Gen2 R1S Sound quality

[Gurpreet]

Is it me or just that the R1S dual adventure pack max battery pack without light and sound package, the speakers sound so underwhelming. I won't expect this from 100k car. There is literally no base. Is there any other setting i am missing or is it just a general issue with all these vehicles. My 2012 honda pilot sounds way better. Is there anything out there i can get installed to make it a little better?

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[beatle]

Have you tried adjusting the EQ? I have a bump in the lower frequencies to balance out the lack of bass with the EQ flat. An aftermarket subwoofer will almost always bring more bass, but the stock system does have some.

I had a 2012 Ridgeline and the stock stereo was awful - nowhere near what the Rivian has.

What is your audio source?

 

[JacobAZ]

Try adjusting the EQ. A few weeks ago riding with a friend we were listening to some of his band's tracks via Spotify. He plays bass in the band. His comment was that I had too much bass for how the band recorded the tracks and intended the balance. Maybe we have differing expectations. That said, I do believe the low end has a kind of dead sound ... sort of muffled.

 

[ggood]

suggest you put in a mobile service request to bring and replace amps and first have them completely remove the 12v battery leads wait for any residual capacitor drain and then a series of reset commands they will do. its very possible that somewhere along the line one of more of the amp(s) power relays have not come back on line. it worked with our 25 tri R1T. also have to toss out your "normal" idea on the EQ settings and just increase lower and mid freqs until you like it

 

[johnj2803]

without a sound package you have no subwoofer. So base is going to be less.

 

[jrothman]

I demo'd both the standard and premium sound systems on the Gen 2's coming from a Gen 1. The Gen 1 with Meridian has better base response, but I found that the Gen 2 with premium has better separation. I tried out the Gen 2 with standard for about 1 minute and knew it wasn't for me. Neither the separation nor the base response.

 

[novajoe83]

Yep. This is a well established complaint about the vehicle if you do some searching in the forum. RJ must not give a crap about audio quality bc hard to imagine how he’d allow such a substandard audio system to go to market. And consensus is gen 1 is superior overall and gen 2 with sound package is better than gen 2 without.

software has improved the gen 2 audio but it’s still lipstick on a pig. If it’s the only car you’re ever in, you can find it okay over time. But go between cars that actually have decent sound systems and you’ll realize how poor the Rivian’s is. It’s an embarrassment for a 100k car.

 

[zendavian]

Just took delivery of a 2026 R1S with premium sound and was pretty darn disappointed comparing to the Tesla I was leaving behind. I produce and engineer music for a living and after a while was able to get a much better sound (Apple Music) after making cuts to remove harshness and reduce the dead boxy tone. I'd love feedback if anyone wants to give these eq adjustments a try.

3D sound: ON
Dynamic: Low

63: +2

125: -3

250: -3

500: -5

1k: -3

2k: -4

4k: -7

8k: -4

16k: +1

 

[ggood]

by jove i think you nailed it Z. we have a G1 w Meridian and now a G2 Tri. ive been "forumizing" for months on this and playing with the EQ realizing it was certainly not going to end up w a "convential" curve shape on the levels. I just tried your settings and went from G2 to the Meridian and on most tracks, it is near impossible to tell diff. not exact match yet mostly in the "presence" and separation but i over compensated on the "fade/balance" to be just off the rear of the driver's seat and it is much much much closer. crisp , clear while bass is punchy not muted.

Ref tune Nils Lofgren Live Bass and Drum Intro .

thanks Z!

 

[zendavian]

Thanks so much for the feedback, glad it’s made a difference! I think you are spot on with moving the balance to be just off the rear of the driver, really expands the stereo width out and away from the top center of the dash.

 

[JohnQ3256]

Just took delivery of a 2026 R1S with premium sound and was pretty darn disappointed comparing to the Tesla I was leaving behind. I produce and engineer music for a living and after a while was able to get a much better sound (Apple Music) after making cuts to remove harshness and reduce the dead boxy tone. I'd love feedback if anyone wants to give these eq adjustments a try.

3D sound: ON
Dynamic: Low

63: +2

125: -3

250: -3

500: -5

1k: -3

2k: -4

4k: -7

8k: -4

16k: +1

How do you make the adjustments to these specific numbers? Do you hold the eq dot and drag, tap up/down? I'm new to this and not sure.

 

[zendavian]

How do you make the adjustments to these specific numbers? Do you hold the eq dot and drag, tap up/down? I'm new to this and not sure.

Yes, hold the EQ dot and drag up/down. You should notice it’s stepped and stops at defined intervals.

 

[JohnQ3256]

Yes, hold the EQ dot and drag up/down. You should notice it’s stepped and stops at defined intervals.

Great, thank you! I noticed the click/drag method had smaller 'steps' than tapping the line up/down and wasn't sure which one was the right one.

 

[zendavian]

You’re welcome. I still am not super happy with how the 4k band sounds in this vehicle and will set it to -3, -4 to let more transients through vs. the -7. Hope it’s a good starting point!

 

[TTedP]

63: +2

125: -3

250: -3

500: -5

1k: -3

2k: -4

4k: -7

8k: -4

16k: +1

I tried this on my non-premium Gen 2 - I think it works there as well. Sounds pretty good for an otherwise meh system. Thanks!

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