Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz has levied partnerships with Audible, Amazon, Dolby, Apple and Universal Music Group to up its audio system game.
Mercedes-Benz continues to build its audio system advantage over other luxury automakers. This week at CES, a consumer electronics trade show, the German car company announced that it has joined forces with Audible and Amazon Music to deliver a "a new chapter of in-car storytelling".
Like a concert hall, Mercedes models will be hosting top-tier music, spoken word and visual performances, pushing high-quality sound to owner ears. The partnership will allow Mercedes vehicle drivers the opportunity to enjoy audio books and plays, podcasts and music via their vehicle's audio system, harnessing the power of Dolby Atmos technology.
Dolby Atmos is a spatial audio technology that delivers an immersive sound experience.
In October, Mercedes announced that it would be the first company to make Dolby Atmos natively available in vehicles and in doing so became the first non-Apple device to offer the technology.
Mercedes drivers who were already subscribed to Apple Music gained immediate access to the songs and albums available with spatial audio qualities via Dolby Atmos.
"This important step in the history of recorded music is the culmination of years of working together with our partners at Dolby to develop the Dolby Atmos Music format so we can provide our artists with an even wider palette for their creative expression. With Mercedes, a company that shares our passion for quality and innovation, fans can now enjoy our artists' music in Mercedes cars in a way that virtually transports them to the recording studio or live stage," Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group said in September when the
According to a 2022 survey of 1,750 car-driving residents of Germany, France, China, Great Britain and the United States by Mercedes-Benz and Appinio, 76 percent reported that having a realistic spatial sound was either "important" or "rather important" to them.
Dolby Atmos is available in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class as well as the EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV. It is integrated into the vehicles' Burmester 3D and 4D sound systems, allowing the models to become "state-of-the-art concert halls on wheels" the automaker said in a press release when hardware is combined with Dolby Atmos software.
The Burmester 4D sound system is the highest-end audio option Mercedes offers. It incorporates 31 speakers (including six 3D speakers that emit sound from above, four near-ear speakers in the front seats and an 18.5-liter subwoofer), eight sound transducers and two amplifiers. The in-seat speakers provide a "sound massage", Mercedes said.
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