More details for KEF Audio

[Time2Fly]

Oh sure, but all they say is they unplugged it. So it's dead weight.

 

[Fasttoys]

Respectfully disagree - it doesn't matter what its used for - they didn't even mention it - they rubbished the KEF system - and the 'small tweeters' in the door - the centre speaker is there for a reason as others have said to provide sound stage - if they weren't just filming an advert, they would have at least mentioned it

I am assuming based on living in the UK you have an Emira. Few questions since no one in the USA has their cars yet.
How do you like the KEF system? Do you think it needs an upgrade or are you perfectly happy with it? How is the front speaker, any thoughts do you have the KEF system? I am curious to hear your thoughts.

 

[Speedluvver]

I am assuming based on living in the UK you have an Emira. Few questions since no one in the USA has their cars yet.
How do you like the KEF system? Do you think it needs an upgrade or are you perfectly happy with it? How is the front speaker, any thoughts do you have the KEF system? I am curious to hear your thoughts.

I do have an Emira - the KEF is pretty good if you use Spotify or similar (DAB is not great) and play with the in app equaliser settings to your preference. It isn't a Burmeister for sure - but I think its got a good tone, and for me is plenty good enough that I wouldn't spend a load of money upgrading it. The front speaker definitely adds to the sound stage, and from what I was told at the factory during a tour, it's there to do just that, working with the in door speakers. If I had a complaint, its that it doesn't go loud enough.

If you were to upgrade, I would go to a trusted local installer where you can identify what you want to achieve - as I have said, that video is just an advert, and the fact that they don't mention the centre speaker whilst rubbishing the in door speakers is a red herring to me as they would have been designed together by KEF

 

[Speedy Emira]

I do have an Emira - the KEF is pretty good if you use Spotify or similar (DAB is not great) and play with the in app equaliser settings to your preference. It isn't a Burmeister for sure - but I think its got a good tone, and for me is plenty good enough that I wouldn't spend a load of money upgrading it. The front speaker definitely adds to the sound stage, and from what I was told at the factory during a tour, it's there to do just that, working with the in door speakers. If I had a complaint, its that it doesn't go loud enough.

If you were to upgrade, I would go to a trusted local installer where you can identify what you want to achieve - as I have said, that video is just an advert, and the fact that they don't mention the centre speaker whilst rubbishing the in door speakers is a red herring to me as they would have been designed together by KEF

I agree I don’t think it’s that bad at all although I only really use it when cruising on the motorway . The rest of the time I’m happy to be listening to the engine, especially since sorting out the exhaust.

I’m not mentioning anyone in particular or knocking any standards owners want to achieve but I’m surprised there are so many owners who are looking to upgrades when they haven’t got their cars yet. You never know it may be good enough.

 

[Fasttoys]

I agree I don’t think it’s that bad at all although I only really use it when cruising on the motorway . The rest of the time I’m happy to be listening to the engine, especially since sorting out the exhaust.

I’m not mentioning anyone in particular or knocking any standards owners want to achieve but I’m surprised there are so many owners who are looking to upgrades when they haven’t got their cars yet. You never know it may be good enough.

Typical USA stuff it’s what we do lol. I heard the system in 4 to 5 cars probably about 4 hours listening time. I am super picky and have the top systems in my BMW and Audi Etron GT. I agree that it doesn’t go that loud strange you have to put it at 85% to hear it on the road way. Plus most systems would be distorting at that level but this seems to have some protection to it. Anyway thanks for the feedback this is what we all been needing.

 

[NigeT]

I agree with others that the KEF system is OK especially if you push the bass & treble over to the right to about 9 or even 10... Maybe us Brits have a lower standard.
I was wondering whether any vehicles were ever built with a 340W system as originally advertised by Lotus (in 2021 ) rather than the current 560W system. If so that might explain why some people are satisfied and others not so.

 

[Speedy Emira]

I agree with others that the KEF system is OK especially if you push the bass & treble over to the right to about 9 or even 10... Maybe us Brits have a lower standard.
I was wondering whether any vehicles were ever built with a 340W system as originally advertised by Lotus (in 2021 ) rather than the current 560W system. If so that might explain why some people are satisfied and others not so.
View attachment 37082

How do you know which wattage system you have?

 

[NigeT]

How do you know which wattage system you have?

I have no idea of the wattage of the system I have or whether Lotus ever delivered any vehicles with the lower advertised system.
My car was built June 23.
For all I know it could have been a typo in the original docs or changed to the higher wattage before production began.

 

[Eagle7]

I have no idea of the wattage of the system I have or whether Lotus ever delivered any vehicles with the lower advertised system.
My car was built June 23.
For all I know it could have been a typo in the original docs or changed to the higher wattage before production began.

If I remember right, the amp was upgraded to the higher wattage before production began. Maybe @TomE would know.

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

If I remember right, the amp was upgraded to the higher wattage before production began. Maybe @TomE would know.

not so sure about that.
The first Emira I tried, demo car delivered in Nov 22 I found it underwhelming.
When mine arrived in March 23 I was pleasantly surprised, compared to the previous one. So my guess is they updated the Watts after a few months of production, but I have no clue how much is the actual power in my unit

 

[Eagle7]

not so sure about that.
The first Emira I tried, demo car delivered in Nov 22 I found it underwhelming.
When mine arrived in March 23 I was pleasantly surprised, compared to the previous one. So my guess is they updated the Watts after a few months of production, but I have no clue how much is the actual power in my unit

I thought it was the result of feedback from those who had driven the demo cars that prompted them to upgrade the power. If they did put a few of the lower wattage units in production cars, it wasn't very many.

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

I thought it was the result of feedback from those who had driven the demo cars that prompted them to upgrade the power. If they did put a few of the lower wattage units in production cars, it wasn't very many.

Correct, probably the first 40 or 50 cars delivered in Continental Europe. What I am not aware is whether those where updated later on

 

[digilotus]

I understood that the amps were updated in all production cars from day one.

 

[Fasttoys]

Lotus SUV WOW no wonder it sounded so good

KEF REFERENCE AUDIO SYSTEM ENABLED WITH DOLBY ATMOS​

Immerse yourself in a high-fidelity listening experience developed especially for the Eletre by British audio experts KEF. 23 speakers deliver 2160 W of peak power and Uni-Q technology ensures uniform directivity with reduced acoustic interference. The bespoke Uni-Core technology optimizes sound for the interior space and occupant positions, tuning the sound in real-time so that drivers and passengers enjoy a perfectly balanced and developing sound profile. To make the most of the optimally positioned speakers, listeners can also experience sound in their Lotus car like never before with Dolby Atmos. When artists or creatives make a song, podcast, or other content in Dolby Atmos, they’re able to place individual sounds intentionally in three-dimensional space to create a rich and detailed experience for listeners. With Dolby Atmos through the KEF speaker system, everyone in the car can enjoy a more immersive sound experience with greater depth, details, and clarity.​

 

[Eagle7]

Lotus SUV WOW no wonder it sounded so good

KEF REFERENCE AUDIO SYSTEM ENABLED WITH DOLBY ATMOS​

Immerse yourself in a high-fidelity listening experience developed especially for the Eletre by British audio experts KEF. 23 speakers deliver 2160 W of peak power and Uni-Q technology ensures uniform directivity with reduced acoustic interference. The bespoke Uni-Core technology optimizes sound for the interior space and occupant positions, tuning the sound in real-time so that drivers and passengers enjoy a perfectly balanced and developing sound profile. To make the most of the optimally positioned speakers, listeners can also experience sound in their Lotus car like never before with Dolby Atmos. When artists or creatives make a song, podcast, or other content in Dolby Atmos, they’re able to place individual sounds intentionally in three-dimensional space to create a rich and detailed experience for listeners. With Dolby Atmos through the KEF speaker system, everyone in the car can enjoy a more immersive sound experience with greater depth, details, and clarity.​

Okay now THAT description sounds like it was set up and tuned by KEF themselves. I get the impression they just supplied their speakers to the Emira development team.

 

[Bilbao-Emira]

I understood that the amps were updated in all production cars from day one.

The thing is, the one I tried back in December was a Demo car, which probably was manufactured before September 22, when they started delivering customer cars. Probably all customer cars where updated, but I am pretty sure this Demo wasn´t at the time, at full volume it sounded like half volume of the customer cars

 

[Honcho]

Here’s my feedback if useful. When I first got the car I thought the system sounded terrible while driving. I decided to play about with it recently while the car was in my garage. At low volume it sounded like the sub was blown. After a bit of investigation I found that the cabin exhaust vent is located right beside the sub and the flaps of it were vibrating with the speaker. I put a bit of sound insulating foam around the vent and it seemed to solve the problem.

When sitting in the car and playing around with the EQ I got it to sound amazing with the engine off. The next day I took it for a drive and sounded just ok with the engine on. I found that the system needs massively different EQ setting at different volume levels which is annoying. Now that I know this though I can setup the EQ depending on the volume. I’m happy enough with the setup now, it’s good enough for me to make me not want to upgrade. Not amazing, but happy enough.

 

[Nova]

The cabin pressure flap being right next to the subwoofer could be an issue if the flap is too light weight. A heavier flap would still allow the cabin to vent since closing a door is a very low acoustic frequency change - certainly less than 5Hz equivalent. At higher frequencies, say above 20Hz, the weight of the flap would cause it to act essentially as a solid barrier. This is the same principle where in a ported speaker enclosure, above the port tuning frequency, the enclosure behaves as a completely sealed box. The heavier the mass of air in the port (or the flap in the case of the Emira), the lower the tuning frequency.

This is definitely something I would be playing with once I get the car. I'll likely add some type of foam/felt padding to the flap to quiet it down, and also add weight to it gradually until it stops vibrating significantly while playing a 20Hz signal.

 

[Porter]

The cabin pressure flap being right next to the subwoofer could be an issue if the flap is too light weight. A heavier flap would still allow the cabin to vent since closing a door is a very low acoustic frequency change - certainly less than 5Hz equivalent. At higher frequencies, say above 20Hz, the weight of the flap would cause it to act essentially as a solid barrier. This is the same principle where in a ported speaker enclosure, above the port tuning frequency, the enclosure behaves as a completely sealed box. The heavier the mass of air in the port (or the flap in the case of the Emira), the lower the tuning frequency.

This is definitely something I would be playing with once I get the car. I'll likely add some type of foam/felt padding to the flap to quiet it down, and also add weight to it gradually until it stops vibrating significantly while playing a 20Hz signal.

Easiest method would be a couple of weights adhered to the flap.

 

[Speedluvver]

Here’s my feedback if useful. When I first got the car I thought the system sounded terrible while driving. I decided to play about with it recently while the car was in my garage. At low volume it sounded like the sub was blown. After a bit of investigation I found that the cabin exhaust vent is located right beside the sub and the flaps of it were vibrating with the speaker. I put a bit of sound insulating foam around the vent and it seemed to solve the problem.

When sitting in the car and playing around with the EQ I got it to sound amazing with the engine off. The next day I took it for a drive and sounded just ok with the engine on. I found that the system needs massively different EQ setting at different volume levels which is annoying. Now that I know this though I can setup the EQ depending on the volume. I’m happy enough with the setup now, it’s good enough for me to make me not want to upgrade. Not amazing, but happy enough.

What settings did you use ?