though only two speakers at the front are doing most of the work.
I really don’t get how people say the audio is superb. I really don’t. I’ve driven now 4 different teslas So it’s not a defective car. only commonality is that they all belong to ufodrive.

I was hoping it was the Sr audio that was putting me off but with this lr I’m driving now it’s alsmot the same. Just slightly better bass. I’m quite shocked so please tell me I’m doing something wrong?????

 

[MrT3]

What source are you using?

 

[khyros]

BT Spotify USB….

 

[Peteski]

The Audio in our 2021 M3 LR is pretty good. Certainly better than what you would find in a cheap car and better than the standard fitment in comparably priced BMWs, Mercs etc. I wouldn't call it awesome, for example the bass is a bit muddy, but overall it's at least on par for the price range. I haven't heard the audio in an SR or older LR to compare.

 

[Peter 224]

The Audio in our 2021 M3 LR is pretty good. Certainly better than what you would find in a cheap car and better than the standard fitment in comparably priced BMWs, Mercs etc. I wouldn't call it awesome, for example the bass is a bit muddy, but overall it's at least on par for the price range. I haven't heard the audio in an SR or older LR to compare.

Agreed, it is as good as the Audio in the AMG C Class Coupe and that doesn't have TuneIn...

 

[Billbrown1982]

BT Spotify USB….

Gonna guess thats your problem right there. Have you tried using spotify directly to compare?


My M3 has better audio than any of my previous cars.

 

[spooksman]

My M3 has better audio than any of my previous cars.

+1 for that

 

[Chris CG]

Forget Spotify - Tidal HiFi tracks downloaded to HDD are miles ahead of anything else available on the Tesla and sound crystal clear IMHO (especially when competing with tyre and wind noise)

 

[Peteski]

Forget Spotify - Tidal HiFi tracks downloaded to HDD are miles ahead of anything else available on the Tesla and sound crystal clear IMHO (especially when competing with tyre and wind noise)

I must try that. I find Spotify pretty good though. If Tidal is a big step up then it should be awesome!

 

[Chris CG]

I must try that. I find Spotify pretty good though. If Tidal is a big step up then it should be awesome!

Both Spotify and Tidal stream at a pretty low bitrate, but with Tidal you can download tracks to the HDD (I’ve got about 500 tracks downloaded in 5 playlists) at their HiFi level which is a definite step up from the quality you get with either streaming

 

[Tinca]

I've got a 2021 M3LR and the sound quality is good. I came from an ICE with a Bose 16 speaker system and it is at least as good. I use Tidal and the sound quality is noticeably better vs Spotify and USB. The on-board Spotify is OK, but nothing special.

 

[Peter 224]

I want on board QoBuz!!

 

[khyros]

I’m going to test the audio in a Tesla test drive. Can’t believe it’s this bad in the 3 UFODRIVE teslas I’ve driven

 

[Peteski]

I’m going to test the audio in a Tesla test drive. Can’t believe it’s this bad in the 3 UFODRIVE teslas I’ve driven

Very odd. If you use the native Tesla Spotify it should sound pretty reasonable with the premium audio in LR/P models. I don't use it with BT as I don't see any point with Spotify available. But I did try it very briefuly a long time ago and I seem to recall it wasn't great.

My benchmark for sound quality is a home Naim Audio seperates system, so I have pretty high standards. Obviously it isn't that good in the M3, but it's better than what you get in many other £50k cars and well ahead of the Bose crap in our previous Porsche 911. The sound quality in our 2022 MY is a notch better than it is in our 2021 M3 for some reason. Maybe the extra cabin volume helps or something has been tweaked along the way.

 

[WannabeOwner]

the Bose crap in our previous Porsche 911

never bothered to car about listening to music when I had cars with a loud pedal.

Now all my cars have a quiet pedal that's changed

 

[interbear]

Personally I find the “premium audio” that comes standard in my 2019 Model 3 LR to be better than my previous cars and that includes an Audi with their high end audio system. I have a Model Y LR on order and listened to the radio a bit on our MY test drive. Sounded very similar to me, no better, no worse.

 

[SR-Plus]

Can I sign up to Tidal for the free trial, download songs onto the M3 HDD and continue listening after the free trial has expired?

 

[interbear]

Can I sign up to Tidal for the free trial, download songs onto the M3 HDD and continue listening after the free trial has expired?

Surely not. If that was possible everyone would subscribe to Tidal, Spotify, Apple Music etc, download everything and then cancel.

 

[MrT3]

the audio is extremely flat, bass is better inthe lr but overall it all sounds very cheap. Not immersive at all. Sounds as though only two speakers at the front are doing most of the work.

I have to move the balance over to the left quite a bit before I'm not overwhelmed by the speakers next to me, and also fade to the rear so they become audible - not unusual in a vehicle but seem to have to do it more than previous vehicles.

I'm not overly impressed with the audio system, it's probably as good as standard systems in other vehicles with a separate amp and sub but certainly not even in the same ballpark as the Mark Levinson system in my old Lexus GS F.

I've yet to hear the latest 2022 model where Tesla has removed one of the speakers - improvement or just cost cutting?

 

[2020M3SR]

Hi


so I have a model 3 LR on order. Arriving whenever Shanghai reopens I guess. In the meantime I’ve been using rental companies to hire and use model 3s during weekends etc.

I’ve had 2 2021 model 3 sr+ and a 2019 long range.
in all cases the audio quality is very poor, run of the mill cheap car audio quality. The likes of cheap Kia’s or Peugeots. Certainly not even close to bmw mini or Mercedes’.

the audio is extremely flat, bass is better inthe lr but overall it all sounds very cheap. Not immersive at all. Sounds as though only two speakers at the front are doing most of the work.
I really don’t get how people say the audio is superb. I really don’t. I’ve driven now 4 different teslas So it’s not a defective car. only commonality is that they all belong to ufodrive.

I was hoping it was the Sr audio that was putting me off but with this lr I’m driving now it’s alsmot the same. Just slightly better bass. I’m quite shocked so please tell me I’m doing something wrong?????

BMW good?

Not in my experience. Our BMW is getting on a bit now but it has a £700 audio upgrade and our M3 2020 is still better than the BMW. I dread to think what the standard BMW audio is like.

As others have mentioned, source quality is the key. It's an enormous difference if the source is good quality. Not just bit rate, but well mastered in the studio. I use Disney for a lot of my audio testing, high budget movie production which translates well to the commercial audio sales, especially musicals like Sing, Moana and things like that.

If you want to do it right in terms of set up, you can download frequency tracks (20hz, 40hz, 60hz etc etc) play them individually, and use an spl meter to measure the dB. You're looking for as flat a line on the dB as you can find at each frequency. You can download spl apps on your phone if you don't want to buy equipment (I've got all sorts, spl meters, light meters, colourometers etc for my home cinema lol) and while a phone spl meter isn't perfect, it gets you in the right ballpark.

You can then fiddle with audio settings to try and get that flat dB line at various frequencies. You absolutely won't achieve a flat line, but that's not the point. I find distortion at the low end, and for my particular taste, I would rather have no low frequencies than audible distortion so generally in cars, I find myself turning the bass down, wheras most people turn it up to try and make improvements.

When you achieve by my method is that in most stock cars audio systems, you get cheap (ish) amplification and it's the low frequencies that are the biggest draw on power. By reducing the bass, you put less draw on the amp which 'may' lead to an improved midrange and therefore, and overall better listening experience.

Most people think distortion is due to bad speakers. 99 times out of 100, its due to not enough amplification. So reducing bass can free up much needed midrange quality if you want to enjoy higher volumes undistorted.

I'm speaking generally here, as some of you will have subwoofers with their separate amplification (happy days!) so you are in a stronger position that way in terms of dialling in optimum performance.

But overall, a key mistake is that people turn up the bass to try and improve the audio in stock systems which can end up making it worse. It you aren't going to tune your car like I described, then simply try turning the bass down a bit and feed it some good source material. That on its own should help you on your way towards a better listening experience.