Surreal sound basic

[hydbob]

Thank you for your suggestion. You may be correct about Tidal. But I am not about to chase the tech to go to a particular service to get the most out of it. I was very satisfied with my base-line stereos in the previous cars mentioned tuned to their default settings etc.; I can't say the same thing for the Pro in Lucid. I was expecting something much better from a car at this price range. But, who knows, may be one day I will fall for Tidal and will get hooked.

This is like saying you love steak but expect a choice steak to taste as good as eating prime grade beef. If the input is shite, the output will be shite.

 

[stratus]

This is like saying you love steak but expect a choice steak to taste as good as eating prime grade beef. If the input it shite, the output will be shite.

Oh shite, you just went there.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

This is like saying you love steak but expect a choice steak to taste as good as eating prime grade beef. If the input is shite, the output will be shite.

I've had a good time at an Outback steakhouse ... perhaps it's managing expectations.

As a recovering audiophile I can say that the GT with the Tidal Dolby Atmos is by far the best car audio I have ever heard. When I listen at night, in the garage...it rivals dedicated listening rooms. It's really good.

On the filp side, I lost everything above 8k Hz standing next to the R speaker tower at the Com On Inn off Rt. 1 in Kennett Square when George Throughgood and the Delaware Destroyers made a last -before-fame appearance. Worth it. Good can be bad / bad can be good. How ya feel about it matters. Damn tinnitus though ...

 

[stratus]

I've had a good time at an Outback steakhouse ... perhaps it's managing expectations.

As a recovering audiophile I can say that the GT with the Tidal Dolby Atmos is by far the best car audio I have ever heard. When I listen at night, in the garage...it rivals dedicated listening rooms. It's really good.

On the filp side, I lost everything above 8k Hz standing next to the R speaker tower at the Com On Inn off Rt. 1 in Kennett Square when George Throughgood and the Delaware Destroyers made a last -before-fame appearance. Worth it. Good can be bad / bad can be good. How ya feel about it matters. Damn tinnitus though ...

Have you listened to Bad To The Bone , Atmos? It’s killer.

Yea, I’ve got tinnitus too; drives me bonkers sometimes.

 

[borski]

I mainly listen to podcasts, rock n' roll and classical music from my wired iPhone and FM radio.

Thank you for your suggestion. You may be correct about Tidal. But I am not about to chase the tech to go to a particular service to get the most out of it. I was very satisfied with my base-line stereos in the previous cars mentioned tuned to their default settings etc.; I can't say the same thing for the Pro in Lucid. I was expecting something much better from a car at this price range. But, who knows, may be one day I will fall for Tidal and will get hooked.

Thanks! But I am a fanatic when it comes to platform integration. I am on only one: Apple Music (or FM). So far, this has served me very well until I got the Lucid. I think that's the clearest test of a car's stereo relative to others. Everything is the same except the car.

The best analogy I have is that you bought an incredible set of chef’s knives, but continue to eat only Mac and cheese.

You have to use the system in the way it was intended in order to get the best use out of it. I know that you may not like that, but it’s the truth.

Any high fidelity system that is built to sound *accurate* and provide an accurate representation of the source input is going to highlight every mixing mistake, every mastering issue, and will also highlight the quality of the input; if it is low quality, it will *sound* low quality. That’s actually completely intentional.

Give it some FLACs or a tidal subscription with Atmos, and it blows you away with the quality and accurate representation. It’s as if you’re in the room with the artist.

But you have to start with good input, not Kraft. My hope (and frankly, expectation) is that over time they add more options for getting high quality tracks into the car. For right now, it’s only Tidal and a USB stick; in the future I expect Apple Music, Qobuz, and others. I’d be sad if they didn’t add additional options, even if I like Tidal.

Also: if what you’re expecting is club thumping bass, this isn’t the system to do that. It will pump out *plenty*, but will still keep it *accurate* in nature, without making it sound too boomy, distorted, or allowing it to take over the other instruments. It lets you hear the music *as the artist and recording/mixing/mastering engineers intended it*, which may not be how you enjoy it.

It certainly is how I enjoy it though; as a result of all the care they put in to making it as accurate and flat response as possible, I have actually started using the Lucid as a test rig for my own mixes. If I can get it to sound great in there, I can be fairly certain it will sound good once mastered; it’s equivalent and maybe better, tbh, than my studio monitors.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I like that analogy. You can slather your kraft mac and cheese in hot sauce if all you want is to blow your mouth off, but it's not exactly fine dining ...

 

[Mjrayd8]

If it's truly that bad, have service look at it to make sure it's functioning as it should?

I happen to live close to a Lucid service center so I'll have them check it out and keep u posted. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Impatient7536]

feel like most people have just become used to heavier than normal/intended bass in their music because that's one of the easiest ways to mask shitty production, music quality, and sound system design. so when there's a more refined sound system that's tailored to other aspects, they aren't used to it. hopefully by offering some objective explanation and technical background, they'd add it to their frame of reference and understanding. but in the end, no one is right or wrong, since this is a purely subjective matter.

and since everyone is giving analogies, my crude example would be guys who have death grip syndrome, a chase down the path of least resistance, only to find your "normal" to be completely skewed from reality.

 

[dingo]

I’m really glad I found this thread because I’ve been struggling pretty hard with my audio quality in my Pure since getting it 1 month ago. I came from a Model Y Performance and, say what you will about inputs, it didn’t matter the input the audio was excellent in that car.

This one has been a challenge. I set it now do that the audio is slightly toward the rear seats and that has helped a bit. I really don’t want to put a sub in a leased car but may have to.

 

[borski]

I’m really glad I found this thread because I’ve been struggling pretty hard with my audio quality in my Pure since getting it 1 month ago. I came from a Model Y Performance and, say what you will about inputs, it didn’t matter the input the audio was excellent in that car.

This one has been a challenge. I set it now do that the audio is slightly toward the rear seats and that has helped a bit. I really don’t want to put a sub in a leased car but may have to.

Try Tidal or USB audio.

 

[dingo]

I’ll give the tidal trial a shot but .. why can’t I listen to what I always have and enjoy it lol

I had no issues with any of it over years….

 

[borski]

I’ll give the tidal trial a shot but .. why can’t I listen to what I always have and enjoy it lol

I had no issues with any of it over years….

You certainly can listen to lower quality audio. It will just sound like lower quality audio because a high fidelity sound system does not mask any of the flaws in the lower quality recordings.

So listen to whatever you'd like, but what you get out will sound better or worse based on what you put in.

Similarly, you may very much enjoy listening to a vinyl record (and I do, often), but if you plug an old vinyl record player into a Lucid it's not going to sound very good either.

 

[xponents]

You certainly can listen to lower quality audio. It will just sound like lower quality audio because a high fidelity sound system does not mask any of the flaws in the lower quality recordings.

So listen to whatever you'd like, but what you get out will sound better or worse based on what you put in.

Similarly, you may very much enjoy listening to a vinyl record (and I do, often), but if you plug an old vinyl record player into a Lucid it's not going to sound very good either.

Surreal sound basic though we have almost no idea about. Have you tried it out?

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

Similarly, you may very much enjoy listening to a vinyl record (and I do, often), but if you plug an old vinyl record player into a Lucid it's not going to sound very good either.

 

[borski]

Surreal sound basic though we have almost no idea about. Have you tried it out?

No - that’s fair. I have not tested out the non-Pro version.

 

[xponents]

No - that’s fair. I have not tested out the non-Pro version.

I have never seen it in my times visiting the studio, is it even stocked for demo cars? It would make sense if they didnt, but at the same time you want to see all options. Then again, the GT has been removed from display...

 

[Babyrocko1908]

If I may suggest you get Tidal and listen to some Atmos tracks; it is second to none.
Even non-Atmos hifi sounds fantastic with the upgraded system. I find it disappointing to listen to music in other autos now, because the Lucid’s system is just superior, when either the appropriate streaming service or a USB stick with high quality audio , such as FLAC files , are used.

And Tidal's Flac/Max tracks are excellent as well.

 

[Babyrocko1908]

This I agree with. To some the system might sound exceptional but that is probably also based on what they are coming from. My Tesla Model S Bass was much much better but I guess if you did not come from something better it would be great to some. I definately expected more for what the Lucid premium upgrade cost.,

Okay, I really hate to be this person, but Tesla's system has nothing, and I mean nothing on Lucid's SSPro Atmos or Max/Flac tracks. Don't believe me, have a listen to these two identical songs by Jack Harlow on my Twitter page. The first video is me sitting in the rear center seat of my Lucid recorded with my Note 20 Ultra. The second video is taken by @blueice89 in his old Model S Plaid he sold to upgrade to the Lucid. The Model S Plaid sounds like garbage compared to Lucid's SSPro Atmos. You can hear how the producer sent different instruments & sounds from the track to the Atmos channels/speakers. Listen closely to 33 sec mark for the clearest reference in the Lucid. That's SSPro, that's Atmos!

https://x.com/Babyrocko1908/status/1653967515200937984?s=20

 

[Babyrocko1908]

To further the points about utilizing the system properly and maximizing it to it's fullest potential first, your source material is key to unleashing the full potential of Lucid's base SS or SSPro and second, Tidal's superiority over most, if not all other streaming services, take a listen to Hotel California playing in SSPro in Tidal's Max/Flac quality. This is mind blowing for a song released in 1976! I was two years old when this classic was recorded, Two!!

Finally, let me just add, for those on the fence about getting Tidal, don't be. It's worth the $20 bucks per month or in my case, $31 bucks per month since I have the family plan.

https://x.com/Babyrocko1908/status/1699845771275755867?s=20

 

[tmilone103]

Okay, I really hate to be this person, but Tesla's system has nothing, and I mean nothing on Lucid's SSPro Atmos or Max/Flac tracks. Don't believe me, have a listen to these two identical songs by Jack Harlow on my Twitter page. The first video is me sitting in the rear center seat of my Lucid recorded with my Note 20 Ultra. The second video is taken by @blueice89 in his old Model S Plaid he sold to upgrade to the Lucid. The Model S Plaid sounds like garbage compared to Lucid's SSPro Atmos. You can hear how the producer sent different instruments & sounds from the track to the Atmos channels/speakers. Listen closely to 33 sec mark for the clearest reference in the Lucid. That's SSPro, that's Atmos!

https://x.com/Babyrocko1908/status/1653967515200937984?s=20

Guess it depends on the type of music you listen too... I may be 50 years old but I like bass that shakes the mirrors and you can fee it in your gut. Tesla system sounds way better in that regard. The Lucid system does not even have a subwoofer level control which is crazy for a $2900 upgrade.