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Ideal Aftermarket Audio System for Model S
- Thread starter EVTechPioneer
- Start date
timvracer
Member
Haven't posted on this thread in awhile... but will continue to say how I think the 4kish I spent on my Reus Audio system is the best money I have ever spent. A huge part of the joy of getting into my car for my awful commute each day is the Audio System. It's like pairing a fine wine to a great meal (AutoPilot on my commute). Throw in a dash of carpool lane, and I am one happy camper!
timvracer
Member
Yes, I am an LH fan. I have their amp and gen 2 door speakers. I also replaced all of the other drivers in the car. I have the Soundqubed 2 ohm dual voice coil sub wired in parallel, Morel MT220 tweeters, and all 5 midrange filler speakers (dash and lift gate) were replaced with Hertz ML700.3. I built quite a few car stereo systems over the years and won a few competitions back in the day - I can attest that this setup sounds great. Amp plus drivers made all the difference. Quality drivers are essential in the Model S, in my opinion, to remove the stock muddy sound and create crisp separation. The system is balanced, has a nice front stage, and the bass is just enough to feel it without being too overwhelming. I wanted to retain enough of the stock setup to put it back to original if I ever decide to sell the car, and I did not want to spend a fortune on a complete replacement. This is a nice alternative that looks completely stock, but sounds amazing. I reused mounts, existing wiring, and connectors. The most difficult part was replacing the dash drivers because you have to pull the top of the dash back to remove the mesh cover and there is very little room to mount because of the windshield. I built three adapters from 1/8” thick plastic that use the Hertz fasteners and the stock speaker u-nuts to attach to the dash. It was a fun build and I love how it sounds.
I'm in Mountain View, CA. If you're ever in the area maybe I can hear your system at a supercharging location. I just put in the LH door speakers, and don't know what I'm missing in my otherwise stock model X.
Chan546, I am in Rocklin so if you are ever in Sacramento or are on the way to Tahoe, let me know. I don’t get down to your area very often.
Here is what I would recommend in priority order for best bang for the buck:
1. Soundqubed subwoofer retrofitted into stock enclosure - under $100, not louder bass with stock Tesla Premium amp, but less muddy and more defined. First driving it through the stock Tesla Premium amp will also allow you to break-in the sub in 48 hours of listening without having to limit to 50% power. It’s a nice way to prepare for the LH amp which sends a lot more power than stock.
2. Light Harmonic Amp - LH has options for just the amp or bundling with speakers. The amp alone is $1,200. This amp is a direct replacement of the stock Tesla premium amp and drives the front door woofers, rear lift gate midranges, and the sub. It bolts into the exact location of the stock Tesla Premuim amp and uses the same bundled wire connector as stock. The stock Tesla base amp daughterboard drives the tweeters, 3 front dash midranges, and rear doors. The LH premium amp is not cheap, but the improvement is so excellent it is worth it in my opinion. Make sure to let Light Harmonic know if you have MCU1 or MCU2 (there is now a difference between them in the LH amp).
3. Light Harmonic door speakers - excellent stats and nice sound complemented by the LH amp. 1.2 ohms - this makes a difference. Front and rear door LH speakers can be purchased on Amazon at this time for $865.93 ($999 on the LH website). I recommend the Gen 2 version. Complete plug and play, excellent fitment. I suggested to LH owner Larry Ho that they make a 200mm version of this speaker for the front doors. Tesla stock front door speakers are 200mm and the back door speakers are 160mm. The current LH front and back door speakers are 160mm, but the smaller fronts still sound much better than the stock larger fronts, in my opinion. I can only imagine what the LH fronts would be like in 200mm.
4. All other drivers - the two midrange speakers in the rear lift gate are the only other speakers driven by the LH amp. All remaining speakers are powered by the stock daughterboard amp so we don’t get any more power for these, but upgrading to the best spec speakers available in sizes that fit in stock locations and with matching or close to stock impedance makes a big difference in sound quality. I used Hertz and Morel for the remaining speakers - excellent specs and close on size. I attached the Hertz midranges to the lift gate in the stock openings using supplied u-nuts and screws. The dashboard speakers were much more difficult and required fabricating mounting adapters. Moving the top dash out of the way to remove the mesh was a pain because the airbag is attached to it and unplugging the two electrical connectors to the airbag can be challenging. The Morel tweeters fit in the stock mounts in the a-pillar trim. Lots of effort overall, but the front stage lit up on the high end and I had to significantly back-off the EQ in the higher frequencies to find a nice balance across the sound spectrum.
@tcoombes Thanks for the lengthy write-up. For my setup, I currently have a standard Model X sound system with four LH speakers. Your writeup seems to target the model S, as I don't have mid-range speakers in the hatch, which I used to own 5 months ago prior to her total loss in the streets of Garden Grove by a wreckless compact import driver who decided to run a stop sign, sideswiping my mid-night blue baby P85 near the local Costco.
My new beloved ruby red falcon winged X 90D don't have the premium sound, so I can't do the plug and play on the LH amp or the Qubed-sub. Having said that, I'm now searching for a good amp, maybe an all-in-one (crossover, DSP, amp). I'm still learning from you guys, whom I consider pros at this, and I'm grateful for you guys sharing your wealth of knowledge.
Since I spent about 860 on the LH speakers (straight from their site rather than Amazon), my budget would be 2K more at most to sort of match the factory premium sound budget -- and remain a happily married man when my wife asks why we can't get a balcony room on an 11-day cruise this summer to Hawaii. I'm not sure what I can get for 2K, but hopefully some good amp, crossover, DSP, subwoofer, and tweeter -- in that order of priority.
I'm tempted to copy someone else's shopping list, but I fear that I still don't know what I'm doing in terms of matching frequencies, wattage, and all the other subtle details that go into making a great sound system.
My new beloved ruby red falcon winged X 90D don't have the premium sound, so I can't do the plug and play on the LH amp or the Qubed-sub. Having said that, I'm now searching for a good amp, maybe an all-in-one (crossover, DSP, amp). I'm still learning from you guys, whom I consider pros at this, and I'm grateful for you guys sharing your wealth of knowledge.
Since I spent about 860 on the LH speakers (straight from their site rather than Amazon), my budget would be 2K more at most to sort of match the factory premium sound budget -- and remain a happily married man when my wife asks why we can't get a balcony room on an 11-day cruise this summer to Hawaii. I'm not sure what I can get for 2K, but hopefully some good amp, crossover, DSP, subwoofer, and tweeter -- in that order of priority.
I'm tempted to copy someone else's shopping list, but I fear that I still don't know what I'm doing in terms of matching frequencies, wattage, and all the other subtle details that go into making a great sound system.
They now have version HDS2.2. It’s a few dollars more expensive and I bought one to compare to 2.1, but have not had a chance to do it yet. The specs for 2.1 (older version) seem slightly better than the newer 2.2, but need to actually test to see if there are any noticeable differences. I can say the SQ 2.1 sub drop in was one of the best simple upgrades for the price. The difference over stock is not dramatic, but the bass is tighter and more defined. I bumped the EQ up in the low range without distortion and the result sounded better than stock to me.
matt_in_ca
Member
I upgraded my door speakers on my 2017 with the regular (i.e. not premium soundsystem). I'm now looking to add a subwoofer.
My understanding is that all Model S have the compartment that houses the subwoofer in vehicles that come with the premium system, even if the car doesn't have the premium system
If this is correct, I'm curious as to whether anybody whose car didn't come with the premium system has installed a subwoofer in this compartment?
My understanding is that all Model S have the compartment that houses the subwoofer in vehicles that come with the premium system, even if the car doesn't have the premium system
If this is correct, I'm curious as to whether anybody whose car didn't come with the premium system has installed a subwoofer in this compartment?
beatle
Active Member
On the non-UHFS cars, there is just a recess where the subwoofer would be installed. You would need amplification and wiring for it, however, as the standard system will only drive the front components and rear doors.
Having heard the UHFS subwoofer in a loaner, I would just get an aftermarket subwoofer. The NVX sub is kind of pricey, but nice and stock looking, and it will really pound if you want it to.
Having heard the UHFS subwoofer in a loaner, I would just get an aftermarket subwoofer. The NVX sub is kind of pricey, but nice and stock looking, and it will really pound if you want it to.
matt_in_ca
Member
I hear you on the quality of the stock UHFS vs something like the NVX sub. My hesitation with the NVX is that it takes up space in the real well that I regularly use. My thought is, if the car has built into it a space intended for a subwoofer, why not source a good quality subwoofer and install it in that space so as to keep usable cargo space. It seems like a logical approach, but I haven't found discussion of that approach on any threads
beatle
Active Member
It is a slight tradeoff in space with the NVX vs. the UHFS subwoofer, but using the UHFS subwoofer is not a free lunch either. On a standard system there is more room to the passenger rear of the hatch as there is no stock subwoofer there:
What you give up on the left with the NVX, you gain by not having anything on the right, though the NVX is slightly larger. I think if I were hell bent on using the UHFS enclosure, I would upgrade the driver to something stronger and with greater excursion than the stock driver. There was a popular driver from Sound Qubed that would install into the stock enclosure either by drilling new holes or by installing a 3d printed adapter to mate it to the strange 6-side factory recess.
What you give up on the left with the NVX, you gain by not having anything on the right, though the NVX is slightly larger. I think if I were hell bent on using the UHFS enclosure, I would upgrade the driver to something stronger and with greater excursion than the stock driver. There was a popular driver from Sound Qubed that would install into the stock enclosure either by drilling new holes or by installing a 3d printed adapter to mate it to the strange 6-side factory recess.
matt_in_ca
Member
This video is exceptionally helpful. Thanks for sharing. I guess I was picturing the stock subwoofer located in a different location. But given that it's occupying the rear well, I might as well use the NVX or similar system without worry of taking up the space
beatle
Active Member
It is a pretty good system for the price.
That said, if you are interested in choosing your own driver, Audio Designs CG sells a custom unloaded MDF and fiberglass enclosure that fits in the same location as the NVX sub. I bought my speaker adapters from them. Going that route might save you a little bit of coin, and/or you might be able to get a slightly better subwoofer that way, but I don't think you will be disappointed with the output of the NVX combo.
That said, if you are interested in choosing your own driver, Audio Designs CG sells a custom unloaded MDF and fiberglass enclosure that fits in the same location as the NVX sub. I bought my speaker adapters from them. Going that route might save you a little bit of coin, and/or you might be able to get a slightly better subwoofer that way, but I don't think you will be disappointed with the output of the NVX combo.
matt_in_ca
Member
I believe you're referring to this, yeah?
https://store.audiodesignscg.com/product/tesla-model-s-subwoofer-box-phantom-fit/
I thought about going that route and then sourcing a great subwoofer to go along. I really like my Focal rear door units, so this Focal product caught my eye: Focal E 25 KX K2 Power Series 10" dual 4-ohm voice coil component subwoofer at Crutchfield I'd then research a good amp to go along
I'm curious what subwoofer you went with?
beatle
Active Member
I ended up going with the NVX box/sub. I am also using the NVX amp as part of the kit, but I have a separate amp/DSP for the rest of the system.
You will want to have some kind of DSP / signal correction device to give the sub a proper signal as the stock system really rolls off sharply below 60hz.
You will want to have some kind of DSP / signal correction device to give the sub a proper signal as the stock system really rolls off sharply below 60hz.
matt_in_ca
Member
I just received a response from an installer whom I asked for a price quote. He stated the following:
Because the Tesla is a unique vehicle, and is mostly computers, you could very well have some issues down the line.Not due to inappropriate installation, but because the computer senses irregularities and does not like add ons. We would have you sign a waiver before we were to install an amplifier of any kind....I've included a link below of what could happen down the line. Problems with warranty and aftermarket amplifier install
Anybody aware of such amplifier install / aux-battery problems with the Model S?
Because the Tesla is a unique vehicle, and is mostly computers, you could very well have some issues down the line.Not due to inappropriate installation, but because the computer senses irregularities and does not like add ons. We would have you sign a waiver before we were to install an amplifier of any kind....I've included a link below of what could happen down the line. Problems with warranty and aftermarket amplifier install
Anybody aware of such amplifier install / aux-battery problems with the Model S?
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