superfluid
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This is the fourth in a series of posts about how to improve how your Rivian’s audio system sounds. Find the other three here:
TLDR:
Tip: Listen to the new setting for a while using familiar songs at low volume and higher-than-average volume. Your ears/brain may take a bit to get accustomed to the new balance. What should happen is that you hear instruments/sounds more clearly because overtly emphasized frequency ranges aren't drawing attention away from others. Then tweak to taste.
I measured @skyote 's Gen 1 R1S Meridian system with OTA 2024.35.00. Its release notes don't mention changes that affect sound quality so I expect it to behave the same as 2024.27.01 when Rivian implemented Atmos in all vehicle models aside from Gen 2 Standard. See my previous Gen 1 R1S post to understand the sound-quality-related changes that 2024.27.01 brought. This post focuses on improving the sound quality of the Gen 1 R1S Meridian system with OTA 2024.27.01/2024.35.00.
Objectives, Methodology, and Tests
Objectives
I ran tests to answer these questions:
Why didn't I test with Apple Music? Because I don't use it. TIDAL has consistently provided the highest playback quality in all the Rivians I've listened to. That may not be the case anymore. More on that below.
Methodology
Tests
As mentioned, I ran sweeps from 10 Hz to 20 kHz with the microphone in a fixed position where the average person's head would be (in front of the headrest) and RTA with full-bandwidth pink noise while moving the microphone in 3D space. I explain in detail why we take frequency response measurements and how it influences EQ changes here.
Results, Analysis, and Recommendations
We’ll answer each question one by one.
Q: Is the system louder after the 2024.27.01/35.00 update and is it a good thing?
A: It's likely louder and that's a good thing.
Low volume was a big complaint before the 2024.27.01 update. 2024.27.01 boosted volume (likely via DAC output) considerably, improving sound quality significantly. (A detailed explanation of why here.) However, I couldn't accurately measure the difference in volume of Syler's R1S before 2024.27.01 and after because of the clipping issue I mentioned earlier. What I did record, however, was that I reached listening levels in his vehicle at volume 16 prior to 2024.27.01 but at 12 after 2024.35.00. That leads me to conclude that the update boosted the volume. I'd wager an increase in DAC output was the cause.
Q: What EQ settings improve sound quality after the update?
A1: For stereo tracks: 63 Hz -4, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +3, 4 kHz +4, 8 kHz +2, 16 kHz +1
A2: For Atmos tracks: 63 Hz -2, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +2, 4 kHz +2, 8 kHz +1, 16 kHz +1 (A guess. See note above in Objectives, Methodology, and Tests.)
Listening Tests
Using a listening volume of 12:
- Flat EQ -
The first thing that jumped out at me was that the bass was too hot, confirming the cause of the clipping issue I had earlier. I'm a bass head but it boomed, rang, and overpowered the rest of the music.
Listening to Send My Love by Adele, vocals were muddy. The kick drum rang. The snap of the acoustic guitar strings lacked definition.
Listening to Lost Cause by Billie Eilish, vocals were similarly muddy. The slap bass rang and lacked definition in its attack.
Those results conformed with the recessed region between 1 kHz and 18 kHz I saw in my measurements.
Honestly, I was a bit puzzled by this result. I remember the Gen 1 Meridian system measuring and sounding much better than this. But auditory memory is notoriously unreliable. What mattered was how much I could improve it.
After making numerous EQ tweaks and listening to many more tracks spanning genres, I arrived at the following settings.
- EQ # 3 -
(Why didn't I post EQ attempts #1 or #2? Because they lengthen the post and people care about the "best" settings, anyway.)
63 Hz -4, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +3, 4 kHz +4, 8 kHz +2, 16 kHz +1
These settings addressed the boomy bass and recessed mids and high regions.
The purple line is the response curve after applying EQ 3. The orange line is the Flat EQ response curved used for reference.
Listening to Send My Love by Adele, vocals were much clearer, though still lacking the sharp definition I expected from the Meridian system. The kick drum tightened up. The acoustic guitar's definition improved but, again, not as sharply as I expected it to given how much I boosted it.
Listening to Lost Cause by Billie Eilish, vocal clarity improved. The slap bass thumped more solidly, though still rang. Cutting 500 Hz reduced ringing but left bass guitars and kick drums sounding hollow.
Listening to Crush (Live at Radio City Music Hall) by Dave Matthews, his vocals were chesty and clear. Tim Reynold's acoustic guitar was reverberant. That said, both lacked the resolution I was expecting to hear.
This was the best I got it to sound during the time I had with Skyler's vehicle.
The Meridian system's lack of apparent resolution puzzled me. My working theory is that TIDAL streamed at a lower bit rate than it should have—320 kpbs instead of at CD+ quality (44.1 kHz, 16-bit), even when using the Master Quality setting. So while these EQ settings improved the frequency response balance to my ears, I didn't hear the detail from my reference tracks I was accustomed to hearing. Apple Music might have given a different result, but I didn't think about it since I don't have a subscription to it and don't use it. I don't use Spotify for listening tests because it streams at 320 kpbs.
If you're curious, I currently think the Gen 1 Elevation system sounds better than the Gen 1 Meridian system when using TIDAL as a source. I find this particularly ironic since I bought my Rivian expecting to get the Meridian system and—like many—got upset when Rivian switched it out for the Elevation. Now I'm less upset. What a difference software can make. Let's see what the next update brings.
Thanks to Skyler for allowing me to measure his R1S—and for the eggs!
If you found this post beneficial, please consider buying me a cup of sake. I'd appreciate it. Kanpai!
- Gen 1 R1S Elevation 2024.27.01 and 35.00
- Gen 1 R1S Elevation Pre-2024.27.01
- Gen 1 R1T Meridian Pre-2024.27.01
TLDR:
- Flatten your EQ by using the “Default” setting or the reset icon.
- Set 3D Surround Sound to Off.
- For stereo tracks, use these EQ settings: 63 Hz -4, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +3, 4 kHz +4, 8 kHz +2, 16 kHz +1.
- For Dolby Atmos tracks, use these EQ settings (see note* below): 63 Hz -2, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +2, 4 kHz +2, 8 kHz +1, 16 kHz +1.
- Use Tidal, Apple Music, or Spotify set to the highest streaming bitrate. Avoid Bluetooth for music playback.
- Start with your volume set to 10.
- Listen to a song you know well.
- Adjust EQ to taste.
Tip: Listen to the new setting for a while using familiar songs at low volume and higher-than-average volume. Your ears/brain may take a bit to get accustomed to the new balance. What should happen is that you hear instruments/sounds more clearly because overtly emphasized frequency ranges aren't drawing attention away from others. Then tweak to taste.
I measured @skyote 's Gen 1 R1S Meridian system with OTA 2024.35.00. Its release notes don't mention changes that affect sound quality so I expect it to behave the same as 2024.27.01 when Rivian implemented Atmos in all vehicle models aside from Gen 2 Standard. See my previous Gen 1 R1S post to understand the sound-quality-related changes that 2024.27.01 brought. This post focuses on improving the sound quality of the Gen 1 R1S Meridian system with OTA 2024.27.01/2024.35.00.
Objectives, Methodology, and Tests
Objectives
I ran tests to answer these questions:
- Is the system louder after the 2024.27.01/35.00 update and is it a good thing?
- What EQ settings improve sound quality after the update?
Why didn't I test with Apple Music? Because I don't use it. TIDAL has consistently provided the highest playback quality in all the Rivians I've listened to. That may not be the case anymore. More on that below.
Methodology
- Flattened the EQ using the Default setting.
- Turned off 3D Surround Sound and Dynamic Sound Adjustment.
- Set Fade and Balance and Soundstage Center to default.
- Turned off climate control to reduce in-cabin noise as much as possible.
- Put a calibrated UMIK-1 microphone roughly where my ears would be in the driver’s seat.
- Connected my MacBook Pro to the Rivian Audio system via Bluetooth. This connection method had meaningful downsides—namely data and resolution loss—but there's no other way to make the vehicle a target audio device. USB doesn’t work.
- Set the Rivian’s volume to 10. I originally set it to 15 to give me 75 dB of pink noise, C-weighted—a standard level for taking measurements—but 15 kept clipping the input because the bass was too hot. I backed the volume off to 10 to complete measuring.
- Playback using TIDAL on Master Quality streaming setting.
Tests
As mentioned, I ran sweeps from 10 Hz to 20 kHz with the microphone in a fixed position where the average person's head would be (in front of the headrest) and RTA with full-bandwidth pink noise while moving the microphone in 3D space. I explain in detail why we take frequency response measurements and how it influences EQ changes here.
Results, Analysis, and Recommendations
We’ll answer each question one by one.
Q: Is the system louder after the 2024.27.01/35.00 update and is it a good thing?
A: It's likely louder and that's a good thing.
Low volume was a big complaint before the 2024.27.01 update. 2024.27.01 boosted volume (likely via DAC output) considerably, improving sound quality significantly. (A detailed explanation of why here.) However, I couldn't accurately measure the difference in volume of Syler's R1S before 2024.27.01 and after because of the clipping issue I mentioned earlier. What I did record, however, was that I reached listening levels in his vehicle at volume 16 prior to 2024.27.01 but at 12 after 2024.35.00. That leads me to conclude that the update boosted the volume. I'd wager an increase in DAC output was the cause.
Q: What EQ settings improve sound quality after the update?
A1: For stereo tracks: 63 Hz -4, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +3, 4 kHz +4, 8 kHz +2, 16 kHz +1
A2: For Atmos tracks: 63 Hz -2, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +2, 4 kHz +2, 8 kHz +1, 16 kHz +1 (A guess. See note above in Objectives, Methodology, and Tests.)
Listening Tests
Using a listening volume of 12:
- Flat EQ -
The first thing that jumped out at me was that the bass was too hot, confirming the cause of the clipping issue I had earlier. I'm a bass head but it boomed, rang, and overpowered the rest of the music.
Listening to Send My Love by Adele, vocals were muddy. The kick drum rang. The snap of the acoustic guitar strings lacked definition.
Listening to Lost Cause by Billie Eilish, vocals were similarly muddy. The slap bass rang and lacked definition in its attack.
Those results conformed with the recessed region between 1 kHz and 18 kHz I saw in my measurements.
Honestly, I was a bit puzzled by this result. I remember the Gen 1 Meridian system measuring and sounding much better than this. But auditory memory is notoriously unreliable. What mattered was how much I could improve it.
After making numerous EQ tweaks and listening to many more tracks spanning genres, I arrived at the following settings.
- EQ # 3 -
(Why didn't I post EQ attempts #1 or #2? Because they lengthen the post and people care about the "best" settings, anyway.)
63 Hz -4, 125 Hz 0, 250 Hz 0, 500 Hz +2, 1 kHz +3, 2 kHz +3, 4 kHz +4, 8 kHz +2, 16 kHz +1
These settings addressed the boomy bass and recessed mids and high regions.
The purple line is the response curve after applying EQ 3. The orange line is the Flat EQ response curved used for reference.
Listening to Send My Love by Adele, vocals were much clearer, though still lacking the sharp definition I expected from the Meridian system. The kick drum tightened up. The acoustic guitar's definition improved but, again, not as sharply as I expected it to given how much I boosted it.
Listening to Lost Cause by Billie Eilish, vocal clarity improved. The slap bass thumped more solidly, though still rang. Cutting 500 Hz reduced ringing but left bass guitars and kick drums sounding hollow.
Listening to Crush (Live at Radio City Music Hall) by Dave Matthews, his vocals were chesty and clear. Tim Reynold's acoustic guitar was reverberant. That said, both lacked the resolution I was expecting to hear.
This was the best I got it to sound during the time I had with Skyler's vehicle.
The Meridian system's lack of apparent resolution puzzled me. My working theory is that TIDAL streamed at a lower bit rate than it should have—320 kpbs instead of at CD+ quality (44.1 kHz, 16-bit), even when using the Master Quality setting. So while these EQ settings improved the frequency response balance to my ears, I didn't hear the detail from my reference tracks I was accustomed to hearing. Apple Music might have given a different result, but I didn't think about it since I don't have a subscription to it and don't use it. I don't use Spotify for listening tests because it streams at 320 kpbs.
If you're curious, I currently think the Gen 1 Elevation system sounds better than the Gen 1 Meridian system when using TIDAL as a source. I find this particularly ironic since I bought my Rivian expecting to get the Meridian system and—like many—got upset when Rivian switched it out for the Elevation. Now I'm less upset. What a difference software can make. Let's see what the next update brings.
Thanks to Skyler for allowing me to measure his R1S—and for the eggs!
If you found this post beneficial, please consider buying me a cup of sake. I'd appreciate it. Kanpai!
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