Dolby Atmos: sound for the senses

Accumulating watts and speakers is not enough to design a good on-board sound system. This requires subtle development work taking into account numerous constraints: a car interior is anything but an ideal auditorium, technically speaking. But on a daily basis, it is often a privileged place to listen to your music, serenely, fully, even loudly. And to make the experience as impressive as possible, numerous techniques are put in place, in particular to spatialize and energize the sound. At entry and mid-range, to enhance the result, specialists like the French from Arkamys work the sound according to dedicated algorithms in order to extract its quintessence and offer maximum dynamism. We also no longer count the Hi-Fi brands which sign (or even simply badge...) the on-board sound systems of automobile brands, from Bose to Bowers & Wilkins, including B&O or Focal.

Comme au cinema

At the very top of the spectrum, the time has come to move beyond simple stereo. Because if two channels offer a classic experience, separating the sound sent to each ear, multi-channel systems provide a spectacle to which the cinema has accustomed us, with sounds from several sources and an unparalleled sensation of being at the heart of the action (or the concert hall). One of the best-known technologies for this type of rendering is Dolby Atmos, which is included in two very high-end automobiles, signed Mercedes-Benz Maybach and Lucid Motors, Californian electric start-up. This immersive sound is adapted by automotive infotainment software provider Cinemo, under the name Dolby Car Experience. The result is a three-dimensional sound field that places passengers in an incomparable musical experience. We experienced it on board a Mercedes-Maybach S-Class with a Burmester 4D hi-fi system: impressive! A surge of sound with 2 amplifiers with a total power of 1 watts and no less than 750 speakers, including 31 in 6D emitting sound upwards, 3 in the front seats, right in the passengers' ears. Mercedes adds 4 sound transducers (8 per seat), small electric motors that make bass attacks physically felt in the body. But the interest of the system goes beyond its material power. Whether the songs were recorded from the start with Dolby Atmos technology and its multiple tracks or whether they were remastered accordingly, the result offers a gripping experience, with great subtlety in the perception of details, the distribution of sounds and total immersion. A feeling of space that goes well beyond the walls of the cabin.