Build for a Tesla

[Zeromus-X]

Background: I'm a pro audio guy, and have run sound at several national-level venues with very nice rigs (L'Acoustics, Meyer, etc). I have a fairly high standard for audio quality.

That being said, I have a Tesla Model S and I'm looking to improve on the stock audio. It sounds okay right now, but there's no sub, and the rear speakers are absolutely awful. My end goal would probably be to either replace them, or just push the fader up front (pillars and 6x9s) and run a hefty sub in the back.

I'm a metal guy and am looking for something that'll punch me in the chest. I don't really need a lot of sub-bass that you'll find in hip-hop, but a lot of the music I listen to does hit fairly deep and involve bass drops/etc. I feel that a sub is going to be my best first addition to the car.

The Model S has a trunk well which is approximately 36"l x 17"w x 10"d. If I could find something that will work for that space I feel it would be fantastic. Even a sub mounted to a board that covered the top, with something to seal the space, seems like it would work well.

Looking for either recommendations on components (amp and sub mostly) or a full build-out (6x9s for the front and 6.25s for the rear). I can likely do the wiring myself, just not up on any current car audio brands/preferences. Thanks in advance!

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[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

Being a audio guy you should already know that music is recorded in 2.1.

 

[JohnKuthe]

Background: I'm a pro audio guy, and have run sound at several national-level venues with very nice rigs (L'Acoustics, Meyer, etc). I have a fairly high standard for audio quality.
That being said, I have a Tesla Model S and I'm looking to improve on the stock audio. It sounds okay right now, but there's no sub, and the rear speakers are absolutely awful. My end goal would probably be to either replace them, or just push the fader up front (pillars and 6x9s) and run a hefty sub in the back.

I'm a metal guy and am looking for something that'll punch me in the chest. I don't really need a lot of sub-bass that you'll find in hip-hop, but a lot of the music I listen to does hit fairly deep and involve bass drops/etc. I feel that a sub is going to be my best first addition to the car.

The Model S has a trunk well which is approximately 36"l x 17"w x 10"d. If I could find something that will work for that space I feel it would be fantastic. Even a sub mounted to a board that covered the top, with something to seal the space, seems like it would work well.

Looking for either recommendations on components (amp and sub mostly) or a full build-out (6x9s for the front and 6.25s for the rear). I can likely do the wiring myself, just not up on any current car audio brands/preferences. Thanks in advance!

I have to agree! I have my first sub, 500w into a 12" JL Audio slim line sub! WOW!! You won't regret it!

John Kuthe...

 

[Zeromus-X]

Being a audio guy you should already know that music is recorded in 2.1.

I agree and I'm not sure how that relates to my question/situation.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

I agree and I'm not sure how that relates to my question/situation.

It completely pertains. Get rid of any intention of upgrading rears. The proper way is to focus solely on the front. In the professional sound quality car audio world, rears are garbage for sound quality. Destroys sound stage, pulls it back, lose all instrument seperation and detail.

You can do a simple front components with amp upgrade or if you want to take it to the next level, an active network setup with raw quality drivers and a digital sound processor.

For subs, you just need anything that plays 35hz to 65hz strong with a lot of power amp wise. You want to at least break 140db if you want any kind of real chest thump.

That jl 12 suggestion wont get you anywhere close.

 

[Zeromus-X]

It completely pertains. Get rid of any intention of upgrading rears. The proper way is to focus solely on the front. In the professional sound quality car audio world, rears are garbage for sound quality. Destroys sound stage, pulls it back, lose all instrument seperation and detail.
You can do a simple front components with amp upgrade or if you want to take it to the next level, an active network setup with raw quality drivers and a digital sound processor.

For subs, you just need anything that plays 35hz to 65hz strong with a lot of power amp wise. You want to at least break 140db if you want any kind of real chest thump.

That jl 12 suggestion wont get you anywhere close.

OK, that makes a little more sense from that angle. I rarely have people in the back of the car, so the sound stage really just needs to be focused on the driver.

I'm hoping to get out of this for under $2k, probably doing the labor myself to increase the options I've got. If you have any recommendations on hardware it'd be appreciated.

 

[cfox10 10+ year member]

OK, that makes a little more sense from that angle. I rarely have people in the back of the car, so the sound stage really just needs to be focused on the driver.
I'm hoping to get out of this for under $2k, probably doing the labor myself to increase the options I've got. If you have any recommendations on hardware it'd be appreciated.

That's a respectable budget... if you follow through, post pictures of the build.

Do you want a simple setup with auto eq and t/a or do you want more in depth control?

PPI makes a great budget DSP if you want more control.

Focus most of your effort on treating the doors properly, don't skimp. This of course will be the single most important piece of the sound unless you plan on glassing up some pillars or doing kicks.

I hesitate to give any specific recommendations right now without knowing your goals more and whether you want a 3 way, 2 way, fully active, etc.

How far do you actually want to take the system?

The stock Harmon speakers in those Tesla's can really come to life with a DSP, better door treatment, and a bit more power. They are actually pretty decent drivers to work with.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

OK, that makes a little more sense from that angle. I rarely have people in the back of the car, so the sound stage really just needs to be focused on the driver.
I'm hoping to get out of this for under $2k, probably doing the labor myself to increase the options I've got. If you have any recommendations on hardware it'd be appreciated.

Easy setup cheap setup.

Offers no tuning but should get pretry decent

Jl clean sweep

Rockford t2 component set

Crescendo symphony 550.2

Sub and wiring accessories setup same as down below.

Advanced setup

offers full control and precise sound but takes a lot of work and tuning and some knowledge to get right. With your experience id say you should be able to grasp this.

Crescendo pwx 6.5s and st-1 tweets. Or use stock speakers, they will come to life with power guaranteed to turn into a different beast with a dsp tune on them as well.

Zapco st 4 channel

Rockford 3sixty.3 processor

Soundqubed hdc310

Audiopipe 1800

0 gauge amp kit sky high or knukonceptz

Big 3 upgrade kit

4 gauge amp kit for amp

Stinger roadkill 36sq feet pack for turning your car doors into speaker enclosures and sound deaden.

Build your own box out of 13 layered ply

 

[JohnKuthe]

I agree and I'm not sure how that relates to my question/situation.

LosIsATool can be kind of a j e r k many times. :-(

John Kuthe...

 

[los33 10+ year member]

Prepare to do more charges when you get a external audio setup installed.

If you choose to add a battery you have to get lithium.

The Tesla model S is a ***** to work with since the radio is wired to the alarm and ignition system

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

 

[JohnKuthe]

Prepare to do more charges when you get a external audio setup installed.
If you choose to add a battery you have to get lithium.

The Tesla model S is a ***** to work with since the radio is wired to the alarm and ignition system

Sent from my ONE A2005 using Tapatalk

I can only imagine! Tesla's sure are not short of battery power!

John Kuthe...

 

[dbjunior 10+ year member]

I would start with the basics first. Remove rear speakers and do full door treatments. Start with a single sub sealed that can also be ported if more output is desired. If the door treatments are not enough to make the fronts sound better look into speakers.

 

[Zeromus-X]

I would start with the basics first. Remove rear speakers and do full door treatments. Start with a single sub sealed that can also be ported if more output is desired. If the door treatments are not enough to make the fronts sound better look into speakers.

I assume I can just push the fader forward all the way instead of removing the rears, right? Sorry if that's a dumb question, but in my world there are no "rear speakers" so I'm not sure how that impacts things in the car. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Door treatments are a good idea. I think the fronts sound good in the car, and don't have any desire to swap them out unless it's necessary. I'd really like to just start with an amp/sub, battery if needed (the Tesla 12v is notorious for needing to be replaced fairly frequently so I'm hoping to not stress it out more than it already apparently is). The floor compartment in the back seems like the perfect place for a sub if I can find one that'll fit properly and I want to utilize that so I'm not killing my trunk space, for sure. It's open on the sides too so I'm thinking if I built a board with a sub and secured it right over the compartment, it'd effectively be a quasi-ported "box". (Just need to figure out what kind of speakers would work best with those dimensions, or pad it appropriately.)

http://performancedrive.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015-Tesla-Model-S-P90D-storage-1280x854.jpg