Hey guys, I'm new to the Tesla family as I just bought a 2013 P85+ (studio sound) CPO last month, but I do have 20 years experience in car audio and mobile electronics. I held an MECP Level 2 Certification for years and have designed, installed or listened to just about every brand of stereo/speaker there is. I hold 1st & 2nd place victories from IASCA & USAC for SQ/SPL competition and attend SEMA, CEDIA & CES religiously in order to stay current with what the market is offering.
Well, now that you know a little of my background, please feel free to pick my brain anytime.
Okay, back to the thread...
HebrHmr, one might want to bypass an OEM sub in a vehicle when adding an aftermarket sub for one or more of the following reasons:
1. Phasing: Depending on the physical orientation of the OEM sub versus your aftermarket sub/s, the phasing could be terribly affected. There might be tons of bass at the windshield or right behind the driver's seat, but virtually no bass at the listening positions.
2. Impedance: Tapping into high-level speaker leads can affect some OEM amplifiers' automatic anti-clipping circuitry which relies on impedance feedback to correctly measure distortion. Example, on my Tahoe, you could rotate the volume knob endlessly and the Bose system would just know where to stop without reaching a potentiometer's physical limits.
3. Efficiency: The OEM subwoofer would be drawing power from the system still, yet be virtually inaudible.
4. Sound Quality: The OEM subwoofer could be adding distorted bass to the system versus the aftermarket subs.
In my opinion, you can apply numbers 1 and 3 while number 4 is debateable. The fact that Tesla uses a ported subwoofer that faces sideways and relies on the rear compartment to help create a boomier and deeper bass effect, creates a difficult phasing issue. The exception for the Model S would be if you were to build a mirror image enclosure for the driver's side. For the D models, this would be the best overall solution in my opinion.
Here are my personal goals with the audio system I would like in my MS:
-Better Overall SQ
-Louder & Tighter Bass (Sounds good with windows up OR down)
-Higher Energy Efficiency
-Stealth Installation
-Low Weight
Here's my design dilemma.. I'm torn between installing a subwoofer in the frunk versus the rear footwell or side compartments. While I appreciate what a good hatch can do for bass, it still lends to a bit of sloppiness because of all the phasing and reverberation issues that affect the waves before they hit your ears. I learned the value of Point Source stereo setups from the engineers at Eclipse, and by some hifi speaker engineers. Point Source means that you ultimately want all of your sound (ALL frequencies) coming from only 2 point sources (left & right front stage). We've all gotten used to having the sub behind us because until now, there was that pesky ICE in people's way. But in all honesty, as "omnidirectional" as low frequencies are labeled, we all know the bass is behind us. I believe s1nn Audio and Tesla really missed an opportunity to use the vast space in the dash area for subwoofer placement. In addition to the sound being phenomenally tight, it would also effectively free up usable cargo room in the trunk.
Okay, so after some research, I've settled on the following initial system:
-JL Audio MHX300/1
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