Harman, the premium global audio and infotainment group, is showcasing Clari-Fi, a new, proprietary software solution at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. The new technology automatically analyses and improves the audio quality of compressed, digitised music sources.

The technology leverages Harman’s experience in music recording, signal processing and psychoacoustics to naturally restore the full sound that is forfeited in the compression process. With a strong reception from automakers and mobile device providers at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Clari-Fi now is featured in Harman’s new JBL Authentics Series wireless home entertainment sound systems and will be incorporated into a range of home, multimedia, and automotive products in the coming year. 

In today’s increasingly mobile world, audio formats have morphed from vinyl LPs and CDs to digitised data files downloaded to smartphones and streamed through satellite radio and music services like Pandora and Spotify. This maximum mobility is made possible by compression processes that create smaller, more portable digitised music files. While compression technology enables easy access to audio content on the go, this process fundamentally alters the music source, discarding up to 90 percent of the audio content captured during the original recording. Harman says Clari-Fi was developed to address this deterioration of audio quality. 

“With compressed digitised files, we are often deprived of enjoying our music the way the artist intended,” said Dinesh C Paliwal, chairman, president and CEO of Harman. “We know from our research that listeners – even Millennials, who have grown up with compressed music as their reference – prefer the best possible sound quality from their devices. Clari-Fi is a significant and unique technological advancement that brings music back to life for a richer, uncompromised listening experience whether at home, in the car or on the go.”

Clari-Fi is claimed to be superior to competitive solutions because it does not blindly add equalisation, bass boost, or other effects that alter the intended listening experience. It encompasses a proprietary predictive model that intelligently and accurately recreates the lost information based on the existing compressed content. It also does not require any user intervention because it is designed to run in the background, automatically adjusting the amount of correction it applies based on the quality of the input signal. For example, while it will add no correction to a CD-quality signal, Clari-Fi will add a heavy dose of correction to the most compressed signals, such as satellite radio.

Specifically, Clari-Fi removes unwanted added effects like echo and distortion; it restores the crisp detail and clarity of high frequency sounds like cymbals, which can be muddied in compressed sources; it sharpens dynamic sounds like percussion instruments, which can be smeared or dulled by compression; it takes a flat, compressed vocal and brings back the intimacy of the original performance; it rebuilds the stereo image that is often compromised by compression, creating a natural, wide soundstage; and it restores the musical depth that is lost when instruments and vocals are compressed to the same volume.

Clari-Fi can be integrated into any Harman in-car audio system via the amplifier or head unit, providing automakers limitless possibilities to further enhance in-car listening experiences. It is available to all automakers and also will begin launching in vehicles in 2014.

Photograph: Dinesh C Paliwal, chairman, president and CEO of Harman