Best Tesla EQ Audio and Sound Settings For Every Model

I have a diploma in Sound Engineering and I often obsess with getting the perfect sound in a car. Like me, many Tesla owners want to get the best out of the already impressive sound system that Tesla has to offer. So, what are the best Tesla audio settings? In my opinion, the best Tesla EQ audio and sound settings for every model are:

1. For the Model S, set the bass to +2, the treble to +4, and the fade to -2.
2. For the Model X, set the bass to +1, the treble to +5, and the fade to -1.
3. For the Model 3, set the bass to +5, the treble to +4, and the fade to -1.
4. For the Model Y, set the bass to 5, the treble to 4, and the fade to -1.
5. For all Tesla EQ audio and sound settings, set the subwoofer setting to 7.

The Tesla EQ settings are very clear and precise, so you shouldn’t have a problem getting it exactly right. With a few simple tweaks, you can create a sound system that is both powerful and clear. By following the extra tips in this post, you can ensure that your Tesla’s sound system is the best it can be.

How To Set The Best Audio Settings in a Tesla

Setting the best audio settings in your Tesla depends primarily on the type of music you’re listening to and what you hope to get out of your listening experience.

To access equalization settings in your Tesla, select Settings at the bottom of your Media Player.

1. Try the ‘Flat’ Preset

While it’s fun to customize the way music sounds, sometimes the default is best. In fact, most music is developed to sound the way it is under ‘flat’ conditions – that is, without equalization. Virtually all equalizers, including Tesla, have a flat setting. Ideally, you should select this setting and listen to your music with a critical ear. 

Flat doesn’t always work because speakers aren’t perfect, nor are their reproductions of the sound it’s playing. But a lot of the time you’d be surprised at how good the flat setting works for music! 

2. Try the Presets

If you’re a bit of an audiophile and like to tweak your music, try changing the settings while you listen to your music. So now you’re parked and have your favorite tunes playing, you’re no doubt wondering where to start. 

You can’t go wrong with flipping through the presets. If you’re a rock fan, you should try that preset, and hip-hop will enhance that type of music too – hip-hop is notorious for heavy bass, and rock will enhance the mids and treble a bit while keeping bass respectable.

If you’re not into tweaking every little aspect, you can’t go wrong with just finding a preset that sounds good and sticking with it.

3. Customize Your Equalizer Frequencies

If you want more control, Tesla allows you to adjust five frequencies – Bass, Bass-Mid, Mid, Mid-Treble, and Treble. These are controlled on the touchscreen with sliders that adjust the dB, or decibels of each frequency – decibel is how volume is measured for each frequency.

The ‘best’ equalizer settings are highly subjective and depend on personal preference.

If I had to recommend where to start, though, I would recommend a few places where you can start to tweak your equalizer settings and figure out what you like in your music.

Some suggestions are:

• Raise the bass slider by 0.5 or 1dB while listening to your preferred music. If you don’t notice much of a difference, continue raising it until you like how it sounds. Bass is generally good for any type of music.
• Raise the treble by 3dB increments until it begins to sound harsh, then reduce by 1dB increments until it sounds good without being harsh or tinny. Treble often needs to be increased because ideally tweeters are pointed at the head, but most car stereos, including Teslas, are not like this.
• If the instrumentals are too prominent, the mids are probably to blame. If it’s bassy instrumentals, slightly lower the bass-mid setting. If the instruments are high, lower mid, or mid-treble.
• For hip-hop and rap music, raise the bass until you’re satisfied with the thump you get from the music. Mid may need to be slightly raised as well to help vocals compensate for the bass increase.

In the end, there are no ideal or perfect equalization settings, but these are a few good places to start. There are five sliders to tweak, after all, so go play some music and mess around with them!

Don’t forget to adjust your balance to match who’s riding in the car, too.

What are the best EQ Audio Settings in a Tesla Model 3?

In a Tesla Model 3, the best audio settings are those that allow for a clear and balanced sound. The car’s sound system is designed to produce excellent sound quality, so there is no need to make any radical adjustments to the EQ settings.

However, if you prefer a particular type of music or want to boost certain frequencies, you can use the car’s built-in equalizer to adjust the sound to your liking. Simply access the Settings menu from the touchscreen display and select the Audio tab.

From here, you can tweak the bass, mids, and treble levels to suit your preferences. Keep in mind that making major changes to the EQ settings can adversely affect the overall sound quality, so it’s best to make small adjustments until you find a setting that you’re happy with.

What are the preferred Tesla Model Y Equalizer Settings?

The best audio settings for the Tesla Model Y are: treble at 8, bass at 5, fader at 4, and balance at 0. Similarly, it can be helpful to slightly boost the midrange frequencies around 600 Hz and treble frequencies around 2-4 kHz for a clearer and more detailed listening experience.

Of course, you can adjust these settings to your own liking.

To get the best overall sound experience from your Tesla, avoid big boosts or cuts from any of the frequencies, as this can lead to an artificial or muddy sound.

Experimentation is key when finding the perfect equalizer settings for your own personal taste, so be sure to take some time to play around with the different options until you find what sounds best to you.

When it comes to audio settings, there are a few things to consider.

1. The Model Y has an EQ that can be used to fine-tune the sound system.
2. The car’s sound system can be set to Mono, Stereo, or Surround Sound.
3. The car’s speakers can be adjusted independently, allowing for a more customized experience.
4. The car has an AutoVolume feature that automatically adjusts the volume based on road and wind noise.
5. The car has a subwoofer that can be turned on or off depending on your preference.

Overall, the best audio settings for the Tesla Model Y will vary depending on your personal preferences and listening habits.

What Are The Best Tesla Equalizer Settings for a Model S?

I reccommend the following equalizer settings in a Model S: set the bass to +2, the treble to +4, and the fade to -2. However, like I’ve said previously, these settings can also depend on what you’re listening to and your personal preference.

How Does Audio Work In A Tesla?

If you’re no stranger to new cars, you probably know that most cars these days are equipped with touchscreens that control their music, radio, navigation, phone calls, and various other functions. In this regard, Teslas are no different.

Teslas support FM/AM radio, internet radio, DAB (digital audio broadcasting) radio, and have Bluetooth or USB audio file compatibility.

This gives users a wide range of audio choices to occupy themselves while they drive, including talk shows, music, podcasts, and more.

By the way, I wrote a related article called getting the best subwoofer for your Tesla. Check it out!

Tesla has a few premium options that set them apart from other car brands, including Premium Connectivity, Immersive Sound, and Ultra High Fidelity Sound. While the latter two actually alter the sound, Premium Connectivity is a data plan that lets you access a cellular data network.

The most important aspects that affect audio, and music, in particular, are your equalizer settings – these include treble, bass, and mids. Anyone passingly familiar with audio will know these settings well, but not everyone knows how to take advantage of these settings.

What Is Tesla Immersive Sound?

Immersive Sound is a premium audio option for Teslas, and effectively creates a sense of audio immersion by employing delays in sound to create the illusion of the sound coming from three dimensions. This creates the sense of the music being heightened, establishing a new surround sound-like feel.

Immersive Audio can be turned off, on, and controlled in increments depending on whether your Tesla has a partial-premium package or full premium. Partial-premium users only have on, off, and auto.

Immersive Sound also controls the level of reverb and echo, further enhancing audio. To access this setting, go to your Settings in the Media player and there should be a slider for Immersive Sound.

Immersive Sound may sound like it’s a good thing, and it usually is, but you may wish to turn it off under some circumstances. For example, you don’t really need immersive audio to listen to a radio talk show or podcast.

Some types of music, too, may benefit from turning the setting off, but you have to tweak the setting along with your favorite tunes to find out what best suits your needs.

Pro Tip: Can you use Slacker without Teslas Premium Connectivity?

You can re-add and use Slacker even if you are not connected to Tesla’s Premium Connectivity. Simply connect to Premium Connectivity again and you’ll be able to request a song on Slacker (using the Tesla account). If you go ahead and cancel Premium Connectivity, you’ll still be able to use Slacker while using the Hotspot in your car. You can ask for any song and play it even if you are creating the Hotspot yourself.

What Is Tesla’s Ultra-High Fidelity Sound?

Ultra-High Fidelity Sound, or UHFS, is a premium audio package available on older used Model S and X Teslas. In more recent models, including the Model 3, UHFS has been repackaged into ‘Premium Sound’ and included in every Tesla.

So, for new Teslas, this doesn’t exist. But if you’re concerned about finding a used Tesla with the best possible audio, you may want to look for one that’s equipped with UHFS.

There are a number of differences between a regular Model S or X and one that has UHFS, and they have a big impact.

Some features of UHFS that aren’t found in a regular old Model S or X include:

• 560 watts (versus the standard 200w)
• 5 more speakers (versus the standard 6)
• 8” subwoofer
• Dolby Pro-Logic Technology
• XM Radio

It’s important to know that the newer Model 3s have a totally different stereo system that doesn’t include UHFS under any name, but many people believe its audio system is superior to those packaged in Models X and S.

So if you’re in the market for a used Tesla Model X or S, ask the owners if the car has UHFS. This may also drive the price of a Tesla up, so bear that in mind when looking: UHFS was originally between $990 and $2500, so you’ll have to consider what kind of deal you can make.

What is the Difference Between the Model 3 Standard and Premium Audio Systems?

The Premium Audio system comes with more speakers and amplifiers. The speakers used in the standard Model 3 are the same ones that are used in the Premium versions. The only difference is that you get more of them.

How Does the Equalizer Work in a Tesla?

The equalizers in Teslas aren’t magically different from other equalizers, and in fact, still accomplish roughly the same thing as many early digital equalizers. Presets are available such as Hip-Hop, Rock, Bass Boost, and more. 

Equalizers control how prominent different types of frequencies are within the audio. You may wish to have very loud treble (high-pitched tones) and little bass for certain situations, for instance, or vice versa.

Certain types of music, too, are ideally listened to with certain equalization settings. 

But first, let’s check out exactly what treble, bass, and mids do for the music you listen to.

Treble

Many prominent female vocals fall within the umbrella of treble, or high-pitched tones. Lowering treble on an equalizer may cause female vocals and other high-pitched instruments to sound muffled or hushed, while drums and other mids will overpower them.

It’s critical to balance treble with mids and bass to ‘brighten’ the music – this means that the treble balances the ‘dark’ mids and bass in music.

Treble is crucial because it helps add clarity, focus, and aggression to music. Many people focus on bass for their bass-heavy music without realizing that it still won’t sound right if your treble is off.

Mids

Most sound falls under the hat of mids. The low range of mid, or low-mid, includes deeper male vocals, bass guitars, and some lower electric guitar sounds. Snare, tom-tom, and other drums usually fall here, too. A fun fact is that most hearing is focused within this range, so it’s absolutely critical you have the right balance of mids.

Electric guitar, higher male vocals, and deeper female vocals often fall under high-mid. These can be some of the most important sounds, but too much can sound brittle, peaky, or harsh. 

Bass

Bass is over-emphasized in a lot of circles, especially audiophile and hip-hop communities.

Bass provides music with a punchy quality that you can feel – it’s exciting to be able to feel your music in your seat, right? Well, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that balance is important, and that goes for bass too.

Too much bass can overpower the other tones in your music that help come together and make the music what it is – vocals and other instruments will sound muffled underneath the overpowering bass.

For most music, a fine balance of bass is important, while others place a high value on lots of bass. It all depends on your music.

Balance

The front-back balance of your music is critical to ensuring a good listening experience for the driver as well as any passengers who may be riding in the back seat.

If it’s just you as the driver in the car, setting the balance to the front may be ideal. However, if you regularly ride with other people in your Tesla, you’ll probably want to push the balance back a little so the people in the back can enjoy the music too.

How To Change Audio Settings In a Tesla

If you have very little knowledge about sound and want to know the basics of changing Tesla audio settings, this section is for you!

How to Get to Tesla Audio Settings

You can access the Tesla audio settings by tapping on the gear icon in the bottom right corner of your touchscreen display. From there, select ‘Audio’ to bring up a variety of options for adjusting your sound preferences.

You can use the Media Player of your Tesla to play music. The Media Player is found on the touchscreen of your vehicle.

If you drag the Media player upward, it will expand so that you can browse. If you drag it down, it is minimized so you only see the Miniplayer. The Miniplayer shows what is currently playing.

How to Change Volume Settings in a Tesla

To increase or decrease the volume of your Tesla audio system, you can use the scroll button on your steering wheel or steering yoke. The button is on the left side of the yoke. If you roll the button up, your audio system volume will increase and if you roll it down, the volume will decrease.

You can also press the scroll button down to mute your sound. If you want to unmute the sound again, simply press the scroll button down again.

Note that your Tesla also automatically adjusts your sound volume based on your driving speed and climate settings.

How Can I Change My Tesla’s Equalizer Settings?

To access equalization settings in your Tesla, select Settings at the bottom of your Media Player.

Under Tone, you can drag the different sliders to change the five frequencies. As mentioned above, the frequencies you can change are Bass, Bass/Mid, Mid, Mid-Treble and Treble. You can also adjust the subwoofer if your system has one.

How Can I Change the Balance of My Tesla Speakers?

Under the audio settings, you can simple drag the center circle around. Drag it to the position in your Tesla where you want the sound to be focused.

Which Apps can I Use With my Tesla Audio System?

When you expand the Media Player, a dropdown list appears. This list includes the different options for playing music or other media. Which apps are shown will depend on your market region and vehicle configuration, but here is a list of possible apps:

• Radio
• Bluetooth
• Streaming (for example, Slacker Radio)
• Spotify
• Apple Music
• Caraoke
• TeneIn
• Tidal

You can also edit this list in your audio settings. If you hide certain apps there, they won’t show in this list anymore.

Which Other Settings Can I Change in My Tesla’s Audio System?

You will see options to turn on DJ Commentary, turn off Explicit Content and to Allow Mobile Control in your audio settings.

How to Adjust Bass on Tesla

First, you need to access the audio settings on your Tesla. To do this, simply tap on the music icon at the bottom of your screen and then select ‘Audio Settings.’

From there, you’ll see several different options for adjusting your sound, including bass, treble, balance, and fade. Simply slide the bass slider up or down until you find the perfect level that suits your listening preferences.

Do Teslas have a good Audio System?

If you’re a music lover, you’ll be pleased to know that the sound quality in a Tesla is top-notch. The audio system in Teslas is designed to provide an immersive listening experience for drivers and passengers alike.

With high-quality speakers strategically placed throughout the car, you can enjoy your favorite tunes with crystal-clear clarity. One of the best things about the Tesla audio system is its customizable settings. You can adjust the bass, treble, and balance to suit your personal preferences.

Plus, there are several preset equalizer options available, such as ‘Rock,’ ‘Hip Hop,’ and ‘Classical.’ Whether you’re jamming out to your favorite playlist or enjoying a podcast on a long road trip, the Tesla audio settings allow you to tailor your listening experience exactly how you like it.

Can You Upgrade a Tesla Stereo System?

If you find that the Tesla stereo system isn’t up to your standards, you’ll likely want to look into replacing the factory speakers with aftermarket speakers that play higher-quality audio. But if you take into account how Teslas are considered sophisticated and packed full of proprietary tech, can you even upgrade a Tesla stereo system?

You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that you can upgrade a Tesla stereo system, and it’s not much different than upgrading a different kind of car’s stereo. 

If I had to recommend just one thing you add to your Tesla, it’d definitely be a subwoofer. Adding a sub to your Tesla, especially if you don’t have one, will completely change your listening experience, no matter what type of music you listen to.

You’ll need a wiring diagram and a repair manual to do it yourself, but qualified professionals are available to make the upgrades too. The difference is that when hiring professionals to replace a Tesla stereo, you’ll probably pay a fair bit more, depending on if they specialize in Tesla stereos.

Does my Tesla support Dolby Atmos for a more Immersive Sound Experience?

Although there has been talk of a Tesla update bringing Dolby Atmos to Tesla audio systems, this update has not yet been released.

Dolby Atmos is a cutting-edge surround sound audio technology. It has been used in Hollywood in movies such as The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. Once it reaches Teslas, you’ll be able to hear sounds like never before as they come alive all around you.

How can I use USB audio playback in my Tesla?

Using USB audio playback is a convenient and easy way to enjoy your favorite music or podcasts in your Tesla. To use this feature, all you need to do is plug in a USB drive containing your audio files into one of the USB ports located in the front console or glovebox of your car.

Note that the USB ports at the back part of the console can’t be used for flashdrives – these are for charing only.

Once connected, navigate to the Media Player app on your Tesla’s touchscreen display and select ‘USB.’ From there, you can choose which songs or playlists you want to listen to.

One thing to keep in mind when using USB audio playback is that not all file formats are supported by Tesla’s audio system. Your files should be in either MP3, AAC, FLAC, or WAV format for them to play properly. NTFS USB flash drive formatting is currently not supported.

Additionally, if you have a large number of files on your USB drive, it may take some time for them all to load onto the touchscreen display.

But overall, using USB audio playback makes it easy for you to bring along all of your favorite tunes with you on long drives without having to worry about connecting via Bluetooth or streaming over cellular data. Just plug it in and go!

Troubleshooting Tesla Audio System Issues

If you’re having trouble getting your tunes to play in your car, there are a few things you can try to troubleshoot the issue.

First, make sure that you haven’t turned the audio off. Also make sure that the volume level is high enough to hear your music.

If your audio is on and the volume is high, make sure that your device is properly connected to the car’s audio system. Check if the USB cable is securely plugged in and turned on. If you’re using a USB drive, check if it contains music files in supported formats such as MP3 or FLAC.

Also make sure that, if you’re using Bluetooth connection, the device you’re using is charged. If it is, try unpairing and then pairing the device again.

If everything seems fine with the connections and file formats, there could be an issue with the software. Try restarting both your device and Tesla’s infotainment system. Press and hold down both the scroll wheels on your steering wheel until the Tesla logo appears on the screen. This should reboot the system and hopefully fix any glitches that may have caused audio playback issues.

What are the Best Tesla Audio Settings To Listen to News or Podcasts?

The best settings for listening to podcasts or the news can differ based on the sound quality of the audio and your personal preference. However, there are a few things you can try. You can increase the mids to make the voices clearer.

If the podcast sounds muddy or unclear, you can reduce the bass. If the podcast sounds tinny, reduce the treble to get rid of high-frequency content.

You can also stick the the Flat setting in the Tesla audio settings, which should give you a good sound if the production of the podcast itself was good.

What is the Tesla “B&O” System?

Tesla’s “B&O” system is a music and audio quality enhancement system for Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y cars. The system includes car speakers that are specifically tuned to provide superior sound quality and a number of sound enhancements that make the music sound even better. The system is named after the Bang & Olufsen company, which is known for making high-quality audio products.