Speaker Locations, Sizes, Types?

[JayWebbMD]

So to clarify, are you saying these are more akin to open baffle subs than ported subs or that the ports are so wide though stuffed and sound is folded around like a transmission line design?

I have yet to hear this system in person, but I almost never like anything other than high powered sealed subs because although they can extend low the sounds just can't remain cohesively tight and speakers end up slow so the sound ends up sloppy or loose. Excellent examples would be trying to listen at any significant volume to the sound of Lars Ulrich's kick bass drums on the Song "One" by Metallica, or low notes on a double bass listening to jazz, a lot of EDM style music low bass percussion notes, or material from The Prodigy or Nine Inch Nails. In any of these cases if I put them on a ported system I can pretty much instantly tell and it's like my ears do an eye-roll that's just like: Thank you... next?

I have yet to hear from a picky audiophile specific comments about the sound of the CT/CB subs vs tight sealed high powered subs in this regard.

For reference, the sub I use for my home theater setup is a 4000w (sustained, not peak) 18" woofer from Deep Sea Sound paired with Martin Logan hybrid electrostatics.

I would love to hear some opinions from those that have a similar strong preference for sealed subs and what their opinion of the CT/CB audio system is like to listen to when really pushing the subs.

Thanks for the info you posted. Quite helpful.

Cheers

Of course, everyone’s ears and listening preferences vary. I don’t consider myself an audiophile because I can’t tell you the difference in the “sound of an amplifier” and I don’t recall my listening experiences on a specific set of obscure speakers from 20 years ago. But I was a car stereo installer for about 8 years and have a pretty high bar for what I consider “good sound.” I was very excited to hear the cybertruck because I had heard the same thing in the reviews about how amazing it is. If you’re accustomed to high powered home audio or even modestly upgraded car audio, prepare yourself to be disappointed. All of the positive things you can say about it will be followed by the qualifier “for a factory system in a car.” The sound stage is high and immersive, the sound environment is quiet and uniform throughout the front seat listening area, the high and low frequency response is great, and the power is impressive…for a factory system in a car. Where it doesn’t meet my threshold is the 70 mph windows down test. I like to hear vocals clearly without stressing the system. It gets close at fully max volume, but you start to hear all kinds of peaks and valleys, clipping, and bass distortion and words get muffled. I’m hoping that with my aftermarket subwoofers, I can decrease the bass in the door speakers and squeeze out a little more volume in the vocal range and not have to do the headache of amplifying and upgrading all the other speakers.

Regarding the quality of the bass, I played around with the subs this morning to see how much of a difference it would make moving the subs from their location where they are flushed against the additional deadspace in the body to the open air and it’s dramatic. They essentially go silent because of cancellation. As they get closer to the deadspace, they gradually increase in volume, but it sounds like a ported enclosure everywhere. There’s never a change where the bass becomes tighter like you prefer. The seal between the plastic enclosure and the metal of the vehicle is low density open cell foam. So the seal is essentially acting like a very short 1/4” x (perimeter of the opening) port between two sealed spaces and is probably only lined with foam to keep it from rattling or getting trash in that space.

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[XCeilidhX]

Of course, everyone’s ears and listening preferences vary. I don’t consider myself an audiophile because I can’t tell you the difference in the “sound of an amplifier” and I don’t recall my listening experiences on a specific set of obscure speakers from 20 years ago. But I was a car stereo installer for about 8 years and have a pretty high bar for what I consider “good sound.” I was very excited to hear the cybertruck because I had heard the same thing in the reviews about how amazing it is. If you’re accustomed to high powered home audio or even modestly upgraded car audio, prepare yourself to be disappointed. All of the positive things you can say about it will be followed by the qualifier “for a factory system in a car.” The sound stage is high and immersive, the sound environment is quiet and uniform throughout the front seat listening area, the high and low frequency response is great, and the power is impressive…for a factory system in a car. Where it doesn’t meet my threshold is the 70 mph windows down test. I like to hear vocals clearly without stressing the system. It gets close at fully max volume, but you start to hear all kinds of peaks and valleys, clipping, and bass distortion and words get muffled. I’m hoping that with my aftermarket subwoofers, I can decrease the bass in the door speakers and squeeze out a little more volume in the vocal range and not have to do the headache of amplifying and upgrading all the other speakers.

Regarding the quality of the bass, I played around with the subs this morning to see how much of a difference it would make moving the subs from their location where they are flushed against the additional deadspace in the body to the open air and it’s dramatic. They essentially go silent because of cancellation. As they get closer to the deadspace, they gradually increase in volume, but it sounds like a ported enclosure everywhere. There’s never a change where the bass becomes tighter like you prefer. The seal between the plastic enclosure and the metal of the vehicle is low density open cell foam. So the seal is essentially acting like a very short 1/4” x (perimeter of the opening) port between two sealed spaces and is probably only lined with foam to keep it from rattling or getting trash in that space.

First of all:

Thank you for taking the time to write out such a thoughtful reply. I really appreciate it.

Your description is helpful and specific. I've been thinking I'm probably gonna' have to shell out for the light harmonic full package once it's available and I have my truck and it's sounding (pun not intended but unavoidable) more and more like that's something I'll have to work into my budgeting despite the glowing reviews of the system.

Cheers

 

[mongo]

So to clarify, are you saying these are more akin to open baffle subs than ported subs or that the ports are so wide though stuffed and sound is folded around like a transmission line design?

If I follow correctly:
Tesla is using the body cavity as part of the enclosure, so the hole isn't a port but rather an air passage linking the two volumes.

 

[HaulingAss]

If I follow correctly:
Tesla is using the body cavity as part of the enclosure, so the hole isn't a port but rather an air passage linking the two volumes.

Exactly. Which would make it a sealed sub unless the other ends of the frame member are not plugged . It shows some real communication between departments, as well as planning and foresight, the way they were able to accomplish such good sound while consuming such a small amount of the cabin space.

 

[CyberGian]

And that's after the packets make it through the Etherloop

It's possible they didn't use “A2B” bus on the audio downlink. The audio may be transmitted directly to each zonal controller via Etherloop.

 

[mongo]

It's possible they didn't use “A2B” bus on the audio downlink. The audio may be transmitted directly to each zonal controller via Etherloop.

Yah, Etherloop is the only data connection between the five main nodes (left, right, rear, media, autopilot). There could be a more conventional audio bus from the network micro to the amplifiers.

 

[CyberGian]

Yah, Etherloop is the only data connection between the five main nodes (left, right, rear, media, autopilot). There could be a more conventional audio bus from the network micro to the amplifiers.

In the diagram, the signal output from the Left Controller is already an "Analog Out", which is directly used to drive speakers. So I infer that they have integrated the amplifier chip into the network micro, bypassing the use of conventional audio bus.

 

[mongo]

In the diagram, the signal output from the Left Controller is already an "Analog Out", which is directly used to drive speakers. So I infer that they have integrated the amplifier chip into the network micro, bypassing the use of conventional audio bus.

The controller PCB has both the network interface and audio amplifiers on it, but that doesn't mean the DAC is built into the micro. That might require an ASIC or multidie package which would likely still have a bus type link from the two domains.

I'm not advocating for any specific bus, was initially calling out that any audio goes via Etherloop (even if only as a wrapper around another protocol).

 

[CyberGian]

The controller PCB has both the network interface and audio amplifiers on it, but that doesn't mean the DAC is built into the micro. That might require an ASIC or multidie package which would likely still have a bus type link from the two domains.

I'm not advocating for any specific bus, was initially calling out that any audio goes via Etherloop (even if only as a wrapper around another protocol).

Yeah, I agree with you. As far as I know, this kind of bus is usually TDM or I2S.

 

[zacjones99]

And connectors:
X0053: https://service.tesla.com/docs/Cybertruck/ElectricalReference/prog-242/connector/x0053/
X0054: https://service.tesla.com/docs/Cybertruck/ElectricalReference/prog-242/connector/x0054/

It's on the first page of the schematic

So much good info in this thread. Thanks for posting!

Are there any vehicle photos that identify the distribution modules that would need to be tapped for the sub and midbass? The subwoofers can be tapped right at the connectors to the enclosure, but I'd rather tap coming out of the distribution module if possible, and I'd certainly rather tap the midbass at the source and not in the door to avoid running wires back and forth...

 

[mongo]

So much good info in this thread. Thanks for posting!

Are there any vehicle photos that identify the distribution modules that would need to be tapped for the sub and midbass? The subwoofers can be tapped right at the connectors to the enclosure, but I'd rather tap coming out of the distribution module if possible, and I'd certainly rather tap the midbass at the source and not in the door to avoid running wires back and forth...

Pages 4 and 5 of the schematic have the other speakers which are fed by left, right, and rear control modules. Take the connector number and look it up here for position:
https://service.tesla.com/docs/Cybertruck/ElectricalReference/prog-242/connector/x0011/

 

[zacjones99]

Pages 4 and 5 of the schematic have the other speakers which are fed by left, right, and rear control modules. Take the connector number and look it up here for position:
https://service.tesla.com/docs/Cybertruck/ElectricalReference/prog-242/connector/x0011/

Fantastic! Thanks again!!

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