5 ms·

Is a car a good place for this? It sounds distracting.

LeoPanthera 4y ago
I've often thought that a car is the ideal place for multichannel music. Headphones have to fake it because they are attached to your head, and surround systems in the home are usually pointed at a TV. If you look in any other direction the effect is broken. But in a car you are guaranteed to be facing forwards all the time. The "rear" speakers will always be behind you.
- kjkjadksj 4y ago
  If you set it up for the drivers side you mess up passenger dynamics though
  - londons_explore 4y ago
    The car already has seat occupancy sensors - so it can adjust the sound depending on which seats are occupied to give the best overall experience.
  - LeoPanthera 4y ago
    That effect is much smaller than facing in the wrong direction.
- myself248 4y ago
  Yeah, when I'm parked and enjoying some music, that's great. When I'm driving, I want my ears to alert me to spatial happenings where I can't see them. I force the audio to the front speakers only, specifically to prevent it from sounding too "real". I also hate it when the music has sirens in it. So, this is spiffy, but I hope there's a way to turn it off.
jcynix 4y ago
Same here. When I see these ads (x speakers, Dolby whatever for cars) I always think that's for people without a decent home. I use cars to drive and listen to hifi at home ...
- dagmx 4y ago
  First of all, this is in a luxury car so highly unlikely that the majority of owners don’t have a decent home. Secondly, people commute. A lot. They also like music. Good sound systems have been very important for people for decades now as a result.
- Loveaway 4y ago
  Ugh why always this anti-everything sentiment on HN. I'll take nice sound in my car, thank you. I'm sure you'll still be able to drive your car, and listen to music at home, so don't worry...
  - jcynix 4y ago
    It's not an "anti-everything" sentiment, it's based on the idea that drivers should concentrate primarily on driving and watching other traffic. Especially in cities. And road noise isn't the best "add-on" for hifi, or is it? Last but not least: I prefer to not paying for stuff that I don't need, but car hifi is one of the (many) "features" you cannot opt-out easily.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
    - vultour 4y ago
      No car manufacturer I know is giving away premium hifi in their car. Specifically for Mercedes, the Burmester "premium" sound systems cost thousands of dollars.
numpad0 4y ago
BOSE in-car sound systems existed some decades before I was born
- saiya-jin 4y ago
  Well if one should judge by general sound quality of few pieces from them I had displeasure to listen to, that's not a praise. Brands costing half produced much better sound. They know noise cancelling though, at least knew better than most few years ago. It seems other players have caught up on this though
xtiansimon 4y ago
This. People are already greatly distracted by phones, music and beverage holders—comforts of the limousine and you still have the responsibility to drive your 2000-4000 lbs vehicle at speed. Driving is a privilege, not a right. The consequences are drastic, and the bad behaviors creep.

I've often thought that a car is the ideal place for multichannel music. Headphones have to fake it because they are attached to your head, and surround systems in the home are usually pointed at a TV. If you look in any other direction the effect is broken. But in a car you are guaranteed to be facing forwards all the time. The "rear" speakers will always be behind you.

kjkjadksj 4y ago
If you set it up for the drivers side you mess up passenger dynamics though
- londons_explore 4y ago
  The car already has seat occupancy sensors - so it can adjust the sound depending on which seats are occupied to give the best overall experience.
- LeoPanthera 4y ago
  That effect is much smaller than facing in the wrong direction.
myself248 4y ago
Yeah, when I'm parked and enjoying some music, that's great. When I'm driving, I want my ears to alert me to spatial happenings where I can't see them. I force the audio to the front speakers only, specifically to prevent it from sounding too "real". I also hate it when the music has sirens in it. So, this is spiffy, but I hope there's a way to turn it off.

jcynix 4y ago

Same here. When I see these ads (x speakers, Dolby whatever for cars) I always think that's for people without a decent home. I use cars to drive and listen to hifi at home ...

dagmx 4y ago
First of all, this is in a luxury car so highly unlikely that the majority of owners don’t have a decent home. Secondly, people commute. A lot. They also like music. Good sound systems have been very important for people for decades now as a result.
Loveaway 4y ago
Ugh why always this anti-everything sentiment on HN. I'll take nice sound in my car, thank you. I'm sure you'll still be able to drive your car, and listen to music at home, so don't worry...
- jcynix 4y ago
  It's not an "anti-everything" sentiment, it's based on the idea that drivers should concentrate primarily on driving and watching other traffic. Especially in cities. And road noise isn't the best "add-on" for hifi, or is it? Last but not least: I prefer to not paying for stuff that I don't need, but car hifi is one of the (many) "features" you cannot opt-out easily.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - vultour 4y ago
    No car manufacturer I know is giving away premium hifi in their car. Specifically for Mercedes, the Burmester "premium" sound systems cost thousands of dollars.

numpad0 4y ago

BOSE in-car sound systems existed some decades before I was born

saiya-jin 4y ago
Well if one should judge by general sound quality of few pieces from them I had displeasure to listen to, that's not a praise. Brands costing half produced much better sound. They know noise cancelling though, at least knew better than most few years ago. It seems other players have caught up on this though

xtiansimon 4y ago

This. People are already greatly distracted by phones, music and beverage holders—comforts of the limousine and you still have the responsibility to drive your 2000-4000 lbs vehicle at speed. Driving is a privilege, not a right. The consequences are drastic, and the bad behaviors creep.