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

[MidwestM3P]

My system really thumped when I first picked the car up. It was great for the first few days. Then I connected it to my home WiFi and it updated to 48.12. Now it's neutered. Hopefully they fix it soon. I don't think it has to do with the input - I played around with a lot of different sources before the update, and now after the update all of those sources sound "blah."

I didn't make note of what system it was running before the update, unfortunately. Wish I had.

 

[Frunkenstein]

I'm interested if you all could try this out.

1. Go sit out in your car and without using the brake, or putting the car in motion, find a song you know sounds good. Listen to it a couple of times so you have it fresh in your mind how it sounds (mainly focusing on bass).

2. Start that song over and pause it.

3. Now go for a ride. After driving down the road, play the same song. How does it sound to you? Does it sound like the bass has lessened?

Curious to get your thoughts. I was listening to a song waiting for my family to get in. When they got there, my son wanted me to start the song over, so I did. Sure enough, it sounded awful, where just a few minutes ago, it sounded fine. Road noise? Not likely. Almost feels like something is lowering the volume/bass.

Again, it would be nice to have full control over all the little sound settings in one place (phone, music, navigation, Easter eggs, etc.)

 

[skrtskrt]

I'm interested if you all could try this out.

1. Go sit out in your car and without using the brake, or putting the car in motion, find a song you know sounds good. Listen to it a couple of times so you have it fresh in your mind how it sounds (mainly focusing on bass).

2. Start that song over and pause it.

3. Now go for a ride. After driving down the road, play the same song. How does it sound to you? Does it sound like the bass has lessened?

Curious to get your thoughts. I was listening to a song waiting for my family to get in. When they got there, my son wanted me to start the song over, so I did. Sure enough, it sounded awful, where just a few minutes ago, it sounded fine. Road noise? Not likely. Almost feels like something is lowering the volume/bass.

Again, it would be nice to have full control over all the little sound settings in one place (phone, music, navigation, Easter eggs, etc.)

Whattttt! I was thinking the same EXACT thing.

 

[PoitNarf]

I'm interested if you all could try this out.

1. Go sit out in your car and without using the brake, or putting the car in motion, find a song you know sounds good. Listen to it a couple of times so you have it fresh in your mind how it sounds (mainly focusing on bass).

2. Start that song over and pause it.

3. Now go for a ride. After driving down the road, play the same song. How does it sound to you? Does it sound like the bass has lessened?

Curious to get your thoughts. I was listening to a song waiting for my family to get in. When they got there, my son wanted me to start the song over, so I did. Sure enough, it sounded awful, where just a few minutes ago, it sounded fine. Road noise? Not likely. Almost feels like something is lowering the volume/bass.

Again, it would be nice to have full control over all the little sound settings in one place (phone, music, navigation, Easter eggs, etc.)

I’ll give this a shot today. I also got an email reply from Tesla customer service about this issue just yesterday and they want more info from me so I’ll try to give them as much detail as possible. I’ll provide them with a link to this thread as well.

 

[Stu Redman]

With all the techies here of every sort, it surprises me this issue is still "subjective". Get a SPL meter and measure decibels. Carry it in the car. Use the same source, song, settings and meter placement and compare measurements when you think it sounds good to when you think it sounds bad. As in science for a change.

 

[jbrazor]

Also have intermittent audio quality problems. Took delivery of a M3 mid-Dec, sound had no bass and was much worse than old Corolla. Low frequency EQ made no difference; immersive sound settings made little difference. Checked to see if it's supposed to have 'premium audio' - it does. Reboot didn't help.Then, somehow, bass powered up and it sounded great. same thing regardless of the source (streaming, USB, FM).

Now on S/W 2018.50, and sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad. Driving around yesterday, it was tinny again then bass drivers kicked in while playing a song over a 2-3 second period. Back to good, for now at least.

It's a tough problem to reproduce as you never know how the audio will behave on a particular occasion, so haven't called SC yet. Have others experienced intermittent audio quality like this?

 

[EVDRVN]

With all the techies here of every sort, it surprises me this issue is still "subjective". Get a SPL meter and measure decibels. Carry it in the car. Use the same source, song, settings and meter placement and compare measurements when you think it sounds good to when you think it sounds bad. As in science for a change.

That won't do anything to isolate the bass issue for testing it would only measure db of everything,

 

[Frunkenstein]

That won't do anything to isolate the bass issue for testing it would only measure db of everything,

Not to mention that there is not a number or percentage allotted to the volume slider so you would have to wing it as far as the volume level goes. I've tried the "count the taps" method and sometimes the tap doesn't register. Only way is to set it and forget it until the sound changes.

 

[Stu Redman]

V. 48.12
I think you need to be parked to test it properly. That way you can set the volume on the line coming up from the trunk icon, and of course you don’t need to drive. I don’t know if my sound system has the bug or not, if there is one, but it seemed to work just fine tonight in the garage. So I took my own advice and ran the “current” levels with a SPL meter.
All settings zeroed out and I used my USB stick to play a flac of “Life in the Fast Lane” by the Eagles, on repeat. The verses have a very consistent volume and bass track. So, with the meter held at ear level near my right shoulder:
First run 75 db.
Fade Full Forward 74 db.
Fade Full Back 66 db.
Fade 0, Balance Full Right 72 db.
Fade 0, Balance Full Left 72 db.
All 0 with Bass Full Up 79 db.
All 0 with Bass Full Down 71 db.
With the volume set to the right edge of the car icon and all zeroes , I got 92 db. This cars’ sound seems to be engineered for 4 or 5 people to have the same listening experience, unlike most others where the rear seat folks get blasted out. I couldn't sit in the back but held the meter back quite a way and got a gain of about 5 db. A cut of 9 db. at the drivers seat with the fade full back is very noticeable and is almost half the volume. Maybe the car needs a new button to disregard rear seat passengers.
My sweet spot for now is to fade about 1 1/2 circles to the back, which loses about 3 db., then up the bass to about 3-4, which gains some back. Now if something changes hopefully I’ll know.

 

[Jtt777]

could they be doing some sort of active noise cancellation inside the car?

 

[Stu Redman]

Interesting development. This morning I decided to check the audio level again with the car in the garage after it had been sitting all night. Playing the same song with the same settings I got 3 db. less than before. I needed one more click (16) to make it the same. Long story short, what brought it back was rolling the volume scroll wheel all the way to the x, then 3 or 4 more clicks to the left, wait a couple of seconds, then slowly click it back right to normal volume. It was back just like before. So I'm thinking it's possible the scroll wheel loses it's reference point sometimes, some way, and just does not put out the power it should at a certain volume setting. Some cars could be affected more than others I'd guess. Maybe the volume cutback when the door opens or parking the car so the sound shuts off can cause the problem. Maybe the subwoofer only is not always getting the power it should per click. The scroll wheel could also be the cause of other crazy sound problems in the car.
Any way, you could try this fix, keeping in mind this is what worked for me-for now. With this car you never know what the next "update" will bring.
^^correction^^ - If I was unclear, the scroll wheel rolls up and down to move the volume indicator right or left, of course.

 

[Drizzle]

Interesting information, but I don't think DB/SPL is what you want here. What you want is the room eq wizard running off of a good mic and checking the 100hz and below range.

Even better, put the mic in the trunk by the sub.

 

[KFORE]

This might have something to do with the dynamic volume stuff Tesla silently added in an update not too long ago. I noticed on 48.x that music will get louder the faster you go. That didn't happen when I first got the car (on 18.x). So Tesla is definitely dynamically adjusting audio during the drive and I wonder if there is a bug in that process causing the intermittent issues people are mentioning here.

 

[PoitNarf]

I’ve replied to the email that a Tesla customer service rep sent to me about this issue and pointed them to this thread. I encourage others here who are still experiencing the lack of bass issue to report it through your Tesla account on their website. The more of us that Tesla hears from the more likely and hopefully quicker this bug will get indentified and fixed.

 

[PoitNarf]

Received a reply from Tesla customer service again:

Since we have not been able to resolve this with general troubleshooting I tend to think you are correct that there is a bigger issue. I have set up for one of our Mobile Service Agents to reach out to you and see if there is an opportunity to work with the vehicle in person to resolve this. This contact should happen within 24/48 hours and will be either by phone or email so look for both contact methods.

I hope we can get a solution for this.
​

I’ll keep everyone posted with what happens with the Mobile Service Agent.

 

[brobinson]

Received a reply from Tesla customer service again:

Since we have not been able to resolve this with general troubleshooting I tend to think you are correct that there is a bigger issue. I have set up for one of our Mobile Service Agents to reach out to you and see if there is an opportunity to work with the vehicle in person to resolve this. This contact should happen within 24/48 hours and will be either by phone or email so look for both contact methods.

I hope we can get a solution for this.
​

I’ll keep everyone posted with what happens with the Mobile Service Agent.

Fingers crossed. My pessimistic side says that one mobile tech won't be enough to move the needle, though

 

[PoitNarf]

Well my 3 updated to 2018.50 last night. I'll try to test a few songs after work to see if there's any noticeable improvement with the latest version.

 

[Altes]

That won't do anything to isolate the bass issue for testing it would only measure db of everything,

You need a spectrum analyzer (there's an app for that)

 

[KikkoMax]

Interesting development. This morning I decided to check the audio level again with the car in the garage after it had been sitting all night. Playing the same song with the same settings I got 3 db. less than before. I needed one more click (16) to make it the same. Long story short, what brought it back was rolling the volume scroll wheel all the way to the x, then 3 or 4 more clicks to the left, wait a couple of seconds, then slowly click it back right to normal volume. It was back just like before. So I'm thinking it's possible the scroll wheel loses it's reference point sometimes, some way, and just does not put out the power it should at a certain volume setting. Some cars could be affected more than others I'd guess. Maybe the volume cutback when the door opens or parking the car so the sound shuts off can cause the problem. Maybe the subwoofer only is not always getting the power it should per click. The scroll wheel could also be the cause of other crazy sound problems in the car.
Any way, you could try this fix, keeping in mind this is what worked for me-for now. With this car you never know what the next "update" will bring.
^^correction^^ - If I was unclear, the scroll wheel rolls up and down to move the volume indicator right or left, of course.

These things seem to prevent / correct the problem for me so far (2 days) without needing a software reset, can anyone else confirm these as workarounds?

- Pause music before opening doors to get out of car (so there is no volume drop that might be the cause of the problem)
- Bring volume with left scroll wheel down to zero or less until mute, then bring volume back up to desired levels

 

[PoitNarf]

I’ve only been in my 3 for about 25 minutes since installing 2018.50 but so far so good it seems and the bass sounds like it should be. I’ve got longer drives tomorrow so I’ll be able to give it a proper test then. Still haven’t heard from the Mobile Service Agent that is supposed to reach out to me.