Harman and Volkswagen have previously collaborated on various VW vehicles, such as the Tiguan, Passat, and Golf. The German brand premiered the latest addition to the all-electric ID. family, the ID.7 sedan. It will feature a cutting-edge Harman Kardon system that enables customers to experience the full pleasure of music and driving. However, it comes as an extra for customers.
Harman Kardon is one of the big names in the audio industry. With 70 years of experience in the field, the brand aims to deliver an exhilarating and captivating sound. Harman's acoustic engineers have teamed up with Volkswagen's design team to develop the ideal sound system for the ID.7 that not only produces superior sound but also fits well aesthetically.
After hundreds of hours of tuning, the two companies have come up with a sound system adjusted to support superior audio performance regardless of the road ahead. The system boasts a 700 W, 14-speaker, 16-channel setup with a subwoofer and a center speaker. Moreover, it's paired with the Fraunhofer Sonamic Panorama algorithm and has four sound modes.
The Fraunhofer Sonamic Panorama algorithm, as Harman describes, separates the individual sound sources of a stereo recording, evenly distributing them in a U-shaped soundstage that envelopes and immerses everyone in the vehicle. That enables each listener to enjoy otherwise imperceptible details of the audio.
Customers can select a specific seat on which the system can focus to provide the best listening experience. All-seat optimization is available, but you can also choose front seat only, rear seat only, or driver seat only.
Photo: Harman Kardon
The four sound settings, Pure, Relax, Speech, and Vibrant, enable occupants to tailor their listening experience. Pure offers a high-quality, neutral experience, so it's essentially a balanced option. Relax is ideal for music that tends to play in the background, so it offers a relaxed experience – if you don't care about hearing the finer details in the audio, this might be the best option.
Next up, Speech, as its name suggests, is engineered to reproduce any spoken content clearly, be it radio, podcasts, or audiobooks. And lastly, Vibrant allows for "voluminous sound reproduction for modern and dynamic music that is high in emotion and energy."
As I mentioned earlier, The Harman Kardon sound system is not only a perfect match for the ID.7 regarding the audio quality, but it's also integrated seamlessly into the vehicle, matching its design language. The speaker grilles are manufactured from ultra-thin 0.5-millimeter (0.02 inches) high-strength steel. Moreover, they're highlighted by a 60-degree hole pattern that subtly resembles the angled slash Harman Kardon's logo.
The Volkswagen ID.7 is part of the German brand's plans to launch ten new EVs by 2026. We don't know any information regarding costs just yet, but its price is estimated to start from around $62,000, similar to the ID.5. The ID.7 will first arrive in Europe and China by the end of 2023, with the North American market set to follow next year.
Starting out with a motorcycle permit just because he could get one two years earlier than a driver's license, Mircea keeps his passion for bikes (motor or no motor) alive to this day. His lifelong dream is to build his own custom camper van. Full profile
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