Following up on previous demonstrations promoted by the initiative, the demonstration vehicle presented at the Audio Foundry booth for CES 2025 featured a Tesla Model Y demo vehicle equipped with the unique Sonified by Trèves Group immersive transducer technology, this time using exciters in headrests and headliner, complemented with a new transducer design from Tymphany for the subwoofer.
Showcasing new levels of audio immersion in the vehicle environment, the Denon Car Audio Concept System featured Dirac’s sound optimization and spatialization technologies. Visitors could enjoy the effectiveness of the Dirac audio processing in a Denon-branded system, with a unique user interface that allowed for toggling spatialization from conventional stereo, as well as seat by seat optimization.
“Dirac and Denon share the same commitment to pioneer the future of audio across all product categories and listening environments,” says Dirac Vice President of Automotive Hendrik Hermann. Dirac is an established leader in the automotive market, and its audio solutions are currently featured in the cabins of leading automotive brands such as Volvo, Polestar, Genesis, NIO and BYD, among many others.
To date, Dirac and Denon have collaborated to create the successful Denon PerL earbuds that feature Dirac Virtuo spatial audio technology, as well as for an extensive lineup of Denon audio video receivers (AVRs), including the AVC-A1H model, that feature the Dirac Live room correction solution. For the Denon Car Audio Concept System, the company focused on the brand’s DNA, intelligent design, and personalization – alongside the selected innovative speaker technologies.
“Denon has a rich and long legacy of developing products and pioneering technologies that have defined and redefined consumer audio such as the earliest consumer CD players, Blu-ray players, and class leading AV receivers,” adds Dan Shepherd, Vice President of Licensing and Partnerships at Masimo (the medical company that still owns Denon but is looking for alternatives to the ownership). “At CES 2025, this legacy takes a significant step forward as we unveil the world’s first Denon automotive sound system, optimized by Dirac, that leverages decades of experience in the multi-channel home theater market to create a new standard in immersive in-vehicle audio.”
Featuring a total of 22 speakers and exciters, the Dirac-optimized and Dolby Atmos-enabled system included height and headrest channels that create an immersive experience. Speaking to the challenge of optimizing immersive sound within the auto environment, Hermann noted that, “Vehicle speakers can often interfere with each other to cause distortion and reduce audio clarity – and systems with more speakers create greater interference. A car cabin’s shape and materials can also lead to unwanted sound coloration, resulting in muddy, booming sound that makes it difficult to discern where sound is coming from.”
Dirac’s digital audio solutions address these challenges by enabling all the speakers in a car to work intelligently together and co-correct each other’s impulse response. The solutions remove the unwanted effects of the cabin and create ideal loudspeaker responses for maximum fidelity and unparalleled bass performance.
Furthermore, Dirac’s upmixing technology enables spatial audio experiences from regular two-channel stereo sources. Unlike similar technologies, Dirac’s upmixing technology does not add anything to the signal; it only utilizes what is already present, which ensures a pure and enhanced listening experience. At CES, attendees could dynamically change the level of audio immersion and EQ within the car to suit their unique listening preferences – and save their preferences for future listening.
The Audio Foundry is a technology collaborative, empowering members to bring disruptive ideas to life in automotive audio and acoustics. Headquartered in Wales, United Kingdom, the Audio Foundry hosts a member alliance and fully equipped makerspaces staffed by experienced engineers and support team members. Founded in 2023, the Audio Foundry serves as an experimental retreat for OEMs, component manufacturers, and technology providers across the value chain including Analog Devices, Dirac, DSP Concepts, Masimo, MediaTek, Primax, Polestar, The CARLAB, Trèves Group, Tymphany and Zilltek.
www.audiofoundry.org
www.dirac.com | www.denon.com
