Audi brings 3D sound in its car with 23 speakers

Audi’s latest technology, 3D sound, will be making its debut in the Audi Q7 in 2015. It will be available as a component of the Advanced Sound System from Bang & Olufsen and also of Bose Surround Sound. The addition of the third dimension makes the acoustic impression clearer and more vivid. The new technology involves a complex algorithm that calculates the control signals for each speaker.

The Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System features 11 channels with a total of 23 speakers. Four speakers installed in the A‑posts and each supplied along their own channels broadcast the portions that generate the spatial height. The Bose Surround Sound system, which generates he surround sound with 20 speakers, also comes with four speakers located higher up to generate the third dimension.

In the first stage of the process, the software breaks the data for the music source down into its spatial components by using the spatial information contained in the data. For example, when an artist is singing from a stage, the floor, ceiling and walls of the concert hall reflect the sound with different time lapses. It bounces off the floor in just a few milliseconds, while it is only reflected by a wall 40 meters away after more than 200 milliseconds irrespective of the sound quality.

The second stage involves reassembling the sound portions so that the sound pattern inside the car corresponds to the original recording room. The system also features a sub-woofer enlarged from 200 millimeters to 250 millimeters and a new amplifier with an output of 1,920 watts.