Bose® Surround Sound Hits the Road

Twenty years ago, car audio meant a cassette player and some haphazardly placed speakers. Sound wasn't a priority for auto manufacturers and the quality of the sound reflected the times.

Fast forward two decades and the automotive landscape has changed dramatically. Cars are sanctuaries now, private retreats demanding comfort and performance. Audio is a critical component in a unique driving experience. And Bose® surround sound systems are helping lead this intensified focus on automotive sound.

The excitement of automotive surround sound

"The timing is right to make this technology available in cars," says Bud MacLellan, support group manager of Bose Automotive systems. In some vehicles, such as the legendary Maybach, a Bose surround sound system has already changed the way people think about automotive sound. Depending on the recording, listeners can experience the wide soundstage and ambience of a concert hall, or the sense of being on stage and in the middle of the performers.

But developing automotive surround sound was no easy feat. The interior of an automobile features a variety of very difficult and inflexible acoustic challenges.

The challenge of the mobile concert hall

In conventional home theater systems, surround sound recordings are played through speakers carefully positioned around a central listening area. Listeners often sit in the middle of the listening area to experience balanced sound. But in a vehicle, no one sits in the middle. Seats are off-center, very close to some speakers and far from others.

Achieving balanced stereo for everyone in the vehicle becomes even more challenging with a surround sound system. Engineers must consider not only left-right balance, but also a full 360-degree sound field for each listener.

Sometimes a challenge outpaces current technologies, requiring engineers to invent new approaches instead of relying on the solutions of the past. Such was the case for automotive surround sound. Bose had to develop a new suite of technologies to deliver a full surround experience, no matter where the listeners sit in the vehicle.

The technologies

"These technologies are the result of extensive research and we believe they are the most advanced automotive audio tools available today," MacLellan says. "They represent a major advancement in automotive audio systems."

Centerpoint® signal processing circuitry delivers a multi-channel surround sound experience from two-channel sources, including matrix surround recordings and conventional stereo CDs.

SurroundStage™ signal processing circuitry sends each audio channel to a carefully chosen combination of speakers for balanced surround sound throughout the vehicle. It helps compensate for the fact that vehicle seats are off-center. It also addresses the need to distribute five audio channels to more than five speakers. SurroundStage signal processing circuitry is used with both Centerpoint technology and discrete surround technology.

Personal™ surround sound speakers. Selected systems include our exclusive Personal™ surround speakers. Each pair of speakers is dedicated to a single listener for optimal surround channel delivery. This unique design creates an individual sonic zone at each seat for a truly immersive multi-channel surround sound experience.

Truespace® signal processing circuitry, used with the Bose Personal™ surround speakers, provides full, spacious sound, even from speakers that are just inches from your head. Personal™ surround speakers are installed in the headrests, headliner or other select locations. They optimize the surround channels for each individual listener, ensuring a balanced, accurate surround experience.

With these technologies, MacLellan is confident Bose has created surround sound solutions unlike any other, "With our expertise in home theater systems and over two decades of experience designing automotive sound systems, we believe we have developed systems consumers will appreciate."

To learn more about our Automotive Systems Division, click here.