In today's fiercely competitive market, "equipment competition" has become a compulsory course for car manufacturers. In the field of automotive audio, the number of speakers and system power that consumers can directly perceive are often the basis for people to measure the quality of audio systems.
But is this really the case?
Adding more speakers and increasing the power of the system can theoretically gain some "innate advantages": speakers in different frequency bands and positions have more refined division of labor, which helps achieve more accurate sound positioning, create a grand and detailed sound field, and bring balanced spectral performance. A higher power amplifier can theoretically drive higher power speakers or more channels.
But not everyone can handle these theoretical advantages. In reality, compared to the number of speakers and system power, the quality of equipment, layout design, algorithms, and post tuning are the more critical factors. Due to constraints such as investment costs, research and development cycles, and technical experience, if there are more visible areas, it is more likely to have shortcomings in invisible areas, which may lead to a decrease in sound effects and an increase in energy consumption.
So, how can Bose break free from these superficial indicators and provide the most suitable solutions for different types and positioning of car models?
Increase quantity? Why not pursue quality instead
The car cabin is a closed and relatively small space, with a variety of materials such as glass, fabric, metal, leather, etc. During the transmission of sound waves, many acoustic problems will occur, and significant changes will occur in the transmission process from speakers to the human ear. If the number of speakers is simply increased, this change will be further amplified due to the mutual influence between speakers, only adding more uncontrollable acoustic problems.
For example, a high-quality broadband speaker can precisely control the vibration of the diaphragm, covering most of the audible frequency bands, and the sound quality is delicate and clear, with stronger low-frequency diving ability. For example, a high-quality subwoofer can deliver stunning bass without the need for a large volume, allowing listeners to truly feel the level of sound without putting pressure on their ears.
High quality and efficient speakers, with exquisite design and excellent materials, make the sound system not completely dependent on the number, size, and power of speakers, consistent with the goal of lightweight and low energy consumption of automobile manufacturers. On the contrary, blindly stacking low-quality speakers may actually bring drawbacks such as noise, interference, phase delay, imbalance distortion, etc., affecting the performance of the entire audio system and increasing additional power consumption.
Increase power? Why not optimize the layout
The car cabin is not a perfect listening space because the overall space is limited, the geometric structure and materials are complex, and the speakers cannot be arranged in the best position and angle like in a listening room. Moreover, both internal and external noise during vehicle operation can interfere with audio performance. Compared to "stack size", the reasonable layout of speakers is more meaningful.
Based on the complexity of the cabin, our engineering team will intervene in vehicle development earlier, communicate closely with car manufacturer partners, optimize the acoustic performance of the interior materials, and arrange speakers more accurately. An excellent tri frequency layout provides the necessary hardware foundation for creating a layered, vertical, and full-bodied sound. At the same time, reduce unnecessary power consumption from the source.
The use of ultra close field headrest speakers is also one of the efficient ways to create a sound field. In small cars with limited space and speaker placement, Bose UltraNearfield near-field headrest speakers can be paired with a small number of speakers to create a wide sound field beyond the cabin space. It can also be paired with more speakers in large-sized models to create a luxurious listening experience. These technological advantages cannot be measured solely by the number of speakers and system power.
