Diving Into Gen2 Standard Audio to Add a Subwoofer

[Supratachophobia]

Seriously, it’s a lot of purple/white wires. In a static photo, where I can’t see both sides of the wire, I couldn’t tell which match well enough that I would cut anything.

Ok, I was afraid of that. It seemed like they all looked the same to me as well. So I guess next steps are to try and see if the 3rd row speaker is full range or not.

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[Supratachophobia]

Looks like the 3rd row speakers are not full range. Best I can tell with a free app and an old ear, they might start kicking on at 80hz. So that's a lot of missing tones since the door speakers start making noise at 35hz.

I'm going to try and tone out the orphaned subwoofer connector and see if it ends up up under the dash at the amp.

 

[PDXElCapR1T]

Good luck! Following. My R1S with standard audio is on the way.

 

[Sundar]

Following closely.

 

[Electron]

It's so nice to see options being explored. Rivian definitely needs some help in the sub department.

I foresee a solution in the pipeline and have my fingers crossed that a 3rd party will come out with kit.

Definitely following.

 

[Supratachophobia]

It's so nice to see options being explored. Rivian definitely needs some help in the sub department.

I foresee a solution in the pipeline and have my fingers crossed that a 3rd party will come out with kit.

Definitely following.

I would like to find the part number for the factory sub box and part number for the rear interior trim piece. However, I have pretty extensive experience with custom sub enclosures so I think I'll make a foam form of the storage cavity and make another custom box like I did for my Model S.

 

[Electron]

I would like to find the part number for the factory sub box and part number for the rear interior trim piece. However, I have pretty extensive experience with custom sub enclosures so I think I'll make a foam form of the storage cavity and make another custom box like I did for my Model S.

Sounds great. I've upgraded all of our Teslas with a custom set up and it's amazing.

The 12v is conveniently located along the path under the rear passenger seat so it's a breeze.

I'm really excited to experience the R1S with a proper set up. Just the other day a buddy of mine who is a CAD + 3D printing guru were brainstorming some ideas for the sub exposure area.

An upgraded and properly fed sub alone would do wonders for the R1S.

 

[Sundar]

Sounds great. I've upgraded all of our Teslas with a custom set up and it's amazing.

The 12v is conveniently located along the path under the rear passenger seat so it's a breeze.

I'm really excited to experience the R1S with a proper set up. Just the other day a buddy of mine who is a CAD + 3D printing guru were brainstorming some ideas for the sub exposure area.

An upgraded and properly fed sub alone would do wonders for the R1S.

Are you talking about gen2 here? What is the best way to access that 12v line - given that the fuse box has been replaced with Efuses.

 

[eben11]

I have a feeling Rivian is keeping the sound quality on the base audio crappy through software. I don’t get how a 12 speaker+600 watt system can have the same audio quality as a $199 flatscreen tv from Walmart that probably has speakers no larger than 2”. It also wouldn’t surprise me if the premium audio is the exact same components, plus the sub and a few more speakers, but then they let the software do the rest. Thoughts?

 

[Taco]

I have a feeling Rivian is keeping the sound quality on the base audio crappy through software. I don’t get how a 12 speaker+600 watt system can have the same audio quality as a $199 flatscreen tv from Walmart that probably has speakers no larger than 2”. It also wouldn’t surprise me if the premium audio is the exact same components, plus the sub and a few more speakers, but then they let the software do the rest. Thoughts?

Oof mybe... It's possible, my biggest regret is missing the premium audio when I selected the car, was so damn focused on getting the dynamic roof I completely forget about audio.

It's my wife's car but holy hell does it have zero range in sound, it's pretty piss poor.

 

[eben11]

Hey buddy..... Whatcha doing hiding up here?

This is up under the passenger side dash. Orientation is connectors going up into the amplifier. Someone who isn't colorblind, can you find the two wires from the picture in the original post, in this picture?

Not sure what this means, but maybe the amps are the same between premium audio/standard, and it's just software/processing plus extra physical speakers that make up the difference?

I would be hesitant to physically cut the sub wires here since that's permanent. But this would also be an excellent place to tap an output to a wire than already runs back to *exactly* where you need it.

Last question to throw out there, are we thinking the crossover is done through software or hardware? If software, then a full range tap would need to be on a door speaker. But if hardware at the speaker, it could be done at any speaker.

Since this awesome person found the amp, does anyone know if replacing the amp with an aftermarket one would fix things? Is that even possible or does it not work like that?

 

[Supratachophobia]

Since this awesome person found the amp, does anyone know if replacing the amp with an aftermarket one would fix things? Is that even possible or does it not work like that?

I'm told that's it's pretty heavily software configured. Like, for example, it might even be shared between base and premium audio. So while the subwoofer wire is terminated there, the software has it turned off. IMO, tons cheaper to have a single wiring harness with all the connectors you'd need for every option than to have half a dozen based on spec combinations.

 

[Supratachophobia]

Are you talking about gen2 here? What is the best way to access that 12v line - given that the fuse box has been replaced with Efuses.

Pink 35amp trailer hitch wire that runs just behind the spare tire well trim. Extremely easy to access. I'm going to place a standard fuse tap in, maybe 15-20amp or so anyway, because that's how it should be done. I have the NVX vdm1 amp which is the successor to the NVX mini amp I've run in the Tesla for 10 years. Absolutely solid amp for a single 10" sub.

I am pairing it with the NVX shallow dual voice coil which is specifically designed for this amp. Roughly 300 Watts at 2ohms stable. No need to go crazy, no need to go higher.

 

[Supratachophobia]

Sounds great. I've upgraded all of our Teslas with a custom set up and it's amazing.

The 12v is conveniently located along the path under the rear passenger seat so it's a breeze.

I'm really excited to experience the R1S with a proper set up. Just the other day a buddy of mine who is a CAD + 3D printing guru were brainstorming some ideas for the sub exposure area.

An upgraded and properly fed sub alone would do wonders for the R1S.

IMO, sound quality comes down to pretty much one thing. A speaker should only be playing the ranges that it's designed for. And trying to make them play things they aren't designed for will make them sound crappy, no matter the power, no matter the brand.

I ordered the base audio in both my Model S and installed a single 10" sub in a sealed enclosure. Cost wise, so much savings. This isn't competition bass here. This is "I'd like my music to sound good ". By elevating the mids/highs, and reducing the lows, the sub should compliment the other speakers. The result is something I've been very very pleased with.

Still a top 5 Google search result: https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/subwoofer-installation-in-model-s.37729/

I still need to do my math on how much space I'll need for the right resonation. May have to trim the back of the pocket, but that's the beauty of the foam form, it just fills up the area and maximizes the space.

 

[eben11]

I would like to find the part number for the factory sub box and part number for the rear interior trim piece. However, I have pretty extensive experience with custom sub enclosures so I think I'll make a foam form of the storage cavity and make another custom box like I did for my Model S.

Does this help?
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