How to Improve a Rivian R1T's Meridian Sound System w/ Simple EQ Changes (Equipment Measured Tests & Results) + Comparison to Elevation System

[zefram47]

Interesting so many different takes on the update. My initial reaction was that I hated it. They bumped the gain so that I'm now having to listen most of the time at 6 where I was at 9 and it's quite loud if you go over 9 or even 12. Everything seems really bass heavy and to my ear it's actually muddier as a result (listening on Spotify with max quality). A few Atmos tracks sound okay, but only if I neutralize the EQ where I normally use the Rock preset. I guess I'm just going to need to tune a custom one, but that would be easier if they'd give us custom presets we could actually save/recall.

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[NoGoingBack]

+1 on being able to save custom eq settings. Been on my wish list since day one.
As to the new update, try this for a few days. Turn off all the 3D stuff and dynamic volume adjustments in the audio settings and set the eq to flat. Give your ears some time to adjust. For me it sounds like way more than just a volume boost. It seems like they have adjusted the sound profile a bit too. I always used the rock eq setting before, but now I have it set to the flat default and it sounds way better to me across all the audio apps. I am really liking Apple Music now though. There is a noticeable quality difference between it and Spotify. I may end up switching at the end of the trial. I also turned off Atmos in the Apple app, I don’t care for surround sound or any of that on normal music. Especially tracks that were not originally mastered with Spatial Audio in mind. With these settings I am enjoying the meridian much more. It reaffirms my initial impressions of the system. The two weakest links in the system is the 6x9 subwoofer, and the quality of the streaming sources. I still want USB audio so I can play my lossless music collection with out streaming, especially when I’m in the middle of nowhere with out internet. Bluetooth audio just doesn’t cut it. I will have to have to pull the trigger on a sub upgrade sometime in the near future.

 

[dleepnw]

Interesting so many different takes on the update. My initial reaction was that I hated it. They bumped the gain so that I'm now having to listen most of the time at 6 where I was at 9 and it's quite loud if you go over 9 or even 12. Everything seems really bass heavy and to my ear it's actually muddier as a result (listening on Spotify with max quality). A few Atmos tracks sound okay, but only if I neutralize the EQ where I normally use the Rock preset. I guess I'm just going to need to tune a custom one, but that would be easier if they'd give us custom presets we could actually save/recall.

100% agree. im experiencing the same thing. i hate the boost in volume. now its either off, whisper, or loud. used to have great volume control between 1-5 so i could have a conversation and still hear music. now it has to be basically off (or at 1) and im constantly adjusting when talking with someone in the truck.

with the same EQ settings and same sources, the audio has become muted, muddy, hollow. the punch and crispness of the Meridian system is gone. ive done the resets and now im fiddling with the EQ. why change what sounded great? i get the Elevation system sounded awful but adjust that and leave the Meridian alone. WTF Rivian?

 

[dleepnw]

[Cross posting from the R1S Elevation thread.]

At long last, I got together with @skyote to measure his Gen 1 R1S Meridian. We met at the Austin Showroom where Skyler made it possible to measure the Gen 2 R1S Premium. It was hot out but we had a good time.

I'm going to post write-ups of both systems in 3-4 weeks after I get back from vacation, but suffice it to say I'm quite confident Rivian implemented the Gen 1 R1S Elevation system improperly after they swapped out the Meridian drivers and made whatever other changes. The Gen 1 R1S Meridian does not have the same major issue at 1 kHz, has more headroom (can get louder before it starts distorting), and generally sounds and measures better.

I can't imagine anyone preferring the Elevation system over the Meridian, despite what Rivian claims, unless Rivian deliberately worded the question to get that response. E.g., "Would you prefer the Elevation system over the Meridian if it cost $4,000 less and you'd get your vehicle sooner?" Surely, most people would have answered "yes" to that.

The Gen 2 R1S Premium sounds ok after some tweaks. Skyler and I ran short on time so I couldn't A/B the Gen 1 Meridian and Gen 2 Premium systems properly. However, from memory, the Gen 1 Meridian systems (both in the R1S and R1T) are the most enjoyable Rivian systems to my ears, especially after making a few EQ tweaks.

Skyler and I will try to use this data to chat with Rivian cabin engineering about possible improvements. If anyone has a contact over there, please DM us.

More to come.

id love to hear your opinion on the latest update. some thoughts on the Meridian system after the update:

• no surprise but everything got louder (not a good thing imo) - less control over volume levels now. i have to turn it down to 1 or off to have a conversation whereas before i could leave it at 3-4, still hear music and have conversation. now i have to turn it down to speak/listen and then turn it back up to hear the audio. and whats the point of having a system that goes up to 30 when you cant even hit 20 without serious distortion now. prior to this i could go to 20-22, where it was on the border of uncomfortably loud, but the sound quality and balance was still amazing.
• there's less punch and clarity - prior to the update the audio was clear, balanced, and sounded good at any volume. now it just sounds muted, hollow, lacks punch in low, mid, and high frequencies sound screechy.
• audio distorts the louder you get. it used to sound amazing at any volume. now anything past 16-17 gets distorted and unbalanced.

just an awful update for Meridian systems. i know sound can be subjective but the sound quality has degraded in just about every way imo.

 

[Olsonsolar]

100% agree. im experiencing the same thing. i hate the boost in volume. now its either off, whisper, or loud. used to have great volume control between 1-5 so i could have a conversation and still hear music. now it has to be basically off (or at 1) and im constantly adjusting when talking with someone in the truck.

with the same EQ settings and same sources, the audio has become muted, muddy, hollow. the punch and crispness of the Meridian system is gone. ive done the resets and now im fiddling with the EQ. why change what sounded great? i get the Elevation system sounded awful but adjust that and leave the Meridian alone. WTF Rivian?

I hate what they did to the volume. Basically have no control on the volume. Totally agree it is either off or too loud to have a conversation.

 

[COdogman]

After having a second opportunity to listen for an hour or so yesterday (been working from home a lot lately), I have to agree there is far less detail in the sound quality since the update with the EQ still using the settings recommended by @superfluid here. Also agree they went too far on the gain boost. The stage sounds totally different now. This time I listened using the BT app through Apple Music app on my phone.

When using the Rivian Apple Music app about 20% of the Atmos enabled songs sound great and the rest are either ok or terrible. Only allowing 100 songs max on a playlist is pretty weird, but hopefully they can improve on that in the future. Still glad to have Apple Music as an option now.

Aside from the loudness issue I think we will be able to find new settings that sound good, but it probably means starting from scratch again. Pretty crazy they can totally change your audio system with a software update

 

[babalegba]

I had some initial issues as well after the update. Apple music was causing issues and affecting all other audio sources too. The volume issue was a bit of a headache too...there was nothing between a volume 0 and 1. 0 was dead quiet and 1 was pretty loud.

Logged a ticket with Rivian for the audio issues being caused on other sources like FM, etc.

Got a call from Rivian. They asked me to turn off spatial audio in Apple music for now. The option is buggy for now, and Rivian will push an update.

I can confirm my issues have been resolved by turning it off. And volume has normalized quite a lot as well.

 

[NoGoingBack]

I had some initial issues as well after the update. Apple music was causing issues and affecting all other audio sources too. The volume issue was a bit of a headache too...there was nothing between a volume 0 and 1. 0 was dead quiet and 1 was pretty loud.

Logged a ticket with Rivian for the audio issues being caused on other sources like FM, etc.

Got a call from Rivian. They asked me to turn off spatial audio in Apple music for now. The option is buggy for now, and Rivian will push an update.

I can confirm my issues have been resolved by turning it off. And volume has normalized quite a lot as well.

I had a similar problem, couldn’t understand what every one was raving about with the Atmos stuff. Absolutely hated the update at first. I turned off Atmos in the apple Music app and rebooted the system. Everything got better after that. I also have the 3d stuff, and dynamic sound turned off. EQ set to flat for now. Will have to play with to find a custom setting.

 

[Stainer85]

Unfortunately, it seems Rivian listened to all the bass-hungry folks complaining that there was too little bass output. It seems their fix was to jack the gain sky-high, creating a ton more bass, although it was more than adequate before. The result is a degradation of sound quality and introducing distortion that previously didn't exist. The sound of the Meridian system used to be full, balanced, and nuanced, with great depth, detail, separation, and a good soundstage. Now, it’s a muddy mess of over-amplification and distortion. That might be a little bit of an exaggeration. It’s decent now, but before, it was fantastic, especially with the correct EQ settings.

People just had it in their heads that a 6x9 speaker is not an adequate subwoofer. I respectfully disagree as I have built several systems in the past where the largest set of speakers in the vehicle was a set of 6x9” speakers, and listeners would routinely ask me if I had 10-inch subs in the vehicle. Yes, physics is physics, mass is mass, and so on, someone will surely argue. However, with quality components and the proper setup, you don’t need 15-inch high SPL subwoofers to get good bass output. My preference is speakers that accurately and clearly reproduce the original recording as closely as possible rather than a system that will play at high DB levels and sound like shit. However, I understand most humans perceive higher volume as fuller, better sound, and here we are. Rivian listened to the complaints, jacked the gain, and we got a downgrade in sound system quality.

I hope Rivian reverses the audio portion of the update. I will take sound quality over volume any day. After all, what good is volume if the sound is distorted at those higher volumes, and it’s painful to listen to at those levels anyway?

 

[Biturbowned]

Haven’t deep-dived this thread, but thought I’d share my findings today. I felt that the gain was too high and I didn’t really like listening to Apple Music above about volume 7 and it felt a little blown out, especially in the base frequencies. I turned off the speed compensation and now my comfortable volume is around 11 and it sounds better to my ears. For folks that feel the volume sensitivity is too high, try turning off the speed compensation.

 

[Aardvark]

I'm sure this question has been answered, but I couldn't find it when searching.
How does one know whether they have the Meridian or the Elevation sound system?
I looked both on the app and the car center console. I have a September 2023 R1S. When did the change occur?
Thanks.

 

[COdogman]

I'm sure this question has been answered, but I couldn't find it when searching.
How does one know whether they have the Meridian or the Elevation sound system?
I looked both on the app and the car center console. I have a September 2023 R1S. When did the change occur?
Thanks.

It will say Meridian on your door speaker grills and also in the audio UI if yours is Meridian. They made the change in Fall 2022 but my 2023 (June delivery) still has Meridian.

 

[rkalbiar]

Any updates on R1T Meridian Sound System settings? Post latest update? @superfluid and Co?
Thanks

 

[superfluid]

Any updates on R1T Meridian Sound System settings? Post latest update? @superfluid and Co?
Thanks

It’s on the agenda. Likely in a few weeks. Been quite busy and need to coordinate with Meridian owners. Probably an R1S first.

 

[rkalbiar]

Appreciate you. Thanks for the effort!

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