2025.34.30 Sound Change

[PaythePiper]

The bass presence was a joke pre-update. So it’s even worse now? Makes sense. I’ve come to the conclusion this system sucks major ass and it always will

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[mkhuffman]

I noticed most of you complaining about the bass are driving a R1S. I wonder if that is why it seems different to me in my T? Anyway, listened more yesterday and I still think the bass sounds stronger. Of course I have have the bass cranked up via the equalizer. I agree the bass is weak when the eq is flat.

 

[RivianSteve]

I am going to post this in all of the threads which mention the Audio Update. I have an Aftermarket Sub in my Gen2 R1S> I can confidentially say that Rivian has been throttling back the bass response even to the prior update. This update is a significant change to not only the volume of the sub but also to the actual crossover frequency. The most noticeable change I hear is with the song "Somebody Else" by the 1975 where you hear the bass cut in and out at certain frequency's and it sounds really bizarre. I had to turn the gain way up on the amp just to hear the sub and overall, the whole experience just sounds weird compared to prior updates. The change for the worse is definitely amplified by having an aftermarket sub. I know changing factory equipment isn't exactly encouraged by Manufacturers, but I was left with no choice on this truck as the audio experience is extremely important to me. Coming from my original R1T with Meridian, I can say I am disappointed. I have seen flashes of good but for $115,000 we should have betters or at least be given the opportunity to pay for better.

 

[Pappamoto]

I put my head right next to the sub and I can barely hear anything out of it with the system at level 16. It would be interesting to see someone that replaced to aftermarket speakers to see if there is any improvement or is it the electronics driving the speakers that is the main issue.

 

[RivianSteve]

Its letting limited signal get to the amp. I can tell that what is getting through is load. I think they reallocated the bass to the mid range speakers

 

[PaythePiper]

I noticed most of you complaining about the bass are driving a R1S. I wonder if that is why it seems different to me in my T? Anyway, listened more yesterday and I still think the bass sounds stronger. Of course I have have the bass cranked up via the equalizer. I agree the bass is weak when the eq is flat.

You could be onto something with the T vs S thing. I’ll give your settings a try. But man I’m so disappointed in this system. I just spent a week in the R1 on a road trip and such. Just got home, hopped in my Y to run an errand and the difference slaps me in the face every single time. I’m not trying to be the ‘Tesla compared to the Rivian’ guy, but it’s so drastic of a difference

 

[PaythePiper]

I am going to post this in all of the threads which mention the Audio Update. I have an Aftermarket Sub in my Gen2 R1S> I can confidentially say that Rivian has been throttling back the bass response even to the prior update. This update is a significant change to not only the volume of the sub but also to the actual crossover frequency. The most noticeable change I hear is with the song "Somebody Else" by the 1975 where you hear the bass cut in and out at certain frequency's and it sounds really bizarre. I had to turn the gain way up on the amp just to hear the sub and overall, the whole experience just sounds weird compared to prior updates. The change for the worse is definitely amplified by having an aftermarket sub. I know changing factory equipment isn't exactly encouraged by Manufacturers, but I was left with no choice on this truck as the audio experience is extremely important to me. Coming from my original R1T with Meridian, I can say I am disappointed. I have seen flashes of good but for $115,000 we should have betters or at least be given the opportunity to pay for better.

Hell it’s not even the price of the vehicle being 115. It’s the fact we paid N additional 1700+ for this ass of a system. I’d be better with it if it were just included at this point. My cheaply made $40k model Y smokes this crappy system and it isn’t close. Would’ve loved to hear the Meridian

 

[bsloanindy]

I watched a video review on the audio system problems and the guy made a good point between the T and S... the size of the cabin is drastically different. The front row of the S is much farther away from the sub than the cabin of the T... and the smaller cabin likely makes the sound field stronger and easier to control in the T. People with T models likely do have better sound.



The sound system is "ok" at a low level. I need to resist the tempation to push up the EQ settings as it actually makes it worse. I'm going to test pulling down some of the unwanted frequencies as opposed to trying to amplify the bass range.

I also wonder if they have any of the speakers wired backwards? Which would just deaden/absorb the sound being output by other speakers. Could they have made a silly production mistake like that on some of them?

 

[superfluid]

The frustration Gen 2 owners have about the sound system motivated me to write up a post about how to improve their sound until I or someone else with measurement capability can measure a Gen 2 vehicle and provide specific EQ recommendations.

Hope it helps.

How to Improve Your Sound System Without Measurement Equipment

 

[Jason]

I don't have the update yet, but I noticed improved bass response by unplugging sub in my gen 2 R1T. I wonder if they somehow wired them out of phase. And maybe the S is in phase? That could explain why people don't hear Bass with the update, if the update adjusted the subwoofer phase?

 

[rongreg13]

I have a R1T Tri and so far my experience has been totally in line with the S owners that are reporting even less bass than before. The lack of low end bass has been my number one complaint and I was eagerly anticipating an improvement after this update. Unfortunately, it seems even worse now, no matter how much I play with the equalization settings.

 

[bsloanindy]

Couple changes I made:

Turned off Atmos in the Apple Mustic app... I feel like Atmos utilizes the center speaker to create a more spacious sound effect, but there's already just too much sound coming out of the center dash speaker which kills the R - L sound isolation. Next I want to try putting a blanket over that speaker and see what the effect is.

I then re-adjusted the EQ with a couple test songs, and one of them I could actually see the Sub moving a little, and the sound was decent.

Also remembered today to not fiddle with the sound while the door is open. The sound level dips with the door open, maybe as a courtesy feature so you don't blast people with music... I'd rather it stay normal volume when I open the door while cleaning the car or just being around the vehicle outside. Personal preference.

 

[Woo]

I also wonder if they have any of the speakers wired backwards? Which would just deaden/absorb the sound being output by other speakers. Could they have made a silly production mistake like that on some of them?

This... I've been doing audio things for a while and this system really really sounds like speakers wired out of phase.. I haven't had the chance to do any phantom channel testing but I even had the Serivce Center check the wiring. They say it's wired up correctly but I doubt they could trace the wire physically from the amps to the speaker without taking everything apart. One switch or mistake in wiring the connector in the factory could undo everything Rivian may be trying to do with our systems.

If I get a chance I'll try to see if I can do some in phase / out of phase testing this weekend.

 

[mkhuffman]

Couple changes I made:

Turned off Atmos in the Apple Mustic app... I feel like Atmos utilizes the center speaker to create a more spacious sound effect, but there's already just too much sound coming out of the center dash speaker which kills the R - L sound isolation. Next I want to try putting a blanket over that speaker and see what the effect is.

I then re-adjusted the EQ with a couple test songs, and one of them I could actually see the Sub moving a little, and the sound was decent.

Also remembered today to not fiddle with the sound while the door is open. The sound level dips with the door open, maybe as a courtesy feature so you don't blast people with music... I'd rather it stay normal volume when I open the door while cleaning the car or just being around the vehicle outside. Personal preference.

You raise an excellent point. The music source matters a lot. I am listening to Spotify without Atmos. It is just straight stereo without any weird processing (other than the digital music processing, of course).

I wish I could drive my truck to where one of you guys live and we could compare side by side. The bass in my truck is surprisingly strong.

I just put on Linkin Park, Lying from You, which has a very strong bass track. It practically shook the truck it was so strong, even at high volume. I went through a few of the tracks on Meteora and they all sounded great.

If there is something else I should try, let me know.

 

[Jivian]

The more I've listened to this update, the less I like it. I also don't think it addressed the sound stage separation very well as you just don't get much of the range from the door.

I'm glad I measured before and after the update as, at least for my vehicle, there's no question that the bass is significantly reduced compared to 2025.26. At this point, I wish I could revert the stereo to that state. While I thought there were still some sound stage issues with 2025.26, it was much better overall. Without the bass, the system just sounds small and dead to me now with 2025.34.

Hopefully we'll get a fix in a month or so.

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