Fellow base(d) sound system owners - any impressions/recommendations?

[AirPlur]

Apologies if my best efforts at searching this subject have failed, and no offense taken/thank you in advance if anyone wants to point me back to another thread, but I'm having an impossible time finding much in the way of info/impressions/recommendations for the stock i.e. not SSP audio system.

Sparing the rant I discharged in a previous and unrelated thread, I've been disappointed with the performance of my base system and have seen some take the path of upgrading via aftermarket options - but only those who are starting with the SSP. Subjectively, of course, I felt SSP didn't really do it for me with stereo source material and was hoping the base setup would be adequate (or ideally, better than adequate) for my ears, but [subjective rant here] it isn't. Specifically, in order to get it sounding passable, the bass has to be maxed out on the EQ, the sound shifted to the rear slightly, and even so it sounds like an afterthought. If I were to channel the spirit of my audiophile critic former self, I'd use pseudo-descriptors like: thin, congested, two-dimensional, lacking authority - basically me in high-school.

I know I'm in the minority of owners in that I didn't option SSP, but there seems to be almost no definitive information online (or even from Lucid) about what the base system consists of and how it compares since everything is extolling the virtues of the atmos setup. It's been a challenge to say the least to even know what I'm working with, much less what improvement options I have.

Any input or information of any kind would be warmly welcomed! Really, anything at all about the base system would be great to share as maybe this thread can be a sort of repository of information for my fellow audio povvos. I thank you in advance with this picture of a puppy from the internet driving a car:



P.S. Also, thanks to the mods for helping noob me get acquainted with the forum, and both helping me find resources as well as making sure things stay tidy

 

[par11768]

I have the standard audio system in a Pure and very unsatisifed with the audio. There is virtually no bass and I cannot correct it with the equalizer or the balance. If you sit in the back seat, the systems sounds much better, actually quite good. I have been posting trying, like yourself, to understand if this is an issue with the lower priced system, the acoustics in the car w/o a glass roof or something that can be fixed. My car has not had any other issues. I will bring this up with service after I learn more from others with the same problem.

 

[hydbob]

It's tough and a relatively new topic as very few cars with non SSP have been delivered. Hopefully we can see one in Vegas

 

[AirPlur]

@par11768 sorry to hear your experience has been similar. I would think, if anything, not having a glass roof would improve performance as it often does when you reduce hard surfaces, unless they didn't account for the additional sound dampening and tuned it to be less bright because of the glass roof. Would love to hear what you learn from the techs during service, even if they can just tell us how many speakers the thing has and where they're located.

@hydbob yep, and knew I'd be a guinea pig throughout my ownership experience, and hopefully now that there will be more base sound systems in the wild there will be more information and resources for them too.

 

[vices]

Yep, the audio and the mobile key are the two biggest disappointments I have in an otherwise awesome car. I'm the opposite of an audiophile (think Vizio sound bars, never opted for the upgraded audio system in any of my cars), but I just couldn't believe how "tinny" the sound was, it was almost laughable. I first thought maybe something was wrong with it (like maybe some speakers weren't connected) until I read the forums.

Biggest worry is that it's hard to put a ticket about the sound system since sound is very subjective. But obviously there's a big design fault somewhere there. We should all put tickets in so Lucid knows it's a problem.

 

[AirPlur]

Yep, the audio and the mobile key are the two biggest disappointments I have in an otherwise awesome car. I'm the opposite of an audiophile (think Vizio sound bars, never opted for the upgraded audio system in any of my cars), but I just couldn't believe how "tinny" the sound was, it was almost laughable. I first thought maybe something was wrong with it (like maybe some speakers weren't connected) until I read the forums.

Biggest worry is that it's hard to put a ticket about the sound system since sound is very subjective. But obviously there's a big design fault somewhere there. We should all put tickets in so Lucid knows it's a problem.

Validating to hear that the app hasn't been an ownership highlight either, as I felt it was kinda laggy and intermittent as well, though given this is my first car with an app attached I suppose the novelty of it is outshining the drawbacks.

Agreed as far as submitting a ticket for something that, by design, may just be not great to begin with. Not sure what action there is to take, other than (from posts like this) realize and be reassured that the base system's underwhelming performance isn't an anomaly with my car. And given that swapping speakers isn't a silver bullet and can even sound worse if the new speakers don't play friendly with the rest of the stock system, I'm not sure what actions there are to take other than just living with it while enjoying every other aspect of an exceptional car.

Reminds me of my first car, an '86 Jeep Cherokee (manual!) base trim (i.e. didn't even have an AM radio) which was not something I wanted to sink any money into, so I just drove around with some ridiculously large open-ear Grado headphones plugged into a discman. Despite the illegality of wearing headphones while driving, I felt I was standing on tenable legal grounds given they were not sealed and I could hear traffic around me just fine. A cop that pulled me over was not interested in having a conversation/demonstration of the difference between open-ear and sealed-back headphones :/

 

[borski]

Validating to hear that the app hasn't been an ownership highlight either, as I felt it was kinda laggy and intermittent as well, though given this is my first car with an app attached I suppose the novelty of it is outshining the drawbacks.

Agreed as far as submitting a ticket for something that, by design, may just be not great to begin with. Not sure what action there is to take, other than (from posts like this) realize and be reassured that the base system's underwhelming performance isn't an anomaly with my car. And given that swapping speakers isn't a silver bullet and can even sound worse if the new speakers don't play friendly with the rest of the stock system, I'm not sure what actions there are to take other than just living with it while enjoying every other aspect of an exceptional car.

Reminds me of my first car, an '86 Jeep Cherokee (manual!) base trim (i.e. didn't even have an AM radio) which was not something I wanted to sink any money into, so I just drove around with some ridiculously large open-ear Grado headphones plugged into a discman. Despite the illegality of wearing headphones while driving, I felt I was standing on tenable legal grounds given they were not sealed and I could hear traffic around me just fine. A cop that pulled me over was not interested in having a conversation/demonstration of the difference between open-ear and sealed-back headphones :/

It would be worth testing a different Lucid and seeing if you have the same experience. I find the system insanely accurate and crisp, with incredible fidelity, but I’ve only ever heard it with SS Pro, so have no idea about the “normal” system.

 

[Lucken]

It would be worth testing a different Lucid and seeing if you have the same experience. I find the system insanely accurate and crisp, with incredible fidelity, but I’ve only ever heard it with SS Pro, so have no idea about the “normal” system.

I’d like to hear the standard system too. There were complaints about SSPro too and a lack of bass. I haven’t found that to be the case at all as I find the bass levels to be tight and realistic, not boom box nonsense.

I know in some cases there were some technical issues with some owner’s SSPro systems, but a properly functioning system sounds stunning…at least to me.

 

[AirPlur]

It would be worth testing a different Lucid and seeing if you have the same experience. I find the system insanely accurate and crisp, with incredible fidelity, but I’ve only ever heard it with SS Pro, so have no idea about the “normal” system.

Yet another correct recommendation from Borski! Yep, I've got a service visit scheduled in a few week for a few other unrelated issues and am planning to compare to another base stereo while I'm there. Unfortunately no base systems were available for audition when I ordered my car so I don't have any frame of reference, so that should help.

@Lucken maybe there was something off about the SSP system I auditioned at my local studio (Valley Fair, San Jose) since it seemed kinda flimsy and lacking authority too, at least with Tidal flac stereo content. And for the record, I usually dial down the bass in most car systems to get things sounding a bit less scoopy and exaggerated since so much of the music I listen to is mixed/mastered with big bottom end, so while I do love strong dynamics (drummer/percussionist myself) I wouldn't consider myself a bass-head. More a value-conscious base-head

@vices Per your recommendation, I did reach out to one of the customer service reps (Valerie, massive shot-out for being so helpful with the battery conditioning debate from my earlier post) and asked if any other base system owners have expressed anything similar. And while hardware probably is what it is, maybe there's an OTA software optimization that can partly address the issue at a future point. In the meantime, where did I leave those Grados...

 

[Lucken]

Yet another correct recommendation from Borski! Yep, I've got a service visit scheduled in a few week for a few other unrelated issues and am planning to compare to another base stereo while I'm there. Unfortunately no base systems were available for audition when I ordered my car so I don't have any frame of reference, so that should help.

@Lucken maybe there was something off about the SSP system I auditioned at my local studio (Valley Fair, San Jose) since it seemed kinda flimsy and lacking authority too, at least with Tidal flac stereo content. And for the record, I usually dial down the bass in most car systems to get things sounding a bit less scoopy and exaggerated since so much of the music I listen to is mixed/mastered with big bottom end, so while I do love strong dynamics (drummer/percussionist myself) I wouldn't consider myself a bass-head. More a value-conscious base-head

@vices Per your recommendation, I did reach out to one of the customer service reps (Valerie, massive shot-out for being so helpful with the battery conditioning debate from my earlier post) and asked if any other base system owners have expressed anything similar. And while hardware probably is what it is, maybe there's an OTA software optimization that can partly address the issue at a future point. In the meantime, where did I leave those Grados...

I’m assuming you did check the equalizer settings on the SSP system during your audition?

 

[Steveinarizona]

It's tough and a relatively new topic as very few cars with non SSP have been delivered. Hopefully we can see one in Vegas

And for those with the trial period, it is still tough since there is no way to compare unless one times out on the promo and then discovers that she doesn't like the sound of the basic system.

 

[Lucken]

And for those with the trial period, it is still tough since there is no way to compare unless one times out on the promo and then discovers that she doesn't like the sound of the basic system.

I would think if the hardware is there you can always resubscribe to the upgrade.

 

[AirPlur]

@Lucken yep, flat.

So am I understanding that, for a period of time, cars were delivered with SSP hardware and whether or not SSP was available was a factory-controlled software setting? That's a whole lotta speakers not doing nothing which should probably start doing something given base listener impressions so far. Not sure what options I'd have given I wasn't presented with any info about a trial period and thus may only have the base speakers/amps/etc. Maybe Lucid can just sent me a mojave purluxe-trimmed bazooka sub and call it a day.

 

[Lucken]

Yes, for a period of time the hardware was included in the cars and a trial period was offered for SSP. If your car had the hardware I’d assume you would have been notified and it would have shown up on your Monroney sticker with the trial subscription. If not you simply may not have the hardware.

Someone who took delivery during this time should be able to verify this.

 

[DreamTour]

Don't have a base, but look at what's advertised it has 9 instead of 21 speakers for SSP and working backwards.

I know for a fact that they decontented the base by removing one of the two DSP amplifiers compared to the SSP. (half the power)

To get from 21 to 9 likely they dropped:

2 center channels speakers (mid / tweeter)
4 height channel speakers (atmos)
Probably 4 speakers on the rear deck? (2 mids, 2 tweeters?)
the 2 midbass drivers beside the dash?

So you basically have

left / right tweeter / mids dash (4x)
left / right tweeter / mids passenger door (4x) (Or maybe they dropped the rear door speakers instead of the rear deck ones, you should be able to put your ear up and find out.) I think more likely they kept the door speakers though
The "sub" in the middle, which is basically an 8"in midbass.

With no stereo drivers > 3.5 inches the base system is going to be thin. My guess is they re eq'ed it to try and drive as much mid bass out of the 3.5 mids as possible, but 3.5's aren't going to be able move enough air at max excursion.

Also with max 400 watts of power on a single DSP amp, probably they only allocated 100-150 watts for the "sub" which is an 8in midbass.

If you are going the aftermarket path, check out my other extensive thread from feb / apr this year. While that's SSP the mounting positions should be the same, although no wires I assume going to the "open" positions. The hard part I think for you to get a good outcome is if there's no midbass wiring harness going to the corner dash locations they will have to route their own (not impossible, but probably expensive)

Lucid Air aftermarket Hifi upgrade summary (and quality / configuration of the factory audio)

Hi All, I recently had a HiFi upgrade done on my Lucid. To give you a sense of budget envelope, it was low 5 figures. So a serious upgrade. I will be sharing learnings, pics, my experience thus far so hopefully other owners can benefit from understanding "what they will get" with the Atmos...

lucidowners.com

Oh because I'm a sucker for good sound, it's going back to sound innovations to get an A/B amp.. lol...

And i never posted about the custom subwoofer enclosure they built for me since the thread seemed to have run its course, but i can if there's interest.

 

[DreamTour]

Don't have a base, but look at what's advertised it has 9 instead of 21 speakers for SSP and working backwards.

I know for a fact that they decontented the base by removing one of the two DSP amplifiers compared to the SSP. (half the power)

To get from 21 to 9 likely they dropped:

2 center channels speakers (mid / tweeter)
4 height channel speakers (atmos)
Probably 4 speakers on the rear deck? (2 mids, 2 tweeters?)
the 2 midbass drivers beside the dash?

So you basically have

left / right tweeter / mids dash (4x)
left / right tweeter / mids passenger door (4x) (Or maybe they dropped the rear door speakers instead of the rear deck ones, you should be able to put your ear up and find out.) I think more likely they kept the door speakers though
The "sub" in the middle, which is basically an 8"in midbass.

With no stereo drivers > 3.5 inches the base system is going to be thin. My guess is they re eq'ed it to try and drive as much mid bass out of the 3.5 mids as possible, but 3.5's aren't going to be able move enough air at max excursion.

Also with max 400 watts of power on a single DSP amp, probably they only allocated 100-150 watts for the "sub" which is an 8in midbass.

If you are going the aftermarket path, check out my other extensive thread from feb / apr this year. While that's SSP the mounting positions should be the same, although no wires I assume going to the "open" positions. The hard part I think for you to get a good outcome is if there's no midbass wiring harness going to the corner dash locations they will have to route their own (not impossible, but probably expensive)

Lucid Air aftermarket Hifi upgrade summary (and quality / configuration of the factory audio)

Hi All, I recently had a HiFi upgrade done on my Lucid. To give you a sense of budget envelope, it was low 5 figures. So a serious upgrade. I will be sharing learnings, pics, my experience thus far so hopefully other owners can benefit from understanding "what they will get" with the Atmos...

lucidowners.com

Oh because I'm a sucker for good sound, it's going back to sound innovations to get an A/B amp.. lol...

And i never posted about the custom subwoofer enclosure they built for me since the thread seemed to have run its course, but i can if there's interest.

Correct myself, 400 watts on the dsp is probably a 8x50 output situation.
now that i think of it, it's probably something like 4 active channels 4x50 watt 2 channels passive crossover door or rear deck 2x50 and maybe a bridged midbass 2x50 = 100 watts.

Total guess though, afaik lucid had their dsp amps custom built and it's not COTS.

 

[AirPlur]

THEY FIXED IT! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU (assuming "you" are on this board and see this). Would love to know what the fix actually entailed, but for now I'm happy that my EQ settings are back to flat and the system is living up to its price tag. Best holiday gift ever.