Mercedes-Benz’s new sound system could finally push music beyond stereo
Enlarge / The Dolby Atmos sound system in the newly revealed Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV is one of the EV's highlights. (credit: Mercedes-Benz)
PARIS—For the debut of a car that’s virtually silent, Mercedes-Benz sure spent a long time talking about sound at the international debut of the EQE SUV this week in Paris. Yes, the fully electric machine does have some (optional) fake engine noises on the inside, but it was actually the Burmester surround-sound system that stole the show.
After the car’s debut, Mercedes-Benz announced a partnership with Apple Music, Universal Music Group, and Dolby to become the first cars natively offering Dolby Atmos from Apple Music. Increasingly common in top-tier movie theaters, Atmos allows audio producers to position sounds anywhere they like in 3D space. Now, the technology is hitting music-streaming services.
"It started in the theater 10 years ago, and it's now the state of the art in making film soundtracks, but it's now in music," Patrick Rossi, VP of commercial partnerships at Dolby said at the EQE SUV unveil. "It allows the musician and their audio team to really place audio elements in space. They're no longer constrained by putting them in the left speaker or the right speaker, but they can put them anywhere they want."