Sound quality of ultra high fidelity without premium pkg

[KC10pilot]

I'm seriously disappointed with my sound system in my 2017 S. I was too impatient to order a car so I settled for one on the lot last month that didn't have the premium interior package, but DID have the ultra high fidelity sound package that I really wanted. I was decently happy with the performance of my demo test drive vehicle that had both, so I had to have that option while settling for not getting premium.
Since delivery, I'm completely unimpressed with the sound. The sound is not crisp. The door panels make the car sound like a cheap economy car sound system. Even the amplification seems weak. I've had a loaner 2015 P85D with premium and ultra high fidelity and it sounds like I expected.
So, has anyone else experienced this and have you been able to get Tesla to do anything about it? I feel like I've gotten cheated in many ways since delivery--60 sec time reduction, standard Air suspension, premium lighting, etc. And now this having paid the extra $2500 for a system that sounds like crap. Thanks for the help. Sorry to complain!

 

[Az_Rael]

It's possible some speakers aren't hooked up correctly. I think that has happened to folks here before. Take it in and have service check.

I don't think the Premium package makes any difference in the UFHS, that I know of.

 

[KC10pilot]

It's possible some speakers aren't hooked up correctly. I think that has happened to folks here before. Take it in and have service check.

I don't think the Premium package makes any difference in the UFHS, that I know of.

They ran the diagnostics apparently and said there is no issue. They claim they can't see any difference but it is night and day to me. I wonder if the cheap plastics that they used (which I wasn't aware of when accepting the non-premium) might be partly to blame. I plan on at least doing a steady tone sound decible test between the two cars but no idea how to quantify sound quality...
I'm guessing not many bought the sound but not the premium. Wish there was a fix for this!
I've only had the car a month and it's been in the shop for 3 weeks!

 

[Az_Rael]

They ran the diagnostics apparently and said there is no issue. They claim they can't see any difference but it is night and day to me. I wonder if the cheap plastics that they used (which I wasn't aware of when accepting the non-premium) might be partly to blame. I plan on at least doing a steady tone sound decible test between the two cars but no idea how to quantify sound quality...
I'm guessing not many bought the sound but not the premium. Wish there was a fix for this!
I've only had the car a month and it's been in the shop for 3 weeks!

Hmmm. Is your service center a showroom location as well? If so, you could get them to pull up a 2017 with UHFS and your car and have you and the Tech compare the sound difference in both back to back. If the Tech can hear what's going on, they should be more inclined to admit something is wrong with the system.

I still don't think the PUP is the culprit, as I always thought it was just leather accents on the doors vs vinyl, but maybe there is added insulation we aren't aware of.

 

[PaulusdB]

Call me Mr. Obvious, but did you switch the Dolby option to off in the settings menu?
(It should be off at all times.)

 

[Az_Rael]

Call me Mr. Obvious, but did you switch the Dolby option to off in the settings menu?
(It should be off at all times.)

Good point, the OP should check that the equalizer settings are the same. Messing with the fade really changes the sound levels in the car.

(Although I think the Dolby option on/off is a personal preference. I like mine on - it seems to have a more open sound stage with USB flac sources. I have read it got better in a software update, so maybe it has improved)

 

[KC10pilot]

Hmmm. Is your service center a showroom location as well? If so, you could get them to pull up a 2017 with UHFS and your car and have you and the Tech compare the sound difference in both back to back. If the Tech can hear what's going on, they should be more inclined to admit something is wrong with the system.

I still don't think the PUP is the culprit, as I always thought it was just leather accents on the doors vs vinyl, but maybe there is added insulation we aren't aware of.

Thanks. It is and that's the plan for now. They claim they can't tell the difference between them and need my audiophile ears to be present--haha.

Will be hard to quantify if it is my ears vs his.
Sounds like a stock KIA vs maybe Burmester in a MB... and that's being generous to the loaner which still isn't the greatest.

Settings in EQ same in both and centered focus/fade. Dolby off as well on both.

 

[KC10pilot]

Call me Mr. Obvious, but did you switch the Dolby option to off in the settings menu?
(It should be off at all times.)

Definitely. Disappointed how that makes it sound worse!

 

[Naonak]

The sound stage in the Tesla is really limited and not a $2500 option, in my opinion. The biggest upgrade you can make is a 5 channel amp for the UHFS. It is about the only thing that makes the sound better in the car short of doing a full slash and burn ala the Rheus or something like that.

Skip any speaker upgrades. You can do a SoundQubed subwoofer upgrade; it's $99 and an easy drop in replacement but doesn't add a ton of bass without the upgraded Amp.

I hesitate to recommend the LIght Harmonic amp, because they've had some serious problems with QA. But the latest revision of the LH amp I received back in April has been performing flawlessly, so I can give them a nod for working through the problems. Others have had varying degrees of success with getting the amp to work without blowing the front channel circuits inside the amp. I, too, had the same problem and had to send the amp back twice before finally getting a working one.

But that said, there's no need to purchase their speaker set (won't make any sounds scape difference) or their sub (overpriced, SoundQubed is cheaper and better). The amp is really the only offering that is desirable, since it's just a plug and play replacement for the UHFS amp and adds quite a bit of power.

 

[KC10pilot]

The sound stage in the Tesla is really limited and not a $2500 option, in my opinion. The biggest upgrade you can make is a 5 channel amp for the UHFS. It is about the only thing that makes the sound better in the car short of doing a full slash and burn ala the Rheus or something like that.

Skip any speaker upgrades. You can do a SoundQubed subwoofer upgrade; it's $99 and an easy drop in replacement but doesn't add a ton of bass without the upgraded Amp.

I hesitate to recommend the LIght Harmonic amp, because they've had some serious problems with QA. But the latest revision of the LH amp I received back in April has been performing flawlessly, so I can give them a nod for working through the problems. Others have had varying degrees of success with getting the amp to work without blowing the front channel circuits inside the amp. I, too, had the same problem and had to send the amp back twice before finally getting a working one.

But that said, there's no need to purchase their speaker set (won't make any sounds scape difference) or their sub (overpriced, SoundQubed is cheaper and better). The amp is really the only offering that is desirable, since it's just a plug and play replacement for the UHFS amp and adds quite a bit of power.

Awesome. Great info! Thanks.
So is the LH amp also plug and play? Does it bring better definition to the rears? Easy DIY for a handy kinda person?

Honestly, though not great, the loaner with premium and UHFS is enough to make me happy. I just wish I could prove the amp and quality is sub-par.
I'm hoping that Tesla will at least acknowledge that the materials they used make the sound in the UHFS sound like they are in cheap plastic enclosures. Perhaps they will be able to insulate the panels or something. If all else fails, I think I'll just do as you suggest!

 

[KC10pilot]

The sound stage in the Tesla is really limited and not a $2500 option, in my opinion. The biggest upgrade you can make is a 5 channel amp for the UHFS. It is about the only thing that makes the sound better in the car short of doing a full slash and burn ala the Rheus or something like that.

Skip any speaker upgrades. You can do a SoundQubed subwoofer upgrade; it's $99 and an easy drop in replacement but doesn't add a ton of bass without the upgraded Amp.

I hesitate to recommend the LIght Harmonic amp, because they've had some serious problems with QA. But the latest revision of the LH amp I received back in April has been performing flawlessly, so I can give them a nod for working through the problems. Others have had varying degrees of success with getting the amp to work without blowing the front channel circuits inside the amp. I, too, had the same problem and had to send the amp back twice before finally getting a working one.

But that said, there's no need to purchase their speaker set (won't make any sounds scape difference) or their sub (overpriced, SoundQubed is cheaper and better). The amp is really the only offering that is desirable, since it's just a plug and play replacement for the UHFS amp and adds quite a bit of power.

And btw, which soundqubed model fits? On their site looking.

 

[Carl]

What Light Harmonic also does (if you buy their speakers - I have the upgrade for the base audio, without sub) is redo the damping in the doors - makes quite some difference (car actually becomes more quiet because of that!). Base system Light Harmonic (without their amp) slightly better than UHFS (which I had in my first car) in my opinion.

 

[BoilerG]

I'm seriously disappointed with my sound system in my 2017 S. I was too impatient to order a car so I settled for one on the lot last month that didn't have the premium interior package, but DID have the ultra high fidelity sound package that I really wanted. I was decently happy with the performance of my demo test drive vehicle that had both, so I had to have that option while settling for not getting premium.
Since delivery, I'm completely unimpressed with the sound. The sound is not crisp. The door panels make the car sound like a cheap economy car sound system. Even the amplification seems weak. I've had a loaner 2015 P85D with premium and ultra high fidelity and it sounds like I expected.
So, has anyone else experienced this and have you been able to get Tesla to do anything about it? I feel like I've gotten cheated in many ways since delivery--60 sec time reduction, standard Air suspension, premium lighting, etc. And now this having paid the extra $2500 for a system that sounds like crap. Thanks for the help. Sorry to complain!

I had the same issues. I found the sound improved dramatically when I disabled Dolby Surround and set the equalizer to 0 except low base at 1.5. Now my uncompressed music sounds significantly better and at times it feels like I'm in a studio of the recording is really high quality.

 

[jdw]

It really does depend on both the genre and the source of the music you listen to ... if you're a full blast hip-hop person, you're not going to be happy without an upgrade of some kind, especially the sub. On run of the mill rock/pop/jazz/classical, I find UHFS does a good job.

When I got the car two years ago, the Dolby processing was awful, but one of the updates about a year and a half ago really improved it and I generally keep it on now. As BoilerG said, all the stock UHFS system really needs is a 1.5 to 3db bass boost - with a good source (FLAC, Tidal HiFi for example).

For the record, the Dolby is not any kind of "surround sound", it is just 2 channel processing, that optimises audio for the car. With music that actually has a sound stage, it tends to do a pretty good job of enhancing it.

 

[BoilerG]

It really does depend on both the genre and the source of the music you listen to ... if you're a full blast hip-hop person, you're not going to be happy without an upgrade of some kind, especially the sub. On run of the mill rock/pop/jazz/classical, I find UHFS does a good job.

When I got the car two years ago, the Dolby processing was awful, but one of the updates about a year and a half ago really improved it and I generally keep it on now. As BoilerG said, all the stock UHFS system really needs is a 1.5 to 3db bass boost - with a good source (FLAC, Tidal HiFi for example).

For the record, the Dolby is not any kind of "surround sound", it is just 2 channel processing, that optimises audio for the car. With music that actually has a sound stage, it tends to do a pretty good job of enhancing it.

The one comment I'll make on Dolby is that it seems to compress the dynamics. For most modern recordings, it's not a big deal since most studio engineers use dynamic range compression. For some high quality recordings, I found you lose some of the dynamics and can miss some of the timber and resonance of the instruments or vocals. It's really a personal preference and it's a fairly subtle difference.

 

[Naonak]

Awesome. Great info! Thanks.
So is the LH amp also plug and play? Does it bring better definition to the rears? Easy DIY for a handy kinda person?

Honestly, though not great, the loaner with premium and UHFS is enough to make me happy. I just wish I could prove the amp and quality is sub-par.
I'm hoping that Tesla will at least acknowledge that the materials they used make the sound in the UHFS sound like they are in cheap plastic enclosures. Perhaps they will be able to insulate the panels or something. If all else fails, I think I'll just do as you suggest!

The stock speakers aren't terrible. They are pretty generic but adequate. I've not heard a Rheus system, so I don't know how much of a difference extra-high-quality speakers might make, but bang for buck, it's not really worth upgrading them, in my opinion.

And btw, which soundqubed model fits? On their site looking.

This is the model that fits: HDS2.108 8

I 3D printed a retaining ring for it in the stock sub box, but it's not really required and you can get along without it, I think. Be prepared, though, the large bolt that holds the sub box in will likely strip when you take it out or put it back in... I'd say an 80% chance. It's a really pain to get back out, so once you have your box in, it's a one shot deal... or you're going to have to really work to get the bolt out or cut it off. . You might just consider not putting the bolt back in or using a different bolt. I'm not sure if it's the bolt itself for the threading on the car that's stripping, but it seems to happen to most cars that take it out.