Lamborghini and Monster Products collaboration

Not so sure about the dual mid/tweeter theory. Some home speakers have it, but I wouldn't call it the end all be all to sound stage/imaging. I guess you're referring to Dynaudio C4, Evidence, etc. here.

 

In a car, it's a fool's errand IMO to pursue sound stage and image characteristics of a home system.....it's extremely hard to achieve and it often will come at a sacrifice of tonal balance. Most of the car audio community seems to focus on this a little too much, neglecting to keep in mind that maybe 10% of music is recorded well enough to make this a worthy endeavor. To put things into perspective, a poorly set up home system has a better soundstage/image than just about all cars. Why fight this uphill battle I ask?

 

Digital processing will allow you to have proper imaging by using time alignment -- delaying the sound of the speakers nearest you so that in essence you are recreating what it's like to be in the center of the car (like you would sitting in a chair equidistant between two speakers). It definitely works very well in that regard, especially with centering vocals and the like. My only issue is I think it robs the system a bit in dynamics, although not everyone notices this.

 

With regards to number of speakers, in general the idea is (like with other aspects of life)....less is more. The theoretical "perfect" speaker would be a driver that could play the entire frequency spectrum. Such a speaker would be extremely coherent....compare that to splitting the frequency band into two or three drivers (bass/mid,high) --> it's less coherent but better able to produce those individual frequencies.

 

There's fun debate about 2 way vs. 3 way in a car. You can get very good sound out of both....just depends on how you install and tune them.

 

If I were to design a dream car system for a sedan or SUV (excluding horn systems), I'd probably end up with 13 speakers (including subs):

 

Front:

 

1 tweeter x 2

1 3"-4" dome midrange x 2

2 6.5" - 7" midbass x 2

1 center channel (coax or full range driver)

 

Total: 9

 

Rear:

 

1 coax x 2 (either 6.5" or 6" x 9" in doors or rear deck)

 

Total: 2

 

Subs: 2 x 12", sealed (or 2 x 10" or 4 x 8", depends)

 

Total: let's go with 2

 

So that's 13 speakers. The dual midbass up front is nice, but most do fine with just one (and I don't think I've ever seen dual midbass from any factory system except maybe this Veneno if I heard it right).

 

It will be a task to blend all of these drivers together, whether using passive or active crossovers (active will be harder).

 

No real need to have more than that, unless you're counting more subwoofers. In a sedan for instance, it would be cool to have maybe four to six 8" infinite baffle type woofers on the rear deck using the trunk as an enclosure. But again, you just don't see that type of design in factory systems.

 

For the record, you can have very nice sound with just 4 speakers up front, two in the back, and two subs, passive crossovers.....with the right placement of drivers, you could have it sounding nice with 1-2 hours of tuning. It won't be perfect but it will do most of what you want without tons of hours tuning a system with lots of drivers, active crossovers, EQ, etc.

 

As for 5.1, 7.1 in cars.....I don't know. It might sound ok, very good or even great. But I think the biggest problem is lack of recordings in that format (music that is.....movies different story obviously). For the record I don't know any hardcore audiophile that has a 5.1 or 7.1 setup in his home in addition to a nice 2 channel setup....it's a costly endeavor for a tiny fraction of the music selection. Some issue with a car I'd say, and perhaps the ideal listener would be the middle back seat passenger.

I was talking about the traditional stereo setup, car vs. home. The number of drivers is irrelevant, my point was kind of garbled because I was trying to use the Veyron setup as an example. I simply meant that most of the high end hardcore car audiophile systems I've seen use the same staging and placement concepts.

 

I agree on the need for more than 5 speakers in a sedan or SUV. It's a lot easier when there are only two seats and you can ignore one of them and just worry about yourself.

 

Very good points on all fronts. I agree on the lack of 7.1 recordings, and really don't see the point other than some of the EDM recordings being done, or maybe some live recordings.

I wouldn't pay 100k for a car stereo. No way.

I immediately thought of you and hoped you would respond. I'm glad you did.

I immediately thought of you and hoped you would respond. I'm glad you did.

 

 

 

I was under the impression that therse cars came with a bespoke sound system designed by internationally acclaimed audio experts Induction & Wastegate.

 

 

I agree on the need for more than 5 speakers in a sedan or SUV. It's a lot easier when there are only two seats and you can ignore one of them and just worry about yourself.

 

Haha.

 

It would be a bit of heresy, but I thought if any exotic deserved this kind of treatment it would be the McLaren F1 with the single seat.

Don't know about the Veyron's system. I would hope the assumption is it isn't the best because it's the most expensive car.

 

Beats by Dr. Dre.....some are terrible, some are ok but not great. When you charge $200-300 for headphones, they have to sound very nice, period. Audio Technica, Shure, Sennheiser, Grado for less money sounds better and IMO has better looks (better as in, looks nice and not trying to be fashion statement....i.e. headphones painted in any other color than black!).

 

It's been said many times that the preferred sound for most young people/non audio enthusiasts is tons of low bass and treble, sucked out midrange ("smiley face EQ"). That type of sound is very easy and cheap to reproduce. The Dr. cares more about money than sound. To his credit, those old Snoop, Dre, Eminem records were recorded on analog tape and sound pretty nice compared to other rap music.

 

The Bugatti uses Burmester, who now has collaborations with Porsche and Mercedes. I remember reading magazines when the Veyron came out saying that the sound system was world-class. Of course, technology has come a long way since then.

 

Stemming off of your headphones comment, I use Audio Technica headphones, and the sound quality is absolutely remarkable. The only downside is that the ones I use become very comfortable after around 45-60 minutes of wearing.

The Bugatti uses Burmester, who now has collaborations with Porsche and Mercedes. I remember reading magazines when the Veyron came out saying that the sound system was world-class. Of course, technology has come a long way since then.

 

Stemming off of your headphones comment, I use Audio Technica headphones, and the sound quality is absolutely remarkable. The only downside is that the ones I use become very comfortable after around 45-60 minutes of wearing.

I think they switched to Dynaudio for the Grand Sport and Vitesse. I wonder if Aaron and Kris compared the two when they were together. Probably not. That would have been the last thing on my mind.

Monster produces overpriced crap. I equate monster with best buy and not Lambo. I certainly don't equate them with the sound system in a veneno roadster.

Crazy!!

Saw the car at CES, looks 10X better in person!