Ideal Aftermarket Audio System for Model S

[beatle]

No problems here with two amps totaling a little over 1000 watts for almost a year. It doesn't sound like that shop works on Teslas. I would find another shop with more experience. I got quotes from two shops and neither of them batted an eye at them, but both had worked on several Teslas before.

Tesla didn't mention anything to me when I had my MCU replaced this summer, though that's hardly a DC/DC inverter problem.

Keep in mind that amps are VERY rarely used at 100% duty cycle. That's driving a load of pink noise into clipping. Most of the time an amp is at 1/8 duty cycle, so ~150W overall with bursts for music with lots of bass.

I'm not an old timer around here but the DC-DC converter doesn't seem like a popular failure point with aftermarket stereos. That said, that thread seems pretty damning for modifications.

 

[Light Harmonic]

Hi everyone,

Jarek from Light Harmonic here. We are now a sponsor of the site! We've been undergoing some company and product design/testing stretches, so now we can be "official" here. We'll be around the forums answering any questions and we'll be posting about our new (redesigned) amp (being finalized now) and our new T4D speakers set for the Tesla Model 3.

If anyone has questions, please email us at [email protected] or you can PM us here at this account. Thanks, we hope to see everyone around and be of any help we can.

 

[Altes]

I'm currently awaiting delivery of my Model S P100D with the UHFS option. Unfortunately, after hearing complaints about the sound quality of the UHFS package from so many owners, I want to explore alternatives. I would like all audiophiles out there to chime in and provide the best aftermarket system for the model S for a budget under $5K. I recently listened to the Burmester High-End 3D Surround Sound system in a Mercedes Benz S class and I was blown away.

I must confess that I came very close to ordering the Light Harmonics S.12P yesterday, but I after reading through 59 pages of this thread Vendor - Premium Audio System for Tesla Model S by Light Harmonic, I had some serious concerns due to the following reasons:

1. Unreliable amplifier - The amplifier kept failing for some people and they had to send it back. This is a deal breaker for me as I would not want to go through the pain of removing the amp every time it fails.
2. Mediocre Sub included in bundle - There were complaints that the LM sub is worse than the stock sub. However, this is not a deal breaker because some folks reported great success with the SOUNDQUBED HDS-208 sub which I could also get.
3. Lack of customer service - Light Harmonics appears to be very unresponsive to customers' inquiries. This is not a deal breaker provided that the product is very reliable.

I also heard great things about Reus, but I did not see any details about what they would install. Since they're not based in the DC metro area, the wait time for their engineer to fly to DC can be quite long i.e. it can take months.

To all audiophiles, please weigh in and provide your recommendation.

I had a custom system installed and it sounds FAR superior to anything that tesla has new or old, its a bit more than the premium option on a stock tesla but uses high end components (Arc Audio, Mosconi, Morel, Audiomobile) sounds insanely good, not just because of the components, I'd say thats 20% of the difference. My installer literally tore out the interior and spent considerable time with strategic sound deadening throughout. as a result the car is WAY quieter as well, thats where the big difference is. (Shameless plug: SImplicity in Sound Installation Gallery )

That said, no matter WHAT you do you will run into issues with tesla service. they will blame EVERYTHING THAT EVER GOES WRONG WITH THE CAR ON YOUR AFTERMARKET STEREO and make you sign a waiver before even touching you car. Yes its not legal to do that but that wont stop them. Mine was out of warranty when i did so it made less of difference (aside from the fact that it is a lemon and always in for something going bad, i actually have a stack of waivers in the car!!)

 

[nkohlimd]

Hoping I can get some guidance from the forum members. Bought a used 2016 Tesla model S 90Dwith basic audio system. Had a Reus audio system upgrade to the Premium system and my old 2013 MD P85 which was transferred over. Previous owner had already installed LH speakers in the front and Infinity Kappas in the rear. Cliff from Reus added an amp/subwoofer in the rear as well as a mirror mounted tweeter to improve front soundstage. Sounds great but am looking to see if I can get better - lacking power. My friend gave me a JBL DSP4086 as a trade which I think can fit into the empty premium amp location and increase the 50w/channel of the base system and allow DSP. Worth the effort? Can I power the front a-pillar and front door speakers as separate channels for increased power and DSP correction. Is this a DIY type job? Appreciate the guidance. and any pointers..thanks

 

[beatle]

Biggest difference in sound (aside from a sub) is a good midrange. It looks like that amp would work, though I can't imagine all the wiring in that tiny place. You'll need to splice into the stock front and rear channels and run them to the amp, then run wires back out to the speakers, in addition to running wires from the battery. I have put stereos+amps in probably a dozen cars, but I took the car to a shop to have my amp/dsp installed and I think it was well worth it.

I would try bridging two of the channels and run them to the LHs up front. Maybe the amp will handle it, maybe it goes into protection. My Audison would drive two 2 ohm midbass drivers bridged... for a couple of hours at least until it protested. The amp is buried under my sub amp with very little to no airflow, so it's somewhat of a torture test.

Else, you can run the rear channels with the other two channels, though I think it would be a waste; I went back to stock rear speakers since they do so little for the sound.

 

[nkohlimd]

Thank you!

 

[Weathergeek]

I have a 2015 P85D Model S with the UHFS. I would not consider myself an audiophile but I do enjoy nice sound. I like my current setup except for the amount of bass the subwoofer puts out. I have read a lot about people replacing the stock sub with an upgraded sub without any modifications to the sub enclosure. Basically plug and play. I contacted Light Harmonic and they said their 8" sub is a direct replacement without needing to replace the stock amp. This all sounds great except Light Harmonic's sub is close to $350. Some in this forum say you get what you pay for. Most of the time this is true. I would just like to explore my options and imagine Tesla owners have probably seen it all. So, with all this build up, what is the best bang for the buck replacement sub for my Tesla?

 

[Muzzman1]

Hi everyone,

Jarek from Light Harmonic here. We are now a sponsor of the site! We've been undergoing some company and product design/testing stretches, so now we can be "official" here. We'll be around the forums answering any questions and we'll be posting about our new (redesigned) amp (being finalized now) and our new T4D speakers set for the Tesla Model 3.

If anyone has questions, please email us at [email protected] or you can PM us here at this account. Thanks, we hope to see everyone around and be of any help we can.

How does the newly designed amp differ from the Original? Is there any bump in performance?

 

[Muzzman1]

I have a 2015 P85D Model S with the UHFS. I would not consider myself an audiophile but I do enjoy nice sound. I like my current setup except for the amount of bass the subwoofer puts out. I have read a lot about people replacing the stock sub with an upgraded sub without any modifications to the sub enclosure. Basically plug and play. I contacted Light Harmonic and they said their 8" sub is a direct replacement without needing to replace the stock amp. This all sounds great except Light Harmonic's sub is close to $350. Some in this forum say you get what you pay for. Most of the time this is true. I would just like to explore my options and imagine Tesla owners have probably seen it all. So, with all this build up, what is the best bang for the buck replacement sub for my Tesla?

I was VERY disappointed with the LH Sub yrs ago. I tried 3 iterations of it. Their amp on the other hand is amazing. I dropped in a SoundQubed 2 coil 2 ohm sub, wired in parallel to 1 ohm, and that coupled with the LH amp, the sub SINGS!

Amazon.com: SoundQubed HDS208-D2 600W RMS : Electronics

Buy SoundQubed HDS208-D2 600W RMS: Component Subwoofers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

The one linked above is the one I bought, but looks to be discontinued, but the one linked below looks to be its replacement

600W Subwoofer | Heavy Duty Street 2 Series | SoundQubed

The HDS2.2 Series 600W Subwoofer is an affordable high performance option for your daily-driver car audio system with 6.5" to 15" size options.

soundqubed.com

 

[The T-man]

Light Harmonic amp
I can wholeheartedly recommend this, you will not be disappointed...

 

[dsm363]

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.

Thanks so much. I'm thinking of the Light Harmonic package with amp and 4 speakers.

Do you have a model number to the speakers in 'all other drivers' you talked about?

I'll check out the subwoofer too as I don't think Light Harmonic has one. You mentioned Soundqubed.

 

[dsm363]

I was VERY disappointed with the LH Sub yrs ago. I tried 3 iterations of it. Their amp on the other hand is amazing. I dropped in a SoundQubed 2 coil 2 ohm sub, wired in parallel to 1 ohm, and that coupled with the LH amp, the sub SINGS!

Amazon.com: SoundQubed HDS208-D2 600W RMS : Electronics

Buy SoundQubed HDS208-D2 600W RMS: Component Subwoofers - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

The one linked above is the one I bought, but looks to be discontinued, but the one linked below looks to be its replacement

600W Subwoofer | Heavy Duty Street 2 Series | SoundQubed

The HDS2.2 Series 600W Subwoofer is an affordable high performance option for your daily-driver car audio system with 6.5" to 15" size options.

soundqubed.com

The link to the sub no longer works. Which model do you recommend for sub?

 

[dsm363]

Light Harmonic amp
I can wholeheartedly recommend this, you will not be disappointed...

Did you get their sub as well?

 

[Muzzman1]

The link to the sub no longer works. Which model do you recommend for sub?

Try reaching out to SoundQubed and see if they have a direct replacement. I've long sold that car/sub etc and moved to a Plaid. I initially installed that probably back in 2016.

 

[dsm363]

Try reaching out to SoundQubed and see if they have a direct replacement. I've long sold that car/sub etc and moved to a Plaid. I initially installed that probably back in 2016.

Thanks. It appears Light Harmonic has a sub now as part of a package so maybe that works well too.

 

[Muzzman1]

Thanks. It appears Light Harmonic has a sub now as part of a package so maybe that works well too.

They've had a "sub" since the advent of the Amp back in 2015 or so. Back then the sub sucked. Bad. They went so far as to send me 3 iterations of their "sub" and they all sucked. I was one of the 1st customers of the amp/sub. I strongly recommend skipping their driver.

 

[dsm363]

They've had a "sub" since the advent of the Amp back in 2015 or so. Back then the sub sucked. Bad. They went so far as to send me 3 iterations of their "sub" and they all sucked. I was one of the 1st customers of the amp/sub. I strongly recommend skipping their driver.

You'd recommend this then?

https://www.lightharmonic.com/product-page/tesla-model-s-g3-four-door-speakers

Although I guess if you want the amp too, it's cheaper to get package with sub.

https://www.lightharmonic.com/product-page/tesla-model-s-speakers-gen-3-tas-amp-subwoofer-four-door-speakers

Maybe worth trying it. Hopefully it's better than Tesla stock one.

 

[Muzzman1]

You'd recommend this then?

https://www.lightharmonic.com/product-page/tesla-model-s-g3-four-door-speakers

Although I guess if you want the amp too, it's cheaper to get package with sub.

https://www.lightharmonic.com/product-page/tesla-model-s-speakers-gen-3-tas-amp-subwoofer-four-door-speakers

Maybe worth trying it. Hopefully it's better than Tesla stock one.

Honestly, if I were you I would only get the amp. I paid $1750 for the Amp/4 speakers, and they were paltry. Although they were Gen 1. But I would stick the amp in and see how you like it.
Upgrade from there. Im sure there's better speaker options that their overpriced drivers. Their sub sucks. I just went and reviewed my correspondence with the owner Larry Ho. Their drivers kinda suck. TBH
I think i paid $900-1100 for the amp, new at one point cause they were having channels blow out, and I wanted a spare.


Here's an email I sent back in 2016 just to let you know how I felt about the drivers:

Hi Larry
I've installed the drivers on the left side of the car as well as the sub to do an right to left comparison.
Unfortunately it seems the stock drivers sound better!! They are more brilliant and cleaner. Both left and right break up pretty equally when turned up past 8
Can you please advise why this is Happening??

I don't want to post anything until I hear back from you.

Thanks.

 

[EVortex]

Thanks so much. I'm thinking of the Light Harmonic package with amp and 4 speakers.

Do you have a model number to the speakers in 'all other drivers' you talked about?

I'll check out the subwoofer too as I don't think Light Harmonic has one. You mentioned Soundqubed.

5 midrange - Hertz ML700.3 3 inch Mille Legend Series
2 Morel MT220 Car Audio Silk 1.8 inch Soft Dome Tweeters
SoundQubed HDS2.1 Series Selection 8 inch Dual 2 Ohm (wired in parallel 1 ohm)
4 Light Harmonic Model S Gen 2 160mm
Light Harmonic Premium Amp Replacement

System still sounds amazing after 5 years.

 

[EVortex]

FYI - I noticed on the SoundQubed website they have an SQ-HDX8-D2 sub for $200 with somewhat similar specs to the older HDS2.1. Although similar, the specs are different and I have not tested this sub so anyone interested would need to do their own research before purchasing.