Lucid Air Stereo "Surreal Sound" Test Impressions

[stratus]

Interesting observation.

My partner and I remain at odds about what is good bass in a sound system. We have reached a compromise by which I don't touch the equalizer controls in the Tesla (in which he keeps the bass cranked up), and he doesn't touch the equalizer controls in the Lucid (which I keep flat but are overridden by Dobly Atmos, anyway).

I think a large part of this difference derives from our backgrounds. I learned to listen to music while taking piano lessons, playing oboe in a high school orchestra, and attending a lot of live classical concerts in college during which time I chased every new piece of exotic audio gear and speaker that came on the market. (For example, I was the first in my dorm to get electrostatic speakers.)

My partner grew up in Russia-controlled Poland and learned to listen to music by attending rock concerts and listening to mostly-pirated sources on cheap home or car gear. The coolest guy among his friends was always the one who could crank the most bass out of a crappy system -- which really meant producing the most distortion at the loudest volume.

To this day, what I view as a clean, nuanced, and powerful bass line properly blended into the tonal wall he views as a weak and dull bass line.

Perhaps have him listen to Talking Heads in Atmos; the bass really cranks in Pyscho Killer and Nothing But Flowers. It’s quite loud and actually startled me. Even if you don’t like Talking Heads , it’s worth a shot.

 

[copper]

LOL ... my treble rolls off sharply around 8khz in the right ear... long gone in both ears at 16khz.

I just now read your review... should try to read the whole thread from the beginning before I post...(I am humbled). I tend to read from last to first.
Thank you @copper and @borski for an outstanding review worthy of the Lucid audio system.

I’m glad the review helped. I should note that I never posted a follow-up to that original session and the stereo has changed since then - very much for the better.

 

[copper]

Perhaps have him listen to Talking Heads in Atmos; the bass really cranks in Pyscho Killer and Nothing But Flowers. It’s quite loud and actually startled me. Even if you don’t like Talking Heads , it’s worth a shot.

I’m about to go on a drive and I am so listening to some Talking Heads on the way. Great suggestion!

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I have a had a few cars with good systems , but I have never ever just gone into my vehicle for the sole purpose of listening to music, until now.

One hundred percent. I sit in the garage, in my Lucid. Glad to read this is not weird.

 

[Golfhack]

Does Tidal come with the car or do I need to do anything to activate it? I pick up my car this afternoon and I’m looking forward to listening to Atmos on my drive home

 

[stratus]

I’m about to go on a drive and I am so listening to some Talking Heads on the way. Great suggestion!

Have fun, and thank you for your detailed analysis of the sound, it was extremely helpful to me. And as you stated in your previous post, I do think the sound has improved. I love a lot of things about the car, but I have to admit, the sound system is my favorite. I love music so much and this thing makes me giddy.

 

[stratus]

Does Tidal come with the car or do I need to do anything to activate it? I pick up my car this afternoon and I’m looking forward to listening to Atmos on my drive home

You have to activate it by creating an account on your phone and then connecting to your car. You could theoretically do it when you pick up the car; it’s pretty easy. I would recommend it.

 

[joec]

Does Tidal come with the car or do I need to do anything to activate it? I pick up my car this afternoon and I’m looking forward to listening to Atmos on my drive home

You should have received a code to activate a 3-month free trial to Tidal. (Look on your dashboard on the Lucid web site.) You will need to sign up on your phone or something, then follow the prompts in the Lucid to set up the account there. The DA should volunteer to do this with you.

 

[TCGT]

Does Tidal come with the car or do I need to do anything to activate it? I pick up my car this afternoon and I’m looking forward to listening to Atmos on my drive home

As others have said, it's a built in app, and if you want to use it the best way is to also download the app to your phone and create the playlists there. Much easier and the sync works flawlessly.

 

[noobzilla]

Interesting observation.

My partner and I remain at odds about what is good bass in a sound system. We have reached a compromise by which I don't touch the equalizer controls in the Tesla (in which he keeps the bass cranked up), and he doesn't touch the equalizer controls in the Lucid (which I keep flat but are overridden by Dobly Atmos, anyway).

I think a large part of this difference derives from our backgrounds. I learned to listen to music while taking piano lessons, playing oboe in a high school orchestra, and attending a lot of live classical concerts in college during which time I chased every new piece of exotic audio gear and speaker that came on the market. (For example, I was the first in my dorm to get electrostatic speakers.)

My partner grew up in Russia-controlled Poland and learned to listen to music by attending rock concerts and listening to mostly-pirated sources on cheap home or car gear. The coolest guy among his friends was always the one who could crank the most bass out of a crappy system -- which really meant producing the most distortion at the loudest volume.

To this day, what I view as a clean, nuanced, and powerful bass line properly blended into the tonal wall he views as a weak and dull bass line.

You two are perfect example of my observations haha. You prefer the balance and he prefers the ooomph. Of course some speakers are objectively better than others but in the end it's how one enjoys their music which is subjective.

I consider myself a basshead. I have ridiculous equalizer setting on the sub and lower bass region I think from 40 to 80hz. I played around it. Below 30hz iirc was making me nauseous. Above 90hz it starts distorting some instruments. I turn it on and off with a button depending on music and current mood. I can tell bass quality apart though! There's clean powerful bass vs loud cranky bass. Good quality subwoofers tend to need higher volume to get to similar ooomph to those uhhh idk the word.. boomy subs? It's mostly that sound that we can physically feel that we bassheads like.

Does the Lucid have an EQ on and off button?

 

[stratus]

One hundred percent. I sit in the garage, in my Lucid. Glad to read this is not weird.

Not weird, I do it when I am stressed or just need to stimulate my auditory senses. Sometimes when I get home from work and I want to strangler everyone I work with ( not really , but maybe ), I go listen to some tunes. Sometimes I drive, sometimes I just sit there. I need help.

 

[joec]

Not weird, I do it when I am stressed or just need to stimulate my auditory senses. Sometimes when I get home from work and I want to strangler everyone I work with ( not really , but maybe ), I go listen to some tunes. Sometimes I drive, sometimes I just sit there. I need help.

I volunteered the other day to take my wife to her gym. Sat in the car in the parking lot for an hour and listened to music while she worked out.

Not weird. Definitely not weird.

 

[noobzilla]

I volunteered the other day to take my wife to her gym. Sat in the car in the parking lot for an hour and listened to music while she worked out.

Not weird. Definitely not weird.

One of these days I'm gonna lie down at the back and listen to some nice relaxing music. Probably fall asleep in the process. Dog hammock arrived. It's nice and soft.

Napping with the doggo at the back with music on. No window tint.

Not weird. Definitely not weird.

 

[GEWC]

Not weird, I do it when I am stressed or just need to stimulate my auditory senses. Sometimes when I get home from work and I want to strangler everyone I work with ( not really , but maybe ), I go listen to some tunes. Sometimes I drive, sometimes I just sit there. I need help.

Every friday when I get back home from dropping the kids at school, the cleaning ladies are there so I sit in my car for awhile and relax from the stress of the week and listen to music. Combined with the heated seats and massage, it feels like a special treat. The car is a great stress reliever since just driving it can easily put a smile on your face.

 

[stratus]

You two are perfect example of my observations haha. You prefer the balance and he prefers the ooomph. Of course some speakers are objectively better than others but in the end it's how one enjoys their music which is subjective.

I consider myself a basshead. I have ridiculous equalizer setting on the sub and lower bass region I think from 40 to 80hz. I played around it. Below 30hz iirc was making me nauseous. Above 90hz it starts distorting some instruments. I turn it on and off with a button depending on music and current mood. I can tell bass quality apart though! There's clean powerful bass vs loud cranky bass. Good quality subwoofers tend to need higher volume to get to similar ooomph to those uhhh idk the word.. boomy subs? It's mostly that sound that we can physically feel that we bassheads like.

Does the Lucid have an EQ on and off button?

The car has a basic EQ and many people turn the bass up a bit. I have now settled on +4. I personally don’t think the system needs any additional customization, but others will disagree.

 

[MoniputerLM]

You have to turn the volume up on the Lucid because it’s calibrated to professional recording studio standard (I’m suspecting this may have been a requirement with Dolby Licensing rules, or maybe Lucid just made the choice to do it that way), it’s not a sign of inferiority or being underpowered. Mercedes and Lincoln are not calibrated to the same standard, though they are good sound systems.

Well, all I know is that the Mercedes and Lincoln systems sound better to me over a wide range of material. Just my opinion.

 

[hmp10]

Not weird, I do it when I am stressed or just need to stimulate my auditory senses. Sometimes when I get home from work and I want to strangler everyone I work with ( not really , but maybe ), I go listen to some tunes. Sometimes I drive, sometimes I just sit there. I need help.

Sometimes, if I've been listening to something I particularly like as I drive into the garage, I end up staying in the car for a while to explore other selections. I turn on the seat massager, and there have been times it's more than an hour before I go into the house. I have never done that in any other car. It's part the sound quality, part the seat massagers, and part the vibe of the Lucid interior and its subtle mood lighting in a dusky garage. No one even comes out any more to see if I'm okay.

 

[joec]

Well, all I know is that the Mercedes and Lincoln systems sound better to me over a wide range of material. Just my opinion.

And this is where the subjective part comes in. No one can argue with what you prefer. At least not sanely.

We’re talking about very good systems here in all three cars, for sure.

 

[Bobby]

Well, all I know is that the Mercedes and Lincoln systems sound better to me over a wide range of material. Just my opinion.

You have a Lincoln?

 

[LucidvsTeslaS]

Average consumers think of more bass= better system. That's why headphones like Beats got popular even though it's overpriced for it's overall sound quality.

It also requires time with proper quality audio gear or live music to train one's ears to better pick up small details.

Most importantly, it's sound and music preference. Rock music would sound dead if there's little bass. Orchestra and classicals would benefit more from better tuned mids and highs.

I'm also wondering if Lucid needs burn in period for its speakers?

With all due respect, I am not the average customer. I have an Atmos system at home in each one of my 4 bedrooms, and very high-end HiFi. HiFi is a hobby for me. I have the Buchardt A 700. Lucid audio engineers could learn some DSP tricks from Buchardt... https://buchardtaudio.com/collections/active-speakers/products/a700


I believe Bose is garbage for example, and overhyped. I know audio. The problem with Lucid, as I posted on youtube, is that it uses a subwoofer plus small diameter midbass speakers plus tweeters. Tesla bass is more integrated because it has some beefy midbass speakers in the doors, I think 5 or 6 inches. The problem with tesla is that those doors resonate a little at high volumes. Try a system with small satellites and sub, and then try a system with 6-inch speakers as satellites and sub, and see which one sounds better. I am not talking about punchiness, but the overall blending of sub and speakers. It should sound perfect with any music and have a FLAT response for the money I paid. period. Not have the 100-200 hs 10 dB deep, which is very audible. It falls apart at higher volumes. Low volume /moderate volume sounds OK. Very clear. I am not saying is a bad system. Regarding the highs, the BMW 840i Harman audio system blows away the Lucid