More and more names in the car industry have joined forces with sound specialists to provide consumers with vehicles sporting quality audio solutions.
B&W follows Dynaudio and Volvo in the race for high-end automotive solutions to equip a Jaguar! The Jaguar XKR Portfolio is the first to enjoy Bowers & Wilkins premium sound. The first step in this hi-tech adventure lies in the creation of suitable speakers for a coupe or convertible vehicle.
Kevlar, a hallmark of B&W mid-range speakers, was a natural choice for the speaker cone material. After designing 40 different prototypes to finally achieve the best sonic purity, B&W developed the precious composition that remains a guarded secret.
As for the tweeter, as much hard work was invested to find the most resistant and distortion-free material. Aluminium was chosen for the dome tweeters.
To ensure that the complete in-car system delivers the transparent, faithful sound reproduction that Bowers & Wilkins is known for, the company worked with Jaguar on speaker mountings, angles and final system tuning. The engineering teams painstakingly adjusted the system level, sound equalization, overall balance and time delay settings, to ensure a consistent and compelling entertainment experience, eventually narrowing their selection down to a final choice of three Eqs.
The final three EQ profiles were analyzed both in the laboratory and on the road over a predetermined test route involving varying conditions of road surface and speed.
B&W and Jaguar engineering teams are highly pleased with the result. The only downside being the price of such a beauty…
The Bowers & Wilkins Premium Sound System is available as standard equipment in all Jaguar XKR Portfolios. The XKR Portfolio presale is underway and Jaguar expects market introduction to start in July 2007.