Why no Dynamic Speed Sensitive Volume Control???

[jjrandorin]

Read my post #6 were I prove it DOSN'T. Pleaser feel free to offer proof it does but I have shown it doesn't at least in my Model 3. If if DID work it has been removed for some reason. Maybe it is a bug that removed by accident and not known but it is NOT there. My test is conclusive.
Why no Dynamic Speed Sensitive Volume Control???


Engine noise is almost never a factor at 70 to 80MPH. It is wind/road noise. I will measure today but bet the noise floor will be about 70dB at 80MPH on a smooth Interstate surface and and is comparable with most newer premium cars. This is why I choose 80dB white noise as my test level. Will post back later today.

Perhaps the speed sensitive volume is "always on" at a higher volume than the one you tested at? Someone also said "glaring oversight about navigation not turning down music volume while its speaking directions"... but I think it actually does do that if I remember properly... if the music volume is high enough.

Since you are going through the effort of testing, maybe try testing at a higher volume than you did.

No argument from me that it should be user selectable. I am in the camp that always turns off speed sensitive volume for reasons others have already gone into, but if it exists, it should be user selectable.

 

[JulienW]

Perhaps the speed sensitive volume is "always on" at a higher volume than the one you tested at?....

Not how it works, it is ALWAYS relative and not an absolute. Also 80dB is reasonably loud and anything over about 85dB is considered potentially dangers to your hearing.

Also here is our noise floor at 80MPH and it is what I thought it would be. Two samples taken on smooth HOV lane about 1 to 2 miles apart. Forgot to get a 70MPH but for reference here is in Park setting in garage with HVAC on.

 

[Incredulocious]

Read my post #6 were I prove it DOSN'T. Pleaser feel free to offer proof it does but I have shown it doesn't at least in my Model 3. If if DID work it has been removed for some reason. Maybe it is a bug that removed by accident and not known but it is NOT there. My test is conclusive.
Why no Dynamic Speed Sensitive Volume Control???

Curious. I have felt like it is working in my Model 3 and that I haven't had to adjust sound volume due to speed changes. I wonder if it’s due to limitations in the Apple Watch’s sensitivity or something to do with what kind of sound is being played (white noise vs spoken word or music), or if indeed the feature is broken.

I have an Apple Watch as well as a condenser microphone meant to be used with a sound level meter iPhone app (not pro equipment but perhaps more accurate) so perhaps I’ll do a test using the same sections of music and spoken word tracks with both level meters and at speed... for fun and science!

As an aside, does your Model 3 cut the sound level dramatically when you open your door? (I’m not a fan of this feature and would turn it off if I could but it would be telling if your Model 3 doesn’t do this.)

 

[Incredulocious]

Not how it works, it is ALWAYS relative and not an absolute. Also 80dB is reasonably loud and anything over about 85dB is considered potentially dangers to your hearing.

You might be interested in this person’s evaluation of the feature in the Model 3, from this post:
Model 3's Sound System--How good is it?

The system also has a control for Speed sensitive volume adjustments. Again, I'm not in the car, but I think the labeling is 'Off', 'Low' and 'High'. I personally like what it does as it seems to adjust the EQ of the system as the car speeds up, rather than globally increasing the volume equally across the frequency spectrum. The road noise starts to increase the noise floor, especially in the bass frequencies. My perception is that it is boosting the bass frequencies more than the rest of the frequency range as the car speeds up. In my opinion, that's the right thing to do for a speed sensitive volume adjustment. The mid and high frequencies aren't being covered up much by road noise or other noise in the car because the Model 3 is a fairly quiet car. If Tesla just applied a standard boost of the entire frequency range you would have the audio get 'louder' unnecessarily. But I have not really spent much time trying to critically figure out what's going on. What I will say is that I like to have the setting on right now and don't feel it interferes with the intent and depth of the music.

[and later:]
The speed sensitive audio adjustments does what I would do if I were designing an adjustment system and the immersive setting opens up the sound stage without any distortion that I can detect.

If this is the case than a white noise level test might well be ineffective.

 

[JulienW]

Curious. I have felt like it is working in my Model 3 and that I haven't had to adjust sound volume due to speed changes. I wonder if it’s due to limitations in the Apple Watch’s sensitivity or something to do with what kind of sound is being played (white noise vs spoken word or music), or if indeed the feature is broken.

I have an Apple Watch as well as a condenser microphone meant to be used with a sound level meter iPhone app (not pro equipment but perhaps more accurate) so perhaps I’ll do a test using the same sections of music and spoken word tracks with both level meters and at speed... for fun and science!

As an aside, does your Model 3 cut the sound level dramatically when you open your door? (I’m not a fan of this feature and would turn it off if I could but it would be telling if your Model 3 doesn’t do this.)

Forcing me to dig into my "old" audiophile bag. Can test tomorrow.

For reference I'm using (beta) wOS 6 and Noise App is an OEM Apple App (coming this fall).

Kind of sound is not a consideration and since I used white noise (it contains ALL frequencies) it would not matter. I can use test tones at any frequency if you want. Just tell me what frequency. I can also use pink, red or gray noise but white is the industry standards way to test.

EDIT: Also in you quoted post the person is describing loudness compensation and is the WRONG tech (and not used) for masking.

Loudness compensation - Wikipedia

 

[Incredulocious]

Forcing me to dig into my "old" audiophile bag. Can test tomorrow.

Okay, I won’t bother then.

For reference I'm using (beta) wOS 6 and Noise App is an OEM Apple App (coming this fall).

Oh, right, I forgot that was just a coming feature. I’m in no rush to install beta software.

Kind of sound is not a consideration and since I used white noise (it contains ALL frequencies) it would not matter. I can use test tones at any frequency if you want. Just tell me what frequency. I can also use pink, red or gray noise but white is the industry standards way to test.

I guess I would suggest pink noise based on that other guy’s comments I quoted. I’d also try to test with the same section of music or spoken word out of curiosity.

EDIT: Also in you quoted post the person is describing loudness compensation and is the WRONG tech (and not used) for masking.
Loudness compensation - Wikipedia

Okay, well then... you may well remain unhappy with what Tesla’s done. Good luck with your testing. I’ll step out of this.

 

[Silicon Desert]

Pretty sure that functionality exists and it's always on. It's subtle.

Hmmmm, then it much be REALLY subtle as I haven't noticed. The only thing louder I hear is the fart mode and we all know how that is MUCH MORE important than other software changes …………… yes it is sarcasm

 

[hugh_jassol]

It does change the volume based on speed, but it seems to occur at slower speed... like >20-30mph. Above that it seems to be constant. So in other words, when at my usual "listening volume" at highway speeds, I notice it lowers when I get to the bottom of the exit ramp.

 

[JulienW]

It does change the volume based on speed, but it seems to occur at slower speed... like >20-30mph. Above that it seems to be constant. So in other words, when at my usual "listening volume" at highway speeds, I notice it lowers when I get to the bottom of the exit ramp.

Doesn't for me and I used industry standard measurements (not my subjective opinion or perception). The numbers don't lie and you can't dispute hard data. 80dB was 80dB regardless of the speed. See post #8.

 

[hugh_jassol]

So....here's a post of the release notes to 2018.4 where they list "Always-on speed-sensitive volume"

As others mention... the volume change is very slight - it may even be less than a dB.

 

[JulienW]

So....here's a post of the release notes to 2018.4 where they list "Always-on speed-sensitive volume"
As others mention... the volume change is very slight - it may even be less than a dB.

I know what the notes say but it either has been removed or is NOT working. 1dB difference in attenuation is at the limit of most human perception under conditions like in an anechoic chamber or using studio quality headphones. So saying it may be even less than a dB is exactly the same as NOT working.

 

[sduck]

Doesn't for me and I used industry standard measurements (not my subjective opinion or perception). The numbers don't lie and you can't dispute hard data. 80dB was 80dB regardless of the speed. See post #8.

I generally tend to agree with you that either it’s not working at all, or is so subtle that it might as well not be working, but you should really stop being so serious about your conclusions, especially considering that you’re relying on an Apple Watch for your measurements. That’s certainly not “industry standard” type equipment. That ancient radio shack device is a bit better. Personally I’d suggest throwing out your Apple Watch data and start from scratch with better equipment if you want to be taken seriously. Get a real DB meter that stores peak and average levels digitally.

 

[darth_vad3r]

What we really need is the music to auto mute when navigation instructions are being given. Having the two systems talk over each other is a glaring oversight.

I disagree. I quite like this feature. I turn the nav to mute anyways for most driving and unmute it at a medium loud level when going somewhere new. I like that I can focus on listening to the nav OR not miss what’s being said on the radio. Our brains can tune out one conversation and listen to another ... it’s pretty amazing. This is actually one of my favourite differences in the Tesla vs other nav experiences I’ve had.

If you crank the nav volume a bit it can help if you can’t focus on the nav voice over the radio.

I wouldn’t be opposed to an option letting you mute other audio, but I wouldn’t suggest that as a default.

 

[JulienW]

Had a crazy thought that it might be a DSP limitation. So tried this morning with Immersive Sound cut off and same results. Have only tried 1 bug report (on incorrect aspect ratio of backup camera in 20.x) and not sure how I did. Seems at most it must be a short sentence. I wrote out my report and was reading it and looked at screen and was no longer listening (just like my last girlfriend). May try it for this just for kicks.

Does anyone have a good method, experience or advice in how to do a bug report?

80MPH...................................................................................0MPH

 

[Az_Rael]

If if DID work it has been removed for some reason

I used to have the speed sensitive volume toggle when I bought my car. It regularly would turn the volume up to MAX over and over and over again despite me muting or turning the volume manually down. Good times - those early software bugs were impressive. Only thing that stopped that bug for me was turning the toggle back off.

I assume that was why it was removed. Even though there is that release note about it being turned back on, it certainly isnt noticeable (if it works at all) now.