RESOLVED Bass is nonexistent (resolved by OTA update)

[xponents]

And this was my previous response to somebody saying a cheaper car had Android Auto while the air didnt. This is a shorter version and has the gist:
Firstly, read the guidelines.

Comparing the Lucid to a cheaper car is not the way to go about things. Does the model s have a 360 birds eye view? No, but a 25k Hyundai Kona has it!! Sacrilege!!

Does a Rolls Royce have ventilated seats standard? No, despite the fact that there are cars 1/25th its price with ventilated seats!

This argument brings nothing to the table, especially when you consider the fact that Android auto is IN DEVELOPMENT.

There are vehicles 5 times the price of the lucid without its great sound system.. its driving manners.. but would you care about that?

(and no, i am not roping in tesla to this argument. i used it for the sake of an example)

 

[valentin.horner@]

Now in comparison, I took a lucid air on a test drive. Even though I have hearing loss, WOW. The mids were so clear, the bass was tuned to perfection(on my tesla model s test drive about 2 hours later, it was WAY too bassy). And don't forget, I am of the common species "teenager who likes rap with bone vibrating bass." I will concede I have heard not heard the base surround system, but if the teardowns showing that only the dolby atmos channels are correct, the bass should be good. I also will say that sound is to preferences.

Am I understanding that because you listened to a different sound system, then 5 actual owners of the sound system in question are complaining because of "preferences"?

We are not discussing the fact that the audio doesn't sound in a way that we enjoy it, we are saying that is not working right. If we lived in the same area, I would gladly give you a demo, but I don't think it's fair to discount other people's problems by assuming that they don't know what a sound system should sound like.

 

[xponents]

Am I understanding that because you listened to a different sound system, then 5 actual owners of the sound system in question are complaining because of "preferences"?

We are not discussing the fact that the audio doesn't sound in a way that we enjoy it, we are saying that is not working right. If we lived in the same area, I would gladly give you a demo, but I don't think it's fair to discount other people's problems by assuming that they don't know what a sound system should sound like.

I understand and did not mean to discount your opinion, apologies if it came that way. I also do not mean to deflect the blame away from the sound system. Later on, I said that getting the issue fixed should be a priority. After all, you cant judge something if it isnt working as intended…

Could you share an audio recording? I would love to help and see what the problem is!

 

[valentin.horner@]

Thanks for your reply! I have to say that had made me upset and I sorry for seeing red and missing the part about you saying that it should be fixed

For the recording, I'll give it a try. I am afraid that the microphone on my phone may not record the entire range since bass tends to be harder to record for tiny microphones.

 

[xponents]

Thanks for your reply! I have to say that had made me upset and I sorry for seeing red and missing the part about you saying that it should be fixed

For the recording, I'll give it a try. I am afraid that the microphone on my phone may not record the entire range since bass tends to be harder to record for tiny microphones.

You would be shocked at how good modern phone microphones are! Neverthless, even if the bass distorts some things, any issues should pop up immediately!

I would reccomend a video starting from the front seat, going to the rear, and finally opening the door and recording from the outside. If your ears can bear it, use 80 percent volume, most professional studios are calibrated to that!

 

[valentin.horner@]

So I can't hear the difference in the video at all:

Lucid sound - Google Drive

drive.google.com

(I uploaded to drive since the forum is throwing an error when I try to upload the videos)
I think the microphone is picking up the bass from the rear speakers.
When I sit in the front, there is no bass except from what coming from the rear. If they are low bass like what a subwoofer should do, I can hear it fine in the front, but mid-bass or low medium range is just completely absent in the front as if it were missing speakers in the front.
When I sit in the rear, then the music sounds as expected, almost too bassy actually but it's not overwhelming.
Note that I left all the equalizer values at 0db to give this a fair test.
I feel like if it were a normal situation where the eq just is lacking in bass, the front and rear should sound the same, however in this case the front sounds totally different from the rear.

 

[par11768]

I have the same issue with my Pure. Almost no bass in the front but the sound is much better in the rear seats. Can't fix by adjusting the equalizer or the balance front to rear. I am thinking this may be the result of not having a glass roof to reflect the bass notes from the sub behind the rear seats, or Lucid just put a smaller, lower powered sub in the rear in the Air. If the sub is the same, the bass maybe getting diminished by the very nice headliner. It would be interesting to see if someone with an Air GT w/o the glass roof and the upgraded sound system has the same issue.

Please let me know what service says about your car. If there is a fix, I would like to have it done as I am very disappointed with the sound system in the car as it performs today.

 

[Tâm]

I have the same issue with my Pure. Almost no bass in the front but the sound is much better in the rear seats. Can't fix by adjusting the equalizer or the balance front to rear. I am thinking this may be the result of not having a glass roof to reflect the bass notes from the sub behind the rear seats, or Lucid just put a smaller, lower powered sub in the rear in the Air. If the sub is the same, the bass maybe getting diminished by the very nice headliner. It would be interesting to see if someone with an Air GT w/o the glass roof and the upgraded sound system has the same issue.

Please let me know what service says about your car. If there is a fix, I would like to have it done as I am very disappointed with the sound system in the car as it performs today.

I am unsure if this is the money issue: Would the bass be stronger if you pay more for Surreal Sound Pro?

Nevertheless, there's a thread on how to increase your bass:

Subwoofer Bass solution

I don't consider myself an audio expert but I do expect to enjoy a great music experience while driving. Despite the hype of Dolby Atmos, Tidal and Lucid's Surreal Sound, I was disappointed, like a few others on the forum, about the lack of punch in the bass. Don't get me wrong, the highs...

lucidowners.com

Notice that even when you have Surreal Sound Pro, this is what your subwoofer actually looks like from the same thread (It's mounted under the top of your trunk, facing up toward the rear glass behind rear passengers):

Lucid has no traditional ported subwoofer design that moves a huge volume of air to create earth-shaking vibrations.

 

[blueice89]

Just took delivery of new Air pure without SSP and I have the same non existence bass sound. Not only the bass is missing, the overall sound quality is worse than my nephew’s 15 yr old bmw 3 series. To be honest the audio is by far the worst I’ve ever experienced on all cars I took delivery In the past 30 yrs.

You should try a 2016 Model S my god that was the worse with no premium Audio upgrade, bass didn’t exist at all I was so sad. So sad I spent extra money to completely gut and replace the Audio system

 

[blueice89]

Almost a clear cut and paste!


First of all, don't refer to it by its price. I have seen an stripped out racecar with no sound system, does that mean it's trash?

More realistically, I once sat in an Dodge Charger. Hemi. V8. Widebody. Loved the car. But the sound system was worse than my 2 speaker honda accord, strangely. I put some bassy music on it and it felt like the speakers would disintegrate. The price of the car? 110000...

Now in comparison, I took a lucid air on a test drive. Even though I have hearing loss, WOW. The mids were so clear, the bass was tuned to perfection(on my tesla model s test drive about 2 hours later, it was WAY too bassy). And don't forget, I am of the common species "teenager who likes rap with bone vibrating bass." I will concede I have heard not heard the base surround system, but if the teardowns showing that only the dolby atmos channels are correct, the bass should be good. I also will say that sound is to preferences.

Getting to the topic, I would read the guidelines first. Talking about the price of the car in relation to the features is one of the worst ways to constructively talk about something. Mostly, you should diagnose the problem(if there is one) and then if it isn't fixed(haven't heard back from you about the customer service) you can CONSTRUCTIVELY say something like "The bass in this car is somewhat lacking. I was more accustomed to my (other car) sound system with more bass, but going to the Lucid is a step down, in my opinion." (comparisons are fine if you make it an OPINION, unless something is objective which sound is not)

Also, this "82k" car you speak of has demolished many higher priced electric cars in regards to efficiency and performance. Do Rolls Royce spectre owners bitch about their cars, "That Lucid air is 1/7th the price of this car yet it has twice the horsepower and range!! All this on a 550k car...?" No, they do not as there are better things to do and also their cars are better in some ways vs ours. Our cars are the 2nd best driving..(taycan), the most efficient... the most spacious... but would you care about that when you have a Rolls Royce? Appreciate the good things instead of loathing the bad things. As @Bobby loves to say, you catch more flies with tasty honey than disgusting vinegar.

The guidelines prohibit comparing the features of the Air to other priced cars like "Cheaper car has this, Lucid doesnt," I am sure one of our moderators could explain their thought process on this. Please read them, and I apologize if this was a bit droning, I also feel the same way but couldn't get a better explanation in a shorter piece.

How is your audio experience?
Mine is very good listen to slaves of fear by health then tell me
You have bass I dare you all ::

Can you hearr my bass ??!
Lucid GT SSP

https://x.com/investyoung/status/1708674232954364053?s=46&t=0K1GwlA8nDFxFHkMTe-aCQ

 

[Amster]

How is your audio experience?
Mine is very good listen to slaves of fear by health then tell me
You have bass I dare you all ::

Can you hearr my bass ??!
Lucid GT SSP

https://x.com/investyoung/status/1708674232954364053?s=46&t=0K1GwlA8nDFxFHkMTe-aCQ

Your bass sounds great. But you do have SSP. The people who are missing it do not have SSP. I bought the car in March when they were doing those 90 day trials on SSP and DDP. I didn't buy SSP up front, hoping that I wouldn't hear the difference and save myself $4K. But when it got turned off, I definitely noticed it.

 

[xponents]

How is your audio experience?
Mine is very good listen to slaves of fear by health then tell me
You have bass I dare you all ::

Can you hearr my bass ??!
Lucid GT SSP

https://x.com/investyoung/status/1708674232954364053?s=46&t=0K1GwlA8nDFxFHkMTe-aCQ

Yup! SSP bass is very good and healthy, not too much but not too little bass. Listen to ”Stop breathing” by Playboi Carti and “New slaves” by Kanye west. And turn the volume DOWN before you do that!

 

[xponents]

You should try a 2016 Model S my god that was the worse with no premium Audio upgrade, bass didn’t exist at all I was so sad. So sad I spent extra money to completely gut and replace the Audio system

What about the plaid sound system vs SSP?

 

[blueice89]

What about the plaid sound system vs SSP?

Plaid and Teslas have more bass but it’s almost just more punchy and not helping other tones.
We have model Y and I prefer Lucid sound system in the GT

 

[blueice89]

Your bass sounds great. But you do have SSP. The people who are missing it do not have SSP. I bought the car in March when they were doing those 90 day trials on SSP and DDP. I didn't buy SSP up front, hoping that I wouldn't hear the difference and save myself $4K. But when it got turned off, I definitely noticed it.

I use my Audio everyday so if it sounds better I would pay more especially with how complicated it maybe to add after market items. Can you pay for ssp at anytime as an add on ?

 

[Amster]

I use my Audio everyday so if it sounds better I would pay more especially with how complicated it maybe to add after market items. Can you pay for ssp at anytime as an add on ?

I could, but that was part of the trial period thing. Mine is a 2022, that was built with everything in it. I guess some of the newer cars are being built with only what the customer ordered, meaning the extra speakers might not be in the car. So basically, the answer would be to talk to your DA. If it is available for purchase, it shows up when you log into your Lucid account.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Getting to the topic, I would read the guidelines first. Talking about the price of the car in relation to the features is one of the worst ways to constructively talk about something. Mostly, you should diagnose the problem(if there is one) and then if it isn't fixed(haven't heard back from you about the customer service) you can CONSTRUCTIVELY say something like "The bass in this car is somewhat lacking. I was more accustomed to my (other car) sound system with more bass, but going to the Lucid is a step down, in my opinion." (comparisons are fine if you make it an OPINION, unless something is objective which sound is not)

Also, this "82k" car you speak of has demolished many higher priced electric cars in regards to efficiency and performance. Do Rolls Royce spectre owners bitch about their cars, "That Lucid air is 1/7th the price of this car yet it has twice the horsepower and range!! All this on a 550k car...?" No, they do not as there are better things to do and also their cars are better in some ways vs ours. Our cars are the 2nd best driving..(taycan), the most efficient... the most spacious... but would you care about that when you have a Rolls Royce? Appreciate the good things instead of loathing the bad things. As @Bobby loves to say, you catch more flies with tasty honey than disgusting vinegar.

I agree that one needs to look at the entire package and determine if it meets your needs. I don't think any single car meets everyone's needs (not Lucid, not Rolls, nor anyone else). But I do think it is fair to raise the price of a car when discussing features. One doesn't (or at least I don't) expect a Nissan Versa to have many features but one does expect a much more expensive car to have more features. But that doesn't mean it has all the features and a feature for one person may be a problem for another.

 

[dingo]

I appreciate your thoughts and perspective and the lengthy writing you did to express it — but it’s ok to be disappointed that the tier of vehicle you’re buying into doesn’t deliver as well as vehicles that are in WAAAY lower tiers in a way that is particularly important on a daily basis of driving.

The price isn’t everything but it’s something.

 

[valentin.horner@]

A few weeks ago, I was able to test the audio in a Touring which has the hardware for Surreal Sound Pro but without the subscription to premium. Which should sound like a regular Surreal Sound car.... And it sounded amazing. Hopped back into my car and it sounded like garbage, I would expect the base Surreal Sound in Touring to sound the same in the Pure, but that's not the case.

Just yesterday, my wife started playing a song on her iPhone before pairing it with the Bluetooth of my car. It actually sounded worse when connected to the car than when playing on the iPhone speakers :'(

I have a service appointment on Thursday, I will try to get them to look (or listen) at it and tell me why my sound system sounds surreally bad

 

[xponents]

A few weeks ago, I was able to test the audio in a Touring which has the hardware for Surreal Sound Pro but without the subscription to premium. Which should sound like a regular Surreal Sound car.... And it sounded amazing. Hopped back into my car and it sounded like garbage, I would expect the base Surreal Sound in Touring to sound the same in the Pure, but that's not the case.

Just yesterday, my wife started playing a song on her iPhone before pairing it with the Bluetooth of my car. It actually sounded worse when connected to the car than when playing on the iPhone speakers :'(

I have a service appointment on Thursday, I will try to get them to look (or listen) at it and tell me why my sound system sounds surreally bad

Okay then it must be a problem with the car or the actual sound system fundamentally, not just a Lucid problem. If it sounds worse than iPhone speakers, that is very distressing considering that iphones have the crappiest speakers for music.