Rivian Premium Audio Options

[Bradyb23]

I was an early reservation holder and didn't want to risk losing my voucher, so I pulled the trigger on a new R1S from the shop. Super excited, and expecting to take delivery on September 5. Unfortunately, the one item I really wanted -- Premium Audio -- was not available. My question is whether it's possible (or advisable) to upgrade to the Rivian Premium Audio after purchase. I know some people have installed high-end after market audio, but I'm not interested in spending three or four thousand dollars (or even two thousand), which I've read some true audiophiles have done. Any thoughts and recommendations? I definitely do NOT want to do major custom work to retrofit an upgrade. Just interested in really nice audio.

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[Forest Edge]

I'm no audiophile but I believe audio quality is tied more to hardware than to software. And the audio hardware in Rivians is embarrassingly bad for a $95K vehicle. Like "I just rented the cheapest Nissan Sentra you can get and it had better audio quality than my Rivian" bad. So I don't know that an after purchase software upgrade from Rivian is possible. In my opinion, audio quality is one of the very few major weak points of Rivian, which otherwise has an outstanding product. You could probably upgrade speakers for way cheaper than $2K and I bet that would be a significant improvement. Has anyone done a simple speaker swap that could confirm this?

 

[Taco]

I'm in the same boat for our R1S. I'm hopeful i can do an aftermarket sub since it doesn't even come with one. Hopeful that a 1500$ spend would greatly increase the sound quality.

 

[Forest Edge]

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...h-aftermarket-alpine-swr-t10-subwoofer.14310/

 

[Aardvark]

I found a work around.. Years of jet engine noise with poor earplugs has melted my inner ear. The audio in the R1 sounds great!
My wife does claim, however, that I'm only deaf in the frequency spectrum of her voice. I'm still deciding if that's a problem.

 

[jjswan33]

I'm no audiophile but I believe audio quality is tied more to hardware than to software. And the audio hardware in Rivians is embarrassingly bad for a $95K vehicle. Like "I just rented the cheapest Nissan Sentra you can get and it had better audio quality than my Rivian" bad. So I don't know that an after purchase software upgrade from Rivian is possible. In my opinion, audio quality is one of the very few major weak points of Rivian, which otherwise has an outstanding product. You could probably upgrade speakers for way cheaper than $2K and I bet that would be a significant improvement. Has anyone done a simple speaker swap that could confirm this?

Just keep in mind depending on which Rivian we are talking about the hardware could be 1 of 4 different hardware configurations.

1. OG Meridian
2. OG Rivian in house
3. Gen 2 standard audio
4. Gen 2 upgraded audio pkg

I am sure OP is talking about option 3, I surely wouldn't expect much from that system.

And perfectly happy with my Meridian audio system. It's significantly better than in a top of the line Ioniq 5.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Just keep in mind depending on which Rivian we are talking about the hardware could be 1 of 4 different hardware configurations.

1. OG Meridian
2. OG Rivian in house
3. Gen 2 standard audio
4. Gen 2 upgraded audio pkg

I am sure OP is talking about option 3, I surely wouldn't expect much from that system.

And perfectly happy with my Meridian audio system. It's significantly better than in a top of the line Ioniq 5.

I have #2 the Rivian Elevation and it's good. I'd like a little more low end base but otherwise it's a great system. I wouldn't expect much from the standard audio.

I'm sure you could do better aftermarket for much less than 3-4k. I would think you could make some improvements for about half that but admittedly I'm not a car audio guy.

 

[Bradyb23]

Just keep in mind depending on which Rivian we are talking about the hardware could be 1 of 4 different hardware configurations.

1. OG Meridian
2. OG Rivian in house
3. Gen 2 standard audio
4. Gen 2 upgraded audio pkg

I am sure OP is talking about option 3, I surely wouldn't expect much from that system.

Yes, I was talking about #3. I went ahead and pulled the trigger anyway, though. There just weren't any in the R1S store with other features I wanted that had option #4. But no matter. I'm just thrilled I'll be a Rivian Owner and not just a voucher holder on September 5

 

[strykerwsu]

Find a high school kid from 20 years ago. Oh wait they are now in their late 30's and want more than $75 for install.

Overall, most decent audio upgrades can be done by yourself for about $1k to $1.5k. It will take your time to research and buy the correct components. As there aren't as many Rivians out and most have the better systems not too many have ventured I to it so far. With the new lower tier system I'm expecting a lot more upgrades to occur in next year you can follow.

Or as you noted you can pay a good shop about $4k and not have to worry about it.

 

[Brewbud]

Yes, I was talking about #3. I went ahead and pulled the trigger anyway, though. There just weren't any in the R1S store with other features I wanted that had option #4. But no matter. I'm just thrilled I'll be a Rivian Owner and not just a voucher holder on September 5

Congratulations. Use one of the lossless built-in apps like Tidal or Apple Music. Make sure to set streaming to the HiFi setting. Then use the EQ to adjust to your taste. I don't care for Rivian's preset EQ selections. I usually set mine up in an upside bell curve from near the 0 setpoint for the majority of my music. Everyone's taste differs though.

 

[Forest Edge]

Update: the audio quality in my gen 1 R1T (OG Rivian in-house) now sounds much better after the update. Still not awesome, but a significant and noticeable improvement!

 

[Whale Blubber]

I spent a fair bit of time researching potential aftermarket upgrades to my R1S. Talked to an installer that's done lots of Teslas, but no Rivians yet, and got a quote for $5k for a really nice set up with a second 12V battery, custom sub in the spare tire well, and new front and rear speakers. But I didn't pull the trigger because of the lack of information and aftermarket experience working with these sophisticated computers on wheels, and the fear that the install might fry something or otherwise turn it into a toaster. Fortunately, with the recent update, the output on my R1S Elevation system has improved markedly, and I'm much less tempted to take the plunge.

 

[Kylechoffman]

Going back to the days of crutchfield and Circuit City, swapping factory speakers for aftermarket should (in theory) be easy enough. With option 3 (which I sadly ordered before all of this info was out), it sounds like there is a lack of power and bass plus significantly less speakers. Best bet will be a plug and play solution on upgrades to the existing speakers and hopefully plug and play amp and sub. May be a few months but assume people will start tackling this problem.

 

[chandlerr85]

I'm no audiophile but I believe audio quality is tied more to hardware than to software. And the audio hardware in Rivians is embarrassingly bad for a $95K vehicle. Like "I just rented the cheapest Nissan Sentra you can get and it had better audio quality than my Rivian" bad. So I don't know that an after purchase software upgrade from Rivian is possible. In my opinion, audio quality is one of the very few major weak points of Rivian, which otherwise has an outstanding product. You could probably upgrade speakers for way cheaper than $2K and I bet that would be a significant improvement. Has anyone done a simple speaker swap that could confirm this?

I would usually tend to agree with the statement about hardware vs software... but the new update has changed my mind. audio is way better now.

 

[Rividiculous]

Yes, I was talking about #3. I went ahead and pulled the trigger anyway, though. There just weren't any in the R1S store with other features I wanted that had option #4. But no matter. I'm just thrilled I'll be a Rivian Owner and not just a voucher holder on September 5

I was in exactly the same boat. Then I saw another in the shop that also had premium audio and they let me switch. My R1 hadn’t left Normal yet and it was just a couple days after I had selected the one with standard audio. Maybe you can still get the premium audio.

That said: I’ve only had my R1S for a couple weeks. I like the premium audio but I’ve never done a side by side with the standard audio. There might not be a big difference. There are a lot of different opinions about the Dolby atmos, etc., and stereo preferences are largely subjective. You might be better off with the extra $1,750 in your pocket!

Congrats on your order!

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