Dolby Atmos for Cars Announced for the First Time clean Air and select Mercedes car model in 2021. But with the live sound that makes it luxury car in the United States last month, the company showcased the setup at CES 2023 with in-car demos. We had our first listening session in the backseat of the Mercedes-Maybach S 580.
First, let me explain a bit about the car. This maybach equipped with Burmester 4D sound system with a total of 30 speakers, including 6 speakers on the ceiling. Think of those as driver triggers in your Atmos soundbar. The amplifier delivers 1,750 watts of power, and both the front- and stem-mounted subwoofers handle the bass (the trunk sub also has its own 400-watt amplifier). That’s a completely insane setup installed in an $185,000 car.
The immersive sound is so impressive, it can even rise above its sumptuous setting. It’s great for pop tunes like The Weeknd, but like the Atmos system in your home, the in-car version really shines with genres like jazz. When listening to “So What” from Miles Davis’ blue type, I feel like I’m in a club. In the backseat, the drums are on my right while the horn is on the driver’s side, etc. It feels like sitting in the middle of all the musicians while they do their thing. As someone who has experimented with several Atmos home theater setups, I’m still amazed with the results here. Of course, this is a crazy sound system in the high-end segment luxury carpossibly the best iteration of this kind of Dolby automotive collaboration.
Right now, most of the content is audio. Just link the streaming service of your choice, as long as it offers Dolby Atmos Music spatial sound, and you’re good to go. The infotainment system in the Maybach has all compatible tunes clearly labeled as Atmos. Dolby says there are several companies that offer a/v usage, so movies and shows with immersive sound will sync well with the in-car setup. The company’s senior vice president of entertainment, John Couling, explained in the demo that he anticipates people watching movies mapped in Dolby Atmos while their EV is charged, for example.
Dolby says Atmos is designed to be scalable from the ground up, so, like for soundbars, the audio platform can be configured for a wider range of speaker setups typically found in budget cars. more affordable. We’re talking about a four-channel, six-speaker arrangement. Not so long ago, Atmos was reserved only for high-end soundbars, and now it’s available on things like Sonos Beam via virtualization. So whether it’s a family car or small truck may not have ceiling speakers Mercedes no, immersive audio wouldn’t be out of the question. Just as it would be interesting to see how more budget-friendly speakers handle Atmos, I’m looking forward to hearing what the virtualized version will look like in a Honda Civic.
Dolby Atmos is currently available on the Lucid Air and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, as well as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV. Volvo has announced that Atmos will be available on Bowers & Wilkins audio systems in the EX90 SUV. The EV will be the first Volvo with Dolby sound inside. Polestar 3 also has an Atmos-equipped Bowers & Wilkins setup, and it’s coming later this year. The special Plus package includes a 25-speaker system for this task. Lotus has also announced a partnership with Dolby, bringing Atmos into the KEF setup inside the Eletre EV slated to launch in 2024.
