In order to let you listen to music quietly in the car, Bose has come up with these three black technologies

At this year's CES Asia, a non-automotive company's black booth stood out in the bustling N5 Automotive Pavilion. From CES in North America to CES Asia in Shanghai, Bose has always been a regular at this exhibition.

It is said that CES is dominated by automobile manufacturers. This acoustic giant, famous for its headphones and speakers, is also becoming more and more closely connected with automobiles.

At the event, we did not see a wide variety of headphones, but instead saw multiple brands of models and different Bose speakers installed in the cars. From consumer electronics to cars, today's Bose is constantly changing people's lives with their acoustic accumulation.

At this CES Asia, Bose mainly showcased three technologies:

1. QuietComfort active road noise cancellation (RNC) technology;

2. Personal Plus audio system with SeatCentric seat sound field technology;

3. Performance audio system designed specifically for luxury models, as well as other innovative technologies and applications

Let's talk about noise reduction first. Those who are familiar with Bose know about the QC series of headphones. This type of product focuses on noise reduction and has a good reputation for its ability to suppress noise from entering the ears. This time, they brought noise reduction technology into the car.

Noise suppression inside a car has always been an area where automotive engineers have to work hard. In theory, the more advanced a car is, the quieter the interior will be, and vice versa. Quietness and luxury are positively correlated.

In order to isolate the noise from the outside world, traditional cars usually add sound insulation cotton to "pile up" materials, but if the same task is given to Bose, they will definitely not do it so "roughly".

Thus, a technology called Bose QuietComfort active road noise cancellation (RNC) came into being.

The technology combines acceleration sensors, proprietary signal processing software, microphones and the vehicle audio system to electronically control noise. The acceleration sensors installed on the vehicle body, supplemented by the Bose algorithm, can continuously measure the vibration of the noise source. This information is then used to calculate an acoustic signal that is inversely proportional to the noise signal and played through the car speakers to effectively reduce the target noise.

A microphone installed in the cabin will monitor the amount of noise inside the car, so that the system can adjust the control signal in real time according to different road conditions to achieve the desired noise reduction effect. It can also automatically adjust the noise reduction settings throughout the life cycle of the vehicle.

Simply put, this is a neutralization therapy that uses reverse sound waves to "fight poison with poison", which is the "active noise reduction" often mentioned in noise-cancelling headphones. The corresponding "passive noise reduction" is the physical method mentioned above through stacking sound insulation cotton.

Interestingly, this solution can be applied regardless of whether the vehicle is equipped with a Bose premium audio system, and vehicles equipped with this technology are expected to go into mass production before the end of 2021.

Now that the noise has been suppressed, the next step is how to bring out the best level of the audio system.

This time, Bose focused on exhibiting two audio systems: the Personal Plus audio system and the Performance series audio system.

The former, as the name implies, is a sound system that emphasizes "personal enjoyment". This system is installed on a new Hongqi E-HS3 model, which is also an important pioneer of the Hongqi brand in blowing the horn of youth.

Entering the car, you can easily find that the headrests of the driver and co-driver seats have been "tampered". It is understood that the system is equipped with a pair of lightweight 6 cm Bose UltraNearfield neodymium magnet ultra-nearfield speakers inside the driver's seat headrest, with a driver-centric listening mode, which is convenient for only the driver in the car. This mode is specially optimized for the driver's seat.

The headrest speakers work with Bose PersonalSpace virtual audio technology to create a wide, clear and immersive sound field around the listener without the need for additional speakers.

By adjusting the sound field settings of the central control screen, you can accurately adjust the width of the front sound field to create a different sense of atmosphere.

To take into account other passengers in the car, the E-HS3 has a 16.5 cm Bose Super65 wide-range speaker on each of the two front doors, a 2.5 cm high-frequency speaker on each of the left and right A-pillars, and a 13 cm full-range speaker on each of the left and right rear doors. Together with the headrests, a total of 8 high-performance speakers form a complete sound field in the car.

More advanced than Personal Plus is the Performance series, which is an audio solution used in luxury cars. The car on display now is the latest XT6 from Cadillac.

Since it is a luxury car, the audio hardware level is naturally good. In order to ensure the sound quality of the mid- and high-frequency bands in the front cabin, the XT6 has a 9 cm Bose Twiddler mid- and high-frequency speaker in the center of the dashboard, an 8 cm Twiddler neodymium magnet mid- and high-frequency speaker on each side of the front door, and a 2.5 cm neodymium magnet high-frequency speaker in each side of the A-pillar;

A 15×23 cm long-throw low-frequency speaker in each front door and a Richbass low-frequency speaker under the front seats;

At the rear of the cabin, both rear doors are equipped with a 2.5 cm neodymium magnet high-frequency speaker and a 13 cm wide-band speaker, and two 6 cm Twiddler mid- and high-frequency speakers are installed in the D-pillars on both sides to meet the full-frequency sound range and wide sound field in the rear of the cabin.

The whole sound effect has a strong sense of presence, the front and rear sound fields are natural and full, and the surround feeling is obvious. With Bose ANC active noise reduction technology, the sense of tranquility and high-quality and transparent music will undoubtedly add a kind of enjoyment to driving life.

By the way, you don’t have to worry about the excessive noise reduction effect affecting driving safety. Noise reduction only processes low-frequency wind noise and road noise, and sharp high-frequency human voices and horn sounds will not be eliminated.