Audi Sound Concept Project Revealed

Audi development engineers are currently involved in a new project that, according to the carmaker, could be the next revolution in the hi-fi sector. The project in question is internally named the Audi Sound Concept and is being tested on a Q7 model. It is based on a physical principle called wave field synthesis, which states that the front of any individual wave can also be considered as superposition of individual waves.

“That is specially created wave field material,” Peter Gleim, Infotainment Development engineer at Audi said in a release, “comprising up to 32 tracks, with specific spatial information for each of those tracks. There are no corresponding audio media available on the market because there are no playback devices, either. A few film studios are already producing films with the method, however.”

The German sound engineers at Audi have installed 62 speakers in the Q7. There are, in fact, five woofers and five tweeters plus 52 mid-range speakers in the instrument panel beneath the windshield, in the roof pillars and in the doors.

Moreover, five units are integrated into each door sill, thanks to modifications that included cutouts in the sheet metal, new bezels and lower interior door release handles.

“Our goal was to show what is technically feasible; to explore the limits,” explains Denis Credé, Head of Sound Development at Audi. “What we are learning will be integrated into the sound systems of tomorrow. It’s like with racing: A lot of what is first tried out on the race tracks of this world later shows up in modified in production vehicles. The Audi Sound Concept project is like racing for sound systems.”

If it's to become a reality, the 62-speakers audio system will likely come to life thanks to the specialists at Bang & Olufsen.