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Std Audio Speaker Upgrades - Recommendations?

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jskenney

Happy Member
Mar 22, 2013
97
49
Maryland
I upgraded to a 90D without the premium sound this summer and I am looking for recommendations on speakers as the sound is just not the same. I was hoping to shop for an upgrade that was ~2k installed.

Is Light Harmonic still around? There website/blog don't appear to have been updated for over a year...

I stopped by two installers today and both were recommending speakers from Focal, with really expensive amps and dsps... and adding a subwoofer, price was 3500-4500. One was recommending the Focal PS 165F and the other the FX

Are there any good drop in replacements for the door speakers and tweeters? Something will low enough bass that I wouldn't need worry about a sub?
 
Still hoping that someone can help with recommendations or info, I will continue to prod and provide info as I progress.

- Would love to get info from someone who has installed the Light Harmonic Speakers recently, quality, impressions. I ask for recently because the company seams a bit quiet. (I've sent them an email asking for info). Thoughts with just the speaker installation (for someone with base sound) vs amplified would be helpful.

If I can't find any good info re the LH speakers, I am considering:

- Focal PS 165FX in the Front and the PC 165F in the Rear Doors.
- JL Audio HD900/5 Amplifier
- AudioControl LCQ-1 DSP or a Mosconi 4to6 DSP

Anyone have any thoughts?
 
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Id love to go the LH route, I am hoping someone can talk about a recent experience. Nothing at the LH site has been updated in a year and that is worrisome to me. I am not a fan of adding amps or anything that impacts the electrical wiring.
 
I decided to give the Light Harmonic Speakers a go (just the speakers, not the amp or sub which were designed to work with the upgraded sound system). I'll get the local installer put them in and work on sound dampening at the same time. Hopefully this will work well and I won't have to consider going for a massive install.
 
It isn't a very good sales pitch, but I can't tell any difference at all between the stock speakers and these.

At first I thought it was me, but several others have said the same thing. I'm on the wrong side of 40, so perhaps its just my hearing is shot...
 
Not sure if you got the newest newest 90D but my 90D definitely sounds better after the DIY LH upgrade. No need for the pros to do it. You just need to buy some clips from tesla and some tools from the hardware store. I am not sure if I uploaded a video of how I did it on my car.

Though the sound was definitely better (after a break in period) the quality still pales against other manufacturer's sound system. Even an Infiniti g37 bose system system sounds better than my LH upgraded sound system.

Point is keep your expectation low and it will be good. If you are expecting wonders wait for the next interior upgrade for the model S or get some other car.

Btw, I just replaced the 4 speakers. No amp mods or whatnot.
 
Speakers are only as good as the master EQ signal. All car manufactures rely heavily on DSP to create cheaper and cheaper speakers. With controlling the master DSP (Not what you see as bass, mid and treble), they can make the 5 cent paper and plastic speakers sound as best as possible, without being able to damage them due to the cheap materials they produce them from. This means without adding your own DSP and correcting the signal coming out of the OEM Tesla amp, you are wasting money on whatever speakers you throw in there. Say the OEM speaker has a hard time reproducing 3000 hz due to the materials it is made out of, the OEM will put a peak at 3000 hz to compensate. This means when you throw in your new speakers, you can possibly have a MASSIVE peak at 3k hz. So in a nutshell, replacing just the speakers in most cases can make it sound worse. I have heard the prepackaged kits for this car and have installed a few, and in most cases the difference is not worth the investment. You need to do it right or not at all. I hope this clears up a few questions about audio upgrades in any modern car.
 
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I think I am going to heed the general consensus and move to upgrade everything, shying away from the LH speakers (since I can't use their amplifier in my car and they don't attempt to take on the highs), my thoughts:

- Focal PS 165FX in the Front and the PC 165F in the Rear Doors.
- JL Audio HD900/5 Amplifier
- JL Audio Fix 86 (DSP)
- JL Audio 10TW1 MicroSub
- Sound Deadening

I like the Fix 86 because the installer can make it perfect, and then if I want to tweak I can (and it looks like you can easily save settings, so if I mess up I could just go back to the previous configs), and the small subwoofer should meet my needs (and allow for an easier upgrade later if I didn't like it). Getting closer... Any thoughts from those who have done this?
 
I spent best part of today installing LH over standard audio.

I spent maybe 45 mins listening for the difference, and I'd say it is worth the upgrade. The speakers still need break in time, but it is already an improvement to mid frequencies.

I was expecting more though, as my old Audi Bose system is still at least comparable if not better especially with bass frequencies, and it doesn't have a subwoofer. The design of the door card would need.to be changed to make truly better sound. Now you can still feel the whole thing resonate with suitable frequencies. I am a guy who can hear a difference of painting a wall in my dedicated audio/movie room, so take that as a reference...

I also covered the whole door with silencer mat, for the rare occasion of removing door cards (used Stp black Gold). I was surprised that it probably did make a difference to road noise from tires. But not so much to the door card resonation from audio.

2 installation notes : my car has 205xxxx VIN and they have added some rivet + strap to upper end of front door panels. Impossible to remove. You can still access the door interior but it was fairly painful.

One of the LH speakers had a minus cable unattached to the terminal and I had to redo one door. I was happy to be able to fix myself though, since I was pretty pissed off finding one speaker not making sound after basically finishing the job.
 
I wanted to check the difference between the regular 2017 Model S sound system and the PUP system before determining what options I needed Vs what options I'd like. I went to the local Tesla dealer who was happy to demo the two. He prefaced the comparison by saying that if you were someone who would spend £2,500 on a home stereo then maybe you'd appreciate the difference the PUP stereo made. I'm no crystal-aligned audiophile thought I do use a pair of Monitor Audio GR60s as my regular home stereo speakers and I do use custom IEMs for day to day music listening.

I listened to both the regular and PUP systems with some appropriate music. The standard system sounded fine to me for a car stereo. I could hear that it is a bit bass-short for folks who like a bit of boom and a bit top-end short for those who like a bit of tizz. But for listening to some music in a car without a diesel roar the standard stereo is just fine.

The problem I have is that I rather liked the idea of a subwoofer and rear heated seats. It now seems that I'll be content with multi-pattern and EAP and nothing else.
 
I think I am going to heed the general consensus and move to upgrade everything, shying away from the LH speakers (since I can't use their amplifier in my car and they don't attempt to take on the highs), my thoughts:

- Focal PS 165FX in the Front and the PC 165F in the Rear Doors.
- JL Audio HD900/5 Amplifier
- JL Audio Fix 86 (DSP)
- JL Audio 10TW1 MicroSub
- Sound Deadening

I like the Fix 86 because the installer can make it perfect, and then if I want to tweak I can (and it looks like you can easily save settings, so if I mess up I could just go back to the previous configs), and the small subwoofer should meet my needs (and allow for an easier upgrade later if I didn't like it). Getting closer... Any thoughts from those who have done this?
Did you pull the trigger on this install?
 
I did, I will be using the Safe & Sound folks in Chantilly (same as quite a few others, you can see their past work on YouTube), they are booked through the end of October, so the install will be early November. I checked with quite a few other locations in the MD/VA area, but none of them had experience and most did not seam overly confident - I decided to not be their first Tesla...

My plans:

- Focal PS 165FX in the Front
- JL Audio Twk 88 (DSP)
- Mosconi One 130.4 Amplifier (Speakers)
- Mosconi One 130.2 Amplifier (Subwoofer)
- JL Audio 10TW1-4 PowerWedge Subwoofer
- Sound Deadening

I really like the sound of the Focal 165FX speakers, I compared them with the higher end Focals, as well as the Illusions and Morels, and to me they have a much richer sound. This is nice because they are also quite a bit cheaper then the other options.

Still trying to figure out what to do with the rear speakers, I know they are not as important as the front, but since I will have people ripping apart the car, seams like the right time. I originally purchase the LH speaker set, but I tried to cancel the order (the company does not respond to trouble tickets...), so I have a box of those, I may use a pair in the rears, or just put in a pair of Focal's in the rear.
 
I did, I will be using the Safe & Sound folks in Chantilly (same as quite a few others, you can see their past work on YouTube), they are booked through the end of October, so the install will be early November. I checked with quite a few other locations in the MD/VA area, but none of them had experience and most did not seam overly confident - I decided to not be their first Tesla...

My plans:

- Focal PS 165FX in the Front
- JL Audio Twk 88 (DSP)
- Mosconi One 130.4 Amplifier (Speakers)
- Mosconi One 130.2 Amplifier (Subwoofer)
- JL Audio 10TW1-4 PowerWedge Subwoofer
- Sound Deadening

I really like the sound of the Focal 165FX speakers, I compared them with the higher end Focals, as well as the Illusions and Morels, and to me they have a much richer sound. This is nice because they are also quite a bit cheaper then the other options.

Still trying to figure out what to do with the rear speakers, I know they are not as important as the front, but since I will have people ripping apart the car, seams like the right time. I originally purchase the LH speaker set, but I tried to cancel the order (the company does not respond to trouble tickets...), so I have a box of those, I may use a pair in the rears, or just put in a pair of Focal's in the rear.
Being from Maryland did you go to the shop or received your quote by other means.... I am interested as well with addition of rear speakers. I live in Virginia Beach so the round trip is about 7 hours
 
@jskenney, You will like your car when its done. I had my sub upgraded by Safe and Sound by Matt and next year, I will upgrade my door speakers and other small items. (Matt had done a video of my car as well). I have listened to most of the Tesla who had done work there and I hope to listen to yours in the future.

BTW, Magomboman, I was born in Chesapeake, and proud grad of Norfolk State! I always attend homecoming which is October 28th. If everything works out, I plan on being in Norfolk a few days before 28th. not making any promises, I hope we can hook up!
 
Being from Maryland did you go to the shop or received your quote by other means.... I am interested as well with addition of rear speakers. I live in Virginia Beach so the round trip is about 7 hours

I went to all of the installers in person over the past month, a bit of a hike for some, but I thought it was worth it to listen to the speakers and talk with the installers. Some of the places really did not seam confident in working on the car.