Sound system lost it's "punch" after latest update

[IM_1406]

I wonder if this is not a "wake up" protocol issue. Certainly not a question of "perception" when there is NO sound coming from the rear sub....and virtually nothing coming form the rear seating area speakers. Incredibly frustrating and SUCKING THE JOY from these 4 wheels of mine.......

 

[SJC3]

My bass is back! Nothing changed but it magically came back just now when I took a quick drive.This car drives me bat crazy! 46.2. Also voice command that wasn’t working is magically back. The unusable hands free phone due to stuttering and popping is gone as well, but the echo is still there. Nuts!!!

 

[mswlogo]

you guys think im just making stuff up on the fly as I comment. This is literally what I said without having ever listened to the model 3s soundsystem

it is fairly obvious that a tiny 160w subwoofer cannot adequately reproduce the entire subbass spectrum in a sedan (or even compact).
The system will be very cleverly matched with the sub just providing a bit of bottom end on the ultralow frequencies and the majority of the subbass i.e. anything above A sharp (which has also been semiconfirmed in an earlier post where the crossover seems to be around 60hz) will be produced by the door woofers.

you can even see the bell shape frequency volume the woofers produce on the frequency response graph and the background subbass from the subwoofer:

https://bn1302files.storage.live.co...3_Freq_Curve.jpg?psid=1&width=1627&height=858

you can also see nicely that the subbass port rolls off at 30hz which hopefully ends those arguments as well.

What’s your point?

I don’t know of any OEM system that goes down to 20hz. 30hz is perfectly fine. Except maybe some exotic car. You need some serious woofers to get below 30hz. It’s not a hone theater. 30hz is fine for 99.9999% music.

Yes, the midbass drivers are doing a lot of low end work. Who cares, they sound great. When you get above 80hz or so you can sense directionality. So having that much bass in the doors is great. And reserving non directional frequencies to the sub is fine and makes senses.

Again this thread is not about the design. But a bug some folks are complaining about losing the bass they had and most were quite content with.

 

[mswlogo]

I can tell you 100% that you aren't dealing with the loss of bass bug, which is what this thread is trying to focus on.

I agree, I never had a complaint. But the “test” to pan the balance to rear and observing lost bass is bogus.

 

[mswlogo]

My bass is back! Nothing changed but it magically came back just now when I took a quick drive.This car drives me bat crazy! 46.2. Also voice command that wasn’t working is magically back. The unusable hands free phone due to stuttering and popping is gone as well, but the echo is still there. Nuts!!!

Given how flaky some other things have been on the car I believe it.

Hope it sticks.

 

[SJC3]

Given how flaky some other things have been on the car I believe it.

Hope it sticks.

Funny how something like good tunes make the ride so much more enjoyable.

 

[Candleflame]

What’s your point?

I don’t know of any OEM system that goes down to 20hz. 30hz is perfectly fine. Except maybe some exotic car. You need some serious woofers to get below 30hz. It’s not a hone theater. 30hz is fine for 99.9999% music.

Yes, the midbass drivers are doing a lot of low end work. Who cares, they sound great. When you get above 80hz or so you can sense directionality. So having that much bass in the doors is great. And reserving non directional frequencies to the sub is fine and makes senses.

Again this thread is not about the design. But a bug some folks are complaining about losing the bass they had and most were quite content with.

oh yeah I never said that. For me even 30hz is overkill. 40hz is enough imho.

 

[usofrob]

...

you can even see the bell shape frequency volume the woofers produce on the frequency response graph and the background subbass from the subwoofer:

https://bn1302files.storage.live.co...3_Freq_Curve.jpg?psid=1&width=1627&height=858

you can also see nicely that the subbass port rolls off at 30hz which hopefully ends those arguments as well.

This is about what I've seen with a pink noise generator and a frequency analyzer on my phone. (Although in less detail.) This is good confirmation for me that I may have been doing my test correctly. I adjusted the equalizer a little to move that curve closer to flat for the dBC scale. I think if you look at that data using dBA, it'll look like weak bass. Based on my research, the dBA scale is best to describe the low level of human hearing, and dBC is better for higher volumes. So, when I turn up the music to mid or high, I figure it's closer to dBC. Either way, I like the sound better with a little less bass and more mids and highs compared to the flat equalizer, at least when my sub is fully functional.
What sound settings have you all been using?

 

[sduck]

Sduck can you do me a favor and listen to the songs I put on the previous page and let me know if the rumbling low bass disappears at the sections I described?

It should go from a full, rumbly sound to an obvious lack of rumble. With a subwoofer producing the correct frequency ranges, there should be no discernable difference in the bass lines except a slight amount on the 4th note in the young jeezy track because it is exceptionally low (30hz).

Ok, did the test, with your tracks and few others that people have posted. And i can guarantee you my sub is working fine. And yes, that 30 hz note at the end of the bass line of the Young Jeezy track just isn't there.

 

[Drizzle]

Ok, did the test, with your tracks and few others that people have posted. And i can guarantee you my sub is working fine. And yes, that 30 hz note at the end of the bass line of the Young Jeezy track just isn't there.

Interesting. How did the two notes back to back in the first song sound? For me it's like 100% then 15% volume.

 

[mswlogo]

That's what I was feeling as well (post above). I feel like part of the problem besides a straight up bug, or an engineer sending out a crap eq to everyone on accident is them trying to actively balance 8in and 10in subs. They should have went for a 12in in the back and had it handle 30-80hz only. Instead, it feels like the 10in handles 60-80hz with an insane rolloff on the bottom end.

BTW, any audiophile newbies who need a lesson in subs, play this song in your model 3:

.
Once the main song actually starts, you can clearly hear the first bass note hit and slowly morph into a lower note. This hits pretty well, but I'm not sure if it's the door or 10 in sub, would have to test when it wouldn't annoy neighbors. Immediately after, it starts a new, lower bass note and morphs that lower. This is the bass line. The sound system can't even replicate the beginning of that second note, let alone the bottom (where it sounds the sexiest).

Here is another example. There are four bass notes in the bass melody, played in descending frequency. The 4th and lowest note is about 30hz. The model 3 can't even replicate the 3rd note:

Oh great, I clicked on these out of curiosity and now YouTube is "suggesting" the sh$tiest music ever.

 

[Candleflame]

• This is about what I've seen with a pink noise generator and a frequency analyzer on my phone. (Although in less detail.) This is good confirmation for me that I may have been doing my test correctly. I adjusted the equalizer a little to move that curve closer to flat for the dBC scale. I think if you look at that data using dBA, it'll look like weak bass. Based on my research, the dBA scale is best to describe the low level of human hearing, and dBC is better for higher volumes. So, when I turn up the music to mid or high, I figure it's closer to dBC. Either way, I like the sound better with a little less bass and more mids and highs compared to the flat equalizer, at least when my sub is fully functional.

What sound settings have you all been using?

Tbh a flat response isn't always what you want in a car as it is not an ideal listening environement. Its sort of like saying you want flat headphones. It would sound like crap.

Ok, did the test, with your tracks and few others that people have posted. And i can guarantee you my sub is working fine. And yes, that 30 hz note at the end of the bass line of the Young Jeezy track just isn't there.

To get the same perceived volume you need to have much higher volume the lower you go in the spectrum. Given that the 30hz from the sub is already 7db lower than the peak at 50hz plus possibly a reflection/roommode from the Sedan I would not be surprised if a note there would be hardly audible at all while driving.
Only way to really confirm is to take the right panel off in the trunk and see if theres any cone and portair movement at the subwoofer which I presume you have done.

 

[ashraj]

46.2 appears to have resolved the subwoofer issue for me

Unfortunately this didn't stick. The subwoofer stopped working again after a couple days .
If it's true that restarting the MCU temporarily resolves the issue, then we probably shouldn't jump to any conclusions immediately after installing updates.

 

[IM_1406]

Unfortunately this didn't stick. The subwoofer stopped working again after a couple days .
If it's true that restarting the MCU temporarily resolves the issue, then we probably shouldn't jump to any conclusions immediately after installing updates.

I have experienced the same coming and going. Seems to be every few days it's back.....but may not last the whole day before it is gone again.

 

[silentcorp]

My sub came back to life last night. I was cleaning the car and had some music going with the doors open and in the middle of a song the trunk-sub boomed back to life. Not sure what is causing this, my SC appointment should help out a bit here in a few weeks.

 

[IM_1406]

My sub came back to life last night. I was cleaning the car and had some music going with the doors open and in the middle of a song the trunk-sub boomed back to life. Not sure what is causing this, my SC appointment should help out a bit here in a few weeks.

Dramatic isn't it......you definitely know when it's back! Hope it sticks.

 

[mswlogo]

My sub came back to life last night. I was cleaning the car and had some music going with the doors open and in the middle of a song the trunk-sub boomed back to life. Not sure what is causing this, my SC appointment should help out a bit here in a few weeks.

Maybe the Sub thinks it's a Battery and is waiting for full regen.

 

[nogassnorlax]

I’m noticing it’s always on and off. I don’t want to have to hard reboot everytime

 

[Jtt777]

Where exactly is the trunk sub to check if it is on?

 

[Drizzle]

Where exactly is the trunk sub to check if it is on?

It's on the right side of the car frame if you are looking into the trunk I believe.