Completed Speaker & Sub Upgrade in Rivian R1S

[Tbey]

What JL amp did you install?

XD700/5v2

Sponsored

 

[Tbey]

Thank you. Do you know what the door speakers sizes are?

6x9 hole but probably <5" woofer
Very disappointing, see for yourself
These are Rivian branded made in Vietnam
....

 

[armchairpistolero]

6x9 hole but probably <5" woofer
Very disappointing, see for yourself
These are Rivian branded made in Vietnam
....

Thanks, I appreciate the measurement.

 

[rivraff]

You're right, it was 10" initially - modified original thread.

The Rivian 'sub box' is pretty terrible too, we couldn't get rattle under control.
Ended up switching out JL 10 (replaced Rivian sub, unplugged).
Put a JL 12TW3 with factory box down in spare tire cavity *** no more rattle *** and hits way harder. Much cleaner at low volume filling low freq even at casual listening.

Very happy with results, good clean build.

Does it take up the whole cavity? any chance you could post a pic please?

 

[Q-Dub23]

This is sweet! I have the same JL sub in my R1S plus Focal K2 Powers (they are definitely brighter and not as warm as JLs). I kept the crummy Rivian box to not take up storage space but the installer use two full packs of Dynomat to stop rattling. The factory amp actually does a nice job powering the Focal and I have a JL amp powering the sub.

Two questions (from a novice):

1. How did you use a five channel amp to drive 10 speakers (two 3 ways in front and two 2 ways in back)? Or are they just driving the new speakers

2. What did you do with the center channel.

As an aside, I'm try to add DSP to my build but am worried about effectively doubling the draw on my battery by adding another amp using speaker level inputs from the factory. Sounds like this didn't worry you. Any range loss?

 

[kcsly]

You're right, it was 10" initially - modified original thread.

The Rivian 'sub box' is pretty terrible too, we couldn't get rattle under control.
Ended up switching out JL 10 (replaced Rivian sub, unplugged).
Put a JL 12TW3 with factory box down in spare tire cavity *** no more rattle *** and hits way harder. Much cleaner at low volume filling low freq even at casual listening.

Very happy with results, good clean build.

for the factory door speakers, remember which wires were positive and which were negative?

 

[Gassious]

I've been waiting for someone to do a complete upgrade to their R1S since I picked mine up in May of 2023. Congratulations!

Could you please provide a complete components list?
Are the modifications to the LC5i something that fairly simple?
There aren't too many shops were I live who do custom auto stereo installations and probably zero who have touched a Rivian.

 

[Big_Booty_Slayer]

The instagram reel belongs to the shop I used.

It was in a few stages, cost me around $4500 with equipment (the C3s are ~$580 alone) + install and sound deadening.

I've been a JL fan for a while and still appreciate their evolution over the years.
If you're into the search, go to a speaker shop and take a listen. Everyone will have an opinion and more cost doesn't always mean better sound.
The single 10 is good, but if you want it to really hit, you'll need to use a seperate/custom box and prob a second sub - that's what I would do 20 years ago

*Edit* Ended up doing just that, 12" JL sub in their sealed box placed in spare tire cavity.
Way better sound, no more rattle.

JL XD700/5v2 for amp - also has signal detect. We chose a more versatile amp where the team can dial in levels and crossover to try and match retained stock tweeters. Only 300w to sub.

No battery issues - LC5i Pro controls power based on speaker input signal - with this method the downfall is it doesn't consistently power on until audio level is above 7 or 8. Have to see if we can tweak this or modify remote on to a switchable 12v.

Again, much much better.

Hey I’m gonna try to install this in my R1s, would you happen to remember what size C3 components you used? They come in a few different woofer sizes. 5”, 5.25”, 6”, and 6.5” . Do you happen to remember which ones you used?

 

[poldim]

Did they run wires from the amp to your speakers or reuse the OEM ones?

 

[Gassious]

@Tbey Are you still on this forum?

 

[Big_Booty_Slayer]

So what size components were u able to fit in the doors? I know the factory size is 5x7 were u able to fit 6x9’s ?

 

[superfluid]

It's not gonna match a tuned factory B&O sound system (for example) but it's def elevated significantly from where Rivian left it for us.

Great to see someone successfully replaced their sound system.

Did the shop tune your install?

 

[ivinio21]

Hello everyone. I recently exchanged my BMW X7 for a Rivian R1S two weeks ago. While I did not anticipate the same level of quality in the Rivian, I am disappointed with the stereo system. Comparing it to the stereo in our company's Ford Transit (Budget Level) service vehicle, which only has two speakers in the front doors, the Ford Transit's stereo sounds much better and produces more bass.

I have noticed that Rivian is addressing most issues through an update. Thoughts on Rivian run an update on the stereo which will allow us to have a separate controller for the subwoofer accessed via the equalizer?

 

[superfluid]

I have noticed that Rivian is addressing most issues through an update. Thoughts on Rivian run an update on the stereo which will allow us to have a separate controller for the subwoofer accessed via the equalizer?

If you mean a separate controller to boost the sub's output, I'd be skeptical about the benefit that would give us. The stock sub has modest output at best. Boosting a middling sub tends to cause more issues—distortion, rattling, dynamic compression, and overheating to name a few—than it solves. Moreover, the stock sub simply can't produce certain frequencies at a loud enough volume to be worth boosting. Giving us the ability to cause ourselves those problems may simply cause Rivian support more problems.

Think of boosting an underpowered sub like boosting your throat to fill a stadium at concert levels with a yell. Your voice will probably break because your throat's hardware isn't designed to output that much sound pressure no matter how much lung power you put behind it.

Imo, the best way to get better bass in the Rivian right now is to replace the sub with one that handles higher output.

Besides bass, I think the easiest way to improve the sound quality in your Rivian is to run Tidal.

 

[ivinio21]

If you mean a separate controller to boost the sub's output, I'd be skeptical about the benefit that would give us. The stock sub has modest output at best. Boosting a middling sub tends to cause more issues—distortion, rattling, dynamic compression, and overheating to name a few—than it solves. Moreover, the stock sub simply can't produce certain frequencies at a loud enough volume to be worth boosting. Giving us the ability to cause ourselves those problems may simply cause Rivian support more problems.

Think of boosting an underpowered sub like boosting your throat to fill a stadium at concert levels with a yell. Your voice will probably break because your throat's hardware isn't designed to output that much sound pressure no matter how much lung power you put behind it.

Imo, the best way to get better bass in the Rivian right now is to replace the sub with one that handles higher output.

Besides bass, I think the easiest way to improve the sound quality in your Rivian is to run Tidal.

Good point. However, I assume their engineers were focused on efficiency to minimize fast battery discharging rather than it's performance. I would prefer to have the option to boost the subwoofer to my liking and deal with rattling by using deadening material rather than replacing the entire audio system. Some people paid over 4K to improve the sound system in their Rivian, something that should have been done by Rivian in the first place.

Sponsored