As announced in June 2022, Dirac and Dolby have joined forces to design a high-quality immersive automotive audio experience for the all-electric NIO ET7, one of the first vehicles to feature Dirac audio optimization algorithms and a Dolby Atmos audio system. The NIO ET7 features a standard configuration of 23 speakers and 20 amplifier output channels totaling 1000W - a significant challenge for a battery-dependent car. Its four main channels are composed of high, middle, and bass speakers in three units, with a subwoofer and four overhead channel speakers. Combined with Dirac Opteo Professional, the automotive audio systems always renders an immersive sound experience, independently of the signal source.
"At NIO, we wanted to deliver the ultimate immersive sound experience in the ET7 – so that passengers across all seats can listen to music as if they were in a concert hall," says Danilo Teobaldi, Vice President of Engineering for NIO. "As we knew, doing so required more than enabling immersive content. We built the best possible sound system for the ET7, then turned to Dirac and its industry-leading digital optimization to take the performance to an even higher level. Our collaboration with Dirac helped us ensure that our users could experience the best automotive sound system on the market."
Achieving peak sound performance in cars takes ingenuity and expertise. The car cabin is regarded as one of the most challenging acoustic environments in the world – as in-car speakers cannot perform as intended regardless of their price-point and design. Within the cabin, speakers can’t be positioned as optimally as they would, for example, in a home theater. As a result, speakers interfere with each other, causing distortion and reducing audio clarity. The interference increases when more speakers are used. In addition, the car cabin itself adds unwanted sound coloration, resulting in muddy, booming sound that makes it difficult to discern where sound is coming from.
Featuring patented multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) mixed phase impulse response correction technology, Dirac Opteo Professional solution addresses these challenges by enabling all the speakers in a car to work intelligently together and co-correct each other’s impulse response.
The solution “erases” the car cabin – removing the unwanted effects of the cabin in ways previously regarded as possible only in theory. It also creates ideal loudspeaker responses for maximum fidelity and achieves unparalleled bass performance. Sound is richer, more balanced, more dynamic, in every seat. Occupants can hear deep, clean, and tight bass free of resonances rarely heard in a car. With immersive content enabled, ET7 brings a concert-like sound experience.
"Dirac is the world leader in automobile audio optimization, thanks to our solution’s unique ability to maximize the sound created by today’s increasingly complex, immersive car audio systems," comments Lars Carlsson, Dirac General Manager of Automotive Audio. "The more speakers that automakers use to achieve a signature sound, the more important it is for Dirac to digitally optimize their performance and ensure the perfect listening experience, especially when enjoying immersive content."
"The NIO ET7 includes a sound system worthy of a concert hall. Dirac is proud to enable the faithful reproduction of drivers’ favorite, most immersive sound experiences. With NIO, we are raising the bar for in-car sound experiences,” adds Carlsson.
The Dirac Opteo Professional solution is built upon Dirac's industry-first Intelligent Audio Platform (IAP), using a data-driven measurement system, semi-automatic tuning tools, integrated sound optimization algorithms, and an interface to the hardware platform. This enables manufacturers to achieve perfected sound faster, more easily, and consistently across vehicle models.
The NIO ET7 will also be the first car model that obtains the certification of "Dirac Pro", a quality seal of top-class sound performance – according to Dirac standards.
Dirac is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden and has an R&D facility in Copenhagen, Denmark, with representation in China, Germany, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India and USA.
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